Favorite Villain of all time

Who is your favorite villain in all of fiction and why? Can be from television, comics, mythology, video games, books, movies, etc.

Mine would have to be Shinobu Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho. Sensui was my first exposure to the tragic villain archetype as a child. Until that point, most villains I saw in television and films were mostly evil for the sake of being evil. Sensui was one of the first I encountered with some actual complexity in his psychology and motives. As a kid, I remember genuinely feeling sorry for him when he died.

Moses Maddigan

honestly hard for me to pick a single villain (too many come to mind).

currently though, Aizen sosuke comes to mind (mainly due to his bad ass quotes).

probably Darth Vader.

I was giddy as a school girl at a justin bieber concert during that end scene in Rogue One.

Darth Vader.

That last scene in R1 had me squealing with joy in the theater. Sooo awesome.

It has to be Darth Vader. Iconic dialogue, terrifying presence, as well as great character.

Light Yagami.

I know it's a boring answer but Lex Luthor when written correctly is probably my favorite all time villain.

Azula

I love a well written magneto

Same here. In my top 5 for sure.

Darth Vader and/or Joker

Magneto and also Garcia Flynn from Timeless, both driven to vengeance from having their families killed

Meruem from HxH.

Ulquiorra from Bleach.

Pain/Nagato from Naruto.

They made me emotional.

You must be easy to entertain.

Is Timeless a good show? I'm a fan of the actor from his ER days, but the first episode didn't really capture my attention.

Thanos

I love Magneto. He's my overall favourite, but people like Kilgrave, Scarecrow, Kylo Ren and Ozymandias come in close

Meruem from HXH

Princess Azula from Avatar TLA

Joker from Batman and DC

Pain from Naruto

And a few more, but these are the first who came to my mind.

@thatduderox: I love the show the first episode doesn't do it justice you have to watch it, Flynns character development is amazing

Not Darth Vader.

this isn't my answer because I would probably have an aneurism trying to have them battle for best, but one of my favorites in the last 10 years is Joe Carroll from "The Following". that plot, his portrayal, and the soundtrack made me question to this day every show I've watched since then.

Honorable mentions to Darth Vader and Lex Luthor.

@echostarlord117: Haha. Don't get butthurt over the fact that I'm a Naruto fan. And FYI, I only enjoy half of all anime that I watch.

Big Boss, Lex Luthor, Kingpin, Freeza.

No idea about of all time, but in recent memory the ones I like most are Gaunter O'Dimm and CW Prometheus.

Magneto,cell,thanos.

konami,capcom,EA, Activision and of course the most vile of them all bendis and M.Toriyama.

Marvel: Doctor Doom

DC: Deathstroke

Literary: Professor James Moriarty

Film: Bill the butcher

There are so many good villains but if I had to pick one it would be

Griffith from Berserk. One of the most evil villains in all of fiction.

@devilmenworks: Nicademous from Dresden Files is pretty Evil too.

Doctor Doom.

Vergil ( from the original Devil May Cry) and Megatron/Galvatron.

Doctor Doom.

Bill the Butcher has always been my favorite.

The Joker. Pretty basic I know, but he's also one of the few that has made it into just about every form of entertainment and media.

^ +1

I tend not to like villains, so probably Vader. Anti-heroes I like, so if a character starts out a villain but evolves into an anti-hero, I'm down with that.

• Darth Vader and Doctor Doom.
• Why: The Capes, the ungodly swag levels etc...

Magneto. He was the first villain I ever came across when I started getting into comics and really I actually use to hatwehim but once I started going in more depth into his character and seeing why he is the realist that he is I chose him to be my all time favorite.

The Joker & Mystique.

Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious (I was tempted to say Vader but he seemed more like an anti-hero to me). Palpatine is the epitome of evil. He slaughtered billions, destroyed an organization that was meant to do nothing but preserve peace, and he was so manipulative and cunning that he played nearly everyone in the galaxy for fools by orchestrating a galaxy-wide war that made him the undisputed ruler of the galaxy.

Palpatine and Griffith are at the top.

Honorable mentions go to Darth Vader, Frieza, Gaunter O'Dim, King Bradley, The Joker, Darth Plagueis, Count Dooku, Darth Traya and Sauron. I'm probably forgetting someone though.