Greatest Comic Book Villain Portrayals – Part 5

Welcome to the epic conclusion of the countdown of the greatest live action portrayals of comic book villains! It’s been fun making this least and writing about it. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey as much as I have. Without further ado, I give you the best of the best…or perhaps the best of the worst, as we are dealing with the bad guys, right? The best at being bad? However you want to put it.

As always, here’s a quick recap of the previous entrants:

25. The Penguin – Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)
24. The Joker – Cesar Romero (Batman – TV Series)
23. Deacon Frost – Stephen Dorff (Blade)
22. Saint of Killers – Graham McTavish (Preacher)
21. Doctor Octopus – Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2)
20. Vulture – Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
19. Deathstroke – Manu Bennett (Arrow)
18. Green Goblin – Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man)
17. The Governor – David Morrissey (The Walking Dead)
16. Catwoman – Julie Newmar (Batman – TV Series)
15. Hela – Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok)
14. Captain Cold – Wentworth Miller (The Flash)
13. The Joker – Jack Nicholson (Batman)
12. Helmut Zemo – Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War)
11. Magneto – Ian McKellen (X-Men)
10. Cottonmouth – Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage)
9. Bane – Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises)
8. Ra’s al Ghul – Liam Neeson (Batman Begins)
7. Erik Killmonger – Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)
6. Negan – Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead)

On to the Top 5!

5. Kilgrave – David Tennant (Jessica Jones)

Performed to icky perfection, David Tennant took a surprise turn as not only a villain, but an altogether sleazy and irredeemable one like Kilgrave. It’s hard to take a character that uses their ability to control people’s minds to rape and murder, and actually make it charismatic without going into sympathetic territory, but Tennant pulled it off wonderfully. In fact, the writers’ brief attempts late in the season to try to make Kilgrave seem somewhat sympathetic by showing the tragedy of his backstory is the only real knock on the portrayal. The character is evil and manipulative, period.

4. Loki – Tom Hiddleston (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Now, Loki on the other hand, while being manipulative and selfish, rarely comes across as actually evil. Oozing charisma and charm, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki quickly became one of the most recognizable and popular characters in the MCU. Even when he does things that are in conflict with the hero (most often his half-brother, Thor), you can’t help but like him. Easily the best portrayal at blurring the lines between hero and villain of any performance on this list, and even finally achieved heroic status in the opening scene of Infinity War, in a final sacrificial act of standing up to Thanos to attempt to protect the Space Stone.

3. Thanos – Josh Brolin (The Avengers: Infinity War)

Speaking of the Mad Titan. While he may have had brief appearances in the first Guardians of the Galaxy and mid-credit stinger of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Josh Brolin’s Thanos didn’t really become a thing until The Avengers: Infinity War. There was a lot riding on his performance, as Thanos was the biggest of big bads in the MCU…the villain that they’d been building to for 10 years. And he did not disappoint! Brolin delivers a powerful, layered, even emotional performance. The shifting of the character’s motivations from simply wanting to impress Death by wiping out half the universe in order to “balance the scales” to instead callously feeling like he’s actually “saving” half the universe due to dwindling resources added another layer of depth to an already incredible character.

2. Kingpin – Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil – TV Series)

As far as real-world type villains in the comics, the Kingpin reigns supreme. And Vincent D’Onofrio’s take on him in the Daredevil series on Netflix follows suit in the realm of comic book media properties. Charlie Cox is great as the titular hero, but D’Onofrio brings such a weight and depth to the Kingpin that they seem almost equals in importance and interest. Menacing and prone to tantrums of ultra violence, yet brilliant, calculating, and methodical in his schemes, he makes for a truly captivating villain. His performance is also a fantastic example of explaining a villain’s tragic backstory and motivation without generating sympathy for them.

1. The Joker – Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

As if there were anywhere else to go with the top spot. Not only is Heath Ledger’s Joker the greatest villain live action portrayal, it is the greatest character portrayal in a comic book property, period. As captivating a characters as you’ll find, Ledger’s performance is everything you could want in a villain: compelling, menacing, devious, cunning, and completely insane…not to mention insanely quotable. While the other two Jokers that made the list played up the crazy a bit over-the-top, Ledger delivered a grounded, utterly horrifying view of chaos personified.

 

The 25 Greatest Comic Book Movies (Revised) – Part 5

This is it. The top 5 greatest comic book movies of all-time. The final installment is pretty much unchanged from the last time, with only one new addition, and all the rest remaining in the same slots as before. With each having two films in the Top 5, we can definitively say that The Dark Knight and Captain America series are the best comic-based franchises Hollywood has produced.

5. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

The lastest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While not a direct adaptation of the story arc from the comics, the film hits a few of the high points, but takes the story in a completely different direction in others. A compelling story, fantastic acting (especially from Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther), one of the most complex villains in the MCU so far, great direction, and amazing fight coreography make this a truly incredible film. Getting to see Spider-Man come home to the MCU was another highlight.

 

4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a game-changer for comic movies, and the greatest solo film in the MCU. Far more a smart, political thriller than an overly action-heavy popcorn flick, this movie covers some major topical issues that we’re facing in a modern, technology-driven world. Aside from showcasing how intelligent a comic-based movie can be, the film also rocked the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its core with the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D., the outing of HYDRA, and the faked death of Nick Fury. The fight coreography is the best ever in a comic movie, and in the conversation of best in cinema, period.

 

3. Batman Begins (2005)

The first chapter in Christopher Nolan’s reality-grounded Dark Knight Trilogy. Finally a Batman story that showed the audience how a billionaire orphan became the world’s greatest detective and guardian of Gotham City. A great script and Nolan’s brillaint direction are paired with spot-on casting across the board, with Christian Bale (Batman), Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon), and Liam Neeson (Ra’s al Ghul) giving particularly great performances. Cillian Murphy also delivers a wonderfully creepy portrayal as the Scarecrow. This is easily the greatest origin story in comic book movie history.

 

2. The Avengers (2012)

The culmination of the first phase of the most ambitious project in cinema history, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’d seen two movie franchises mash up (Freddy vs. Jason, Alien vs. Predator) to varying degrees of success, but to combine four individual franchises in one monster team-up was ground-breaking. Intricately weaving them into one universe seemed a near impossible task, but Marvel Studios and Joss Whedon did so marvelously (pun intended). Getting to see alpha personalities of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, and Nick Fury all thrown together was truly a sight to behold. Whedon also hammered out a great story that brought them all together in an organic, unforced manor (unlike a certain DC team-up movie).

 

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

Easily the greatest comic book movie ever made. In terms of pure storytelling, The Dark Knight is unmatched. Powerful and epic in scope, yet minute in subject. The diametrically opposing ideas of order vs. chaos have never been so beautifully displayed. Bale and Oldman again, give strong performances, but they along with everyone else that has ever been in a comic movie, are completely overshadowed by the masterful work of Heath Ledger as The Joker. Ledger brings a real-world darkness and insanity to a role that is so often portrayed as silly and/or over-the-top, earing him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the lone major acting award win for a comic book movie role.

 

I’m looking forward to revisiting this list again next year. Can movies like Suicide Squad or Dr. Strange claw their way onto the list? We’ll find out.