I've been thinking about what makes a really compelling villain. Who are some of your favorite villains? What makes them awesome?
Artemisia of 300: Rise of an Empire. From "Is Just Mad Greek Weather" to "I'm Not Here to Be a Witness" to "You Fight Harder than You Fuck". Is The Villain I Want Against Me or Better Yet, Don't Mind Fighting by Her Side, I will be as Evil as She Wants Me to Be. Eva Green.
I'd have to say Yahweh is my favorite villain. There are countless interpretations of him while most people interpreting him are describing a tyrannical psychopath as if he were the kindest and most wonderful person ever. Yahweh is basically the villain that won. He's Saruman with way more material and the hobbits failed stopping him.
I like female villains that smile and bat their eyes before plunging the dagger between his ribs, not the obvious ones like Cruella Deville from "101 Dalmatians" or the wicked witch in "Alice in Wonderland." More like the Mata Hari type who lures them in with her sexuality before twisting them around her little finger. Their cunning and deviousness make them compelling.
Yosemite Sam. Bugs' best foil.
Lee Marvin's character in the Cowboys. He shoots the Duke in the back!
Richard Nixon. So complicated.
Lee Harvey Oswald. One mixed up mother goose.
Mr Potter from It's a Wonderful Life. Lionel Barrymore at his cruelest.
Aku! from Samurai Jack.
Joker (The Dark Knight)
Loki (Avengers)
Gul Dukat (Star Trek Deep Space Nine)
Captain Gabriel Lorca (Star Trek Discovery)
Gul Dukat was... insidious. Haven't watched Star Trek: Discovery yet, so no spoilers, please.
Sauron and Saruman with a big honorable mention to Darth Vader
Good 'Ol Satan...he only killed ten people in the bible...if you don't count collateral deaths of slaves (servants).
I would say the humble narrator in The Clockwork Orange.
In recent memory it would still be Guanter O'Dimm from Hearts of Stone.
He is for intents and purposes the devil, and the necessary evil in the world he inhabits. He plays up your classic Faustian devil tropes, granting people what they wish and not what they want. Weaving word traps and contracts to collect peoples souls, reveling in the tough choices. A friendly and yet eerie demeanor that always has one on their toes when interacting with him. He goes by many names: Master Mirror, The man of glass, a seemingly humble merchant selling his services to those in need. His influence is felt throughout all lands, and he is not above making a lesson out of those who have not only wronged him, but live out lives of vice. One may argue that those he deals with are the evil ones, but it is also fair to assume that he brings out the evil within mens hearts.
I can't forget Yoshikage Kira either, another seemingly normal man who is in reality a horrifyingly disturbed individual. All he wants to do is live a quiet and normal life, unnoticed and in the background doing his normal office job, and being a gentleman. A shame that he's some fucked up serial killer with a uh..."hand fetish", and the ability to turn whatever he touches into a bomb essentially, able to destroy any evidence or anyone. He sees his serial killing as a "bad habit", like drinking. Polite, professional, and calm, but on a whim has turned into a brutal monster when backed into a corner.
@silvereyes You won't be disappointed. Both add-ons are soo good that it's a shame they are not stand alone playable (ie: not requiring the base game to even play).
Zec Chilovek
Completely amoral; no conscience; profit driven.
The Joker on the (dark night). Movie of Batman.