Sci-fi villains – we just can’t get enough of them.
From Ming the Merciless to Darth Vader, a good old-fashioned baddie can transform even the most average science fiction movie into something quite special.
But which are the best sci-fi villains in movie history? Well, we have combed the length and breadth of the galaxy to come up with a selection of baddies that are simply out of this world.
Mean and murderous they may be – but we love them anyway. Enjoy.
20. Ash
Movie: Alien
Bloody androids. You really can’t trust them.
19. Jabba The Hutt
Movie: The Return of the Jedi
Thank you Jabba for dressing Princess Leia in a gold bikinis.
17. Max
Movie: Black Hole
Max and his whisk of doom is something to be feared. Be very afraid.
16. The Daleks
Movie: Doctor Who And The Daleks
Scariest dustbins we have ever seen.
15. The Reavers
Movie: Serenity
Scary, ugly things which have no basic hygiene and probably eat their own young. We think they are French. Actually, scrub that – they are actually quite hard.
14. The Borg Queen
Movie: Star Trek: First Contact
OK, how can The Borg have a queen if they are one entity? Trekkies, help us out here. Anyway, she was pretty good and The Borg are genuinely quite a scary prospect. Damn Commies.
13. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Movie: Dune
OK, we are not huge fans of the movie, but Vladimir Harkonnen did ease our boredom somewhat. Has the same skin complaint as Cameron Diaz.
12. C. A. Rotwang
Movie: Metropolis
One of the greatest sci-fi films ever made.
11. Ming The Merciless
Movie: Flash Gordon
Ming and his sexy daughter are the ONLY reason to watch Flash Gordon. Oh, the soundrack was good too.
10. Alien Queen
Movie: Aliens
The biggest and baddest creature in the Universe. Truly terrifying.
9. General Thade
Movie: Planet of the Apes
The ONLY reason to watch the pants remake.
8. Agent Smith
Movies: The Matrix Trilogy
The real man in black.
7. T-1000
Movie: Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Added a totally different dimension to the Terminator franchise.
6. T-800
Movie: The Terminator
Not sure about you, but we preferred Arnie as a baddie.
5. Boba Fett
Movies: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi
Would have been higher but for his rather undignified death – sliding into a giant anus while screaming like a girl. Wait!! He didn’t die, did he?
4. Roy Batty
Movie: Blade Runner
With a name like that – you really would have to be good.
3. Emperor Palpatine
Movies: Star Wars series
Scared the hell out of us when we were kids.
2. Darth Vader
Movies: Star Wars series
Would Star Wars be anywhere near as good without him? We are genuinely not sure.
1. Khan
Movie: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Classic baddie with bad hair to boot.
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{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
The Borg Queen embodies the collective. There are actually several queens, from different species and across different times, all with the same mind. I think, and I may be wrong here, that they’re like the directing of the group consciousness. Like a mannequin full of termites, but lots of intelligent termites that can steer the mannequin like a creepily attractive Alice Krig looking car, make it talk, and command all the other borg to do things.
Does that help?
exactly, he aint dead! so number 1 spot for boba plx.
but bobba, was just doing his job…
No way, Darth Vader #1 hands down. Khan wouldn’t make the to 10.
Amen to that, bro!
Jabba the Hutt was so cool!
RT
http://www.anonymity.es.tc
Read the Ender’s Game series and learn about the buggers, and you will understand the Borg Queen. She’s Queen as in queen of an ant colony, not some monarch with a crown to rule her people.
Why is everything on the planet a Top-10 list or some variation thereof? I hope this is just a fad, because it’s seriously retarded.
JoeMomma:
I’m sorry, what? Khan is perfectly placed at #1. What, you don’t agree? Let me introduce your ear canal to my DESERT SPACE EELS and you’ll quickly change your mind. What’s the worst Vader could do? Force choke? Bah! You’d still disagree with him as you died.
Khan FTW!
Fuck that. Vader is #1! Play the first level of Force Unleashed on the 360 and FEEL THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As much as I love Vader, I have to ask, what the hell are you thinking. i haven’t even seen Wrath of Khan. I’ve only seen the TOS episode Space Seed, which he was in.
Kneel before Zod!
According to the book Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Boba Fett did not in fact die in the Sarlacc– he was partially digested, but his Mandalorian armor was able to buy him enough time to get out alive. I can’t recall what happened after that, but I think the armor was destroyed, and he may have retired at that point, but perhaps someone else can shed more light on those details.
HAL 9000?
I’m sorry, what? Khan is perfectly placed at #1. What, you don’t agree? Let me introduce your ear canal to my DESERT SPACE EELS and you’ll quickly change your mind. What’s the worst Vader could do? Force choke? Bah! You’d still disagree with him as you died.
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general thade? who?
genuinely unsure if star wars would be better without darth vader? there wouldn’t be any star wars without darth vader
worst movie list ever
Top 3 villains from a Star_____ movie? Seriously? This list sucks. So many much better villains. Frank in Donnie Darko? Frost? whatever
How could you miss Scorpious? He took over my #1 spot from Darth Vader!
Fans of LOTR or not, Saruman has to be on that list.
LOTR isnt sci fi thou… otherwise id agree…
khan sucks vader for 1
This list is pretty “on the nose.” I do like that Khan beat out Darth Vader in the #1 spot though. Villain lists are usually pretty run-of-the-mill, but here’s an interesting one that’s a bit more niche…
http://www.smalltowncritic.com/2008/10/25/top-10-greatest-halloween-villains-by-coop/
-DS
where is number 18?
All the fools here that are whining about Donnie Darko and LOTR villians not being included need to Read The Title Of The Article!!! It says Top 10 SCI-FI movie villians.
I think the list is pretty dead on. Nicely done.
Oh, and “KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
uhh HAL 9000 is the ultimate movie villain.
This list sucks!
I do not care about all esle, Roy Batty was included, and he has one of the greatest monologues ever sprouted by a villian. While we could have added others, like Sarris from Galaxy Quest and Bomb#20 from Dark Star, it always comes down to cutting it as best the author can.
meh, they forgot the master… old and new…
Darth Sidious, Darth Revan, and Darth malek just to name a few
Sark from Tron? Cohaagen fromTotal Recall? The Cube from Cube? The Great Evil from Fifth Element?
many villains justify their actions on their own logic. sounds like Hal to me!
DARTH vADER has to be the most scary sci fi villian of them all epecialy with that heavy breathing he dose
GENERAL CHANG from STAR TREK VI THE UNDISCOVERED CONTRY. the aliens from INDEPENDENCE DAY they destroy the WHITEHOUSE and the EMPIRE STATE BUILDING,
JABBA THE HUTT from RETURN OF THE JEDI he kisses poor leia i mean its worse then torture CAPTIAN NEMO he is a fanatic THE CYBERMEN and THE DALEKS from DR WHO their completly ruthless the MARTIANS from the classic GEORGE PAL version of WAR OF THE WORLDS their cold blooded murderers who get done it by our viruses and germs or ZURE from THE LAST STARFIGHTER he espapes and we never find out what happened to him THE TRADE FEDERATION from STAR WARS I THE PHANTOM MENACE
GENRAL GREVIOUS a ruthless four armed droid DARTH MUAL he looks like the devil himself,
DARTH SIDEOUS and who was that creep that ANIKIN SKYWALKER challenged in the POD RACE he was a cheater who loses at the end he reminds me of a camel and the POD RACE is a bit like that JAY WARD cartoon TOM SLICK
the guy is a dug named sebulba
george lucas number one, for ruining the first three star wars films with the trash he released afterwards, all for the sake of a few extra millions
Palpatine should be #1 – why?
1) He destroyed all but two of his enemies
Killed 3 Jedi in less than 15 seconds
2) Tricked both sides into a war so he could gain power.
3) Got the most powerful person on his enemies side to join him (vader)
4) Trained Darth Maul
5) Built a space station that could destroy a planet
6) Shoots lightning out of his fingers
7) Declared himself an emperor
9) Has the best evil laugh
10) Beat Yoda in a fight
Khan before Vader? What an epic fail.
nice list, except for Vader , he gotta be number one.
WTF !!!
Vader is #1 when I hear evil, bad , or villain, I imagine Badass Anakin Skywalker.
Senator later Emporer PALPATINE obsest with power and thats the worst kind of villian,DR FRANZ REINHEART from THE BLACK HOLE he was the builder and master of MAX,GENERAL CHANG from STAR TREK VI THE UNDISCOVRED COUNTRY would frame two inocent men and trigger a galactic war between the federaation and the klingon empire
Who mentioned Frank the Bunny? Am I the only one here that doesn’t see Frank as a villain? The way I see it, he was either: A. resetting time as it should be or B. saving his own ass.
Sure, you can say good or bad things happened only because of his indirect interference, but you could say that of anyone.