With that in mind, here is my own top 10 list of my favorite comic book villains in tv or movie adaptations.
Some spoilers ahead...
10. Karen Gillan as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy
Ronan may have been the "main" villain in Guardians of the Galaxy, but Nebula was far more interesting, in my opinion. Nebula and her relative Gamora had one of the best fight scenes of the movie, and a lot of that is due to Gillan's performance. Nebula might move up this list after the next GOTG sequel.
I may be alone in this view, but I thought Tim Roth did a good job of making Abomination hated long before he turned into the monster pictured above. On top of that, Abomination is one of the few comic book villains who is an equal match for the Hulk, which made the fight at the end a lot of fun.
8. Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom (aka Dr. Doom) in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Admittedly, I am partial to Dr. Doom, as he was one of my favorite villains from the comic books. But I thought Julian McMahon did a perfectly reasonable job as Doom, who would not be an easy guy to portray anyway.
On a side note, I thought those first two Fantastic Four movies were good. What Fox keeps getting wrong is the FF should be a tv series, not a movie.
7. Sir Ian McKellen as Eric Lensherr (aka Magneto) in The X-Men films
Admittedly, Magneto was never a completely unreasonable villain, and would sometimes play the anti-hero instead. But make no mistake, Magneto would do whatever is necessary to advance the cause of mutants in the world, and that included killing mutants if they got in the way of his cause.
Currently, Michael Fassbender is holding down this role in the X-Men films, but McKellen owns it as far as I am concerned.
6. Terence Stamp as General Zod in Superman II
"Kneel before Zod!"
Be honest: We would not have had a second Zod appearance in a Superman movie without the original Zod, played so irritating and arrogant by Terence Stamp.
Say what you will about the Christopher Reeve's Superman films, but Stamp's Zod made this one the best ever.
5. Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in Batman Returns
Before anyone asks how I can rate Pfeiffer ahead of Jack Nicholson's Joker in the Tim Burton Batman, here is why: Nicholson just wasn't that good. He spent the entire movie chewing the scenery. To be honest, I thought Jack Palance's Carl Grissom was more scary than Nicholson.
However, Pfeiffer's Catwoman was exactly what you would expect the Catwoman to be: Equal parts vulnerable and dangerous, with just a touch of crazy thrown in for flavor. This is what makes her such a fascinating character, and Pfeiffer owned the role.
4. David Tennant as Kilgrave (aka The Purple Man) in Jessica Jones
Kilgrave is the kind of villain you sincerely want to punch in the mouth, even as you know the characters in the show can't.
3. Tom Hiddleston as Loki in The Avengers, Thor, and Thor:The Dark World
The art of playing the villain pays off when the villain is soundly thrashed by the hero(es) at the end of the film. The scene above where the Hulk destroys Loki was part of what made The Avengers such a great film. But you have to credit Tom Hiddleston for making us want to see Loki get such a brutal comeuppance.
Even though Loki is a "god", he is also a conniving slimeball, who frequently plays the "daddy loved my brother more" card (his brother being Thor, and daddy being Odin). Hopefully, he will get many more beatings like the one above.
2. Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight
From Cesar Romero to Jack Nicholson, many have played the Joker, but Heath Ledger's performance was definitive, mainly because he captured what made Joker scary. The idea of a laughing serial killer is a horrific thought, and Ledger brought it to life in a realistic way. Ledger's Joker wasn't laughing for the sake of laughing, and you could tell it.
1. Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin) in Daredevil
If I had to choose only one reason why I love Netflix's Daredevil, it would have to be Vincent D'Onofrio's acting tour de force as Kingpin, who was always one of my favorite comic book villains.
But D'Onofrio brought him to life in a way I did not expect, especially considering D'Onofrio gave him such depth. So many villains are just exercises in scenery-chewing, and more so comic book villains. Not this villain, who is almost sympathetic...until you see him crush a Russian mobster's head in a car door in one of the most violent scenes ever shown in a comic book show.
Even though Kingpin only appeared in a few episodes of Daredevil's second season, that was a highlight for me.
Needless to say, this role made me a fan of D'Onofrio, as well as the Daredevil series.
P.S. I asked D'Onofrio if the rumors about Kingpin making an appearance in the next Spider-man movie were true. Here is his reply:
No truth. https://t.co/GlDgi9C6MH— Vincent D'Onofrio (@vincentdonofrio) June 8, 2016
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