Sunday Fun 5: Villains

Sunday Fun Five #2:

This is a feature I do fortnightly (every two weeks) on Sundays:

Feel free to join in if you want to, either by blogging or commenting below.

If you choose to blog this, use my photo (that I spent an hour perfecting) as shown above, and make sure to mention my site as the originator: and if people blog it, I'll make a list of websites featuring this meme to go with my post: also, post your blog site info in the comment section if you blog it. That said, I don't expect much to come of it, as I do it mainly for fun, and to give myself a break from the exhausting Confessions of an Insomniac Book Devourer.

A Countdown of

The Five Literary Antagonists You Hope You Never Meet

(But Kind of, Sort of, Would Like to Admire From Afar.)

5. You're a Mean One: Mrs. Danvers, from Rebecca

From the movie: Mrs. Danvers is watching you...

Call her the epitome of negative thoughts of many women who think themselves never good enough, Mrs. Danvers is a villainess of the psychological flavor. She rarely does anything truly bad, besides bullying the unnamed heroine of Rebecca into doubting her self-worth, and some other things I may not mention due to my spoiler-free policy. Her commitment to her past mistress is legendary- everything in the house is how Rebecca liked it, she says Rebecca is the greatest woman who ever walked the Earth, etc. Mrs. Danvers is one of those antagonists who aids a dead antagonist into life once more, abetting all Rebecca's ill deeds and misconduct, despite Rebecca herself being long dead. A most disturbed individual, Mrs. Danvers is one of my top female malefactors to run away from most speedily.

4. Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or Tom Riddle, from the Harry Potter Series

Arrgh!!! Where is my nose??? 

Let's face it, if you can convince people not to say your name, you deserve to be on this list. Voldemort (yes, I dare to write it) works behind the scenes of many of the Harry Potter books, but also emerges from the shadows quite frequently in them, terrorizing the "boy who lived" as well as his friends and protectors. We have the privilege of seeing glimpses of his past life, a rarity in the sometimes murky world of antagonists, who are often not given much "screen time" in books as they deserve. Voldemort is somewhat humanized, but I didn't find myself dreading him as much as...

3. Sauron, His Creepy Eye, and Wicked Bling, from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

At Last: My Love Has Come Along... From the Movie, and Etta James

The creep factor with this villain is through the roof: an entity that can see you when you are "invisible" to everyone else, while wearing the Ring (that he made). He lusts for power, willing to do anything to get more of it. Killing people who get in the way of his quest to find the Ring is his forte, as is underestimating the ones who wish to unseat him. Chilling is the only word to describe him- I shivered in my sneakers when I read about him as a twelve-year-old, and even the movies manage to capture that side of him. But, the books are always better.

2. The Lannisters (excluding Tyrion), from A Song of Ice and Fire Series

Yes, I realize this is a gross misquotation, but it's true...

I am aware of the fact that they are not one person, but really, it's the best dynastic case of villains I've seen, and so I granted them a prominent place on this list, as well as golden devil horns, excluding Tyrion, of course (because he's one of my favorite characters [I gave him a heart of gold]). We all love to loathe this family, and they truly encompass the vat of villainous sins. Incest, murder, king-slaying, greed, lust, name a wrong, and they've done it. What makes them great villains is partially their humanity: Cersei is in love with a man who could never be her husband, Jaime's goodness is a facade that he almost wishes were true, Joffrey's cruelty may seem excessive: but you've never been king at such a young age, and Tywin... well, he's an old badger trying to hold on to his power. They are both despicable and human, and we love them for it.

1. Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, Insert a Nickname Here, from the Bible, and Lots of Other Books

Image From Wikipedia/Paradise Lost

Say what you will about this nomination, but I bet you've heard the phrase, "The Devil made me do it." He is the single most prevalent villain, accused of almost every crime, most notably leading a rebellion against God. He is the ultimate "good guy gone bad": he was an angel once upon a time, but has since gone devilish. Were there bad guys before this villain? I'm afraid I wasn't around before the Bible, so I have no answers for you. Needless to say, he is a prominent antagonist in The Bible, Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno, and many other books. See this Wikipedia article and look under "Literature" to see the countless appearances he's made in print. The prevalence of his name speaks loudly about the fear attached to his persona, as well as his longevity. We may forget a lot of villains we come across in books, but him? Methinks not.

So, how does my list match up with yours? Any additions to this villainous quintet?