Best Villains Who Aren't Evil
Antagonists who aren't really bad people. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Jigsaw is a character from the Saw series. He first appears in Saw as a man whose wife passed away. After that, he did lots of tests on people. His goal is teach people to appreciate life as well as the lives of others. He just has a twisted way of doing it.
Delusional, but a good person at heart.
So you're saying that a Slave Driver isn't evil because he lived in a time period where slavery was punishment? Sure, let's just ignore the fact that he tortures people for stealing bread of all things. People who were brainwashed as children are still evil, whether you like it or not. Members of ISIS were taught that it's okay to kill people as children and do we excuse their bad behavior because they were taught to kill others? No.
A product of his time period.
Norman Bates is a character created by writer Robert Bloch as the main character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the primary antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock and its sequels. Mentally ill.
John Daniel Edward "Jack" Torrance is the main antagonist of Stephen King's horror novel The Shining. Again, more of a tragic villain.
Most of Frollo's actions are easy to empathize with in retrospect. His hatred of gypsies is pretty justified in the context of the movie. His views on torture are simply a product of the time period. And his treatment of Quasimodo is easily explained when you take into account that he mistook him for a demon at first and was completely right about how the outer world would view/treat him. As for his murderous streak, it's really a side effect of him going insane more than anything.
Baron Zemo is the name of two fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was an ordinary guy from Sokovia who thought the Avengers were responsible for the death of the population and his family during their last battle.
Kyubey is a fictional character from the 2011 anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica and its related media. Kyubey and Homura (another character in PMMM) are similar in that they're not exactly evil in the sense of destroying everything for one's selfishness, but instead, they're evil in the sense of being the antithesis to good. Kyubey fights against "entropy", the reversal/conversion of the universe's usable energy into unusable/wasted energy because of a lot of complicated thermodynamics stuff that apparently has the potential of ruining the universe as we know it. You may be thinking: "It sounds like he's saving the universe, so how could he possible be considered a villain? ". Well, the reason why he's considered a despicable character for many is because of the method he uses to obtain usable energy. For further explanation, just watch the anime.
Note: He's not a good guy, but at least he fights for something that can be considered "good".
Not evil. Just an ignorant cat that doesn't know any better.
Oh, and his goal is to prevent the destruction of the universe.
So he's more like an Anti-Hero/Anti-Villain.
Not actually evil. Mentally ill.
The closest she came to hurting anyone was in the pilot. Otherwise, she's pretty harmless most of the series.
Again, how could anyone consider her a villain?
Starlight Glimmer is a recurring character, initially an antagonist, in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She first appears in the season 5 premiere, The Cutie Map. From The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2 to Celestial Advice, she is Twilight Sparkle's student in the ways of friendship. I'm not a big fan of this character but I figured she was a good pick for the list because she was technically not very evil. Just delusional and sociopathic.
Had no idea that there were actually people on that flower.
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is portrayed by Sebastian Stan.
In Goosebumps, he just wanted revenge on Stine for imprisoning him in his manuscript. In Goosebumps 2, he just wants a family. It's after he's rejected by a human family that all hell breaks loose, as he brings all his monster friends and all of Halloween to life.
Though he works with Zabuza, he's actually pure of heart. He even admits that it's difficult for him to function properly as a ninja.
Light Yagami is a fictional character and the protagonist of the manga series Death Note, created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
Sid Phillips is a fictional character in the Toy Story franchise. He serves as the primary antagonist of the original Toy Story film. Though he can be considered an antagonist, he's not a true villain due to the fact that he did not know that toys are sentient and could feel pain. And it's likely that he did what he did for three reasons:
1.) He was lonely with no friends that we know of
2.) He had an active imagination
3.) He didn't have much of a home life
While Sid was a brat, he was simply a product of his environment. He was clearly neclected and probably just wanted attention. But after finding out that the toys are alive, he does change a lot.
He seems violent, cold-blooded and willing to kill anyone, even children without any remorse. However, despite his dark and sadistic nature, he does seem capable of caring about others so he's not a complete monster. This is displayed when he tells and helps Denise escape from walkers, thus redeeming himself. This does, however, result in his death.
For a pirate and part of Captain Hook's crew, he's actually pretty good-natured and rational.
Although she did take part in the massacre and betraying The Bride, she does regret it later on. She retires from being an assassin and tries to live a normal life. And although The Bride refuses, she does try to make peace between them. I also think their relationship was based on some mutual respect.
The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss. He first appeared as the main character of the 1957 Christmas story How the Grinch Stole Christmas! In 1982, he appeared in a crossover with the Cat in the Hat, with the 25 minute episode 'The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat' and in 2018 will get another movie after the 2000 movie: 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas', with Jim Carrey playing the Grinch. In 2018, Benedict Cumberbatch has taken on the role and will play the character in 2018's 'The Grinch'. In the live action version, the mayor is the reason The Grinch hates Christmas. The mayor liked the same girl as the Grinch and he humiliated him right in front of the whole class, and he does it again years later. But the Grinch turns good after he meets Cindy Lou.
Though she works for Dr. Evil, she doesn't really seem evil. And she's really funny, mostly when she yells.
Mini-Me is not evil at all. He's a good clone. And he's really funny.