The most Evil character in Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Who is it?

a_lost_packet_ · Aug 12, 2008

Most stories have an element of Good versus Evil in them.  That's a basic, plot-defining, writer tool.  With Good vs Evil, it's much easier to present a conflict.  Conflicts are interesting whether they are internal or an pan-galactic war.  Somewhere, there's usually a villain that serves to focus the concept of "Evil."  An antagonist, a bad-guy, a force to struggle against..Who do you think is the most evil character in Sci-Fi and Fantasy?  What book's character comes across to you as the most despicable, evil, vile, nastiness that ever graced the pages of your favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy author?  What character makes your skin crawl and gives you the heebie-jeebies?  What character unsettles you and makes you jump at things that go bump in the night?  Who is the Ultimate Evil in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Universe?Why? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I put on my robe and wizard hat... </div>

docm · Aug 12, 2008

Classical literature: Iago from Othello.  Deliciously evil he is.Popular literature: Hannibal Lecter.In SciFi/Fantasy: the wizard Randall Flagg from King's novels or Joker (classic version from the 40's/50's - expanded on in TDK)  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

vogon13 · Aug 12, 2008

<img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/13/6/9dc8aaa5-8123-4222-b628-c6d630ea32cd.Medium.gif" alt="" /> 'I made you eat your parents, nyah, nyah !!"   <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!So many people, so few recipes !!Let's clean up this stinkhole !! </div>

cosmictraveler · Aug 12, 2008

The Master from Dr. WhoDr. MoriartyPoison Ivy (from Batman)Lex LuthorThe Devil   <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> It does not require many words to speak the truth. Chief Joseph </div>

bearack · Aug 12, 2008

There is a whole plethera of potential candidates for such a classification but here are my top 5.1. Hannibal Lecter2.  Heath Ledger - The Joker in Dark knight3. Johnny Depp's character - Mort Rainey in Secret window4. Rober DeNiro - Max Cady in Cape Fear5. Tim Curry - Lord of Darkness in Legend  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <img id="06322a8d-f18d-4ab1-8ea7-150275a4cb53" src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/6/14/06322a8d-f18d-4ab1-8ea7-150275a4cb53.Large.jpg" alt="blog post photo" /> </div>

docm · Aug 12, 2008

Corso (Johnny Depp) in The Ninth Gate (Director: Roman Polanski)Why Corso? My interpretation;After spending thousands of years on Earth as a mortal (as did God as Jesus [father/son etc]), Lucifer is ready to challenge for dominion over mankind. Lucifer is the light, Corso is the Way (I am the light and the way).Corso's memory isn't full and he also isn't human, otherwise he could just go to Vegas, sin like hell or committ suicide then go to Hell on an express ticket. The girl is the Whore of Babylon, sent from Hell to show Corso the path back. Early in the film a girl is shown as riding the beast on the 9th engraving; Corso is the beast. Also note that when they're having sex at the end she's on top; 'riding' Corso as in the 9th engraving.He's deliciously evil because he doesn't know he is, but yet he persues his evil throughout the film.   <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

vogon13 · Aug 12, 2008

Cruella DeVille  (101 Dalmations) 'Mother' (Psycho) Saddam Hussein (South Park) Borg Queen (Star Trek) Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs) The Hitcher (The Hitcher) (not the remake) Anton Chiqurh (No Country for Old Men) 'The Company' (Aliens) Christine (Christine) Early Grayce (Kalifornia)         <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!So many people, so few recipes !!Let's clean up this stinkhole !! </div>

onesmallstep · Aug 13, 2008

#1 Montgomery Burns#2 Dr. Zachary Smith No other villians need apply. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

a_lost_packet_ · Aug 14, 2008

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this guy yet: <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/0/2/40c75840-64dd-4720-9294-8dbe293f1616.Medium.jpg" alt="" />   <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I put on my robe and wizard hat... </div>

a_lost_packet_ · Aug 14, 2008

There's a couple of reasons I'm curious as to who people think represents the "Most Evil" character.  More on that later..But, let's kind of round up some of what has been said so far:Characters who are brutal, irrational maniacs - Are these characters really "Evil" or are they simply obeying their own nature?  A lot of people idolize these characters.  Leatherface is one, the Wolfman, Dracula, etc..  Hannibal Lecter is one as well.  People think he's "cool" and in followup films he was actually the Hero.  How is that "Evil?"  They're crazy, sociopathic, murderous rampaging monsters.  But, are they really all that bad?

Characters who represent fundamental forces.  Hmm, this is a tough one.  For instance, is something which is created evil, actually "Evil" as we would judge it.  Or, again, is it obeying its nature?  What is that nature?  For instance, would a character that embodies some fundamental force of Evil, some basic, elemental expression of the vilest deeds imaginable.. would that actually be "Evil?"  What if it believed in committing Evil deeds not for their own sake but for what it perceived as the greater good?  It's value system may be screwed up, but is it still "Evil?"  Would murdering weak babies and eating their toenails be "Evil" if it considered weakness to be undesirable and "bad?"What is the nature of Evil?  How do we define it?  Where do you find it in Sci-Fi/Fantasy? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I put on my robe and wizard hat... </div>

a_lost_packet_ · Aug 14, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Classical literature: Lago from Othello. ..Posted by docm</DIV>Oh bravo!  Masterful choice.  HERE'S a guy that KNOWS what friendship and loyalty is.  He's cultivated that over years.  He realizes what it is and he has expressed that for so long to Othello that trusts him implicitly.  He trusts Iago more than his own wife!  Iago knows what he is doing.  He has shared the battlefield with Othello and that is no mean thing to simply disregard.  Yet, even with all of that history of closeness and friendship, he chooses betrayal, murder and destroying Othello's life just to get what he wants.  He puts his former "friend's" entire existence on the chopping block and destroys it for his own selfish gain.  Oh, honest, honest Iago!

/applauseLove that pick! (Not quite Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but still good. Wormtongue from LoTR could fit that role well.) <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/11/13/0b1c132f-0fa8-4938-8ddf-8d4ae490d27c.Medium.jpg" alt="" />   <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I put on my robe and wizard hat... </div>

a_lost_packet_ · Aug 14, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Corso (Johnny Depp) in The Ninth Gate (Director: Roman Polanski)Why Corso? My interpretation;After spending thousands of years on Earth as a mortal (as did God as Jesus [father/son etc]), Lucifer is ready to challenge for dominion over mankind. Lucifer is the light, Corso is the Way (I am the light and the way).Corso's memory isn't full and he also isn't human, otherwise he could just go to Vegas, sin like hell or committ suicide then go to Hell on an express ticket. The girl is the Whore of Babylon, sent from Hell to show Corso the path back. Early in the film a girl is shown as riding the beast on the 9th engraving; Corso is the beast. Also note that when they're having sex at the end she's on top; 'riding' Corso as in the 9th engraving.He's deliciously evil because he doesn't know he is, but yet he persues his evil throughout the film. Posted by docm</DIV>I'll have to watch that again.  I only saw it once, long ago, and I've forgotten it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I put on my robe and wizard hat... </div>

nimbus · Aug 14, 2008

I was going to post something like the above question about what evil really is.  It's really easy as a kid to grow up and beyond the boogie man definition of evil. So you've got horns and breathe fire, eat babies and get orgasms out of driving entire populations murderously crazy by haunting their dreams... No big deal.  You're just made that way; that's not really evil, it's pretty hedonistic.  I think one of the best measures of Evil is the Good it spurns.  The recognition of and empathy with Good and the perversion of it.  Without the perspective of the victim, anything alien enough can be more evil.. AI's inexistent morality could be the most evil thing of all.  Etc. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

summoner · Aug 14, 2008

Dr Evil from Austin Powers fame.  Ruthless  <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-tongue-out.gif" border="0" alt="Tongue out" title="Tongue out" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:271px;background-color:#FFF;border:1pxsolid#999"><tr><td colspan="2"><div style="height:35px"><img src="http://banners.wunderground.com/weathersticker/htmlSticker1/language/www/US/MT/Three_Forks.gif" alt="" height="35" width="271" style="border:0px" /></div>

a_lost_packet_ · Aug 14, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I was going to post something like the above question about what evil really is.  It's really easy as a kid to grow up and beyond the boogie man definition of evil. So you've got horns and breathe fire, eat babies and get orgasms out of driving entire populations murderously crazy by haunting their dreams... No big deal.  You're just made that way; that's not really evil, it's pretty hedonistic.  I think one of the best measures of Evil is the Good it spurns.  The recognition of and empathy with Good and the perversion of it. </DIV>I think that's a good start at defining "true" Evil.  Knowing the difference and choosing to pervert the good rather than just shun it is pretty darn evil.  Lord Foul from the "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" series is a good example.  Foul not only chooses "Evil" but chooses to go about obtaining his goals by perverting whatever good he can and causing the most personal anguish and destruction possible.  He's not content with "winning."  Oh no, that's not good enough.  He wants to cause as much pain, perversion and moral outrage as he can along the way.  Why?  Because, they're the antithesis of him and he wants them to be his tools.  He wants "hope" to be the ultimate tool of "despair."  He's a pretty sick youknowwhat...Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Without the perspective of the victim, anything alien enough can be more evil.. AI's inexistent morality could be the most evil thing of all.  Etc. Posted by nimbus</DIV>Ah, but then we get into the dilemma of having to only rely on our own definition of "Good" in order to define its antithesis.  An AI that has no concept of Good or Evil, can that really be Evil?  Was the Terminator "Evil?"  Was Skynet evil?  The AI "Mechanicals" in Benford's "Galactic Center" novels.. were they evil?  If you haven't read it, their ultimate goal was to achieve "immortality" even after the Universe ceased to exist as we know it.  They believed humans to be little more than animals and by their standards of technology and knowledge, they were almost right.But, are such things "Evil" if they have no knowledge or acceptance of an antithesis of Evil?  Think of some evil characters in fiction and post one as an example.  Maybe we can figure out the answer to that question. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I put on my robe and wizard hat... </div>

lampblack · Aug 14, 2008

I second the motion: Lord Foul of the Thomas Covenant trilogies was more evil than the devil himself. He took the essential health of the Earth -- its goodness -- and transformed it into something frighteningly perverse. The very picture of evil.Anyone who has not read the Covenant trilogies needs to find 'em on Amazon and read them. It's time well spent.In more conventional settings: the Borg queen is a good candidate. She's motivated by a desire -- allegedly -- to *improve* the universe by co-opting its uniqueness and making it her own. She's a classic psychopath.And the emperor from Star Wars gets my vote (assuming one is allowed three votes). He destroys almost all the good guys and co-opts the most powerful of them (for at least a decade or so). He either destroys what is good outright -- or takes it and twists it to his own purposes. What better definition of evil is there than that?  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Just tell the truth and let the chips fall... </div>

CalliArcale · Aug 19, 2008

Lord Foul -- definitely a good choice!  ;-)Of course, there could also be this fellow: <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/10/12/4accd929-f15f-4f83-ac57-83d95547bf28.Medium.jpg" alt="" />   <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

nimbus · Aug 19, 2008

I know I've actualy made some mental notes on the most evil characters I've come across, but I can't recall it yet.. I did see my 'No country for old men' dvd box and it reminded me.  Anton Chigurh is definitely somewhere near or in the short list of Evil. I'm sorry.... This isn't a scifi movie, unless you consider the pov. that Chigurh is a ghost..  He is a nearly supernatural force though, as far as "Speculative Fiction" is concerned.. I'll try and come up with some more pertinent addition to the thread,,  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

schmack · Aug 20, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Most stories have an element of Good versus Evil in them.  That's a basic, plot-defining, writer tool.  With Good vs Evil, it's much easier to present a conflict.  Conflicts are interesting whether they are internal or an pan-galactic war.  Somewhere, there's usually a villain that serves to focus the concept of "Evil."  An antagonist, a bad-guy, a force to struggle against..Who do you think is the most evil character in Sci-Fi and Fantasy?  What book's character comes across to you as the most despicable, evil, vile, nastiness that ever graced the pages of your favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy author?  What character makes your skin crawl and gives you the heebie-jeebies?  What character unsettles you and makes you jump at things that go bump in the night?  Who is the Ultimate Evil in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Universe?Why? Posted by a_lost_packet_</DIV> If ayone has read the "Wheel of time" by Robert Jordan (who died last september btw) HE had a character who was a bit of a henchman to one of the evil chosen ones. This henchman used to take certain sexual pleasure by forcing himself on little boys ad he did what he did because he enjoyed the thrill of the kill. That's evil. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Assumption is the mother of all stuff ups Gimme some Schmack Schmack! </div>

derekmcd · Aug 21, 2008

I was going to mention Lord Foul, but seeing as I already nominated Vain as the most bada** in the other thread, I thought I'd let it slide.  Good to see The Despiser get some nods before Sauron is even mentioned. My next two choices would be Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird... them two were a couple of sadistic animals!!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div> <div>"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</div> </div>

10_stone_5 · Aug 26, 2008

The Bleak -- from author Robert Reed's Marrow series [which includes The Well of Stars].The Bleak are a race of nearly unstoppable insect-like creatures, vastly unlike anything in the universe. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

docm · Aug 26, 2008

Other than the Bugs from Heinleins Starship Troopers, which IMO the Bleak are higly derivative of. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

TheOscarMP · Aug 26, 2008

Barney:  6 foot tall purple dino who loves to play with little kids.  doesn't get much creepier or evil than that. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Screw you guys...I'm going home: Eric CartmanSILENCE...I KILL YOU!!!!: Achmed, the dead terrorist </div>

coeptus · Aug 26, 2008

<img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/3/9/c3448e41-a0df-4eec-a932-af3ccad4b6d2.Medium.jpg" alt="" />     <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> If not for bad Pluck, I'd have no Pluck at all . . . This is your vogon, posting under coeptus, and trying IE and Firefox to see if either is faster with fewer misloads. Erf !! </div>

10_stone_5 · Aug 27, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Other than the Bugs from Heinleins Starship Troopers, which IMO the Bleak are higly derivative of. Posted by docm</DIV> Actually that is what I thought at first.But they really aren't. The Bleak were, in Reed's world, the original form of evil planted in the universe. That's actually what is so intriguing, plus they remain such an enigma even though 2 books contain numerous references to The Bleak. That they happen to take the form of insects is another of the mysteries.I'd say the closer analogy is to Clarke's Rendevous With Rama than Heilein's Starship Troopers.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

The most Evil character in Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Who is it?

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