Favorite Female Villains? [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Dienekes

2016-03-23, 02:28 PM

Sarah Kerrigan: Starcraft was my first video game, Kerrigan goes from a betrayed minion to the queen bitch of the universe. Yes, the storyline sort of falls apart upon examination, but damn, I enjoyed her rampage of destruction.

Annie Wilkes: Because of this scene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pbfkNI2d_A).

Azula: For a kid's show, she's threatening, intelligent, and ruthless. Pity her end though, robbed her of what made her a good villain, and the hero of his victory.

Daenerys Targaryen: She's basically been murdering a bunch of cities that just want her to go away, and destabilizing the land around her all because she feels she's entitled to rule. She's a wrecking ball that is at least interesting to watch, and also watch her fans excuse the often insane things she does.

Nurse Mildred Ratched: Power hungry domineering and in a position of power over the heroes of the book/movie. She's truly despicable.

Hera: The villain of so many myths, yet still seen as the honorable queen of the gods. Mind controlling heroes to have them murder their friends and family, torturing other women, her vindictiveness knows no bounds.

And I guess, technically, the Alien Queen from Aliens. Because I enjoyed Aliens, and the queen is a kind of female, I guess.

Honorable mention

Dolorous Umbridge: Any character that makes you hate them as much as Umbridge does is a good villain. But I think she lags behinds the others I listed, also it might be because I was never a huge Potter fan.

HMS Invincible

2016-03-23, 02:49 PM

No glados from portal shout out? The banter was great, and the sequel was icing on the cake.

DiscipleofBob

2016-03-23, 02:56 PM

Maleficent. And no, not the Angelina Jolie version. We're talking the Original Mistress of All Evil.

While we're at it, Lady Tremaine.

Yora

2016-03-23, 02:57 PM

Eboshi from Princess Mononoke is great. She's charming and very smug at the same time; ruthless but motivated by compassion. A synthesis of opposites, like the whole movie.

Boss and EVA are both great. Boss because she seems to be a villain but turns out to have been undercover, and EVA because she seems like your ally for 80% of the game but turns out to be a quadruple agent who is able to think on her feet.

Karrigan is very cool, at least in SC1 and Brood War. Can't really argue against the Queen Bitch of the Universe. (SC2 seems to be a very different story.)

Megaduck

2016-03-23, 03:00 PM

Taylor Herbert AKA "Skitter" from Worm.

Lanfear from Wheel of Time.

GLaDOS from Portal.

halcyonforever

2016-03-23, 03:00 PM

Dolorous Umbridge: Any character that makes you hate them as much as Umbridge does is a good villain.

I'll toss her my vote. Her theme music alone gives me shivers. I think a lot of people wanted to see her karma more than Voldemort.

Dienekes

2016-03-23, 03:05 PM

No glados from portal shout out? The banter was great, and the sequel was icing on the cake.

Forgot about GLaDOS, she is at least worth an honorable mention.

Karrigan is very cool, at least in SC1 and Brood War. Can't really argue against the Queen Bitch of the Universe. (SC2 seems to be a very different story.)

I don't really count SC2's story for Kerrigan. Mostly because I don't like it. SC1 she was, as you said, the Queen Bitch of the Universe, and she was great.

Taylor Herbert AKA "Skitter" from Worm.

For some reason, I can't get myself to think of Skitter as a villain, even though I know she was. But yeah, she would be on my list as one of the best.

TheThan

2016-03-23, 03:10 PM

No glados from portal shout out? The banter was great, and the sequel was icing on the cake.

I see what you did there.

Sheila the deadite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjoks83N5EM) from Army of Darkness. Not the main villain; but still.

Yora

2016-03-23, 03:21 PM

I am really fascinated by the Silmarilion version of Galadriel who is always dangerously close to falling to the "dark side" and toying with the powers of evil. She never becomes a full villain (which through her first appearance The Lord of the Rings had already been a foregone conclusion when she was added to the Silmarilion plot as a minor bystander), and her very small appearances are so scattered that it's easy to miss what's going on. But when you bring it all together and look at it as a single picture, she's guilty of pretty much all the major sins that define Evil in that world.

thorgrim29

2016-03-23, 03:26 PM

Azula from Avatar, i disagree with Dienikes, I think her unraveling fits perfectly with the rest of her arc. Her villain status is debatable but I like Dr Mrs The Monarch from Venture Bros. Lara Raithe from Dresden Files, she might be on the hero's side more often than not but there is no doubt that she's evil. Also from Butcher, Mavra, the Vord queen and Invidia Aquitaine.

BannedInSchool

2016-03-23, 03:48 PM

Captain Janeway? :smallsmile:

Lethologica

2016-03-23, 04:04 PM

Shout out to Yubaba from Spirited Away.

Also, *cough* Miko Miyazaki.

Nerd-o-rama

2016-03-23, 04:05 PM

Let's see...who hasn't been mentioned. The greats like Kerrigan, The Boss, GLaDOS, and Maleficent all speak for themselves or have been spoken for.

Darth Traya from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II is excellent. A philosophical villain, a manipulator, and despite being the embodiment of betrayal still manages to hold the moral high ground over the Jedi Order of her time period. Also unless I missed something from the comics the only female Star Wars Big Bad worth a single damn.

Catwoman (if she's even a villain this week), Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy, specifically the Batman: The Animated Series versions always caught my eye as great villains even by BTAS standards.

And since I've been on an Umineko no Naku Koro Ni kick lately, let me just say that basically every female character from that story gets a shot at being either the villain, a minion, or generally an ******* in some scenario or another (not that the men don't, but you don't see George being an arc endboss), but Beatrice is my one and only Queen of Trolling.

Azula: For a kid's show, she's threatening, intelligent, and ruthless. Pity her end though, robbed her of what made her a good villain, and the hero of his victory.

To start off the inevitable arguments in this thread, I don't see at all how the latter part's true. Zuko won that fight the second she forewent the duel instead of overpowering or outsmarting him, and karma rewarded her with the most embarrassing loss possible.

Plus, you know, six or seven heroes and only so many endgame villains to go around on that show. Zuko and Katara had to share.

Even regarding the first part, while not the best writing, I think a perfectionist obsessive villain falling victim to her own mental instability is both satisfying in its own way and well trod ground with the Evil Overlord. At least she had a character arc of some sort, as opposed to Daddy.

Kyberwulf

2016-03-23, 05:21 PM

Shego from Kim Possible.
Katarina from League of legends.
Jinx also from league of legends.

cobaltstarfire

2016-03-23, 05:54 PM

Azula is one of the few villains that has unraveled in a story and did so in a way that felt, I dunno satisfying? A lot of times when villains unravel there's something cheap and wrong feeling about it to me, but not in Azulas case. I guess it's because her story was told just like everyone elses and her eventual coming apart at the seams felt like a fitting end given her story?

She's definitely my favorite in that I enjoyed her character, though she's also terrifying because she reminds me of someone that I had the misfortune of having as a primary caregiver for a few years.

Umbridge is going to get another mention from me just because she's one of the few villains I've felt a deep seething hatred and loathing for. I feel like I can't call her a "favorite" because I hate her so much, I didn't enjoy her at all but she's probably one of the best villains out there as far as generating a strong emotion, and having a place in the story too.

The black widow in Agent Carter is pretty entertaining, and mildly twisted in an interesting way as well.

Kyberwulf

2016-03-23, 06:02 PM

I don't know, Azula always felt. Tacky. She just snapped for no reason it felt like. Also, it kind of felt like one of those things. You know, where a girl can't control her emotions.

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-23, 06:07 PM

Kycilia Zabi from Mobile Suit Gundam. Tactically brilliant, politically savvy and with that stylish outfit to match, but with just enough morality to be more sympathetic than Gihren. She even manages to outmanoeuvre him in the end, and ends up the last Zabi standing. In fact, her defeat only comes about as the result of being possibly a little too pragmatic, and deciding that Char was more useful as a weapon than dead.

Nerd-o-rama

2016-03-23, 06:08 PM

I don't know, Azula always felt. Tacky. She just snapped for no reason it felt like. Also, it kind of felt like one of those things. You know, where a girl can't control her emotions.

Eh. She was a perfectionist control freak who was on top of the world when things were going her way but started cracking as soon as someone successfully defied her and finished cracking as soon as her behavior stopped being rewarded. It made sense to me, and was presented in the same way I'd seen similar stories from Hamlet and The Lion King - although the villains there snapped under guilt and pride rather than lack of acknowledgment. Either way, it didn't seem gendered in an emotional sense.

BWR

2016-03-23, 06:10 PM

Darth Traya is definitely up there. She told me her backstory as a Sith, she told me about betrayal. She told me about using me to get revenge on the everybody and I still didn't see her betrayal coming.
Yeah, guess I'm pretty good at just going along with what the story presents me and ignoring obvious clues.

Lethologica

2016-03-23, 06:14 PM

Can I add Haman Karn on behalf of Marlowe, or is that presumptuous?

McStabbington

2016-03-23, 06:14 PM

Captain Janeway? :smallsmile:

Totally stole my idea.

That being said, I think that while my pick might be a bit of a cheat considering the nature of gender as it relates to shapeshifters, but the Female Changeling was an excellent villain on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Come to think of it, so was Vedek/Kai Winn.

Nerd-o-rama

2016-03-23, 06:43 PM

Can I add Haman Karn on behalf of Marlowe, or is that presumptuous?

Haman's pretty great, as is her sister from the bottom of the gravity well Cornelia li Britannia. Although the latter is more of the "sympathetic enemy officer" as the story goes on and she starts thinking practical.

Sadly most female Gundam/Store Brand Gundam villains either defect to the good guys almost immediately or get over-used as tragic tools. Or they're Katejina.

8BitNinja

2016-03-23, 06:47 PM

The Witch from Left 4 Dead

GLaDOS from Portal

The Administrator from Team Fortress 2

Wait a minute... these are the same people, and married to Sniper from TF2

Sniper, you have some serious problems

Marillion

2016-03-23, 08:39 PM

Annie Wilkes from Misery, both the book and the movie.

"You're just another lying ol' dirty birdy."

8BitNinja

2016-03-23, 09:48 PM

Does Mother Brain count?

The Captain N version

Kitten Champion

2016-03-23, 10:04 PM

Haman Karn would be my favourite female villain too.

She's just so grand and operatic in her evil, it's hard not to admire her.

Mando Knight

2016-03-23, 10:42 PM

Captain Janeway? :smallsmile:

When diplomacy fails, there's only one alternative: violence. Force must be applied without apology. It's the Starfleet way. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfSvBGtYYI)

Kurgan

2016-03-23, 10:50 PM

All this talk about Azula, but no love for Kuvira from the later series? Its been a year or two, but I remember enjoying her ruthlessness as she steamrolled her way across the Earth Kingdom, figuring that the only way to keep the people safe from themselves was to conquer them and keep them under her thumb. She had a goal in her mind, and she did what she felt she had to to achieve it - which often enough seemed to be something monstrous.

Giggling Ghast

2016-03-23, 11:04 PM

The Alien Queen from Aliens.

What? She's a female. :smalltongue:

Rodin

2016-03-24, 02:24 AM

Servalan from Blake's Seven. Scary competent, utterly ruthless, and she freaking wins.

Kyberwulf

2016-03-24, 04:28 AM

To be fair, a lot of the story arcs in The Last Airbender seemed forced by the end. I don't know if it's because they where just written bad, or because they had to rush cause they knew they where being canceled. Either way though. Azula's fall just seemed to sudden. Also, she doesn't get her way so she has a temper tantrum? That isn't gendered at all? When she first showed up, she was pretty badass. She had the skill from training and natural aptitude.

Tom Tearcamel

2016-03-24, 04:33 AM

I agree with everyone who said Azula. I wish we had more time with Legend of Korra's Kuvira and the Red Lotus ladies from season 3 (They really do have great character designs). I adore Legend of Korra despite it's flaws, and if you say it is crap compared to the original series, I will fight you. :smallamused:

Almost all of Jim Butcher's female Villains are top tier. So much so that Lara Raith is my favorite vampire PERIOD. (She tops my list for the Dresden Files, it's a long list.) In his Codex Alera series Invidia Aquitaine is a BOSS. Madame Cavendish from his new series The Cinder Spires is a nightmare. :smallbiggrin:

Paalam/Bleeder from Shadows of Self (Mistborn). How can a mad, 1000 year old, mass-murdering, human-eating, shape-shifter, with the goal of overthrowing a benevolent god be a sympathetic character? I don't know but Brandon Sanderson pulled it off. :smallwink:

When it comes to Wheel of Time I'd say Graendal over Lanfear any day of the week. So much more competent. Lanfear is definitely a great character, but she's so emotional and her obsession with Rand (the primary protagonist) as the reincarnation of her ex can be a lil' excessive. (The chick is bugnutz crazy) Graendal is just a master of the Game, she's way more professional, and all her plots (that I can remember at least) made sense. I love Rand's summation of her character in The Gathering Storm before confronting her stronghold at Natrin's Barrow. :smalleek:

I could probably keep going but I doubt I'd stop any time soon :smallsigh:

DJ Yung Crunk

2016-03-24, 04:36 AM

Ctrl+F "lady macbeth"

No results.

I'm glad I was here to correct this oversight.

Marlowe

2016-03-24, 04:43 AM

Can I add Haman Karn on behalf of Marlowe, or is that presumptuous?

Here's a dirty little secret; Haman is awesome and a very interesting character in general, but I don't think she ever quite gets the scenes she deserves. It's even a running gag all the way through ZZ Gundam that she and Judau keep getting interrupted by some idiots with guns every time they're having a face-off.

I suppose that's why I use her so much. I wanted to see more of her.

For a female villain that I enjoy seeing and who I do feel is used just about right, I'd go with Balalaika.

Although the problem there is that Balalaika, while quite, quite evil, doesn't function as a villain. I think she's the only character ever to be listed by THAT site as the Big Bad AND the Big Good of her series.

tensai_oni

2016-03-24, 04:57 AM

I find Azula overrated, because Avatar's storytelling bends itself around her to make her appear more dangerous and genre-savvy than she really is. And she's taking advantage of the fact she's in a kids' cartoon that can't show people dying a little too much. But when the story stops playing favorites in her favor she immediately breaks down.

For characters that weren't mentioned yet I will add Sister Miriam from Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. This is because of how realistically insidious she is. At a surface, the Lord's Believers offer stability and common sense, remembering about what makes us human in the world that is very quickly chasing towards transhumanism. We must dissent, etc. But underneath, she's just a luddite biggot who hates progress and people who disagree with her, and wants to see them burn while taking the moral high ground. Horrible person but a great character.

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-24, 05:07 AM

Ctrl+F "lady macbeth"

No results.

I'm glad I was here to correct this oversight.
Damn, that is an oversight!
Yeah, Lady Macbeth is fantastic as a villain. She cleverly manipulates Macbeth's psychological weaknesses to attain her goals, but her own emotional fragility leads to her downfall. She can't even bring herself to kill Duncan because he looks too much like her father. Classic self-destructive villainy.

Tom Tearcamel

2016-03-24, 05:28 AM

Damn, that is an oversight!
Yeah, Lady Macbeth is fantastic as a villain. She cleverly manipulates Macbeth's psychological weaknesses to attain her goals, but her own emotional fragility leads to her downfall. She can't even bring herself to kill Duncan because he looks too much like her father. Classic self-destructive villainy.

Spoilers! :smallwink:

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-24, 05:30 AM

Spoilers! :smallwink:
Also, Julius Caesar gets stabbed by his pals and Iago was actually a bad guy.

DJ Yung Crunk

2016-03-24, 05:32 AM

Spoilers! :smallwink:

What's the statute of limitations on that? Like, if I said that in Planet of the Apes they're on Earth or that in The Empire Strikes Back Vader is Luke's father is that an issue?

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-24, 05:34 AM

What's the statute of limitations on that? Like, if I said that in Planet of the Apes they're on Earth or that in The Empire Strikes Back Vader is Luke's father is that an issue?
What the hell? How could you not nest those spoilers, you insensitive ruiner of classic movies that I was planning on watching someday?
Well, now I may as well just never watch them.
Jerk.

DJ Yung Crunk

2016-03-24, 05:38 AM

What the hell? How could you not nest those spoilers, you insensitive ruiner of classic movies that I was planning on watching someday?
Well, now I may as well just never watch them.
Jerk.

Being the only English speaking person to have never seen The Empire Strikes Back might be an interesting experience.

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-24, 05:40 AM

Being the only English speaking person to have never seen The Empire Strikes Back might be an interesting experience.
Speaking of Star Wars, Captain Phasma. If just for the looks. Because damn does she look cool.
You know, she really should have been the riot stormtrooper that beat up Finn. And Hux could have been the one to shut down the shields.

DJ Yung Crunk

2016-03-24, 05:44 AM

Kind of spoilers for Force Awakens? Do I still have to spoiler that? Everyone's seen it, right?[/SPOILER]

I didn't. You and I could attend "Haven'tSeenEveryStarWarsCon '16"

Phoenix Convention Centre May 5th through May 7th.

Guests to be announced.

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-24, 05:48 AM

I didn't. You and I could attend "Haven'tSeenEveryStarWarsCon '16"

Phoenix Convention Centre May 5th through May 7th.

Guests to be announced.
Ooh, we could invite the cast. Have them perform every episode as a musical.
Wait, that was a terrible idea. Not sure what I was thinking. Carry on.

DJ Yung Crunk

2016-03-24, 05:50 AM

Ooh, we could invite the cast. Have them perform every episode as a musical.
Wait, that was a terrible idea. Not sure what I was thinking. Carry on.

That's a great idea, actually. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thbMBDoogek)

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-24, 05:56 AM

That's a great idea, actually. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thbMBDoogek)
Well, I was thinking more along the lines of this. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHw0-6SqecI)

DJ Yung Crunk

2016-03-24, 06:01 AM

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of this. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHw0-6SqecI)

Well then, that would be a bad idea.

TeChameleon

2016-03-24, 06:13 AM

Surprisingly few comic book villainesses so far; I'll add a few.

Lucia Von Bardas: Dr. Doom's sometime-foe, sometime-lackey, I just kind of like her design. That and she's frighteningly competent and seriously psychotic, which is always a fun combo (and kind of a necessity for any baddie trying to out-sneaky Nick Fury...)

Silver Banshee: She can go toe-to-toe with Superman, and scream him to (near) death. Seriously heavy hitter, and oddly fun to watch... and once again, I dig her look.

Maxima, Queen of Almerac: Another Superman (occasional) villainness who can get into a straight-up brawl with the Man of Steel and hold her own, there's just some weird part of me that finds it hilarious that her first appearance was her deciding that Superman was the ideal trophy husband, so she shows up on Earth to beat the crap out of him and drag him off. Doesn't hurt that she stayed relatively sympathetic throughout, and eventually became a full-on hero. Not as fond of her design, though, since her most of the costumes I can recall were of the 'impractical skimpy bathing suit with random bits of armour bolted on' variety.

Giganta: Dr. Doris Zuel is a serious heavy hitter in the DC universe, intelligent, crafty, and freaking huge (when she wants to be, anyhow :smalltongue:). Fun to watch, practical costume, and knows exactly what she wants, and she's willing to do whatever she thinks she needs to to get it, too.

Mystique: Careful, cunning, and capable of wreaking untold havoc with nothing more than her shapeshifting abilities, Raven Darkholme is a woman to be reckoned with, and treated with respect, if not outright fear.

Lashina: One of Darkseid's Female Furies, his elite bodyguard, Lashina is an interesting and odd character who got a surprising amount of development when she appeared in John Ostrander's run on Suicide Squad and managed to get herself amnesia via being blown up, fairly promptly joining the Squad by basically just turning up and announcing that she was coming with them.

Karnilla, Queen of the Norns: If you're going to be a long-running Thor villain of either gender, you need some fairly serious staying power, something Karnilla had in spades. Powerful, magical, and every inch a queen, Karnilla developed into a fascinating character who even managed at least something of a redemption arc through the kindness of the quasi-kidnapped Balder. And it didn't hurt that she was often in one of those amazing Kirby-designed Asgardian outfits, either :smalltongue:

Granny Goodness: Another Kirby villainness, and one of the great powers on the hell-planet Apokolips, this rather busy woman seemingly personally oversees the upbringing of every single one of his legions upon legions of soldiers and minions, taking great pride in breaking the spirit of each and every one until they have no thought but to serve their dark master... and to be 'good' for Granny.

Nerd-o-rama

2016-03-24, 09:44 AM

Quild

2016-03-24, 09:55 AM

Either way though. Azula's fall just seemed to sudden. Also, she doesn't get her way so she has a temper tantrum? That isn't gendered at all?

It's quite well written that Azula has issues with rejection.
First of all, she had the feeling that her mother didn't liked her.
Because of that, she tried to be loved by her father, but he never really acknowledged for all her efforts even if he sees her above Zuko.
Zuko being "exiled" didn't help much in the end. If it can happen to him, it can happen to her. Her position raised only because of Zuko's absence. Not because of her direct actions.
When she defeated Aang, Zuko came back as heir. And their father had more attention for Zuko that he ever had for her.
In "The Beach" episode, she's both jealous of Ty Lee's success with boys and mad at her own failure to attire them.
Mai and Ty Lee betraying her is too much to handle.
At this point, she's almost completely broken. The only thing that still works for her is her relation with her father. She gets to be crowned Fire Lord Azula. But instead of being crowned, she gets defeated.

Soooo, I don't see how this character is poorly written.

Regarding her temper being gendered... Both Ozai and Zuko also have temper. Firebending even was perverted in a way that makes it "rage" related.

tensai_oni

2016-03-24, 10:06 AM

Speaking of Star Wars, Captain Phasma. If just for the looks. Because damn does she look cool.

Captain Phasma was promised to be the Boba Fett of the new trilogy. And that's what she is - a suit of cool armor that doesn't really do anything. But somehow I don't think that's what they had in mind...

Red Fel

2016-03-24, 10:07 AM

First off, I hear a lot of mention of GLaDOS, but no mention of SHODAN?

Come on. Give props to the original. I mean, when GLaDOS left her happy place, she was a potato. When SHODAN left her happy place, she was god. Let's hear it for the winning side, just a little, if you please.

Maleficent. And no, not the Angelina Jolie version. We're talking the Original Mistress of All Evil.

Seconded. So much seconded.

Ctrl+F "lady macbeth"

No results.

I'm glad I was here to correct this oversight.

Agreed. Further, but similar: Eleanor Iselin, from The Manchurian Candidate, as played by the incomparable Angela Lansbury. Oh my Me, that woman - powerful, ambitious, ruthless, and best of all, capable.

thompur

2016-03-24, 10:15 AM

Everyone listed so far on this thread are nice and all, but as villains, they're all rank amateurs compared to Livia in "I, Claudius"! :smallbiggrin:

Nerd-o-rama

2016-03-24, 10:25 AM

Captain Phasma was promised to be the Boba Fett of the new trilogy. And that's what she is - a suit of cool armor that doesn't really do anything. But somehow I don't think that's what they had in mind...

Don't forget "defeated by Han Solo (or at least a group including him) in the most stupid and embarrassing way possible".

I really hope she comes back and terrorizes everyone for revenge in VIII. I really do.

Ninja_Prawn

2016-03-24, 10:45 AM

Does 'demon' Devi from the Kingkiller Chronicle count as a villain? She's easily my favourite character in the books. The way she hides behind a cute, polite, professional façade is great, and her line about her Alar being "like the ocean in a storm" hits like a ton of bricks, given that we've heard Kvothe telling us his is "like a blade of Ramston steel" over and over for the last 700 pages.

Rogar Demonblud

2016-03-24, 11:09 AM

And no one's yet mentioned Baba Yaga? For shame.

Giggling Ghast

2016-03-24, 11:11 AM

And no one's yet mentioned Baba Yaga? For shame.

All I know of Baba Yaga is the fairy tale with Vasilia and the fact Hellboy shot her eye out.

ellindsey

2016-03-24, 11:15 AM

Princess Kushana from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and ideally from the manga rather than the movie. The movie gave her a different backstory and motivation to make her a more clear-cut villain, the manga version of the character was a lot more interesting and not even really a villain by the end of the story.

Toastkart

2016-03-24, 11:16 AM

Kreia from kotor 2. Master manipulator who wanted to break the stranglehold that religious extremism (the Jedi and Sith) had on the galaxy. Puts all her hopes in a single force sensitive Exile who she betrays in order to teach.

Melina Shield from the Firekeeper Saga. A self-styled sorceress in a kingdom that hates magic, her only real power is convincing people to do what she says. Even so, she manages to steal three magical artifacts and attempts to gain control of an elemental dragon that would make her the most powerful person in the new world.

I had one more, but she's slipped my mind.

The female changeling from DS9 and Glados from Portal are good picks as well.

Characters who make good villains when they're being villainous, but wouldn't necessarily be considered villains all the time.

Ms. Parker from the Pretender. Tough, ruthless, and relentless in pursuing her goals.

H.G. Wells from Warehouse 13. Intelligent, Inventive, and comes dangerously close to creating a post-apocalyptic world.

Dienekes

2016-03-24, 11:21 AM

And no one's yet mentioned Baba Yaga? For shame.

Mostly because while I enjoy the handful of legends I've heard, I really remember her by being beaten by Frau Totenkinder in Fables.

Lethologica

2016-03-24, 12:49 PM

Good examples from Sandman include The Kindly Ones and Desire (the latter debatably due to gender-flexibility).

Princess Kushana from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and ideally from the manga rather than the movie. The movie gave her a different backstory and motivation to make her a more clear-cut villain, the manga version of the character was a lot more interesting and not even really a villain by the end of the story.
I mean, I enjoyed manga!Kushana too, but she's ineligible for this list for the very reason you gave.

cobaltstarfire

2016-03-24, 12:56 PM

I really hope she comes back and terrorizes everyone for revenge in VIII. I really do.

Yeah, me too, or at least if she's been killed off they could have done it in a better way than tossed into a trash compactor. I read a little bit of Before the Awakening, and she might at least have some interesting parts in future books that take place before the movie?

Her armor is cool, but the thing I really like about her is her voice, she's got a very imposing voice that gives her weight that the other troopers lack.

Ceiling_Squid

2016-03-24, 02:41 PM

Manga!Kushana is fantastic, especially when she is contrasted with Nausicaa. "Walking the path of the Asura" and all.

But yes, she is sadly ineligible due to only being a "villain" for part of the story. Lady Eboshi is probably a better choice, if we're talking Miyazaki. He does really seem to like writing intelligent, badass warrior women who command loyalty.

8BitNinja

2016-03-24, 02:41 PM

Karla from Record of the Lodoss War was a good villain.

Never will I call it Record of Lodoss War, there should be a 'the' in the title

Seppl

2016-03-24, 04:41 PM

All this talk about Azula, but no love for Kuvira from the later series? I hate her as a villain and think the way she was treated ruined season 4. She had so much potential in her first 1-2 episodes but then they just removed any moral ambiguity to the conflict. That made her from an interesting antagonist into a power-crazy maniac for Korra to punch in the face. Which is technically not that different from Azula (who I agree was a great villain) but Kuvira lacked the menacing aura and charisma that Azula had.

Maybe I am overreacting because I saw the great potential in the first few episodes of the season and then experienced a big letdown when they dumbed down the story more than I would have liked. I guess she is still not that bad of a villain compared to others in LoK. Much better than Unalaq and about equal with Amon.

Ninja_Prawn

2016-03-24, 04:51 PM

but Kuvira lacked the menacing aura and charisma that Azula had

What? Kuvira has bags of charisma! I agree that there were issues with her personal story arc and that she had unrealised potential, but If charisma is about confidence, self-belief and the ability to project your will into the world, Kuvira has it in spades.

Lethologica

2016-03-24, 05:08 PM

I saw the great potential in the first few episodes of the season and then experienced a big letdown
#LoKinaNutshell

Avilan the Grey

2016-03-24, 06:11 PM

I don't really have any favorite villains at all. Anti-heroes yes. Anti-villains yes.
Villains? Not even Darth Vader.

As for female villains I hate (in a good way):

Ursula
Bellatrix LeStrange

...I am sure there are more, but I am tired and my brain isn't remembering stuff.

Red Fel

2016-03-24, 07:38 PM

Ursula

When you say Ursula, I trust that you mean

https://www.bookish.com/wp-content/uploads/Ominous-Ursula-Little-Mermaid.gif

And not

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eL1BBr1xjE4/hqdefault.jpg

Right?

Because I totally agree with the first one. The second... only in remakes.

Talakeal

2016-03-24, 08:10 PM

Demona from Gargoyles.

Kitiara and Kishanth from Dragonlance. Maybe Mina as well.

Cizak

2016-03-24, 08:29 PM

Lord Dominator from Wander Over Yonder. Her design is great (Evil Overlord Clothes combined with socks and sneakers), she's a great contrast to the not-really-a-threat Lord Hater and the way she's such a stereotypical fangirl of herself just cracks me up.

And her villain song is really fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdEo_t-iVbM

JBPuffin

2016-03-24, 09:10 PM

For some reason, I can't get myself to think of Skitter as a villain, even though I know she was. But yeah, she would be on my list as one of the best.

Agreed, although the end ruined the series for me...

Lord Dominator from Wander Over Yonder. Her design is great (Evil Overlord Clothes combined with socks and sneakers), she's a great contrast to the not-really-a-threat Lord Hater and the way she's such a stereotypical fangirl of herself just cracks me up.

And her villain song is really fun.

That IS a fun song.

8BitNinja

2016-03-24, 09:39 PM

My ex-wife

Just kidding, that would imply that I was married in the first place

But Malborn from Skyrim was an okay villain

ben-zayb

2016-03-24, 10:01 PM

Mostly because while I enjoy the handful of legends I've heard, I really remember her by being beaten by Frau Totenkinder in Fables.
Ouch, that was harsh! On that note, Frau Totenkinder was a villain pre-amnesty and is sort of one by the end of the series, so I'd say she's one of my faves.

Ifni

2016-03-24, 10:21 PM

Commander Cavilo from The Vor Game. It's so much fun watching her interact with Miles.

Callos_DeTerran

2016-03-24, 10:57 PM

Hmm, a lot of my favorites have already been mentioned so I'll just name those that come to mind otherwise.

Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. I love to hate her ruthless, conniving, and ultimately incompetent villainy.

Spooky from Spooky's House of Jumpscares. Does she get a lot of background or villainous actions? Not particularly...but she maximizes her minutes so to speak. Just don't call her cute, SERIOUSLY.

One thing I will deny until my dying breath is that Kreia from KOTOR II is a good villain. She was an active detriment to the game for me, combined with her utterly unlikable (pre and post betrayal) personality, complete lack of menace, terrible motivations, and see-through machinations...well...lets just say that I'm utterly amazed that she managed enough treachery to be declared the 'lord' of it, let alone convince others to buy in to her idiotic teachings. That I still enjoy KotOR and its other two, to me, infinitely superior villains is in spite of her presence, not because of it which marks a significant failure as a character to me.

8BitNinja

2016-03-24, 11:57 PM

Why has no one mentioned Elsa Schneider from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?

That betrayal was the first one my eight year old eyes witnessed. Yes, I watched Indiana Jones at eight years old. Nazis and gruesome death is a great thing for an eight year old to think about!

Felandria

2016-03-25, 03:01 AM

Ever see that one poster of the Legion of Doom, all the villains together, like a hundred of them, with Lex, Joker and Gorilla Grodd front and center?

I'm not worried about them.

I'm scared of the intelligent lady in the back, the one who could simply kill all three of them by slapping a hand on the ground.

The only reason Giganta does not run the Legion of Doom is because she doesn't feel like it.

Marlowe

2016-03-25, 05:31 AM

She's a likable character. She loses some "villain" points for stealing a kiss off the Flash and running away.

Villainesses shouldn't be adorable.

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-25, 05:44 AM

Villainesses shouldn't be adorable.
Harley Quinn, the aforementioned Lord Dominator and Nu-13 would disagree.

Nerd-o-rama

2016-03-25, 08:22 AM

I took a look at my avatar today and am now trying to decide whether anyone from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's actually counts as a villain, or if they're all antiheroes and programming glitches.

Even if they don't, Precia Testarossa from the first season gets a lot of points for being someone who's both an over the top evil overlord and a very realistic and generally well-handled abuser on a personal level. Lady gives me the creeps in a way that speaks to good writing, albeit maybe a lot heavier than one would expect from an otherwise cheesy action show starring nine year olds.

Pronounceable

2016-03-25, 09:28 AM

Umineko witches. There's many other worthy contenders but those are the best.

Dienekes

2016-03-25, 09:42 AM

Harley Quinn, the aforementioned Lord Dominator and Nu-13 would disagree.

For the record, Harley is a great character but her fans scare the hell out of me. So many people commenting how she's perfect and they wish she was real. Completely forgetting she was a homicidal murderer that latches on to abusive dominant personalities as an excuse for her own crimes.

And people desire this person. It's just weird.

ben-zayb

2016-03-25, 10:00 AM

For the record, Harley is a great character but her fans scare the hell out of me. So many people commenting how she's perfect and they wish she was real. Completely forgetting she was a homicidal murderer that latches on to abusive dominant personalities as an excuse for her own crimes.

And people desire this person. It's just weird.I can draw comparisons on Sylvanas Windrunner's fanbase. I mean, Forsaken was my favorite WoW race and me with my friends/guildmates definitely love some RPing of fervent loyalty towards our faction/racial leaders while playing the MMO, but we don't take the RP outside the game.

I guess the most rational explanation for those types of behaviors is that these are Oracle Vorthos (http://www.gatheringmagic.com/anttessitore-042215-vorthos-2015/) players whose crossover of the fictional world and the real world is deemed too far from the comfort zone of the people around them (which is definitely understandable, especially for characters like Harley).

Avilan the Grey

2016-03-25, 10:55 AM

Fandoms in general are containing a huge percentage of sick people.

They basically span from Draco being redeemable and Ron being a secret Death Eater to well, wishing the Joker was real because his HAWT.

That's why 99.999999999999999999999999999% of all fanfics are weird sexual fantasies.

Sapphire Guard

2016-03-25, 01:37 PM

Empress Laseen, Malazan Book of the Fallen. She does an incredible job juggling the various things that want her dead, from Gods to assassins to her own generals, and weathers two rebellions, two invasions, an assassins war, two of her armies deserting wholesale, and countless betrayals. Notable feats include talking an assassin out of his intention to kill her, and stalking and killing members of a unit of immortal mercenaries with her bare hands.

Professor Gnoll

2016-03-25, 03:33 PM

Dragonexx

2016-03-25, 04:03 PM

Takhisis, Goddess of Darkness from dragonlance. She's basically everything you'd want in an evil goddess.

Kuvira from Korra, and also P'Li, the combustion bender. She doesn't say much, but she's clearly a threat that the show makes good on delivering on. Also Ming-Hua, with the water tentacles, which was a nice idea.

Also, Jeri from Jessica Jones. She's not really that destructively evil, but she's a good lawyer, which makes her manipulative, self-interested, and backstabbing.

EDIT: Just remembered a fourth. Asajj Ventress from the Clone Wars. Does it count if they become (somewhat) redeemed?

Yora

2016-03-25, 04:57 PM

They basically span from Draco being redeemable and Ron being a secret Death Eater to well, wishing the Joker was real because his HAWT.

Yeah, that is unfortunate. It's not helped by the fact that she's the protagonist in at least a few of her own comics, which lets people forget that there's a reason she's usually a villain.

Asajj Ventress from the Clone Wars. Does it count if they become (somewhat) redeemed?

Same thing going on, basically. Well done villains getting turned into likeable heroes. If they are liked, people want them to be right and loved by everyone.
Few people appreciate a good villain.

TeChameleon

2016-03-25, 07:53 PM

She's a likable character. She loses some "villain" points for stealing a kiss off the Flash and running away.

Villainesses shouldn't be adorable.

Bear in mind that Giganta in the comics is rather different from Giganta in the (admittedly awesome) Justice League Unlimited cartoon. Pretty sure that this (http://www.soundskinky.com/Legion/upcoming-images/Figures/JLA-13-Poster.jpg) is the poster referred to, and yeah, Giganta is certainly intimidating. Doesn't hurt that she's both highly intelligent and has the brute force to throw down with Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lanterns, and the like.

... her comics incarnation isn't even all that likeable. Comics Giganta is cold, manipulative, and bitter. She was definitely a bit sweeter-natured (er, to one degree or another) in the cartoon.

aurilee

2016-03-28, 09:20 AM

Someone already mentioned Demona from Gargoyles, but I'll mention her again. She's a fantastic villain, with enough complexity to make you want to be sympathetic towards her, but her pure hatred and genocidal nature stamp that out pretty quick. Also fun to hear Marina Sirtis be so scary (she's shockingly good at it).

A good one that I don't think has been mentioned yet is Queen Beryl from Sailor Moon. She was pretty cool, and gave me nightmares as a kid. That makes her successful villain-wise I'd say.

Does Zo'or from Earth: Final Conflict count? The Taelons were genderless but the actor was a woman, so it sort of fits? Maybe there should be a "favourite agender villain" thread?

Avilan the Grey

2016-03-28, 10:51 AM

Bear in mind that Giganta in the comics is rather different from Giganta in the (admittedly awesome) Justice League Unlimited cartoon. Pretty sure that this (http://www.soundskinky.com/Legion/upcoming-images/Figures/JLA-13-Poster.jpg) is the poster referred to, and yeah, Giganta is certainly intimidating. Doesn't hurt that she's both highly intelligent and has the brute force to throw down with Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lanterns, and the like.

... her comics incarnation isn't even all that likeable. Comics Giganta is cold, manipulative, and bitter. She was definitely a bit sweeter-natured (er, to one degree or another) in the cartoon.

I don't know whar they did in New52, but just before that she shifted into anti-villain at worst and anti-hero at best; She had a long sitdown talk with WW and ended up more or less being Frenemy with her going so far as to supporting her (WW) in at least once where WW needed backup. And not for a price, either.

http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/9/96040/1764460-1758680_gig3_super.jpg

http://www.writeups.org/img/inset/Giganta_modern_hifellas_h.jpg

...Of course she is sort of a "Favorite Villain" for me since in her modern version is very um... attractive. :smallredface:

8BitNinja

2016-03-28, 01:18 PM

The witches from Macbeth

Seriously, these guys, or girls I should say, messed up Macbeth's life, and the kingdom, with just one prophecy

russdm

2016-03-28, 04:37 PM

Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. I love to hate her ruthless, conniving, and ultimately incompetent villainy.

You are going to go with the woman that seems to be drawn by or influenced by Scooby Doo villains? Cersei seems to be a natural for an episode of Scooby Doo, with the mystery van. "Curse you meddling kids!"

Cersei, who as a character, would have fit in nicely in the Blackadder tv show or any black comedy?

Callos_DeTerran

2016-03-28, 06:25 PM

You are going to go with the woman that seems to be drawn by or influenced by Scooby Doo villains? Cersei seems to be a natural for an episode of Scooby Doo, with the mystery van. "Curse you meddling kids!"

Cersei, who as a character, would have fit in nicely in the Blackadder tv show or any black comedy?

Yup! Favoritism isn't based on anything objective or oustanding sucess or the like, Cersei makes me love to hate her, she's enjoyable to watch on screen, and I cannot wait until she gets what is coming to her. In other words, a fantastic villain!

8BitNinja

2016-03-28, 11:52 PM

Has anyone said Medusa?

I think she's cool

Lethologica

2016-03-29, 12:21 AM

Oh, that reminds me, Arachne from Soul Eater was quite the villain. The only one with any real verve in the anime adaptation--I wouldn't know about the manga.

Ninja_Prawn

2016-03-29, 01:07 AM

Has anyone said Medusa?

I think she's cool

Plus she's a vampire (http://modestmedusa.com/comic/pointy-teeth/), so you get two villains for the price of one!

8BitNinja

2016-03-29, 02:52 AM

Plus she's a vampire (http://modestmedusa.com/comic/pointy-teeth/), so you get two villains for the price of one!

No wonder why she's a boss in Castlevania

Berserk Mecha

2016-04-02, 08:20 PM

I'll go ahead and mention Peridot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhspnxyr6bk), from Steven Universe. Not that she's an effective villain, mind you, but damn, is she entertaining. She's like a female Marvin the Martian.

Traab

2016-04-02, 11:18 PM

Yeah, that is unfortunate. It's not helped by the fact that she's the protagonist in at least a few of her own comics, which lets people forget that there's a reason she's usually a villain.

I mainly know her from the animated series where she is actually kind of tragic. A young psychiatrist twisted by the Joker, a patient she never should have even been allowed to look at with her lack of experience. She is raw battered spouse syndrome wrapped in a sexy costume. My favorite episodes are her trying to go straight (I think it was One Bad Day) and the times when she TRIES to leave the joker (usually going with ivy) but she just cant quit him no matter how many second story windows he trout slaps her through. She doesnt do crime because she is evil, she does crime because its all she knows, all she CAN do, all she thinks she is capable of, and thats all down to what the joker did to her mentally. Yes she is also somewhat crazy, but not irredeemably so. Someone needs to put a bullet in the jokers head and get her help somewhere far away from gotham.

Bohandas

2016-04-03, 12:00 AM

*Harley Quinn, the mad psychiatrist who's the Joker's #1 minion in some versions of Batman

*The fairy queen from the ballad of Tam Lin

*Shub-Niggurath

*Slaanesh

*Minerva Mayflower from Hudson Hawk

*Cultist-Chan

*Pale Night

Talakeal

2016-04-03, 12:01 AM

Not sure if she is exactly the sort of "villain" this thread is about but Riley from the guild is just about my favorite character ever.

Bohandas

2016-04-03, 12:08 AM

I'm also gonna say Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time. She's usually one of the good guys but she was the villain in the episodes "Evicted", "Henchman", and "Daddy's Little Monster".

Bohandas

2016-04-03, 12:13 AM

also Rita Repulsa from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

KillingAScarab

2016-04-03, 12:37 AM

Eboshi from Princess Mononoke is great. She's charming and very smug at the same time; ruthless but motivated by compassion. A synthesis of opposites, like the whole movie.

Lady Eboshi is probably a better choice, if we're talking Miyazaki. He does really seem to like writing intelligent, badass warrior women who command loyalty.I will third Lady Eboshi.

also Rita Repulsa from Mighty Morphin Power RangersBefore or after Lord Zed's introduction? She certainlly chews the scenery, either way.

8BitNinja

2016-04-03, 01:31 AM

Navi from Ocarina of Time

Talakeal

2016-04-03, 01:49 AM

Has anyone mentioned Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy yet?

Ninja_Prawn

2016-04-03, 03:55 AM

Navi from Ocarina of Time

I lol'd.

I'm also gonna say Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time. She's usually one of the good guys but she was the villain in the episodes "Evicted", "Henchman", and "Daddy's Little Monster".

I don't think that's fair. She was more of an antagonist than a villain in the first two, and was being mind-controlled by a cursed artefact in the third.

It's like, is Ice King a villain? He does villainous stuff, but he doesn't really mean it. Or Flame King? He's evil, but he doesn't really commit any villainy.

Apart from the Lich, Adventure Time doesn't really have any recurring villains.

Gastronomie

2016-04-03, 05:32 AM

Tamiya Ryouko / Tamura Reiko from the Kiseijyu (I think the English name was "Parasite" or whatever) manga. Really, a wonderful character. It's a bit dubious whether she can be classified an antagonist though (she certainly started out as one, but later on in the plot...).

Traab

2016-04-03, 10:20 AM

Oh, and about lara raith. Eh, I like her, she has serious potential, and is incredibly dangerous true, but she never really gets to show off her VILLAIN chops. Almost all her interactions are relatively neutral to dresden in that they need to work together for both of them to win. I would give it more to Mab. Now SHE is a sick twisted disturbingly intelligent bad guy. Sure she can do nice things as well, but it is ALWAYS to her profit over anyone else's. Her idea of altruism is NOT making you miserable when you do something for her. Your choices are to do what she tells you to do, or to suffer horribly and do what she tells you to do, then continue to suffer horribly afterwards for your cheek. And thats WITH a promise from her that you can be allowed to refuse to do as she requests. She thinks that Xanatos Gambits are cute, and a nice place to start.

Forum Explorer

2016-04-03, 11:26 AM

Takhisis, Goddess of Darkness from dragonlance. She's basically everything you'd want in an evil goddess.

How about competence? I mean the biggest reason she never succeeds is because all of her minions realize she'll **** them over when she does succeed, so they deliberately don't. That is not a good HR department she has there.

Oh, and about lara raith. Eh, I like her, she has serious potential, and is incredibly dangerous true, but she never really gets to show off her VILLAIN chops. Almost all her interactions are relatively neutral to dresden in that they need to work together for both of them to win. I would give it more to Mab. Now SHE is a sick twisted disturbingly intelligent bad guy. Sure she can do nice things as well, but it is ALWAYS to her profit over anyone else's. Her idea of altruism is NOT making you miserable when you do something for her. Your choices are to do what she tells you to do, or to suffer horribly and do what she tells you to do, then continue to suffer horribly afterwards for your cheek. And thats WITH a promise from her that you can be allowed to refuse to do as she requests. She thinks that Xanatos Gambits are cute, and a nice place to start.

Eh, Mab kinda falls in the same category as Lara for me. Yeah she may be evil, but she's not really a villain. Particularly with Mab, since she acts more according to her nature then anything and actually is fighting to keep the world safe.

My Dresden Villain award goes to Lashiel, who is shaping up to become Harry's personal nemesis at this point.

I'll second Kitiara, GlaDos and Lord Dominator and Skitter

Though I want to add Enchinda from Worm as well. And Rose from Pact.

Traab

2016-04-03, 12:02 PM

How about competence? I mean the biggest reason she never succeeds is because all of her minions realize she'll **** them over when she does succeed, so they deliberately don't. That is not a good HR department she has there.

Eh, Mab kinda falls in the same category as Lara for me. Yeah she may be evil, but she's not really a villain. Particularly with Mab, since she acts more according to her nature then anything and actually is fighting to keep the world safe.

My Dresden Villain award goes to Lashiel, who is shaping up to become Harry's personal nemesis at this point.

I'll second Kitiara, GlaDos and Lord Dominator and Skitter

Though I want to add Enchinda from Worm as well. And Rose from Pact.

She counts as more of a villain for me considering the things she has done or forced/tricked/cajoled dresden into doing. Lara got dresden to do things that were mutually beneficial. Mab makes dresden do things he doesnt want anything to do with, that tend to end neutrally for him at best, badly at worst, and place him in even greater danger. As for lasciel, eh, we really dont get to experience much with her. The shadow in his head is just that. Its a shadow, not actually her. Not too mention he freaking well REDEEMED it and it committed suicide to save him. The actual lasciel shows up in the 11th hour of the latest book, and yeah she is pissed at him, but she doesnt really get the chance to DO much. Even though she should be literally the single most dangerous opponent he could face. Her mastery over illusions is so high unless he keeps his sight open full time (and probably goes insane from trying in short order) he wouldnt be able to trust anything he sees hears feels or THINKS because it could very well be an illusion she created.

Honestly, if you want to dismiss mab because its her nature, you cant nominate a fallen angel in the same breath. They are evil, its what they are, its what they do. Even what I mentioned in the spoiler only happened because of the human part of dresden that was included. That said, I DO really enjoy seeing the direction butcher is taking the winter court and the various entities of the sidhe. Seeing what they really do, and learning bits of lore like how their very nature is effected by the passing of time. The hints that the lady/queen/mother trio for each court may have originally been something else entirely. And of course, Santa Claus and what takes place with THOSE revelations!

Bohandas

2016-04-03, 12:14 PM

Apart from the Lich, Adventure Time doesn't really have any recurring villains.

There's also Orgalorg and Magic Man. Granted, Magic Man is arguably more of a power mad jerk than a true villain, but he's disfigured an awful lot of people and was indirectly responsible for the death of the king of mars.

Avilan the Grey

2016-04-03, 01:17 PM

I fully agree that Lara is a villain, while Mab isn't. Especially since not only is she "a force of nature", but she is responsible for protecting Reality As We Know It (tm).

Dresdenverse IS fully of great villains though.

...Oh I just remembered another favorite of mine: Ysma!

Velaryon

2016-04-03, 02:38 PM

Ouch, that was harsh! On that note, Frau Totenkinder was a villain pre-amnesty and is sort of one by the end of the series, so I'd say she's one of my faves.

You beat me to it. Totenkinder never really stopped being evil, she just became an ally to the protagonists because there was a greater threat. I mean, her name is literally "Lady Deadchildren." You can't really have a name like that and not be a villain, can you?

Why has no one mentioned Elsa Schneider from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?

That betrayal was the first one my eight year old eyes witnessed. Yes, I watched Indiana Jones at eight years old. Nazis and gruesome death is a great thing for an eight year old to think about!

Good catch! She completely slipped my mind.

Nerd-o-rama

2016-04-03, 03:37 PM

...Oh I just remembered another favorite of mine: Ysma!

"I never liked your spinach puffs!"

Bohandas

2016-04-03, 04:11 PM

Before or after Lord Zed's introduction?

It's all good

Dienekes

2016-04-03, 05:00 PM

You beat me to it. Totenkinder never really stopped being evil, she just became an ally to the protagonists because there was a greater threat. I mean, her name is literally "Lady Deadchildren." You can't really have a name like that and not be a villain, can you?

I mean, it's heavily implied that she gains her powers by running an abortion clinic.

Which, I was gonna say is less evil than her previous method. But that might be getting into politics stuff we shouldn't get into.

Marlowe

2016-04-03, 07:47 PM

You beat me to it. Totenkinder never really stopped being evil, she just became an ally to the protagonists because there was a greater threat. I mean, her name is literally "Lady Deadchildren." You can't really have a name like that and not be a villain, can you?

Isn't "Totenkinder" more like "Death's Children"?. Which sounds like the name some neo-nazi cult dedicated to meddling in the occult and attempting to resurrect dead kings that want nothing to do with them should have.

ben-zayb

2016-04-03, 08:40 PM

Isn't "Totenkinder" more like "Death's Children"?. Which sounds like the name some neo-nazi cult dedicated to meddling in the occult and attempting to resurrect dead kings that want nothing to do with them should have.From what I understand, the name is a case of bad latindeutsch. But the gist is that she represents the archetypal fairy tale witch that eats children, so something like "dead children" might be the intended meaning.

8BitNinja

2016-04-03, 10:33 PM

I lol'd.

Then how about Fi from Skyward Sword?

Forum Explorer

2016-04-03, 11:00 PM

She counts as more of a villain for me considering the things she has done or forced/tricked/cajoled dresden into doing. Lara got dresden to do things that were mutually beneficial. Mab makes dresden do things he doesnt want anything to do with, that tend to end neutrally for him at best, badly at worst, and place him in even greater danger. As for lasciel, eh, we really dont get to experience much with her. The shadow in his head is just that. Its a shadow, not actually her. Not too mention he freaking well REDEEMED it and it committed suicide to save him. The actual lasciel shows up in the 11th hour of the latest book, and yeah she is pissed at him, but she doesnt really get the chance to DO much. Even though she should be literally the single most dangerous opponent he could face. Her mastery over illusions is so high unless he keeps his sight open full time (and probably goes insane from trying in short order) he wouldnt be able to trust anything he sees hears feels or THINKS because it could very well be an illusion she created.

Honestly, if you want to dismiss mab because its her nature, you cant nominate a fallen angel in the same breath. They are evil, its what they are, its what they do. Even what I mentioned in the spoiler only happened because of the human part of dresden that was included. That said, I DO really enjoy seeing the direction butcher is taking the winter court and the various entities of the sidhe. Seeing what they really do, and learning bits of lore like how their very nature is effected by the passing of time. The hints that the lady/queen/mother trio for each court may have originally been something else entirely. And of course, Santa Claus and what takes place with THOSE revelations!

You forgot the part where
Lasciel convinced Dresden to kill himself.

And Fallen Angels are more then just their natures. They broke the rules and gained some sort of free will as a result. They are still bound by rules clearly, but they are more then just their nature.

But the biggest reason I disqualify Mab is because her actions may be cold and cruel, but generally they are for the greater good. We never see her set up a plan for her own personal benefit or power.

8BitNinja

2016-04-04, 01:38 AM

The Xenomorph Queen from Alien

She scarred little Timmy's mind

NOTE: my name is not Timmy

Bohandas

2016-04-07, 02:59 PM

Does Mamdy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy count?

lt_murgen

2016-04-08, 08:45 AM

I like Soulcatcher, and to a lesser extent the Lady, from Glen Cook's Black Company series. I appreciated that their motivations were rooted in truly epic family dysfunction.

8BitNinja

2016-04-08, 09:30 AM

You know who was a good female villain?

Not Phasma, she got 90 seconds of screen time

AKA_Bait

2016-04-08, 11:46 AM

Does 'demon' Devi from the Kingkiller Chronicle count as a villain? She's easily my favourite character in the books.

Not sure if she counts, but if she does I totally agree. I like Rothfuss' work in general, but she really stands head and shoulders above the other female characters he's written.

To throw one in I haven't seen mentioned yet: Regalia from Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners series. I'm partial to villains that openly manipulate the main characters, such that they know they are being manipulated but still do what the bad guy/gal wants, and she's just masterful that way.

ThinkMinty

2016-04-08, 12:32 PM

I don't know, Azula always felt. Tacky. She just snapped for no reason it felt like. Also, it kind of felt like one of those things. You know, where a girl can't control her emotions.

She snapped because she was spoiled and no one ever taught her how to deal with not getting what she wants. Some really, really bad parenting going on in the Fire Nation.

She's a likable character. She loses some "villain" points for stealing a kiss off the Flash and running away.

Villainesses shouldn't be adorable.

But being adorable makes them more dangerous! If they're all kawaii and ****, they'll have a bunch of fanboys and fangirls excusing their actions, which lets them get away with more eeeeeeevil.

Granny Goodness: Another Kirby villainness, and one of the great powers on the hell-planet Apokolips, this rather busy woman seemingly personally oversees the upbringing of every single one of his legions upon legions of soldiers and minions, taking great pride in breaking the spirit of each and every one until they have no thought but to serve their dark master... and to be 'good' for Granny.

Granny Goodness is awesome. She's just so horrible. She isn't an imperious anti-god like Darkseid, a creeper like Desaad, or an unregistered sex offender like Sleez, she's just...awful. She's like if your grandmother was evil, and that works.

All this talk about Azula, but no love for Kuvira from the later series? Its been a year or two, but I remember enjoying her ruthlessness as she steamrolled her way across the Earth Kingdom, figuring that the only way to keep the people safe from themselves was to conquer them and keep them under her thumb. She had a goal in her mind, and she did what she felt she had to to achieve it - which often enough seemed to be something monstrous.

Kuriva was approximately the exact opposite of Zaheer. Total hardass, domineering, tyrannical, plus she had a giant robot with a bigass beam cannon, which he never did. Plus instead of having an exploded fiancee, Kuvira tried to explode her boytoy as soon as it was the most expedient option.

One of the things I liked about Legend of Korra comparatively is that it gave us good and evil benders of each element.

Telonius

2016-04-08, 12:43 PM

"Missy," from Doctor Who. I love the character, and I love to see it when an actor is clearly having a blast in her role.

8BitNinja

2016-04-08, 01:37 PM

The witches from Left 4 Dead

:smalleek:

Talakeal

2016-04-08, 02:25 PM

I like Killer Frost from the Justice League cartoon. Especially in the series finale where she keeps switching allegiances over and over again.

Dienekes

2016-04-08, 04:06 PM

I like Killer Frost from the Justice League cartoon. Especially in the series finale where she keeps switching allegiances over and over again.

To be fair she was also beaten by a guy with a yoyo

Leewei

2016-04-08, 04:23 PM

Saffron in Firefly. In pretty much every way, she's a counter to Mal.

8BitNinja

2016-04-08, 04:41 PM

To be fair she was also beaten by a guy with a yoyo

So was Gigyas, the cosmic destroyer

Eldan

2016-04-08, 05:39 PM

Isn't "Totenkinder" more like "Death's Children"?. Which sounds like the name some neo-nazi cult dedicated to meddling in the occult and attempting to resurrect dead kings that want nothing to do with them should have.

I haven't heard the name before, but as a native German speaker, it's a bit ambiguous. I certainly wouldn't translate it as "dead children". "Death's Children" is a maybe, though I would call that Todeskinder. I'd probably call it "Children of the Dead".

Eldan

2016-04-08, 06:28 PM

Oh, and one I suspect not a lot of people here know, but who certainly made an impression on me as a kid: Xayide.

Impressive lair? Check. It's a castle shaped like a giant hand grasping at the sky, with hundreds of eyes.

Good minions? An army of gigantic hollow armour.

Good plan? I'd say so. When the basically omnipotent protagonist comes by, she immediately throws herself at his feet and just a few chapters later, she makes him alienate all his friends, build a gigantic army and overthrow what is basically a god. All so she can take his place when his power eventually runs out.

8BitNinja

2016-04-08, 11:32 PM

TeChameleon

2016-04-09, 03:08 AM

I like Killer Frost from the Justice League cartoon. Especially in the series finale where she keeps switching allegiances over and over again.
Killer Frost was wonderful in the Justice League cartoon- my favourite Killer Frost moment was in the first appearance of the Society, when Grodd had them doing trust excercises, and KF had to catch Giganta.

"Are you sure about this? I'm a lot heavier than I look..."
"Quit being such a girl."

*CRASH*

"Ow."

Drascin

2016-04-09, 03:22 AM

Eldan

2016-04-09, 08:58 AM

Aedilred

2016-04-09, 09:25 AM

Nina from 24. In fact she was the best villain on the show, I think; nobody ever quite managed to replace her.

While her stint in the show was relatively brief and she was generally playing second fiddle to Spike or Angelus, Drusilla from Buffy left a lasting impression.

8BitNinja

2016-04-09, 01:35 PM

Traab

2016-04-09, 03:16 PM

You forgot the part where
Lasciel convinced Dresden to kill himself.

And Fallen Angels are more then just their natures. They broke the rules and gained some sort of free will as a result. They are still bound by rules clearly, but they are more then just their nature.

But the biggest reason I disqualify Mab is because her actions may be cold and cruel, but generally they are for the greater good. We never see her set up a plan for her own personal benefit or power.

You know, even the Devil serves a purpose in the greater universe. Doesnt mean he isnt the bad guy. Yes Mab is a part of the natural order, yes her court is responsible for guarding the gates from outsiders yes she may serve the greater good, but the other side of the coin is, the greater good is often just the lesser evil. In the eternal battle between pro and an, she is the character most often causing problems for our favorite tagonist (who happens to be the pro) Therefore I count her as the villain. Its not very clean cut, I admit it, but when your character spends all its time driving the protagonist up the wall and putting him and his friends in grave danger, when not outright threatening them herself, you get a bad guy label in my book, even if off screen you run a puppy orphanage.

Aedilred

2016-04-09, 04:00 PM

Nina was pretty good, except she was killed in the third season in the most anticlimactic way

None of the season three villains really got the death they deserved, I thought. Having said that, I thought Nina was disposed of reasonably well in context. She certainly got a better send-off than a couple of characters who deserved better in S5 (even if Tony's death was later retconned, which while kind of ridiculous is one of the relatively few outright retcons I can get behind). There are only so many times she can escape dramatically, cackling maniacally, and then return to menace Jack another time. It was also one of a chain of chilling endings that S3 managed to pull off quite well, with Jack pulling the trigger on a number of characters in cold blood, both enemies and friends, if for the "greater good".

Forum Explorer

2016-04-09, 04:13 PM

You know, even the Devil serves a purpose in the greater universe. Doesnt mean he isnt the bad guy. Yes Mab is a part of the natural order, yes her court is responsible for guarding the gates from outsiders yes she may serve the greater good, but the other side of the coin is, the greater good is often just the lesser evil. In the eternal battle between pro and an, she is the character most often causing problems for our favorite tagonist (who happens to be the pro) Therefore I count her as the villain. Its not very clean cut, I admit it, but when your character spends all its time driving the protagonist up the wall and putting him and his friends in grave danger, when not outright threatening them herself, you get a bad guy label in my book, even if off screen you run a puppy orphanage.

Except most of those things are still problems that Dresden would have wanted to deal with anyways.

Stopping a war between the Fairy Courts and basically saving the world from a super plague or ice age? Dresden would be all over that.

Saving the Index from becoming a Denarian? Beyond the wider implications, Harry would have done it just to save Ivy.

Stopping Maeve from blowing up the entire Chicago area and maybe releasing a horde of dark gods and other nasty evils? Harry was obligated to stop that from an entirely different deal, even if it didn't mean saving his friends and family.

It's only the most recent book where I think Mab has forced Harry into a job that he might have simply refused rather then take the risks he did.

Drascin

2016-04-09, 05:33 PM

Yeah, but I've repeatedly been told that the book isn't very well known outside of Germany. I mean, Americans know the movies, but not the book. Most of them, at least. And honestly, the second movie was a massive disappointment.

Well, I'm not German (Spanish, for reference), but The Neverending Story was my first "big" book when I was growing up, and the name at least seems known enough around my parts.

TeChameleon

2016-04-09, 10:03 PM

Traab

2016-04-09, 10:50 PM

I think I'd fall on the side of the argument that Mab falls more under 'force of nature' than 'villain', because that's how the story typically portrays her. While I could be wrong, I always kind of got the impression that she couldn't change, not really, even on those occasions she seems like she would have liked to. Same with Titania. And there doesn't really seem to be any... malice... at least, not exactly. For Mab, at least. Titania can be a bit nuts on that front :smallconfused: Seems to me that Mab just kind of does what she does, because Mab.

Speaking of Dresden villains, Hanna Ascher is a bit of an odd case- I think she could have been a truly impressive villain if her reveal had been delayed for a couple of books, but as is, she just felt sort of... rushed, and a bit flat because of that.

Although... huh. That was a fun villain from the Dresden files- Corpsetaker. Pretty sure that Corpsetaker was female, anyhow. Didn't get a ton of page time, but had some rather good bits.

Corpsetaker was in a female body, but considering the name, that doesnt mean much. I mean, orochimaru was in a female body at least once or twice in Naruto and he was a man before he started body hopping. I cant recall if we ever found out about the real history of corpsetaker or not. As for titana, meh, she barely showed up at all from what i recall. I mean, she was a part of background threats with the gruff hit squad and such, and there WAS that one time when dresden summoned her. /shiver. And I cant imagine she is any fonder of dresden with what took place afterwards on demonreach. Sure it wasnt his fault, but he was still THERE.

TeChameleon

2016-04-09, 10:58 PM

Yeh, like I said, Titania is a bit nuts on that front. She's vindictive as part of her nature.

And Corpsetaker appeared as a woman as a ghost, although Harry wasn't sure if that was her true form. So I guess it could be argued that she identifies as female..?

Blackhawk748

2016-04-09, 11:49 PM

Lanfear from Wheel of Time was excellent, and hung around for quite some time too.

Darth Zannah from star wars, i enjoyed her immensely.

Harley Quinn, need i say more?

Bohandas

2016-04-10, 12:08 AM

Do possessed people count? Because if so then the ladies from the original Evil Dead and the girl from The Exorcist

Professor Gnoll

2016-04-10, 12:56 AM

Hades Izanami from Blazblue. Not the most charismatic at first, but really came into her own, especially in Central Fiction. Incredible theme, as well.
Also Nu-13 for sheer lunacy value and being an excessively hard fight in the first game. And also having the best theme of them all.

8BitNinja

2016-04-10, 01:43 AM

None of the season three villains really got the death they deserved, I thought. Having said that, I thought Nina was disposed of reasonably well in context. She certainly got a better send-off than a couple of characters who deserved better in S5 (even if Tony's death was later retconned, which while kind of ridiculous is one of the relatively few outright retcons I can get behind). There are only so many times she can escape dramatically, cackling maniacally, and then return to menace Jack another time. It was also one of a chain of chilling endings that S3 managed to pull off quite well, with Jack pulling the trigger on a number of characters in cold blood, both enemies and friends, if for the "greater good".

I think that season 3 was pulled together really well, in fact, I only thought it got bad around season 6 where it got repetitive

Aedilred

2016-04-11, 04:05 PM

I think that season 3 was pulled together really well, in fact, I only thought it got bad around season 6 where it got repetitive

I think it's hard to avoid a feeling of repetitiveness with a show like that. Even in the first season they had some pretty ridiculous plot twists, although that was partly because they were making it up as they went along, I think. For my money the fourth to sixth seasons were the weakest, with the fourth being essentially a re-run of the second in many respects, the fifth relying overmuch on shock value, and the sixth generally being pretty weak. But the retool for season seven seemed to work well and that and the following one had a more refreshing quality. But I haven't seen Live Another Day and thought that with the way S8 had ended that should probably have been the end for the show.

8BitNinja

2016-04-11, 04:44 PM

the fifth relying overmuch on shock value

If people see your depictions of brutal torture and say "oh well", then you are doing it wrong.

Giggling Ghast

2016-04-11, 04:46 PM

Did anyone mention the velociraptors from Jurassic Park yet?

8BitNinja

2016-04-11, 04:47 PM

Did anyone mention the velociraptors from Jurassic Park yet?

Clever girl

Lethologica

2016-04-11, 04:50 PM

Did anyone mention the velociraptors from Jurassic Park yet?
No, but since you did... (http://the-toast.net/2015/04/27/if-the-velociraptor-from-jurassic-park-were-your-girlfriend/)

Dienekes

2016-04-11, 05:16 PM

No, but since you did... (http://the-toast.net/2015/04/27/if-the-velociraptor-from-jurassic-park-were-your-girlfriend/)

http://i.imgur.com/q3iCWqE.gif

Lethologica

2016-04-11, 05:46 PM

<snip>
Oh, you're right, I thought this was the 'high profile movies with gay antagonists' thread. Whoopsie. :smallamused:

Rogar Demonblud

2016-04-11, 06:49 PM

I'm kind of surprised no one's mentioned Terra yet. And not the one from the Teen Titan cartoons, but the one from the original Judas Contract storyline. Lords of KOBOL did that do a brain bender on my younger self.

Aedilred

2016-04-11, 09:29 PM

If people see your depictions of brutal torture and say "oh well", then you are doing it wrong.

That's not what I meant, although frankly it is fairly easy to watch 24 and come away with an at least neutral impression of torture as a legitimate means of interrogation, which is why Kiefer Sutherland had to go on tour to military bases explaning to them that, no, whatever they see on TV, it's still bad, guys. And by the time you get to season five, you've already seen a man tasered to death and then revived so they can continue tasering him, an elderly politician electro-tortured by the supposed good guys, the secretary of defence (or whoever) authorising the torture of his own son, just in case, an antagonist blackmailing the heroes into executing one of their own senior intelligence officers - and their complying... sad to say, the shock value from torture and violence has largely dissipated.

What I meant was that it leaned heavily on things we'd been conditioned by the show not to expect: principally, killing off a number of major, fan-favourite characters, relatively unceremoniously in some cases. And the ultimate reveal of the "big bad" for the season, while not as eye-rolly as that of season six, still felt like the show was going for shock rather than substance, especially since the character himself was kind of pathetic - although to be fair subsequent seasons built off that and upsold him to the point that by S8 he seemed worthy of his place as principal antagonist for the show.

Ossian77

2016-04-12, 07:17 AM

Kuvira totally gets this cake. One of the best villains, period.

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/avatar/images/e/ec/Kuvira.png/revision/latest?cb=20150407233430

http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Kuvira

8BitNinja

2016-04-12, 12:59 PM

That's not what I meant, although frankly it is fairly easy to watch 24 and come away with an at least neutral impression of torture as a legitimate means of interrogation, which is why Kiefer Sutherland had to go on tour to military bases explaning to them that, no, whatever they see on TV, it's still bad, guys. And by the time you get to season five, you've already seen a man tasered to death and then revived so they can continue tasering him, an elderly politician electro-tortured by the supposed good guys, the secretary of defence (or whoever) authorising the torture of his own son, just in case, an antagonist blackmailing the heroes into executing one of their own senior intelligence officers - and their complying... sad to say, the shock value from torture and violence has largely dissipated.

What I meant was that it leaned heavily on things we'd been conditioned by the show not to expect: principally, killing off a number of major, fan-favourite characters, relatively unceremoniously in some cases. And the ultimate reveal of the "big bad" for the season, while not as eye-rolly as that of season six, still felt like the show was going for shock rather than substance, especially since the character himself was kind of pathetic - although to be fair subsequent seasons built off that and upsold him to the point that by S8 he seemed worthy of his place as principal antagonist for the show.

1.(While America the Beautiful plays) Jack Bauer, robs gas stations, shoots his friends, puts innocents in harm's way, tortures, and steals. True American Hero

2. Sorry, I was talking about the wrong shock value, I guess I was mostly thinking of newer viewers (at the time) when I said this. When they killed the president from the first season, I was mad. When they killed of Buchanan, I was more mad. When they killed off Tony and Michelle, that was where I drew the line.

As Arin Hanson said, "You gotta make a statement. You gotta say, what am I going to put up with today? Not [very naughty word the kids shouldn't read, this statement in brackets was added for humor.] this! I'm done!"