We rank the 30 best villains in television history.
Television villains never get enough love compared to the heroes since their plans are always getting thwarted for the characters to get happy endings. However, now is the time to honor some of the all-time great antagonists who helped make a show worth watching. From fantasy epics like Game of Thrones to the beloved sci-fi cult show Orphan Black, there are plenty compelling bad guys that fans fall in love with.
Never underestimate an antagonist who can get viewers to root for them compared to the protagonist and it’s truly the mark of a great character.
Photo Credit: Warner Brothers
30. Barbas
Quickly becoming a fan favorite villain, it was no surprise that Barbas become a recurring character despite getting vanquished upon his first encounter with the Halliwell witches. The demon of fear became obsessed with getting his revenge on the Charmed ones when he repeatedly failed to defeat them. However, it’s his power of bringing to life his victim’s greatest fears which make him such a scary villain.
He consistently tried to use the sister’s fear of losing each other against them and it posed as a reminder about how difficult it was to lose Prue. Eventually, he gave up going against the sister and instead began targeting Wyatt, the super-powered son of Piper, preying on the worst possible fear of a parent: losing a child. It’s unsurprising that Barbas has continued through history as one of the most memorable villains from television because he possesses a power to terrify audiences.
Photo Credit: AMC
29. Boyd Crowder
There’s something about Walton Goggins as an actor that makes it impossible not to root for him. As one of the more notorious criminals on Justified, he quickly surpassed small-town villain into a complex character. It’s become well known that his character, Boyd Crowder, was only meant to be a short-term villain but the writers realized just how special Goggins was and kept him around as one of the main characters.
Don’t mistake Goggins’s charisma and likability as a reason not to respect Crowder as a villain. No, he’s incredibly calculating and many people have died at his hands as a violent criminal. Starting out the series, he’s a white supremacist who moonlights as a bank robber. After getting arrested, he becomes a messiah figure to many but it doesn’t take long before he resorts back to a criminal lifestyle.
He’s a bit of a loose cannon, who owns his outlaw ways with pride compared to the law-abiding citizens of his town who pretend to have moral high ground despite their unhappy lives. In spite of all of this, he becomes a bit of a mastermind throughout the series run, carefully planning out his moves for each of his plans. It gives him the edge over main character, Raylan, quite often and has many viewers rooting in favor of the villain.
However, it’s important to note that Crowder is in no way a hero or anti-hero, but definitely a bad guy. He has the second highest kill count compared to anyone else on the series which definitely earns Crowder on the list of top villains.
Photo Credit: FOX
28. T-Bag
Theodore Bagwell is understandably the most heinous of the members of the Fox River Eight since he’s both a white supremacist and a pedophile. One of the more gruesome villains, T-Bag is both an ally and an enemy to the main group where he teeters between the two quite often. It’s important to note, the only reason he was ever included in the Fox River Eight gang was because he blackmailed Michael to include him in the escape or else he would alert the prison guards. Cementing himself as one of the main antagonists, his actions continuously weigh on Michael’s conscious throughout Prison Break because it seems like T-Bag has no interest in anyone but himself.
However, he isn’t just a one-note mustache-twirling villain. He’s a calculating and intelligent man who is aware of every one of his heinous decisions. Robert Knepper, the actor who portrayed him, called him “Truman Capote without a degree”. This is because women and men have a weird attraction to T-Bag despite how reprehensible he actually is.
Bagwell’s pedophilia seems to stem from a sex addiction because he will genuinely sleep with any gender or age. While some viewers have felt a bit of sympathy as the character’s abusive childhood was explored, it doesn’t take away what an intense villain he developed into throughout the Prison Break run. However, T-Bag does deserve a large amount of credit for getting viewers on his side despite a majority of the despicable acts he committed during the series.
Photo Credit: The CW
27. Deathstroke
While Slade Wilson made his big screen debut in Justice League, he made a big impression in Arrow a few years before. Deathstroke has been a notorious Batman villain for a long time but Arrow really allowed the character’s backstory to be explored. He’s incredibly sympathetic and for a while, he is someone unable to be saved.
Before becoming one of the series’ most beloved villains, Wilson was actually a friend and mentor to Oliver Queen. Taking the young playboy under his wing, Oliver learned all of his combat and survival skills from the former Australian Secret Intelligence Service Agent. However, he gets injected with Mirakuru, which heightens all of his abilities and his mental instability. Slowly growing resentful of his friend, Oliver is forced to “kill” the man by shoving an arrow through his right eye.
Of course, fans of Arrow know that Deathstroke’s story only begins there. He returns in Season Two and becomes one of the best antagonists the show has ever had. Slade takes the cake for effectively upping the stakes for the entire series run. While the death of Tommy Merlyn was tragic, he died in a falling building in a sad accident which haunts his friends. However, Slade forces Oliver to pick between saving either his mother or sister, a decision he refuses to make.
Sobbing for his friend to kill him instead, Moira Queen stands up knowing that it’s a mother’s job to sacrifice anything for her children. It’s one of the most shocking moments in Arrow‘s history and cements his place on this top villain’s list.
Photo Credit: ABC
26. Grant Ward
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got off to a slow start with a lukewarm critical reaction as the series struggled to find its voice. However, almost every viewer can agree that the reveal of Grant Ward as a double agent was the moment the show began to improve. Ward served as a longtime villain for the series mainly because people grew to love his character and Brett Dalton played such a good villain. As a protagonist, Ward was considered one of the most hated characters on the show as the “good guy” with a rigid sense of rules. However, with his heel turn , it showed that the series had a longer game plan immediately transforming him into a cunning villain with the ability to hide as anyone.
Like most recurring bad guys, Grant Ward has a tragic yet fuzzy backstory. While he claims to have abusive parents and an older brother who forced him to torment his younger sibling, all of the Wards have conflicting statements on the matter. The team makes it clear that they can offer him minor sympathy but never excuse his actions despite the massive popularity of a relationship between him and Daisy. What truly makes Grant Ward such a complex villain is how the series explores the one decision which ultimately sealed his fate.
Taken under the wing of HYDRA as a teenager, he finds purpose and security within the organization as well as his mentor Agent Garrett. In the Framework, an alternate reality where characters have their biggest mistakes changed, he ends up being recruited by Victoria Hand, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent he kills to reveal his double-agent status.
Photo Credit: Amazon
25. Miss Lint
The Tick on Amazon was easily one of the most underrated revivals last year but introduced one of the best villains: Miss Lint. Fans of Jane the Virgin were introduced to excellent character actress Yara Martinez in the first season, but on The Tick, she really comes into her own. As a villain missing her role model and boss, she spends much of the first season unsure of who she is. Once one of the most feared bad guys in the business, she’s resorted to working underneath an idiot named Ramses, who has an obsession with a moth costume.
While The Tick mainly follows the path that sidekick, Arthur, must take in order to be hero, however, it also features the origin story of Lint. She isn’t just a random bad guy who’s hoping to perform evil acts just for kicks, it’s because she has no idea what else to do with her life. The comedy from the series works to make Miss Lint’s existential crisis quite funny even though it’s clear the character is suffering.
By the end of the first half of the season, she has re-embraced her dark side as the rightful heir to The Terror’s throne and kicked Ramses to the curb. Yet, there’s something to be said for how intriguing Ben Edlund crafted Lint’s storyline so that she wasn’t just a generic bad guy. Her reintroduction to evil feels like a triumphant payoff to the origin story originally crafted for her and it’s easy for fans to root for her to take down the men standing in her path of greatness.
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.
Photo Credit: The CW
23. Lex Luthor
Smallville is the only modern-day Superman series to air on network television, which introduced a whole new generation of comic book fans to iconic characters. While the series had a lot of interesting takes on some characters, the portrayal of Lex Luthor opened up a new realm of possibilities for the characters.
The show tells the origin story of Clark Kent as well as Lex as the two grow up to become the arch enemies they’re destined to be. However, before they face off against one another as hero and villain, they’re just to best friends trying to get through high school.
Lex’s eventual departure into villainy is one of the saddest downfalls on television. He doesn’t initially start out as a bad guy, just someone who is incredibly curious about symbols that keep popping up over his town and interested in how he survived a car accident. Like Lex in the comics, his genius and curiosity ultimately get the best of him as he succumbs to his villainous side. Similar to classmate Lana Lang, he’s trying to fill the void left in his life by the loss of his mother making him an incredibly sympathetic villain.
From the beginning of the series, his relationship with Clark is doomed to fail but there’s a bit of hope that the two manage to overcome their differences to be the friends they need in each other. Unfortunately, the two accept their fate as enemies and Lex goes on to become the mad genius who gets elected President of the United States.
Photo Credit: NBC
22. Ben Linus
There are plenty of stories revolving around nerds turned into villains, but Ben Linus is one of the notorious. Lost had plenty of problems, but Michael Emerson’s portrayal of the disturbed Linus was not one of them. A staunch believer in the island and its secrets, Ben Linus would go to no ends to protect his newfound “home.”
Some of his more notable sins include sacrificing his own daughter, kidnapping, and murder. Yet, through all of this, he believes that he’s making a sacrifice that’s for the greater good.A character that was only meant to stick around for a short arc, Emerson’s intensity earned him a longtime stay on the controversial series.
Like any good villain, Emerson needed a strong actor to play opposite of and Terry O’Quinn delivered on this from. Linus and John Locke are two enemies who have a certain degree of respect for the other despite their problems. Even though he’s at a physical disadvantage compared to the other members of the island, Ben Linus makes up for it with his mental advantages.
Extremely cunning and manipulative, he’s often used to tricking people into getting what he wants. One of the more notable revelations about Ben is his ambiguous intentions throughout the series run. Is he a villain or just a good guy making hard choices? It’s definitely unclear but based on the way he used everyone on his time throughout the show, it’s safe to say that he makes it onto a list of best bad guys.
Photo Credit: NBC
21. Sylar
Heroes only has one truly great season, but part of that is because of Sylar’s villainy. Not only is he a danger to any humans who cross his path, he’s the worst nightmare of any of the protagonists. From the get-go, he’s developed as a cannibal who “eats” the brains of the other super-powered people. Of course, by the end of the series, this is played off a bit as a joke with Sylar claiming it’s disgusting when Claire ask him if he plans to chow down on her brains.
Nonetheless, he becomes a monster that fuels nightmares as a man constantly lurking in the shadows as he hunts down people who already fear for their life.
While he was raised as an average watchmaker, the consistent assertion from his mother that he was “special” drove him to shed his former identity, Gabriel Gray, when he gained his powers. He eventually gains a thirst to get stronger which includes tracking down his fellow powered individuals to strip them of their powers and murder them. However, over time he gains a weird obsession with Claire Bennett.
Their unique relationship expertly highlights how a protagonist and antagonist can mirror each other. Sylar makes the connection first, going back to their similar childhoods and shared insecurities to demonstrate just how equal they could possibly be. Ultimately, he existed to show how all of the “heroes” had potential to be “villains” and that the truly terrifying message he left Heroes’ fans with.
Photo Credit: Showtime
20. Trinity Killer
It shouldn’t be a shock to Dexter viewers to see the Trinity Killer on this list after John Lithgow won a couple of awards for his portrayal of the serial killer. He’s exactly the kind of man that suburban neighborhood’s fear because of how easily he’s able to blend in with the other families. For thirty years he’s an “upstanding” member of the community while committing some heinous murders.
He gets his name from the three different killing strategies he has: first slices a woman’s throat in a bathtub, second he has a woman jump off a building, and finally, he kills a man with a hammer. After it is discovered that he also abducts young boys and forces them to reenact a scene from his childhood before burying them alive.
Basically, the Trinity Killer is the worst kind of serial killer because he’s more than willing to murder anyone who crosses his path and in an incredibly violent way.
However, the most memorable death that the Trinity Killer brought to the show was that of Rita Morgan. In the series’ most shocking scene, poor Dexter walks into the bathroom where his infant son cries in the pool of his wife’s blood as she lays dead in the bathtub. It’s this moment that sticks with fans of the show because it marks when the series hit its absolute greatest and the time when it started to dip in quality.
As a villain, he becomes one of the most hated men in Dexter history and marks the last time the show was truly great.
Photo Credit: AMC
19. Negan
There’s been a long debate within The Walking Dead fandom whether Negan has lived up to the expectations set from the comic books. There’s no denying that he’s blossoming into one of the most memorable bad guys in recent television history. Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays him as an egotistical psychopath but there have been glimpses of complexity sprinkled throughout these past few seasons.
While he hasn’t quite hit the same level of scariness as The Governor, but he’s begun creeping up the rankings. As one of the most infamous comic book characters from The Walking Dead there’s a lot of expectations riding on the shoulders of this adaptation so hopefully, the series will manage to get it right.
Negan has definitely been a memorable addition to the long-running zombie series. From his introduction, he’s raised the stakes of the series by offing two regular cast members with his infamous baseball bat covered in barbed wire. Fans have been critical of the writing for Negan, claiming that plot armor protects him from ever getting hurt. However, The Walking Dead has struggled to craft a compelling narrative for a while, and Negan is definitely not the problem compared to some of the other glaring issues.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a good actor, who has had a fun time with some other notable bad guys, such as Azazel on Supernatural, and with a good script, he has the potential to move up much higher on this list. With a new showrunner at the helm, Negan could finally be given some much-needed character development outside of his typical craziness that would cement the character within the hearts of fans.
Photo Credit: The CW
18. Eobard Thawne
One of the few consistent villains in the Arrowverse, Eobard Thawne appeared in the first episode of The Flash and has remained as a recurring bad guy since then. Know as the “Reverse-Flash” because of his uniform is the opposite of the Scarlet Speedster, and he’s The Flash’s greatest enemy. Eobard is a speedster from the future, who despises Barry Allen with every fiber of his being.
Desperate to thwart his nemesis, he travels back to Barry’s childhood hoping to murder him, but the future Flash whisks his younger self out of the house safely. To get revenge, Thawne ends up killing Barry’s mother, inadvertently causing a new string of events that would have the young orphan pursue a path of heroism.
Part of the reason Thawne works so well as a villain is his close relationship to Barry. After getting stuck in the wrong timeline, he’s forced to mentor the younger version of the man who will grow up to be his arch nemesis so that he will become The Flash. It’s a compelling look at at a villain who must put aside his hatred and create the person who will end up causing him a lifetime of pain.
The relationship is one of the most successful on the series, with Barry hating the man who both changed his life for the better and the worst, while still harboring a bit of a soft spot for him. This is seen in his inability to kill the Reverse-Flash during the “Crisis On Earth-X” crossover event. Both men are destined to duel throughout time as the balance between light and evil, forever tied together despite their desire to move on with their lives.
Photo Credit; CBS
17. Khan
Considered the greatest villain in the history of Star Trek, it should come as no surprise that Khan makes the top thirty. In fact, he became so well-liked after only appearing in one episode that inspired Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan which is one of the most beloved films of all time. Introduced as a superhuman with superior intellect and power to be manipulative. His mind makes him a dangerous enemy to everyone in the crew, and he becomes one of the most fearsome villains on Star Trek.
Taking advantage of Kirk and his crew, he quickly begins to familiarize himself with the ship and the current time period. It’s shocking how the legend of Khan became so popular within the Star Trek fandom This is a character who only appeared in one episode, yet has made this list (and many others) as one of the greatest villains of all time.
His ruthlessness and genius make him a dangerous combination, not to mention he also has a serious God complex. He isn’t afraid of Kirk because he sees the Captain’s empathy and emotions as a weakness. With superior cognitive abilities, he’s literally one step ahead of everyone at all times and once his crew wakes up, he has an equally powerful army.
This is why it shouldn’t be shocking that a monster like Khan continues to be a fan favorite in modern times. However, fans who have only seen the recent Star Trek movies should tune in and see the original episode.
Photo Credit: BBC America
16. Rachel Duncan
Orphan Black rose to notoriety due to the talents of lead actress, Tatiana Maslany. While most of the clones she plays are heroes or victims, one stands out among the rest: Rachel Duncan. The only clone to grow up within the confines of the organization responsible for their creation, she feels loyalty serves the leaders by handing up her sisters on a silver platter. Throughout the series run, she chooses places all of her cards within the Dyad group over her biological parents and the other clones.
Despite her ruthlessness when it comes to tracking down the other versions of herself, such as kidnapping and murder, Rachel is the definition of a sympathetic antagonist. She’s given just enough power to keep her from betraying Dyad, but it continuously treated as an experiment through invasive tests. There comes a moment where she even pulls up her file and she’s still only referred to as a number despite giving herself wholly to the cause.
When Rachel kidnaps her sister’s daughter, Kira, a whole new side to her is shown. Yes, she shuffles the girl off for various tests and experiments, but her guilty conscious begins weighing down on her.
She recognizes that she’s forcing another child into reliving her own pain and Kira’s innocent affection is the only time Rachel has received love without some sort of string attached. In another show, she might have gotten a happy ending and wound up surrounded by her loving sisters after betraying the organization which caused her so much pain, but Orphan Black makes sure that audiences realize Rachel’s sins will prevent her from ever being truly happy.
Photo Credit: Netflix
15. Cottonmouth
In the beginning of Luke Cage, the series started off with an explosive bang. A major reason so many people were drawn to the show was because Mahershala Ali gave such a dynamic performance as the gangster, Cottonmouth. Of course, don’t call him by that nickname because he will show zero mercy to anyone who would disrespect him that way and not call him by his real name: Cornell Stokes.
Yes, he’s a gangster but Stokes abides by a set of rules that keeps the streets fro ever getting too messy. Unfortunately, he gets dragged into a war for Harlem when one of his men shoots up Pop’s Barber Shop which was supposed to be a neutral zone.
His backstory is sad to analyze, as a gifted musician, he’s never given a real shot at crime-free life because he’s expected to take over the gang. He consistently looks back at what his life could have been and harbors a bit of resentment for his cousin, Mariah. Yet, his death is what single-handedly destroys Luke Cage as the show is left without a strong antagonist. Marvel has had problems crafting compelling villains, and it’s a shame that they killed off one of the few characters who fit the bill.
During his time on the series, he left a lasting impact as a villain who was desperate to hold onto the only thing he knew. However, with Mahershala Ali’s fame rising since his time on the series it might make sense for Cottonmouth to make a return from the grave somehow.
Photo Credit: NBC
14. Hannibal
Is it shocking that Hannibal Lecter gets a place on the top television villains list? He’s one of the most notorious bad guys in film history so it shouldn’t be a surprise that this carried over onto the silver screen. Portrayed with a captivating brilliance by Mads Mikkelsen, the series Hannibal acts as almost an origin story to the renowned serial killer. Now a psychiatrist, he spends most of the first season acting as an ally to Agent Will Graham.
He’s a brilliant strategist, who manages to fool almost everyone around him. Casually driving Will crazy through their therapy sessions, he hopes to turn the agent into a killer. He’s a psychological mastermind, and it’s terrifying to think just how easily he can manipulate the human mind. This isn’t just a man who’s toying with a trained officer’s mind, but he also commits murders right under their noses.
Actually, he turns out the be the serial killer that Graham is so desperate to find, and once Will finally figures this out he lands in an insane asylum. That’s right, Hannibal even manages to get the FBI to believe one of their top profilers has gone insane even though he’s the only one to discover just how dangerous their psychiatrist is. Hannibal Lecter has long been a character who has fueled many nightmares since coming to life in Silence of the Lambs and giving him his own television show was bound to scare more than just a few viewers.
Exploring the psyche of this serial killer is both fascinating and creepy, which is why the series has established such a passionate fan base.
Photo Credit: FOX
13. “The Joker”
Gotham has gotten mixed reviews based on how much one enjoys unabashed campiness versus realism. One thing everyone can agree on is how amazing Cameron Monaghan is as Jerome Valaska, or “The Joker”. While the series has yet to commit to actually calling him the Joker, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that it’s who he’s playing. Armed with a creepy laugh and a wide smile, Jerome gleefully moves around Gotham savoring the violence.
One of the highlights of the series is watching the mild-mannered Jerome grieve his dead mother before switching the flip and becoming a Joker like character. He revels in his mother’s demise and laughs in Jim Gordon’s face over how long it took for the detective to realize it was him who killed her after tiring of her promiscuous attitude.
Fan popularity led to Jerome returning even more like the Joker then ever before. DC Comics realized that Monaghan had become the most popular version of the character since Heath Ledger, and began to capitalize on the newfound success of the portrayal. Monaghan’s return this season has been one of the most hyped appearances of any FOX series, and he looks more like the Joker than ever.
His smile has been carved into his face, and he maniacally laughs at Penguin beating up other inmates at Arkham Asylum. There aren’t a lot of actors who can send chills down the spine of a viewer with one laugh, but Cameron Monaghan as the Joker is definitely one of them.
Photo Credit: Netflix
12. Kingpin
Daredevil has been a bit uneven throughout its run, but Kingpin has consistently been good. Vincent D’Onofrio takes on the infamous comic book bad guy with a fiery intensity. He’s Matt Murdock’s greatest villain, the mob boss who butts heads with Daredevil quite often. Like Murdock, his father is also killed while he was a child, however this time it’s by Kingpin’s own hand.
It’s a moment that defines the rest of Wilson Fisk’s life, as he is constantly haunted by the brutal murder he performed to help himself and his mother escape from a cycle of abuse. He isn’t initially Kingpin in the first season of Daredevil, instead, he’s a gangster just beginning to realize how brutal the New York underbelly can be.
However, in Season Two he begins to embrace his vindictive nature after he winds up inside a jail cell. Fisk is responsible for sending the Punisher knocking on Matt Murdock’s door as he attempts to get revenge against the lawyer who ruined his life. While he is consistently underestimated because of how big he is, most villains just see him as an aggressive mobster.
However, in season two Wilson Fisk’s mental ability is shown through his meeting with Matt Murdock. When Matt fights back after Fisk attacks him, he leaves a cut on his lip that the latter remembers receiving from Daredevil. The mob boss is well on his way to discovering the devil of Hell’s Kitchen’s real identity and Matt is about to have one huge problem.
Photo Credit: HBO
11. Tywin Lannister
Game of Thrones is known for its many fantastic villains and it’s hard to choose the best ones to keep on this list of best bad guys. Tywin never reaches the murderous depths of some of the other antagonists (unless of course, you count the fact he orchestrated the whole Red Wedding) but he’s definitely one of the more cunning villains.
The mastermind behind the most heartbreaking moment in Game of Thrones history, there’s no bridge that Tywin won’t burn down if it means the Lannisters gain more power. In death he has even managed to turn all of his children against one another, with Jamie eventually siding with the North by the end of season 7, Tyrion joining Daenerys, and Cersei finally in power but plotting her revenge against both her brothers.
The Red Wedding is probably the most shocking moment in the series when a massacre occurs at Robb Stark’s wedding. It cements the character as one of the best villains on the show simply because the Red Wedding was a time before viewers were desensitized to the constant death that characters faced on the show.
The ruthless father was more than happy to force his daughter into a marriage she didn’t want and seduce his son’s girlfriend to have an affair. When Tyrion finally confronts his oppressive father, it’s hard not to cheer for him to finally get some revenge.
Despite being dead, Tywin proved to be quite the strategist and he passed those qualities onto his most hated son, which Tyrion decided to use in the name of good (for now) compared to his evil father. It’s almost sad to imagine how the Lannister family could have been so different if they had a father who was more caring than Tywin…like Ned Stark for instance. Too soon?
Photo Credit: Cinemax
10. Kai Proctor
The criminally underrated Banshee had so many complex villains that it’s difficult to not include all of them on this list. However, Kai Proctor remains the main bad guy throughout the series run so it’s only fitting he be the one considered one of the best antagonists throughout history. The former member of an Amish society, he quickly gives up his peaceful life in favor of becoming the leader of the criminal underworld within his small town.
Throughout the show, he maintained a position as one of the most morally complex bad guys. He doesn’t see himself as a criminal, but rather a businessman who is capitalizing on things that people would be doing with or without him. Proctor doesn’t have a taste for random violence, and he only resorts to such a trivial threat when people test his patience. Despite his lifestyle, he actually has quite a rigid sense of morals which is why he finds himself allied with the man trying to take him down often: Lucas Hood.
He sorely misses his family but has a certain degree of contempt for their decisions to be docile in the face of threats. When his nephew is kidnapped, he casually pulls the perpetrator’s teeth from his mouth while the rest of his former family looks on.
Of course, this desire for kinship leads Proctor down a somewhat incestuous path with his promiscuous niece, Rebecca, who also wants to escape the rigidity of Amish life. It’s a shock that Proctor hasn’t become more well-known since the end of Banshee but nevertheless, he’s definitely one of the more interesting characters on television.
Photo Credit: FX
9. The Shadow King
Aubrey Plaza took the world by storm last year as The Shadow King on Legion. Whether it was her manic performance as the schizophrenic Lenny or the controlling monster, Plaza was one of the most memorable performances on television.
Normally a comedic actress, it was shocking to see her turn as a terrifying monster who literally overtook David Haller’s life. Yet surprise is what made the reveal so effective, with audience’s constantly wondering what was real and what was an illusion. It’ll be interesting to see how long the series can maintain her as a villain, but for now, Aubrey Plaza has been so fantastic it’s unlikely anyone wants to see her leave.
Part of The Shadow King’s effectiveness as a villain has to be credited to Noah Hawley for some truly inventive scenes. Her dance sequence was jaw-dropping and ingrained in the memory of every viewer. One of the most terrifying scenes was in black and white without any sound, a statement that most viewers would probably never expect.
The Shadow King is a parasite, that has latched onto David and turned his life into a living nightmare. Constantly changing realities and memories for David, she’s convinced him that he’s crazy. It’s actually cruel and selfish, despite Amal Fahrouk (aka the Shadow King) claiming that it’s all because he found a home within David’s mind.
Even though he’s been vanquished from Legion’s mind, he’s now attached to Oliver to destroy someone else’s life. He’s the unseen monster, a man who literally makes their host feel crazy in order to alienate him from anyone who could care.
Photo Credit: BBC
8. Moriarty
Professor Moriarty has had a couple of incarnations on television in The Librarians and Elementary but the version that makes this top villains list is from Sherlock. While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle originally created the antagonist as a professor, the BBC adaptation decided to make him the complete opposite of Holmes. He’s been revisioned as a “consulting criminal” compared to Holmes’ title of “consulting detective and he’s built quite the network as a global mastermind.
Part of what makes Moriarty so impressive is how he can remain a compelling villain despite working behind the scenes for the first two seasons. He’s Sherlock’s ultimate enemy, someone who can match the genius with every step.
There are a few things that Holmes hates more than anything and that’s when his beloved partner, Watson, is pulled into the crosshairs of an investigation. Moriarty does just that, wiring Watson with explosives and training snipers on him as proper motivation to see if the famous detective can defeat him. Multiple times throughout their encounters John is put in harm’s way in the service of destroying his one true rival.
Moriarty even explains why he bests Sherlock so many times: it’s because the detective is vain. His one true weakness is wanting the world to know how smart he is and Moriarty is the only one who knows how to properly exploit that. It’s not very often that a villain can go toe to toe with history’s greatest detective which makes Moriarty one of the best.
Photo Credit: HBO
7. Joffrey Baratheon
There’s something to be said that Joffrey’s death was such a disappointment considering what a little brat he was on Game of Thrones. But that was a large part of Jack Gleeson’s charms as the character, he played it so perfectly that losing him on the show was such a letdown. The impetuous king was a classic bully who felt like the world should bow to him simply because of status.
It comes as no surprise that Joffrey ends up getting murdered at his own wedding because his cruelty was bound to be stopped at one point. What makes the young king unique is the fact that he was one of the most unintelligent villains on this list.
Placed in a position of power by his mother, the Lannisters hoped to use him as a puppet to enact their true plans. Yet, being king quickly went to Joffrey’s head as he ignored his subjects and his mother by becoming a terrible leader. He destroys any chance of peace with the Starks when he beheads Ned Stark, and falls under the charm of Margaery Tyrell because of her beauty.
He consistently belittles members of his family, specifically Tywin and Tyrion that it was only a matter of time before someone reacted. While Cersei demanded her brother’s head, Olenna Tyrell is eventually revealed to be the real perpetrator behind the plan to kill the young king, in order to spare her granddaughter a life of abuse. Despite meeting his death, Joffrey will always be remembered as one of the best original antagonists in the series.
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.
Photo Credit: HBO
5. Ramsay Bolton
Ramsay Bolton has emerged as one of the most nefarious characters in the history of television not just Game of Thrones. The cruel bastard made it his life’s mission to torment anyone who crossed his path and take glee in their pain.
He came onto the scene with a bang, as the man who kidnaps Theon Greyjoy and forces him to endure a massive amount of torture conditioning. Eventually, Theon becomes Reek, Ramsay’s faithful servant despite being treated as a slave. It’s a cruel reminder of how awful Ramsay is, including the scenes where he forces Theon to apologize to Sansa for killing her younger brothers as well as watch her get raped on her wedding night.
His ruthlessness and selfishness seem to stem from his identity as a bastard, but there’s no denying that Ramsay is a complete sadist.
He loves to send his starved dogs on hunts after people, and eventually feeds his father’s wife as well as his newborn baby brother to them. His instability is terrifying, and every character who crosses his path is fearful of what could happen to them. When under his father’s rule, he reigned in his violent tendencies but made up for them with psychological torture.
However, what makes him one of the greatest villains of all time is his terrible relationships with the Starks. He’s a crazed man who starts a war against a family starting with raping Sansa and ending with killing Rickon. Anyone who goes after the Stark siblings will end up being the most hated antagonist in Game of Thrones history.
Photo Credit: The CW
4. Spike
The punk rock British vampire flips Buffy’s world upside down when he comes cruising into Sunnydale. James Marsters literally won over the hearts of fans as the bleach-haired bad guy who ends up sticking around despite his villainy. Ironically, Angel was meant to be the bad boy but Spike ends up filling that role in the decade-long dispute: Angel or Spike?
When he breezes into town, Spike is just a vampire with a chip on his shoulder. He’s killed a few Slayers and is looking to add a certain blonde to that list before finding a new place to party. While he eventually becomes a bit of an anti-hero working alongside/falling in love with Buffy, he’s the kind of fun-loving antagonist that audience easily root for.
Spike doesn’t want to destroy the world or even kill off all of humanity. As he points out, he likes watching soccer, reality television, and just having a good-time. With that kind of attitude, he ends up inadvertently getting in the path of the Scooby gang when they try to stop him from various schemes when he’s really just trying to have fun.
He’s consistently caught because he ends up jumping into situations without a plan, because Spike finds sitting around waiting to be pretty boring. He isn’t a sadist or a genius like almost everyone else on this list, he’s just a good-old-fashioned vampire looking to flaunt his punk rock attitude and sarcasm.
Photo Credit: AMC
3. Gus Fring
What started out as a guest starring gig quickly spiraled into one of the most popular villains of all time: Gus Fring. Breaking Bad is littered with bad guys including the series main character, Walter White. However, Gus is different because he’s not just an amateur meth cooker, but instead, he’s a crafty businessman too.
Extremely polite and well-educated, Gus is usually overlooked because he seems like an upstanding man. This allows him to easily sneak in and steal the meth business for himself to become the new drug kingpin. Gus is unlike any other criminal on the show, he’s professional and easily hidden so well that when he finally embodies his cold villainous side, it shocks Walter.
Not to mention, it’s impossible to forget just how easy it was for Gus to manipulate Walter into cooking meth for him by using his responsibilities as a father against him.
Throughout the series run, Fring is shown to become increasingly more competent as the boss. He manages to get Walter’s recipe right out from under his nose and brutally sacrifices one of his loyal henchmen when he’s noticed at the scene of a murder committed by Jesse.
He is scarily proficient at navigating the criminal underworld, making the cutthroat decision of who to sacrifice and when. With the Cartel constantly breathing down his neck, he manages to get the support of the DEA by anonymously saving one of their agents from an attack he orchestrated. It’s hard to not find a reason for Gus Fring to be on the list of best villains when he manages to succeed in every single act of evil he commits.
Photo Credit: Netflix
2. Kilgrave
David Tennant was so beloved as Kilgrave that fans begged for the villain to return for season two of Jessica Jones. He managed to turn someone who should have been seen as scum, but was all of a sudden likable because of the way Tennant played him. Easily the best Marvel villain since Loki, Kilgrave is not only complex but magnetic on screen that it’s difficult not to crave more scenes with him.
Kilgrave had the ability to say anything and have people physically need to please him as part of his power. It’s telling that so many viewers liked him because as a villain he’s supposed to be loved by anyone he tells that to. However, he uses his powers to commit unforgivable acts such as murder, kidnapping, and many more.
Throughout the first season he happily tells other people to do his dirty work for him so technically it isn’t his fault. It’s revealed almost immediately that he physically and psychologically tortured Jessica when he had her under his spell. She tries to deal with the lasting trauma from that time period of her life but Kilgrave keeps continuously popping up.
He doesn’t need to plan out an attack for months on end because ultimately everyone bends to his will either way. However, his relationship with Jessica only expands on his characterization showing exactly why he’s such a good villain. Kilgrave looks back on their time as two people who were in love, yet he clearly overlooks the obvious signs of abuse to see what he wants.
Throughout the series he becomes a petulant child when he can no longer control Jessica and when he finally thinks he won, Kilgrave ecstatically announces she’ll eventually see things his way. He has to be a great antagonist for so many people to adore the character, and fans can rest easy because he will be back.
Photo Credit: HBO
1. Cersei Lannister
For a while, Cersei teetered between the lines of villain and a “mother just looking out for her kids” as she tried to navigate her position of power in Kings Landing. Her relationship with her twin brother Jamie, basically guarantees she will never find an acceptable love, and dooms all of her children.
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Hungry for power, she attempts to control the throne through her two sons which ultimately leads to both of their deaths. Joffrey is murdered because she is unable to get his less savory characteristics under control, and Tommen commits suicide after his mother kills his wife. Left alone, she has set herself up for a villainous final arc, which is fitting for a character who has done too many unspeakable things to be atoned.
One of the key changes that Jamie Lannister goes through, is his newfound honorable side. It’s a trait which is not passed on to his sister. Growing increasingly ruthless, she finally gets the crown for herself, with the death of her children, and ascends into power as a cold-hearted queen.
Yet, Cersei has been preparing her entire life to outsmart the dueling kingdoms and Game of Thrones has put her in a position to do some real damage. Her character probably has one of the greatest payoffs in television history with the slow burn it took for her to finally and fully embrace her dark side.
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Gone is the woman who once extended a small hint of sympathy for Sansa. She’s lost too much to be empathetic and there are too many people left in Westeros that Cersei wants vengeance on for the dissolution of her family.