Everything mentioned, and Thanos is one of the few people on the entire list to finish any movies with a "w".
The reaction people had and the somberness in the theatre right after Infinity War ended was a very unique movie experience.
Everything mentioned, and Thanos is one of the few people on the entire list to finish any movies with a "w".
The reaction people had and the somberness in the theatre right after Infinity War ended was a very unique movie experience.
He also comes from the comic book genre, so he inherently will have a hard time overcoming the "fakeness" aspect of his villainry. I get why some would vote for him but to me, he's not the kind of villain who inspired fear that really makes us want to suspend disbelief. Since comic book movies are a different kind of ride, its hard to relate to and/or appreciate the villain's powers/performance when they're up against superheroes anyway.Originally Posted by Romford Pele
Yea, the theater experience for both of those 2 movies was truly special. Wish I could go back in time and do it again, but I keep getting tripped up on the Planck scale which triggers the Deutsch Proposition
I can only add a little to what's already been mentioned.
Josh Brolin, he's an incredible actor and Thanos imo has never been stale mainly because of Brolin's performance.
Thanos himself has everything that makes an iconic villain. He has the look, the voice, he believes in his purpose, and he also has a sense of "humanity" so to speak because there are moments where you empathize with him. But again it goes back to Brolin. To us comic book nerds, Thanos is top shelf. The fact that they made this guy interesting through 20 some odd movies (yes I know he's not in all of them but still) it's impressive. It's going to be an impossible act to follow.
I love that porno!
Thanos's plan was dumb for a couple reasons.
1. Yea it makes some sense for planets that are overpopulated with intelligent life forms that sap up tons of resources, but what about the vast majority of planets that have life but don't have intelligent life? You are throwing a wrench into natural selection for no reason, likely causing mass extinctions that otherwise wouldn't happen. In the large majority of life-supporting planets, his plan won't help. It is a small subset of planets/solar systems where his plan makes sense.
2. Even if this plan works the way he thinks it will, it is a temporary fix. Time is infinite. This will help the universe for what, maybe 5,000 years at most and then populations will be back to normal?
I mean come on dude, think it through.
Congrats on securing the best post of the day so early on.Yea, the theater experience for both of those 2 movies was truly special. Wish I could go back in time and do it again, but I keep getting tripped up on the Planck scale which triggers the Deutsch Proposition
Last edited by Mazer; November 4th, 2021 at 11:38 AM.
Im a huge comic book guy and have the infinity war series in pretty prestige condition.
I remember that collective gasp from people like me when we first saw Thanos in a post-credit and then the confused whispers of everyone else asking “who is that?” Haha
Cut from my list pretty quickly. Great villain, but the prequel are just so bad. So, so bad.
I think Palpatine's slow burn reveal over the three movies and Obi Wan's progression pretty much salvaged them for me.
Plus Sam Jackson. If Disney was smart they'd get a Mace Windu series going like years ago.
Also Darth Maul.
Dam Jar Jar wipes a lot of this out though.
i enjoy the marvel movies, but i've never been HUGE on them. batman is one of my favorite characters ever, so i've always been more of a DC guy. with that said, i was absolutely floored after seeing infinity war. they managed to portray thanos madness and intelligence so well, with josh brolin absolutely nailing every single word and line he delivered. almost all of these villains end up getting taken care of by the end of the film, especially in comic book movies. to see the heroes try so, so hard, and it mean nothing in the end, was incredibly fresh. 'all that for a drop of blood' is not only a badass line, but the perfect encapsulation of the threat thanos posed. ending the film with the snap and the dusting was shocking and haunting. even the empire strikes back ends with lando and chewie taking off in the falcon to save han, with luke, leia and the droids standing and looking out. despite the losses they just suffered, there was a sense of hope. infinity war ends with a victorious thanos sitting and taking his first breath of peace. it's a total and utter victory. we are given no sign of hope until the next film starts, and even then it seems like that isn't enough, that thanos really did think of everything.
Darth is also a better villain in the current Marvel Comics Run
As big of a horror fan I am, I just don't like Freddy. New Nightmare version was the best though.
Freddy always gave me the creeps as a kid. I guess that's the point though.
New Nightmare is seriously underrated.
Galactus is a downgrade from Thanos, sadly. Like they could do him, but he's a planetary threat, not a universal one. Zero interest in watching a bunch of kids try to take the place of the Endgame roster, especially now that we lost Black Panther. Almost all of the A-list Avengers except for Thor are gone, and while the movies are certainly increasing the diversity of the MCU we don't exactly have any characters coming down the pipe that can crystallize the universe around them the way Steve and T'Challa could. Eternals can't, Shang-Chi is just a dude, etc. They've had Spider-Man kind of set up as an understudy for Stark, but I don't know if No Way Home is going to give him enough to try and be the person they can turn the MCU around.
I would argue that in his favor actually. Coming out of those movies really only Obi-Wan and Palpatine came out fine.
Last edited by Jarrod1983; November 4th, 2021 at 9:27 PM.
70 feet seems like a lot
I’m surprised Freddy was that high. If I had to guess how the slashers would have panned out I would have guessed the opposite:
Myers
Jason
Freddy
5 stories I think I heard
I didn’t know he was a Tom Cruise esque stunt actor!
Yeah I had to get my Die Hard guide out. Maybe the fall from Nakatomi was supposed to be 70 feet in the film but the fall was 40. Still high enough and good on Rickman for having the balls to do it.
The leap McClane takes with the fire hose was from a 5-story parking garage.
A lot of good ones now. Freddy is the best of the movie killers. Hans Gruber was the best antagonist for John McLane
Just guessing here but he fell off the roof didn’t he? And that building was probably supposed to be like 60 stories
Hans was so cool and calm. Most movies I'd seen involved the villain screaming or being crazy. Hans showed up as a suave threat which was a wonderful foil for McClane every man.
Still my favorite movie of all time.
McClane will be very high on the best heroes list
Yup the internet sucks for facts. The Die Hard Ultimate Visual History lists it as 26 feet.
Yeah spoilers but he'll be getting the full 20 points from me.
Haha I didn’t even doubt your original 70 foot fact, I was just impressed.Yup the internet sucks for facts. The Die Hard Ultimate Visual History lists it as 26 feet.
And I googled nakatomi. I was a little off with my 60 story guess. Die Hard Wiki says it’s a 35 story building.
I sorta just post the first fun tid bit I find for the fact but knew I was going to go with the fall for Gruber. Should have triple checked that one!
Freddy Krueger freaked the frick out of me as a kid. If you died in your dreams you died in real life. Tripped me out.
I will post the final three tonight probably. Busy day ahead.
I was thinking movie Heros next but thought movie Sidekicks (good movie!) could be interesting as well.
What do people think?
I just thought Sidekicks could help the Hero list be more lead Heros and Sidekicks could be the supporting characters to those Heros. Plenty of room for evil Sidekicks too.
I'll put my predictions for the top 3 in spoiler tags:
I think that the final 3 are very clear by now, but the order could go a couple ways. I would guess:
(Donald, I think you have one wrong, so don't click if you want to be surprised when Jarrod posts it!)
Hans Gruber was my number one. He is what elevates Die Hard to a classic film. He’s the perfect foil for McClane, who was just an average cop completely out of his depth. Gruber’s plan is meticulous and he thinks on his feet and improvises every time McClane causes problems. He has so many great scenes - the meeting with Ellis, his demands to the FBI and of course Bill Clay. And as already mentioned, he has one of the great movie deaths in how he reacts to his demise.
This.
The Emperor is the ultimate bad guy. Even Thanos had some redeeming qualities (loved his daughters, thought he was doing the greater good), but Palpatine is pure evil. He is willing to use anyone and anything to gain power.
Completely agreed here. I'd even go as far as to say Simon being Hans' brother in Vengeance gives him and that movie a shot in the arm based on how awesome Hans was in the original.
I'd say the worst villain is George Lucas.
Kathleen Kennedy.
Disney.
America.
Humans
Hans was so close to my number 1 spot. Fantastic villain and performance from Alan Rickman.
The reason he was number 2 for me ahead of the emperor is that you almost root for Gruber as he is so charming, Palpatine is pure evil.
Oh yeah I'm digging these last couple entrees. Freddy is my ultimate villain. Not only my favorite villain, favorite horror movie series, but also Englund is one of my favorite actors based solely on the Nightmare movies. I'm just going to assume none of us were including the remake.
It's cool you include Black Panther as a key player that will be missed because going into the MCU, he didn't come in until halfway and even then, we barely got anything with him. Wow, a little bit of Civil War and the Infinity movies. A stand alone. That was really it. A great contribution but my point is simply that you're concerned about the core group not being in tact while mentioning someone who is a lesser known comic book character that outshined most.
It's just going to be one of those situations like with Michael Keaton as Batman. It took a little while for us to warm back up to Batman movies after he left. Now we're about to deepthroat the vampire kid playing Batman lol. It'll be fine brother!
Palpatine/Sidious - 'Led' both sides of a galatic war that killed billions while slowly turning the Chosen one to the dark side.
Freddy - Most personality of the three horror slashers, and the most iconic weapon.
Iconic props might be a fun list down the line.
Last edited by Jarrod1983; November 6th, 2021 at 11:04 AM.
Master List
Last edited by Jarrod1983; November 6th, 2021 at 11:04 AM.
Individual Lists
Last edited by Jarrod1983; November 6th, 2021 at 11:05 AM.
Thank you everyone for reading or making lists or both!
Hope everyone enjoyed this. I had fun putting it together.
You have chosen wisely!
Overrated
Understandable. For my part, been a Star Wars fan since childhood and runs in the family. That's my mug in a Darth Vader mask up there dressed up for Halloween years ago and a childhood nickname pun (though Bader instead of Vader lol). Lost my lightsaber though!
Was always going to be my number 1.
I find your lack of faith disturbing.
I saw Empire first when I was younger.
Vader was a bad ass and wasn't messing around.
Jarrod didn't even count my vote for Vader.
I forgot! It wasn't a list so slipped through the cracks virms. I'll fix it.Jarrod didn't even count my vote for Vader.
You da man no matter what Badger says about you to mazer.
You should do a Rajah Villains next Jarrod, can easily send you a list of 20….mentions of one person
Darth is great, he was in my top 20, but top overall? Idk. It’s a pretty basic villain IMO. I think the emperor is better even within the Star Wars universe. I think his placement at the top speaks more to the world building by Lucas as opposed to the strength of the actual villain. And JEJ has a great voice.
I lean more towards the great acting performances and well written dialogue like Hopkins as Lecter.
It’s like “we want to really show that Vader is conflicted and considering crossing back over to the good side. So let’s have him turn his head to the right, looking at Luke, then turn his head back to the left, looking at Palpatine. The head turning really demonstrates his conflict”
It works, but it’s not all time great IMO
From a critical standpoint, yeah you’re probably right. I think when it comes to these types of lists though, not everyone votes like a movie critic and votes because they’re just a personal fan.
Also @Mazer Jarrod is da man and please tell him.
lecter isn't even the main villain in any of the films he's in, with him not even really being an antagonist to clarice in SOTL and hannibal, even to some degree being a hero in hannibal. the viewer is never rooting against him. the fact he always ranks so highly on villain lists baffles me. he's an amazing character, but calling him a villain is stretching the word.
yeah, conveying inner turmoil in a character through a giant plastic mask and helmet without having to say a word definitely isn't 'all time great' compared to chewing the scenery.
get outta here.
Sometimes that shit doesn’t matter to some people. Or is it really a problem as all comes down to personal choice and does and has generated debate. If we were to break everything down analytically then yeah could find faults with a lot but sometimes people look past that and just enjoy it anyway.
Darth Vader is a face (ironic so to speak) when it comes to villainy and a cultural icon.
I will say one regret I do have majorly not picking is the Gotham version of Penguin. Especially the step-family scene… “You thought they tasted the same but Sasha….definitely more tender!” *stabby stab*
That Penguin is soooo so great!
Or the Butch/Penguin/Azrael scene or even Penguin getting Butch sacrificing his best friend to get at Tabitha for killing his mother.
Actually case could be made for anti-hero rather than villain as did bail Jim out and worked together for greater good…
There was nothing like Vader at the time. He is a cultural impact not only at the time but one that has now lasted 6 decades. If star wars comes out in the late 90s or 2015 he wouldn't be on the list but the character's introduction in a movie that changed the entire landscape of Hollywood has an impact that others won't.
Plus his body count is pretty high. 2 billion and some change. 2 billion of that was paraded around for fun in front of his daughter to try and get some plans back. Hell, he was slaughtering women and children back in his late teens early 20s if we wanna count some bodies of note from his career.
I agree with virm….
Yes I’m about to faint too!
True that Lecter is not the primary villain in his films but he's still very much a villain and acts villainously. Interesting that you had Buffalo Bill on there but not Lecter. I can see your point, but we can agree to disagree.
I had Vader 16th so I'm not trying to say he stinks. I love the character and the original trilogy. I probably shouldn't have implied he's not all-time great and I came off overly harsh on him in my above posts. I'll walk that back, lol. He's one of the best ever.
But for the sake of debate, when comparing him to other all-time characters, being a mostly inanimate prop does hurt how much I'm able to appreciate him as a villain compared to a physical human acting performance. So for me that probably dropped him down from top 5 to #16. I treated Jaws the same way, putting him at #14 instead of higher.
yeah, i had buffalo bill cause he is the true villain of the film and is in no way portrayed as redeemable. lecter has done villainous things in the past, and obviously does so again during his escape, but they are not framed in the same way as buffalo bill's crimes, and shows he has some kind of ethical code, however skewed, by telling clarice he has no intention of pursuing her. everyone he kills in hannibal are corrupted in some way or straight up villains. within the writing, he is very much portrayed as an antihero.
Thanks Jarrod for creating this. I enjoyed it. Can't wait until the next list!
Top 3 are top notch. Lecter is a great villain. Ledger's Joker is top tier-for me it's because I disliked everything prior and thought he was going to be dogshit. Darth Vader is iconic and his villainous ways are more than just what we see in Empire and Jedi.
Don't feel bad, this was about movies you're talking about the tv show.
Oh yeah briefly forgot this was movies only lol.
With that said I love Gotham's Penguin. Gotham was a great show.
Hannibal Lechter was more of a great performance of a great character by a great actor, than he's a great villain.
But I had Jaws rated higher. Followed by a couple of cartoon villains.
Which proves I had no objective standards for ranking / inclusion. All part of what made this a lot of fun for me as well.
Not a lot of difference between Vader and Lecter for me in rankings. The Wicked Witch of the West has probably slipped a few notches due to the backstory retelling in Wicked.
I left the Jokers off my list because it was essentially one character portrayed marvelously in different films by different actors, and I couldn't bother myself to choose one over the other. And besides, there were plenty of other great villains I just had to include, and a good number that I should have included but simply hadn't been thorough enough.
Thanks @Jarrod1983 for all of your work on this.
I honestly thought Ledger’s joker would win based on the influence he had in these forums. How many people jokerized their avatar?
Not me. I kept my Jamstarised one when everyone was doing that. Think I may be the only one l left now and staying that way apart from when Mazer gets lucky with avatar bets once again.
When you take an already iconic character, played in great ways like Nicholson, Cesar Romero, and Mark Hamill did, and take it to such amazing heights, that every Joker that comes after it will be scrutinized more harshly than any other character in history, you did something magical there.
I bitched when Ledger got cast as Joker. All I could think of was The Patriot and that knight movie he made, along with Brokeback Mountain. I thought this shitty whiny actor was going to ruin a character that was my favorite villain and destroy the Batman franchise like Batman and Robin did. Even after he died, I wasn't going to give the performance the benefit of the doubt.
I have never been more happy to sing the Wrong Song. He took a 70 year old character and made it into something that will be remembered decades after his death. Amazing.
I had the same hesitation of acceptance when I heard he was cast. I was already having a very tough time accepting Christian Bale. The only movie he had been in that was worth a damn to me was American Psycho. So when Heath 10 Things I hate About You Ledger was cast as Joker I'm just like...are they fucking with me?? We haven't had a life action Joker in 15 years and now we get Knight's Tale?
He did a wonderful job. I thought he was going to Brandon Lee that role, where he did so well and then passed so the legacy would always trump the performer in that same role moving forward. Leto sucked, I'm glad they cut so much of him out because just looking at Lil' Joker Malone pissed me off.
But then you had Phoenix's performance....which I'd hope 10 years from now we might look back and say he did the best job because it's pretty damn incredible how well put together that movie was.
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