Top 30 villains in television history

Photo Credit: FOX

24. Cigarette Smoking Man 

Part of the reason the Cigarette Smoking Man has become one of the most beloved characters from The X-Files is the air of mystery which surrounds him. To this day, there’s no confirmed name, birthday, or origin of the villain and he remains at the center of many fan theories. However, a few popular origin stories include that he had a part in the assassination of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr.

Of course, there have been funnier and less serious allegations such as rigging the Academy Awards and keeping the Buffalo Bills from ever going to the Super Bowl, but nevertheless, he’s inspired plenty of fables. This makes sense considering the character was the heart and mind of the Syndicate, an evil organization which conspired to keep the knowledge of aliens from the general population.

He’s been called “the devil,” by series creator Chris Carter, and it seems fitting for one of the most prominent villains in television history. Ruthless and manipulative, the Cigarette Smoking Man is notorious for being one step ahead of the heroes. He always seems to know everything, which allows him to remain a few steps ahead of Scully and Mulder.

While the writers have always treated him as the evilest man in the room, fans were quick to defend his actions. Viewed as a sympathetic antagonist to many, they saw the difficult decisions that the Cigarette Smoking Man made. Were those choices made from an evil place or were his intentions good? Where his true intentions lie is one of the largest questions involving his character and why he is such a good villain.