-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Synesthesy
Am I the only one who think that the IFCC will be the last, strongest and most dangerous enemy in the comic?
Probably. However, their status as fiends make them hard to relate to, and many stories involving fiends often keep them in the background to aid in an air of mystique, inhumaness and cunning. So I'm not really going to expect them to appear all that often, nor to be well understood by anyone. Doesn't mean they aren't great, however.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
2D8HP
I know I already picked, but I want to give a shout-out to the villian Sabine....
And then you show a panel of her bending over in a small skirt. Tsk, tsk, you set a poor example for the children of today. I hope your wife knows about this!
I'd personally nominate Tarquin. Never underestimate a well-dressed army in a snazzy outfit!
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
unbeliever536
Iago.
Othello? Or Aladdin?
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lord Torath
Othello? Or Aladdin?
You're kidding, right?
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zimmerwald1915
You're kidding, right?
I was assuming Alladin...
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zimmerwald1915
You're kidding, right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disney Wiki
Iago is amongst the most complex characters to originate from a Disney animated feature film.
I, for one, have always believed that parrots make the best villains.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Emanick
I, for one, have always believed that parrots make the best villains.
Doesn't Kaveman26 have a Campaign Journal around somewhere where the Big Bad is the Dead Parrot Roberts?
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
I am going to go with, in order:
- Xykon. He's so funny and can also be genuinely horrifying. And the childish reason that and I always liked undead villains.
- The IFCC. For their sheer chessmaster competence and coolness.
- Tarquin. The humour and the first part of the story, where I felt that he was presented as a highly competent villain and grave threat. I'd have put him in the top spot, but I didn't like last part of his story, which felt forced and too openly making a point.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Emanick
I, for one, have always believed that parrots make the best villains.
So, Professor Pericles, basically?
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zimmerwald1915
You're kidding, right?
To be fair, we do have a lot of non-native speakers, and I think Disney is a bit more approachable to non-Anglophones than Shakespeare.
Also, why does Scooby-Doo have a villainous parrot, what?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lord Torath
Doesn't Kaveman26 have a Campaign Journal around somewhere where the Big Bad is the Dead Parrot Roberts?
I think it was this one...
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
For the record, I assumed it was Iago from Othello. I have never even seen Aladdin. I imagine it’s more fun than getting grilled on your incomplete Othello paper, so maybe I should give it a go and try to wash over my memory of the former Iago...
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Is Iago from Aladdin even count as a villain? At worst he's Lefou to Jafar's Gaston.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
martianmister
Is Iago from Aladdin even count as a villain? At worst he's Lefou to Jafar's Gaston.
From my mosey over to the Disney wiki, it looks like he has a more prominent role in the sequel.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
I would have to say Xykon. I understand that this probably isn't a particularly popular opinion, but he very nearly stands alone as being evil 'cause why the Hell not? He's not doing what he perceives as needing to be done like Redcloak, or playing a part in a story, like Tarquin, but killing and destroying because he rather likes to. But in spite of that, he's probably the most powerful mortal character to appear in the series. And don't forget, "never mistake not caring, for not knowing." He could be just as self-aware as Tarquin and perfectly in step with Redcloak's machinations, but never remarked upon it, because he finds such things tedious. He has no goals, no purpose and he'll laugh while you rant on about how yours justify what you're doing. If the Snarl is contained...if Tarquin is overthrown...is Redcloak's plot is foiled...he'll remain a credible threat to the stability of the OOTS-world.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Emanick
From my mosey over to the Disney wiki, it looks like he has a more prominent role in the sequel.
He's turned into a hero in that one.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Xykon.
Though I do feel bad for him. He was doomed from the start, given what his powers were.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
For me it's Tarquin, without a doubt. He relates to the characters in a way that most other villains never do, with some ambiguity (having them as guests, etc.). They say the best villains are those that mirror the heroes, and that make them evolve. Tarquin was that for Elan and more broadly the Order (or at least he was the villain that showcased how far they had evolved, in this very meta section of the plot).
He's psychologically interesting, and continually entertaining (going from funny to terrifying). He's savvy and competent (even though he later unravels). Unlike Xykon whose power level is high above the heroes' or Nale whose power level is similar to the heroes', he strikes a good challenge balance, being at "dire threat, but doable".
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lord_Drayakir
Xykon.
Though I do feel bad for him. He was doomed from the start, given what his powers were.
Just pointing out that you can do good with "evil" powers it just take imagination and dedication. He also could have just not used them at all and become a gardner or a businessman or something.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fyraltari
Just pointing out that you can do good with "evil" powers it just take imagination and dedication. He also could have just not used them at all and become a gardner or a businessman or something.
I incline to the view that necromancy spells aren't any more intrinsically evil than lobbing fireballs around, using dominate person or hefting pieces of sharp metal to impale your foes. Which is to say, potentially quite evil, but also standard adventuring tools.
There's also Clone and False Life, which appear to be entirely harmless applications of the school.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
While it is pleasantly refreshing to agree with you on a general topic, I must point out :
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lacuna Caster
Clone [...] which appear to be entirely harmless applications of the school.
Spell requires 1 cubic inch of flesh taken from the living body of the creature. No way this isn't going to be sorely missed. Ouch
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fyraltari
Just pointing out that you can do good with "evil" powers it just take imagination and dedication. He also could have just not used them at all and become a gardner or a businessman or something.
Something something buried talent.
But seriously, yes, that IS an option, but it is also the kind of thing where if you're given super powers as a kid... let's be honest, it's gonna corrupt you. And when the power directly causes more Evil, and thus causes the positive feedback loop to begin - Evil actions cause Evil alignment which causes Evil actions which causes... ad infinitum - I dunno if that is something you can just "not do," you know?
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lord_Drayakir
Something something buried talent.
Xykon may have had a particular affinity for necromancy, but aside from... all of the above, it's not like he's been exclusively limited to necromancy spells. We're not talking about Dr. Menace here.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lord_Drayakir
Something something buried talent.
But seriously, yes, that IS an option, but it is also the kind of thing where if you're given super powers as a kid... let's be honest, it's gonna corrupt you. And when the power directly causes more Evil, and thus causes the positive feedback loop to begin - Evil actions cause Evil alignment which causes Evil actions which causes... ad infinitum - I dunno if that is something you can just "not do," you know?
Something something discipline, something something specialized tutors.
In the end you are who you choose to be. Xykon was not led downn a path of evil because he accidentally misused his powers and the negative response around him made that snowball, that's what Tsukiko thought happened and she was wrong. Xykon is whohe is because he enjoys it, because he is too weak spirited to not choose instant gratification 95% of the time. He knows it and consciently refuses to better himself because he doesn't care about anyone else.
Because that's the kind of vilain The Giant needs for this story not a relatable human villain (that'd be Redcloak) but an unrealistic cartoonish monster of distilled evil who always was inside what he became on the outside.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fyraltari
Something something discipline, something something specialized tutors.
Spoiler: Start of Darkness
Show
Xykon killed the arrogant sonofagun who wanted to "tutor" him.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fyraltari
Because that's the kind of vilain The Giant needs for this story not a relatable human villain (that'd be Redcloak) but an unrealistic cartoonish monster of distilled evil who always was inside what he became on the outside.
I don't see Xykon as unrealistic, exactly (aside from the lichdom/sorcery, natch.) The flippancy and goofball humour actually work for him, for something like the same reasons as the Joker, because he genuinely doesn't see the difference between horrifying atrocities and comic relief.
He's just someone who was born with a particular kind of power and kind of liked using it and had no particular qualms about how he applied it for his own benefit/amusement.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zimmerwald1915
Spoiler: Start of Darkness
Show
Xykon killed the arrogant sonofagun who wanted to "tutor" him.
Spoiler
Show
To be fair, that "tutor" was the biggest heroic **** in Marvel Universe.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zimmerwald1915
Spoiler: Start of Darkness
Show
Xykon killed the arrogant sonofagun who wanted to "tutor" him.
something something competent* specialized tutors.
But that would be for non-cartoonish characters. Nothing was ever going to work with Xykon, that's kind of the point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lacuna Caster
I don't see Xykon as unrealistic, exactly (aside from the lichdom/sorcery, natch.) The flippancy and goofball humour actually work for him, for something like the same reasons as the Joker, because he genuinely doesn't see the difference between horrifying atrocities and comic relief.
He's just someone who was born with a particular kind of power and kind of liked using it and had no particular qualms about how he applied it for his own benefit/amusement.
It's not the the goofballness or flippancy that makes him unrealistic. It's the utter evilness, the fact that he is both entirely devoid of any kind of compassion and morals and completely aware of this.
Don't get me wrong, real people have always committed horrible crimes a good number of which surpassed Xykon's in scale and/or sheer depravity but the people who committed them also did otherwise good things and, most importantly, managed to convince themselves that they were somehow in the right, that it was okay to do what they did, so that they could live with themselves.
Xykon, the Joker or Darth Sidious do not act like humans.
At least that's how I see it, you may have other views on mankind, that's fine.
Side-note, the Joker and Xykon know the difference between humor and atrocity, they just won't pass the chance to do something (they think is) funny because it would be horrible.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fyraltari
It's not the the goofballness or flippancy that makes him unrealistic. It's the utter evilness, the fact that he is both entirely devoid of any kind of compassion and morals and completely aware of this.
Don't get me wrong, real people have always committed horrible crimes a good number of which surpassed Xykon's in scale and/or sheer depravity but the people who committed them also did otherwise good things and, most importantly, managed to convince themselves that they were somehow in the right, that it was okay to do what they did, so that they could live with themselves.
The Roman Empire was plagued with emperors who were not that dissimilar to Xykon. The common thread amongst them was having been born to a sitting emperor (as a related aside, there is a good argument to the idea that "the five good emperors" were all good in a row because none of them had children of their own). At the time, being born to absolute wealth and power seemed to almost systematically devoid them of any kind of compassion and morals. It is hard to say if they were aware of this or not, but from the PoV of someone in the vicinity, they were not much worse (and in some cases, they were definitely much worse) than Xykon.
Now, as to your disclaimer, some of them might have thought they were doing it for the right reasons, but not all of them did. Some did it exclusively for their own entertainment, in a world were they already had experienced everything that was possible to be experienced, and, like Xykon, were now pushing the boundaries out of sheer boredom.
Grey Wolf
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fyraltari
It's not the the goofballness or flippancy that makes him unrealistic. It's the utter evilness, the fact that he is both entirely devoid of any kind of compassion and morals and completely aware of this.
I don't think depravity like that is nonexistent in reality, just statistically very uncommon. It's a general characteristic of psychopaths- they know what's going through your head and just don't care. Most real examples wouldn't, you know, advertise it that much, but Xykon being virtually indestructible and detached from human interests in a universe with objective Evil probably adds a twist you wouldn't see in our world.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AnCearnaighMor
I would have to say Xykon. I understand that this probably isn't a particularly popular opinion, but he very nearly stands alone as being evil 'cause why the Hell not? He's not doing what he perceives as needing to be done like Redcloak, or playing a part in a story, like Tarquin, but killing and destroying because he rather likes to. But in spite of that, he's probably the most powerful mortal character to appear in the series. And don't forget, "never mistake not caring, for not knowing." He could be just as self-aware as Tarquin and perfectly in step with Redcloak's machinations, but never remarked upon it, because he finds such things tedious. He has no goals, no purpose and he'll laugh while you rant on about how yours justify what you're doing. If the Snarl is contained...if Tarquin is overthrown...is Redcloak's plot is foiled...he'll remain a credible threat to the stability of the OOTS-world.
Remember. Xykon is a litch, he is technically immortal. Even then, that makes him more of a persistent threat. If his physiclatry or whatever isn't destroyed, he always comes back, and due to being such a high level spellcaster, he has massive power trips. Near Immortality plus extreme power results in an extreme uncaring for normal mortal blokes and disregard for life at minimum, basically a saint of a litch would usually be an uncaring bastard after a while. Xykon goes off to the deep end and wants to keep there. He kills, pillages, causes havoc and destruction, and there's not much that most people can do to punish him for that. Sure, they can possibly destroy his body, but unless he has his amulet destroyed, it's basically putting him in the corner on timeout. Thus, he can kill and destroy and enjoy it with no moral, physical, or mental repricussions for the most part, and thus, begins to become comedic. I kinda like that and fear that at the same time.
-
Re: Who is everyone's favorite villain
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Shulk
Remember. Xykon is a litch, he is technically immortal. Even then, that makes him more of a persistent threat. If his physiclatry or whatever isn't destroyed, he always comes back, and due to being such a high level spellcaster, he has massive power trips. Near Immortality plus extreme power results in an extreme uncaring for normal mortal blokes and disregard for life at minimum, basically a saint of a litch would usually be an uncaring bastard after a while. Xykon goes off to the deep end and wants to keep there. He kills, pillages, causes havoc and destruction, and there's not much that most people can do to punish him for that. Sure, they can possibly destroy his body, but unless he has his amulet destroyed, it's basically putting him in the corner on timeout. Thus, he can kill and destroy and enjoy it with no moral, physical, or mental repricussions for the most part, and thus, begins to become comedic. I kinda like that and fear that at the same time.
I should probably point out that the process of becoming a lich in the first place is "unspeakably evil and can only be undertaken by a willing character."
IE, there is no such thing as a good lich, unless a lich somehow gained a sense of compassion after the whole lichification thing.