Relatable Villains in Blockbuster Movies:
Villains are always branded as evil, but when you stop to think about it, they are just misunderstood and have a different view of the world. Most of these villains had a tragic past which led them on their paths. The methods these ‘villains’ use are questionable, but their intentions are not.
#10: T-1000
Played By: Robert Patrick
Movie Name: Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Franchise Name: Terminator
T-1000 was a shapeshifting android who was assigned the task of killing John Connor after the first Terminator failed. We can understand the motive behind T-1000’s actions as he was just an android following orders from Skynet and they were just acting to prevent their destruction.
#9: Roy Batty
Played By: Rutger Hauer
Movie Name: Blade Runner
Franchise Name: Blade Runner
Roy Batty was violent and ruthless, but the reasons behind his actions were relatable as he was only acting in self-preservation. He had a tragic past as he was born in servitude. If you had a chance to extend your life, would you not do everything in your power to accomplish that?
#8: Smeagol/Gollum
Played By: Andy Serkis
Movie Name: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Franchise Name: The Lord of the Rings
The Power of the Ring was too much for the poor soul of Smeagol. We have all succumbed to temptation at some point in our lives, so we have no right to call Smeagol evil.
#7: Harley Quinn
Played By: Margot Robbie
Movie Name: Suicide Squad
Franchise Name: DC Extended Universe
It would not be wrong to call Harley Quinn’s past tragic as she was in a toxic relationship for years and that too with the Clown Prince of Crown himself. Harley Quinn, in a bid to prove herself to the Joker, engaged in illegal activities and that started her downfall.
#6: Darth Vader
Played By: David Prowse/ James Earl Jones
Movie Name: Original Star Wars Trilogy
Franchise Name: Star Wars
Growing up without a father as a slave on a rundown planet, it was very difficult for Anakin and his mother and then his last string of happiness was snatched away by the Jedi. Losing everything you believe in would push anyone over the edge and this only proves that Darth Vader was more human than we thought.
#5: Thanos
Played By: Josh Brolin
Movie Name: Avengers Infinity War
Franchise Name: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Thanos’ ultimate goal was noble, it was his methods that caused all the problems. He was right in his eyes as he was trying the save the world from an inevitable demise. He was willing to sacrifice his all, in order to do what no one could do.
#4: Erik Killmonger
Played By: Michael B. Jordan
Movie Name: Black Panther
Franchise Name: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Like most of the villains on the list, Killmonger had a tragic past as well. His father was murdered when he was just a kid, and he grew up fighting for basic necessities. He realized that Wakanda had the tools to liberate all the black people in the world and he just wanted to avenge his father.
#3: Severus Snape
Played By: Alan Rickman
Movie Name: Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, Order of the Phoenix, etc.
Franchise Name: Harry Potter Franchise
All of us hated Severus Snape with a passion until we found out about his true intentions. He had an extremely broken past, and Lily was the only ray of hope in his life and even though he could not have her, his actions were motivated by her love till his very last breath.
#2: Magneto
Played By: Ian McKellen/ Michael Fassbender
Movie Name: X-Men, X-Men First Class, etc.
Franchise Name: X-Men
Since childhood, Magneto was treated as a monster even though he was not one. He grew up making mistakes just like the rest of us but he could not take it anymore after he lost his daughter and that is when he chose to become the monster, we thought he was.
#1: The Joker
Played By: Joaquin Phoenix
Movie Name: Joker
Franchise Name: –
The most frightening thing about The Joker is that it could have happened to anyone of us. We all are fighting battles in our daily lives and The Joker is one who lost that battle. He said it himself best, “All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.”
