Halloween Special: Top 25 Villains Who Were Right All Along

You know ever since Brexit started, I have been completely against it. I have come to accept now (as I may have said before) that we are leaving the EU whether we like it or not and I will accept the fact that we as a country have never done this before so obviously it needs to be done right. But its been a few years now and whatever the outcome of today is, we should still enjoy Halloween and not let the UK government scare us. With all that in mind, this particular list came about when I thought about any kind of situation where people have been right all along and no one knew until it was too late. The Simpsons of course are a prime example as the show unknowingly predicted such events like Donald Trump becoming president of the United States (mainly as a worse case scenario that the creators thought would never happen) and Disney buying Fox (which they accepted at D23 earlier this year). So this list is dedicated to the villains that as much as we the fans and the heroes really don't want to admit, were in fact right all along. As usual the list comprises of villains that come from the world of film, video game, TV show, anime and the like. All of which I have had to see and/or play for obvious reasons. One villain per franchise just to make things fair and some through research has gone into this list to find out if said villains were indeed right. So let's try and enjoy Halloween and dive into this list:

Oh and be ready for some obvious spoilers.

25 - Edward Rooney (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

So this guy's motives were very understandable considering the circumstances that he faced. The whole idea behind Ferris Bueller's Day Off was to see what a young Matthew Brodrick could do all in one day if he were to skip school and fake being ill. His schemes don't fool Edward Rooney who as Dean of Students is doing his job of making sure that students get an education and was trying to prove that Ferris was in fact skipping school and doing all sorts of unspeakable (but ultimately fun) things in doing so. He fails in the end to do this, but this is his job and thus makes him a villain that isn't evil and is just doing his job regardless of how we the viewers see it.

24 - The Hyenas (The Lion King)

Although the hyenas in both versions of The Lion King were villains, they had a pretty good reason as to why that is. They are hungry and were banished to the elephant graveyard by Mufasa where there is jacks**t to eat. It does make the Circle of Life to not be as perfect as its made out and I kind of get where they are coming from. All they want is food and a reason to co-exist with other animals. Scar promised them all of that just as long as Mufasa and Simba are out of the picture and he is king. Its not ultimate and unlimited power he was offering them; he offered them food and a chance to live with other animals. A shame that they had to literally cut all ties to Scar in the end for his betrayal, but food and survival was all they wanted. How could you argue with something like that?

23 - Hopper (A Bug's Life)

Quite recently I found out that during their early days, Pixar knew the importance of a good villain in their films and Hopper is one of them. So throughout A Bug's Life, Hopper uses him and his grasshopers as a means of authority whenever he visits the Ant Hill. He's always there for food and nothing but food with the deal being that the ants give him food, he and grasshoppers eat the food and then they go away and return at the end of every season to do the same thing. All in exchange for providing protection for the ants from the dangers of other insects. Hopper knows that there are insects out there that are only around to hunt down and eat ants. He also manipulates the ants into thinking that they are worthless and are only around to serve the grasshoppers. Yet he is right in knowing that as well as the other bugs, the ants outnumber him and his men and knows that it would bring doom to them if the ants ever found that out. A shame that Flik figured this out eventually and then we learnt that it is Hopper who is the biggest loser of them all. But still, he was right about both those things and that would prove his undoing in the end.

22 - Ralph (Wreck-It Ralph)

As a protagonist villain, all Ralph wanted was some appreciation for being the resident villain in his video game. Sure he smashed windows, prevented Fix-It Felix Jr. from doing his job as the hero. But some appreciation can go a long way. So of course he would want to find some appreciation elsewhere and had the residents of the video game gave him the appreciation he wanted, we would have got a very different film to what we eventually got. Still a good film regardless, but it would have been very different if things went the way Ralph wanted them to go.

21 - Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove)

Of all the villains that Disney have made, Yzma is the least evil of most. Despite being scary beyond all reason, she was devoted to raising Kuzco and was even willing to fill in for him from time to time. And even when she took over to rule the empire, some would see her as a more beloved ruler than Kuzco due to his selfish and self centred ways. So I guess Yzma was right about being a better ruler than Kuzco as she not only managed to rule the empire if only for a little while, but she allowed some of her men to be excused and was happy to put aside some things for other things (i.e. when Kronk asked if they could have dessert and coffee before finishing off Kuzco). Maybe she would have been a better ruler than Kuzco. Just a shame that the demon llamer returned to undo her.

20 - The Government (E.T.: The Extra Terrestial and countless other franchises)

We all know now more than ever that the government can be as evil in real life as they are in our favourite franchises. In superhero films, they tend to take a backseat, but ultimately have to intervene when a superhero starts causing massive destruction all for the sake of saving people and do good deeds (more on that later). In films where an alien invasion occurs, they just want to ensure the survival of humanity by any means necessary but sometimes that means doing things that tend to be questionable (more on that later also). And then in some instances, we are presented with an alternate reality where the government are pure evil and rule the world with an iron fist. Regardless of how you see it, the government can do some pretty bad things, but they are there for the sole purpose of governing a country and sorting out its problems even if it means delaying things or doing some questionable acts.

19 - Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)

So yes I am specifically talking about the live action Shere Khan here. So for this particular version, he is much darker and less afraid of fire than his more charming animated counterpart and his hatred for mankind is bigger than before. In fact he even goes as far as to call mankind the enemy to him and the other animals and even though that's not true for all humans, he is right. Because for many years and still happening to this day, lots of people love hunting whether it be for sport or for money and its horrible. Many animals that you see at zoos and safari parks may be the last of their kind and its just a horrible thing to hear when people have no love or respect for the animals. But yeah, Shere Khan may be evil, but he makes a good point about humans.

18 - President Snow (The Hunger Games)

Being the one to rule and govern a country is one thing. But running a contest that sees young people battling to the death is a whole other thing entirely. But despite all of this as well as the eventual rebellion that would be against him, President Snow had nothing to do with the death of Katniss's sister which could mean that he wasn't all evil in the end. He even didn't want to kill Katniss, but would go to great lengths to kill her loved ones just so she can prove that the love she has for Peeta is real. But at least when he was in charge and until Katniss intervened, things were stable and he managed to keep order even if it meant murder after murder. He even knew that President Coin would be no better than him as a leader and ultimately managed to convince Katniss of this but at the cost of his own life. Ultimately the majority of his actions were unforgivable, but at least he kept the world intact before rebellions and other things occurred and even foreshadowed what would happen to Coin and himself.

17 - Sauron (Middle-Earth)

Lord Sauron falls into the group of villains that are considered pure evil and have no redeemable qualities with the one goal of being the best villain they can be. But despite all of that, he commanded an army of Orcs who were always being used for things like target practise in elvish communities and by having them in his army, the Orcs found purpose and a means to live. Sauron even went as far as to promise them a country they could call their own while having a place in his army which were built for non privileged beings and wasn't dependant on race so to speak. I guess in some way what Sauron was after was a means to allow Orcs and other beings under his rule to live peacefully on Middle-Earth, but this of course proved to not be possible with man, elves, dwarfs and even hobbits being totally against him and the idea of such a thing.

16 - Mystique (X-Men)

We all love Mystique. Whether its about the attractiveness of the actress playing her, the fact that she can turn into anyone or just the way she acts, we all like her a lot. Her reasons for being a villain are actually pretty understandable. For starters, she was abused for most of her life, she had to hide her true form because this form wouldn't be accepted by most people and according to the government, she is a high profile villain who refuses to believe in a world where mutants and humans can co-exist peacefully. That final one became quite a crucial plot point in X-Men: Days of Future Past where an action she did in the past, caused a series of events to occur that would doom both mutantkind and humanity in the future. She predicted most of the events that occurred in the series, but ultimately she would realise that some mutants are bad as well and not just humans.

15 - The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)

Although the Wicked Witch in the Oz franchise has all the makings of being evil, the truth of the matter is that she just wants vengeance for her dead sister. A dead sister who the house that Dorothy resided in, crushed to death and the girl took her slippers. So yeah of course the Witch of the West wanted Dorothy to pay because grave robbing is a crime that is both disrespectful and unforgivable. Never mind the whole taking over the world nonsense. She just wanted vengeance and that's that. She didn't get it in the end like she hoped, but that's all she ever wanted.

14 - Captain Hook (Peter Pan)

In most adaptations of the story, its always debatable as to who the real villain is in Peter Pan. Some argue that Peter Pan is just taking people in and protecting them from Captain Hook who can be a bloodthirsty killer of children though on some occasions he is willing to spare his hostages if they join his crew. Then of course there is the argument that Hook is the real hero as he is just trying to save the children and send them home because Peter Pan wants to keep them for all eternity. Personally I'm all for the one where Hook is the hero. I mean yes some of the things he has done as a villain are questionable, but at least in the Once Upon A Time take, he is seen as a anti-hero who ultimately helps the heroes in saving the lost boys. So I guess he is right in saying that Peter Pan should not take children as hostages and that he should give them back to their parents which of course he does in the end. But I guess Hook wanted to get them back sooner than later.

13 - Haddley and Sitterson (The Cabin in the Woods)

The Cabin in the Woods is a fantastic horror film that turns the genre onto its head. The true villains are really just doing their jobs. The jobs being to have teenagers suffer the wrath of some handpicked monsters all to ensure that the Earth isn't destroyed. It is sadistic, perverted and sick not to mention a whole manner of other things. But if it meant saving billions of people, then it had to be done. Just a shame that this last one they did ended up in failure, but failed spectacularly with the release of all their monsters. At least they went out in style.

12 - Walter Peck (Ghostbusters)

He may be a dick to people and be just a nuisance to the Ghostbusters, but like Edward Rooney, Walter Peck was just doing his job. Only this time, the job is being a member of the EPA which he was given by the US government. In his defence, the Ghostbusters were in the possession of an unlicensed, unregulated and massively unstable nuclear reactor inside the basement of a near-condemned building so of course Peck would show some concern and interest. However this proves to be bad on his part because who knew that by turning the electricity off, he would open the gates to a supernatural disaster. Although in the end, the Ghostbusters do in fact manage to save New York with permission from the mayor of course, Peck had every right to do what he did. Its just a shame he has to be a dick about it. Oh well.

11 - Raoul Silva (James Bond 007)

I really like villains that are parallel to the heroes in every way. One of the best things about Skyfall was its villain. Silva is one of those villains who despite being a cyber terrorist, was once an honourable MI6 agent before M betrayed him by handing him over to the Chinese. So of course he would want revenge for what M did to him and it makes him dangerous just by the fact that M is genuinely terrified of him. He would go about jeopardising her and ultimately even though he would die in the end, he succeeded in his plan to bring an end to M. He is one of the best Bond villains that has ever come to be and he will be very hard to top based on the fact that he shares parallels to Bond himself.

10 - Carl Anheuser (2012)

The film 2012 isn't a great film, but has some good things going for it such as great visuals and showing us a possible future scenario that sees the world's end. Not to mention some great acting as well. The main villain Carl Anheuser who is the president of the united states' chief of staff, goes about ensuring the survival of the human race by managing to get a hundred thousand people on board the arks (which were of course used as the ships to carry the human race and other important animals) but more specifically those who are considered important, influential and rich. He never got his emotions in what he was doing and although what he did was him being an a**hole to humans wanting to board the arks, there was a tsunami heading towards the arks and by ensuring that a hundred thousand people were on board, humanity could survive and it would make no difference whatever happens to the people waiting outside. Still an a**hole for the way he did what he did, but he had good intentions and the future of the human race in his best interests.

9 - Syndrome (The Incredibles)

In a world full of superheroes and supervillains, Syndrome had every right to do what he did. Sure it meant taking down every hero up to his former idol Mr. Incredible. But he realised that the power that the Parr family and other heroes like them had, could have very well led to chaos across the entire planet had such powers be unchecked. Its one of the reasons why we get so many superhero scenarios where the government have to be involved in some way or another. So yeah despite wanting to be a hero himself and going to great lengths to do so, Syndrome was in fact right about how supers get these powers and just use them as a means to cause unplanned chaos all for the sake of saving lives and doing good deeds.

8 - Koba (Planet of the Apes)

Sometimes when it comes to villains, they tend to look like the heroes if they turned bad. Such is the case with Koba who was once loyal to Ceaser but had a strong hatred for humanity. But can you really blame him for that? I mean he was treated really bad by them and knew that there could be no way for apes and humans to co-exist. Although Ceaser refused to believe what Koba ultimately wanted, his ideals for peace between both species would give way to a violent war in the third film of the rebooted series and thus making Koba right all along. Nothing has to be one sided and I personally believe in balance over one thing or the other. But sometimes, balance can be next to impossible to gain.

7 - The Machines (The Matrix)

The Matrix franchise is one of those sci-fi franchises that plays on the idea of robots enslaving humanity. But in this scenario, the machines wanted to coexist peacefully with the human race, only to be forced out by them. So in order to have both races coexist, the Matrix was born and its not as bad as they make it out to be. I mean if I were given the choice to live in a perfect virtual reality or a reality that is basically a dystopian future where humanity is doomed and its mostly their fault, I would choose the former despite the eventual fate that I would have to face. The series isn't perfect and we all want to have that perfect world. But on this occasion, I'm with the machines. If all they want is peace, then that is fine with me.

6 - The Illusive Man (Mass Effect)

This would be the man that went out of his way to resurrect Shephard. Sure we may hate him now seeing as throughout Mass Effect 3 he wanted to control the Reapers. But we owe it to the Illusive Man who resurrected Shepard and was among the few that believed him about the upcoming Reaper invasion. He was also correct in knowing that the threat the Collectors posed in Mass Effect 2 were big and should they have continued their activities, humankind would be at a bare minimum. He was also correct that the Reapers can be controlled, but incorrect in that he couldn't control them himself. There is a lot that The Illusive Man got right and of all villains in Mass Effect, at least he had good intentions at first even though Cerberus were a known terrorist organisation that hid all criminal activity from the rest of the world.

5 - Logan (Fable)

At the start of Fable III, we learn of King Logan and how he is a known tyrannical ruler of Albion doing whatever it takes to keep people from going against him. But its only after the rebellion succeed in their mission that we learn why he was the way he was. He was just trying to protect Albion from the Crawler; a threat that the hero of Albion encounters in the Aurorain dessert. And soon enough he was correct in that the Crawler would eventually invade Albion and so its down to the player to make sure that the kingdom is well prepared. In fact in your first act as king or queen, you get to decide Logan's fate in which you can keep him as an adviser or execute him and thus refuse to believe that the Crawler is the real threat. A king with good intentions, but its just a shame that he did so many bad things to ensure the protection and survival of the kingdom.

4 - Stinky Pete (Toy Story)

Pixar were great in the advertising of Toy Story 2. They hid the fact that Stinky Pete was the true villain. But the thing is he would have been more friendly had he not spent a lifetime watching every other toy be sold. Plus in his defeat, he predicted most of the events that happen in Toy Story 3 like the landfill, the toys being ruined and left to rot and so many other things. Stinky by name, stinky by nature. All he wanted was some love and attention.

3 - Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Where to start with this guy. For over ten years, we've come to know and love the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and have enjoyed the majority of them. For a long time since 2012, we all knew that Thanos would eventually appear and be the most dangerous threat the Avengers would face. But when I watched Infinity War, I realised that he may not be as villainous as we thought and he had some pretty good reasons for what he did. His planet was doomed due to overpopulation, famine and disease and he was the only one of his kind to know of this and failed to convince his people that these things were happening. So in order to prevent such things from happening to other worlds, he sought out the six Infinity Stones so that he can ensure that these things don't happen and that people would be grateful for his actions and would live free of all those things. He is one of a few villains to succeed in his plans for all the right reasons, he was right. Except for the bit about people being grateful for his actions because to be fair, eliminating half of the universe's population isn't exactly going to win people over. But arguably one of the best villains to come out of the MCU if only for the complex nature of him and his actions.

2 - Light Yagami (Death Note)

Having the power to bring death onto people is a pretty disturbing but powerful kind of power that in the wrong hands, could be disastrous. Throughout the anime, Light makes out that he will only use the Death Note as a means to kill the scum of the Earth and he manages to do just that going as far to even say that he will sacrifice his mind and soul to be able to do this. He is right in that the world is full of scum that don't deserve to live. He is also right that his mind and soul were sacrificed which would prove to be his undoing. Where he was wrong was when he said that he would become the new god of this world. Because in my eyes, no one should have the power to be a god. It proves to be too much and just ends in disaster. Sometimes becoming insane makes you right with some things, but not everything.



1 - Negan (The Walking Dead)

So normally I would do some honourable mentions, but I thought that this list would be my definitive list, though I may change it in the future. So with Negan, he is sadistic and truly a man who poses as a dangerous threat to Rick and the gang. Despite this, he is considerably the most human of all The Walking Dead villains. He doesn't enjoy killing people nor does he like sexual violence. In fact one of his values is to keep as many people alive as possible, but in order to ensure they follow through with his demands, he kills only one person to show authority and to keep them in line. He hates insulting people, he has great respect for Rick and his group and knows full well of the danger they pose. Where he is right is the whole idea of rebuilding civilisation and that some things that he and other survivors saw before the walkers are likely to never be seen again. He has a code that he follows and ultimately is a charming man with good intentions. But obviously having sadistic ways of going about the intentions he has. Right about many things, but obviously wrong when he later learns that maybe taking half of people's things is not the best way to go about getting what you want. I enjoy and respect him as a villain and that's why he is number one.

So that concludes another list. Feel free to like, dislike, agree and disagree to my list as well as come up with your own suggestions in the comments below.

Now let's just enjoy Halloween and not let the government interfere with our fun.