Top 30 villains in television history

Photo Credit: AMC

6. The Governor

Before The Walking Dead had a massive dip in quality, The Governor was one of the most truly terrifying characters on television. The sadistic leader of Woodbury saw himself as the only savior of civilization.

Brutally murdering anyone he sees as a threat to his colony, The Governor rules with a firm hand throughout his time on the series. Yet, he’s a massive hypocrite, considering he kills anyone who could turn into a Walker but conveniently keeps his zombie-fied daughter around.

It becomes a recurring theme throughout the series to see the “Messiah” type characters emerge and how they offer a bleaker future for humanity than Rick. Through violence and fear, The Governor keeps his people in line which only feeds into the group’s desire to get more hateful.

Part of what made The Governor such an effective villain was his willingness to kill. He currently holds the highest number of deaths from an antagonist on the series because he consistently goes after living people. Unlike some of the other psychopathic villains on this list, The Governor is extremely charming and charismatic which is why so many people choose to follow him. However, he suffers from a God complex, viewing himself as humanity’s last hope of survival.

Villains like that are always more interesting because it’s ultimately their own hubris that becomes their undoing. Negan has yet to emerge as a villain with nearly as much character as The Governor, which is what makes the latter so everlasting in the eyes of Walking Dead fans.