The depictions of villains in films always come off as the most nuanced and memorable parts of superhero movies. You can only have a good superhero story if the villains have the same charisma as the heroes trying to stop them. Long before the day of cinematic franchises, these villains were played by high-profile actors who brought immense respectability to these roles. Not many people wantedto get in the shoes of the Joker after Jack Nicholsonwon an Oscar for his portrayal of the clown prince of crime, and it took nearly 20 years for someone to step up to the plate.
Villains are best when they are irredeemable. Good villains cause mayhem to disturb the status quo, either to spark the flames of change or impose their views and break the structure of their world.A great villain is unrelenting and chaoticbut has a clear purpose. Creating a tragic figure to empathize with is the norm, so finding a true villain solely motivated by chaos is way more interesting than someone who might have turned out to be good given a different set of circumstances.
With that in mind, these are our picks for the most irredeemable villains in superhero movies.
20Hela – Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Played by Cate Blanchett, Hela is the main antagonist inThor: Ragnarok. They retconned her in the MCU to be Thor and Loki’s sister. Hela is resentful for being locked away by Odin after proving to be a more formidable warrior than him, but also lacking humility and overall common sense. Hela was the first bearer of Mjlnoir, but she never really needed it as her power is nearly infinite, but so are her wicked ways.She proves to be a challenge to the God of Thunderby killing thousands of Asgardians and making Thor summon Surtur to beat her, thus condemning Asgard to oblivion.
19The Joker – The Dark Knight (2008)
Heath Ledger’s legendary interpretation of The Joker inThe Dark Knightleft such a widespread imprint to the point of makingsubsequent actors take on the role to try and emulate him. The version of the character, as conceived by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, is a full-on anarchist who is continually a few steps ahead of the game from everyone. The man single-handedly outsmarts Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and the whole GCPD. He also manages to corrupt Harvey Dent to the core, and it’s only defeated when the common folk of Gotham City (and hardened criminals) refuse to partake in his mind games.
18Jigsaw – Punisher: War Zone (2008)
Jigsaw is the Punisher’s main arch nemesis, something strange given the character’s long kill count record.He’s been adapted twice by Hollywood. The recent incarnation, played by Ben Barnes, is more of a tragic figure with close ties to Frank Castle. However, the most comic-accurate depiction of Jigsaw is played by actor Dominic West for 2008’sPunisher: War Zone. This hardened criminal goes crazy after being pushed into a glass grinder and deformed by Castle. Jigsaw would make his life’s mission to ruin Castle by any means necessary, something he accomplishes in the film by putting Frank in a conundrum where he has to choose to kill his assistant Micro or get the villain.
17General Zod – The Man of Steel (2013)
Lex Luthor has put Superman through the grinder more than once, but that’s nothing compared to the impossible feats of General Zod, played inMan of Steelby Michael Shannon. The leading General of a rebel force on Krypton, Zod, sought to preserve Krypton’s heritage by taking the planet’s genetic codex by force. Jor-El takes the device and imprints the Codex in Kal-El’s blood before sending him to Earth. Years later, Clark would activate the mechanisms of a crashed Kryptonian ship, sending the call out to Zod, who’s been traveling through space after escaping the Phantom Zone.His ultimate mission is to reclaim the codex, colonize the Earth, and transform it into New Krypton by any means necessary.
16Ultron – Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
There’s a classic meme making the rounds online telling how Ultron went online for five seconds andimmediately knew everything he needed to understand the human raceand that we had to go. It may be an unfair assessment but not so distant from reality. Ultron is the most nihilist foe the Avengers faced, with no regard for life or need for it. His ultimate goal is far from world domination inAvengers: Age of Ultron, as there’s no middle ground with the sentient AI; he wants humanity gone because of the inherent complexity that represents the burden of being a human in the current world, including all societal nuances.
Related:Crafting the Perfect Movie Villain
Flawlessly played by Viola Davis once again in James Gunn’sThe Suicide Squad, this no-nonsense government matriarch is the equivalent of Nick Fury in the DC Universe with one key difference: this woman will do everything in her power to make metahumans bend the knee to her whims. For Waller, no secret is too big, and no family tie is too sacred. She will hold hostages or kill anybody who stands in her way. Villains don’t get the chance to reform under her watch; they are their stock of cannon fodder to take care of the shady dealings of the US government that regular superheroes don’t or won’t touch.She can hold anyone accountableand call on favors from big guns like Superman to keep other powerful entities in check.
14The Green Goblin – Spider-Man (2002)
Let’s talk for a minute about generational evil here. The Green Goblin, as played by Willem Dafoe, has made life hell not for one but for two generations of Spider-Men on the big screen. Debuting for the first time in 2002’sSpider-Manby Sam Raimi, the villain discovered Peter’s secret identity and endangered his loved ones. When he was sent to the MCU after Doctor Strange’s botched spell, he led the charge when all villains went rogue after Peter offered to cure all of them.He went on to beat the living hell out of Peterand kill his aunt May in the process. He would come very close to being killed a second time if it wasn’t for the timely intervention of Peter 3.
13Bane – The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Many people make the misguided argument that this fearsome antagonist was the mere muscle of Thalia Al Ghul inThe Dark Knight Rises, when he was much more than that. Bane devised many plans to take over Gotham while Talia played possum.The charismatic villain, played by Tom Hardy, is the best version of the character ever put to screen. The musclebound brute is scarred and requires assistance to breathe, but this doesn’t make him one bit less menacing as his imposing presence asserts each time he’s on the screen. Plus, unlike his comic book version, Bane went all natty to break Batman and strip him of everything he’s got.
12Ra’s Al Ghul – Batman Begins (2005)
Ra’s Al Ghul has always been one of Batman’s most formidable foes. The echo terrorist follows the same principles as Thanos, believing overpopulation will be humanity’s downfall. In the Christopher Nolan films, he’s the head of the League of Shadowsand is brilliantly played by Liam NeesoninBatman Begins. This organization has existed for centuries overseeing the collapse of empires and entire civilizations to rebuild them anew. This time, his eyes are set on Gotham, a city he regards as one of the most corrupted pinnacles of society in the history of humanity and one that he’ll do everything in his power to break and destroy, even after his untimely passing.
Related:10 Flaws That Always Foil the Villain’s Plans in Movies
11William Stryker – X2: X-Men United (2003)
The X-Men had to fight multiple foes during their tenure at 20th Century Studios. Although Magneto is their main antagonist for most of the story, he’s always playing both sides at his convenience. However, one man was able to unite both fronts in the mutant war inX2: X-Men United.
William Stryker, brilliantly played by Brian Cox, had a single vision: the complete annihilation of all mutants on Earth. Working as deep state cover agent and the main head of the Weapon X program, he kidnaps most of the team, including Charles Xavier. Striker steals the technology for Cerebro, the mutant location system, to weaponize Charles’s brain and kill every mutant on Earth by inducing strokes.
