Worst Villain Cliches

JakePlaid

The Top Ten

1 Wanting to rule over something

Even the villains in real life are doing it - Myuuu

"I want to rule.. THe WORLD! " - EliHbk

2 Evil laugh

Gloom Meister's evil laugh is not his real life. His real laugh is nerdy. He's my favorite villain that Austin plays in The Backyardigans. - Ilovestephanie

I absolutely hated this cliche as a kid, and it definitely hasn't changed with age. The only time I've ever really enjoyed an evil laugh was when it was presented in an ironic way with a solid joke or punchline to back it up, like the self-aware, semi-absurdist humor of Emperor's New Groove.

Kinda tacky - blackflower

Eh... Villain laughs can be done well.

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3 Falling to their death

Hades is a god. He can’t die. Hercules may have pushed him into the River Styx in the movie but he can revive himself.

Disney 101 - Myuuu

4 Angering enemies to do something bad
5 Having an extremely deep voice

Remember Falsetto Jones from Kim Possible? - 445956

6 Being crazy
7 Having henchmen with low intelligence or with bad aim

Pain and Panic

If they want to succeed then they need good help. It’s just common sense - blackflower

Can't the villain hire better ones?!? Or are they like the antagonist's cousins or something - Myuuu

Stormtroopers in a nutshell - Phillip873

8 They had a bad childhood or experience that made them evil

Naruto ruined this cliche. Does almost every single antagonist, main or minor need a tragic past?

This honestly is a pretty good cliche and it provides a more three-dimensional personality and motive for a villain. But when its overdone, as in the case of Naruto, then there's a problem. - CrimsonShark

9 They will give the heroes enough time to survive

I mean, movies like Saw, that's the point of it. But yeah it is kind of stupid when the villain purposely lets the protagonist get away for whatever reason. - Phillip873

This was pherhaps the worst thing about Despicable Me 3, when Bratt is about to laser Gru to death, they change scene with Dru and Bratt, and every time they change to Bratt, the laser is liker three meters further awway than it was the previous scene, I was like "WHY! " when I saw it. - darthvadern

I’ve always hated this cliché. They have the perfect chance to get rid of the heroes, but instead they decide to monologue or something and let the heroes defeat them. - MegaSoulhero

I’m pretty sure this is how like 60% of movie villains are defeated. I hate how they do this. It’s like they are trying to lose

10 The killer is thought to be dead but really isn't

Cough...Baby Driver... - Y2K

The Contenders

11 They believe what they're doing is right
12 Wearing dark clothes
13 Wears a longer coat than the hero
14 They watch over the protagonists with a magic orb

This is almost exclusively for Fantasy stories, so its not too common overall. - CrimsonShark

15 The villain has an easy-to-escape death trap
16 Killing their own henchmen
17 "YOU WILL DIE"

On par with the CDi Zelda games' dialogue, this is what happens when you're campy enough for a one-liner but not creative enough to come up with anything else."

18 Looking more effeminate or androgynous than the hero
19 Being bloodthirsty and killing worthy opponents
20 Being an animal that is commonly stereotyped as a villain
21 Having a species of animal as henchmen

*cough*Gargamel*cough* - 445956

22 Has longer hair than the hero
23 Wants to kill everyone or destroy the world
24 They smoke
25 They are a family member of the hero
26 They are very good at vocabulary
27 They talk rather than kill
28 If not dressed in dark colors, dressed in secondary colors
29 They do stuff because they’re evil

I’m gonna take over the world because I’m EVIL! Then Imma rob Legoland because I’m EVIL!

30 Associated with darkness
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