I thought about tying this into Biblical context, but in all
honesty, I didn’t want to wind up going through a depressing post summing up
some of the cruelest beasts of men who summed up the character of the
anti-Christ. So I’ll keep it light, but have a short preamble justifying what I
thought was the epitome of evil in a fictional character.
This is where I see the connection to reality. For some
reason whenever writers or artists sketch in the basic traits of a villain,
they give the character a desire to be as God—while simultaneously focused on his
or her own arbitrary morals. I’ve called it the God Complex (dreadfully
unoriginal I know) but I don’t mean it in the psychological sense. Like Lucifer
these villains desire to be like the Most High God and place themselves on this
elevated throne and rule with nothing directing them but their own lusts, wisdom
or cold and calculating intellect.
The complexity of such a trait invariably makes the
character likeable—not in the sense of admiration (although it’s not surprising
that fallen man has that wicked desire as well) but in the sense of a
multifaceted stone. As a scientist, I find myself drawn to that complexity and
madness of such a character.
Thanos the Mad Titan. He wiped out everyone on his planet, acquired
a Cosmic Cube (defeated by his own ego) and single-handedly went about
acquiring all 6 Infinity gems granting him god-like powers and still no control
over his own ego. The guy challenged and virtually defeated all the heroes in
the Marvel Universe and eventually even made the Cosmic Beings a virtual wax
museum just so that he could think. One of the panels that best described his
ego and his insanity was his organization of rocks, moons and planets to form
the word “GOD”.
Leto II the God Emperor of Dune. This boy saw the Golden
Path and did the unspeakable to subject humanity so as to save them. In his
love for men he destroyed his own humanity and became more than the Jihad
leader that his father proved to be. He brought the Worm and in so doing plunged
humanity into several hundreds of years of slavery.
Grand Admiral Thrawn. A humanoid Alien of the Chiss, this
disciplined warrior was basically, only a man. As such you would think he
wouldn’t stand a chance against the combined forces of the Rebels and the Jedi.
This dude managed to take the remaining Imperial forces and lead the attack
against the Republic, nearly bringing them to ruin, merely by studying the art
and culture of the races.
Hannibal Lecter.
I don’t think I even have to explain who he is. Any monster that would do the
things he did and have his heartrate going the same speed as when he’s asleep
is a sheer animal deserving the title of one of the worst in fiction.
Arvin Sloane. I’m surprised that any modern day villain
would make it in my top-5 but this guy has done it. Ruthless killer, consummate
strategist and admitted liar—the guy has no problem with committing the most
heinous acts and hugging his friends while doing it.
-r-
This article is part of MCF's Blog Party.
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