There are a lot of villains in the comic book world, especially live-action. You could be here for days when you consider franchises like Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc.
We want to look at villains that have specific characteristics. We will rank the top 10 villains that are just truly menacing, unpredictable, and terrifying onscreen. These are villains you wouldn’t want to exist in real life.
These are in no particular order. If the character has been played by multiple characters, we will list the actor to whom we’re referring.
1. Homelander
This list isn’t in any particular order but if it was, Homelander would be #1 easily. Antony Starr has been perfect for the role and makes it even more terrifying, to the point where Antony Starr even as an actor has a similar effect. Homelander is beyond unpredictable without a care in the world. The time that truly cemented this for me was the suicide scene where he told the woman to jump without even bothering to help.
2. General Zod (Michael Shannon)
General Zod was an absolute menace to not only Superman, but his father Jor-El, and the entire population of Earth. He fought Jor-El, swore to get revenge, came to Earth and punched up Superman, and went as far as nearly destroying Earth as well as forcing Clark to kill. Not to mention Zod allows his henchmen to punch up Superman too. Michael Shannon was truly a fantastic casting.
3. Darth Vader
Darth Vader is on a lot of people’s lists and it’s easy to see why. This was even further showcased during the Kenobi series where he was just snapping innocent people’s necks for fun. He also had no qualms about slaughtering children and other Jedi. Vader is relentless as well, he doesn’t stop and will not stop until his goals are achieved. He’s one of the greatest Sith Lords in history.
4. Moff Gideon
Moff Gideon was a straight menace to Grogu and Mando for the entire three seasons of The Mandalorian. Moff Gideon taunted Mando, Grogu, and the galaxy, and I even believe he wasn’t scared of Thrawn. Gideon was only scared once and that was when Luke was arriving on scene.
5. Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio)
Do I need to explain this one? I don’t think so. It’s the unpredictable violence that follows Kingpin that makes him so terrifying. He can be so calm one moment and then commit a vicious murder the very next. He doesn’t care about a lot and that’s what makes him dangerous. His brute strength, ability to manipulate everyone around him, and the fact he can snap at a moment’s notice means he cements a spot on this list.
6. Green Goblin
In the first Spider-Man movie, Green Goblin was portrayed by Willem Defoe who portrayed the character going insane because of the serum that he injected himself with. He was scary and menacing but this was catapulted to new heights in No Way Home. He actually managed to kill the last bit of family Peter had.
7. Joker (Heath Ledger)
This guy literally blew up a hospital, dressed as a nurse, and smiled as he did so. Does it get any more sinister than that? It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of Heath’s version of the Joker as nothing has ever quite lived up to it. He’s considered one of the top live-action villains in the superhero world. I agree with the sentiment.
8. Wanda Maximoff
I thought Wanda would have made an excellent villain but what they did with Multiverse of Madness was next level. I do not think I’ve seen a villain as terrifying as I did with some of Wanda’s scenes in that movie. From the horror-like crawls to the brutality they delivered. It was perfect.
9. Prometheus
Oliver Queen had a lot of very good villains during The CW show; Arrow. None of them though made Oliver break the same way Adrian Chase did. He had such an agenda for Oliver for barely any reason and made his and his loved ones’ lives hell because he could. He tortured Oliver just for him to admit he enjoyed killing. He kidnapped everyone, put them on the island Oliver was stranded on, and blew the entire thing up – because he could. After such a poor season 4, this season was fantastic.
10. Reverse Flash
It’s safe to say Reverse Flash is one of the most menacing villains in all of the Flash’s stories whether that is the CW show, animated movies, movies, comics, you name it. Reverse Flash is so set on destroying The Flash that he is ruthless with any plan he makes. The CW show proved that.
Honorable mentions
We went through a number of villains and decided to include two further villains on this list. These are Red Hood and Voldemort.
Voldemort was questioned on whether or not he would make the top 10 but despite how great of a villain he was, he just didn’t quite have the same effect the others did on the big screen hence the reason why he’s an honorable mention.
