A List of the Villains We Love To Hate
Indeed, heroes exemplify the best morals and beliefs, always wear the best costumes, and are often portrayed with god-like features. But for some reason, we became more drawn to the fictional villains. An experiment found that this fascination is because they’re more relatable, and share the same dark side that we usually hide within ourselves, which is immoral to act in real life.
Among the countless likeable ones, here are some of the most popular villains that we love to hate. (Warning: This article may contain spoilers.)
Scarlet Witch
Previously identified as the avenger–Wanda Maximoff, the ultimate desire of altering reality to overcome grief turned her into the Scarlet Witch. Her great powers of telekinesis and energy manipulation became chaos magic in the 2022 movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Who can’t sympathize with someone who loses her brother, lover, and her comical twins? She’s basically alone and seriously deserves better. Scarlet Witch finding herself back to heroism is possible, but only Marvel really knows.
Loki Laufeyson
Behold, the god of mischief! After initially being showcased as only Thor’s adopted brother, Loki became a fan-favorite and got his own MCU series (watch out for the second season!). We’re totally cheering for this humorous and trickster villain, but behind that is someone who has many insecurities, experienced little love, and is the outcast of the family. Our *glorious purpose* now is to wait for the answer if Loki is still alive or not in the MCU.
Regina George
The Queen Bee, the original leader of the Plastics, and should be the queen of Mean Girls‘ memes too. She’s someone you don’t want to cross paths with in the school’s hallways or the cafeteria. As an embodiment of the y2k barbiecore, she’ll make you feel inferior with her pink cardigan, pink mini skirt, and bad attitude. All we can say is we’re just like Regina—dramatic, shopaholic, and loves a little bit of gossip.
Joker
Heath Ledger’s character as the Joker in The Dark Knight is probably the most believable character portrayal in film history, with respect to his physical and mental sacrifice. Batman’s cynical nemesis is not a psychopath without a reason; the joker’s comic backstory includes his personality disorder, abuse experience, and exposure to lethal gas which makes him the twisted, green-haired villain that we know.
Harley Quinn
The list goes on with another lovable Gotham villain. DC Comics’ Harleen Quinzel is a former psychiatrist but is now a professional psychopath (thanks to the Joker’s manipulation). She’s friendly, fun, and flirtatious until you see her bloodied combat outfit. The character’s recent movies show her transition from Joker’s accomplice and lover, to a self-rescuing princess. Not gonna lie, we’re thrilled to see Lady Gaga take on the role in 2024!
Ryomen Sukuna
Ruthless villains are not only present in Hollywood movies, as the 2020 anime Jujutsu Kaisen has the most menacing cursed spirits, and among them is of course the King of Curses–Ryomen Sukuna. His original form has four arms and two faces, and he’s the most powerful curse that ever lived. Possessing the body of Yuji Itadori, he takes his heart out of his chest to take full control of his body. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing Sukuna’s real form in the anime’s future episodes.
Light Yagami
If you’re into mystery thrillers and haven’t watched Death Note yet, allow this to be your sign. Almost every episode is mindblowing, great thanks to Light who’s the villainous main character of the series. His deductive skills are seriously high-caliber that they will stupefy anyone. You might ask yourself a dark question in the midst of watching: would you murder notorious criminals if you have the chance, for the sake of world peace? Well, Light Yagami says 100% yes.
Villains show that life always comes with a harsh reality, and remind us that we all have imperfections. It’s okay to enjoy the bad guys for a while…as long as they’re just fictional. Who’s your favorite fictional villain?
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