Top 5 disapppointing/Top 5 awesome villains

Hello and welcome to my probably the last journal entry and DA entry in general in 2013. Turns out this is what I wanted to do after a long wait for an inspiration.
If You were following my previous journal entries, you probably know I wanted to do a 'Top 10 most disappointing villains'. But, as it turned out, I will go with top 5 disappointing and top 5 awesome villains. Why? Well, because it's more challenging to make two lists that somehow contrast, yet are connected with each other.
For this list, there are just three rules: I must know villains personally, and just by reading about them (So for example General Shephard from Modern Warfare 2 won't show up here cause I didn't play the game), only one per franchise, and villain from one list must have some relation to their polar opposites on the next list.
So, are you ready for this countdown? Let's get started with 'Top 5 disappointing villains':

NUMBER 5: The Saints, from 'Hitman Absolution'
If you didn't play the game, the Saints are a special commando of women, who serve as the Agency's cleaners, and are sent to kill Agent 47 after their boss loses his temper. You probably know these women if you watched the controversial 'Attack of the Saints' trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXs5v-…
So, what's the problem with the Saints? Well, the first reason why that trailer was so offensive - their outfits. I can tell You one thing - No, nobody will take the professional assassin seriously in those costumes. It's just impossible, one of You has to laugh. I personally cracked up when ingame one of the Saints said Agent 47 was a role figure for them all. Sure, Agent 47 occasionally wore ridiculous outfits, but he had a reason to do so. Not to mention, I don't believe coming in disguise as nuns would work out in Iran or India.
The second problem is, the trailer lies - It's not a big action scenes with all the Saints, it's just another stealth-killing mission. And maybe it's just a nip-pick, but don't you think the Saints ingame should immediately blow 47's cover when he is wearing a disguise???
Well, they have an ingame reputation, and guards explain their back-stories in their dialogues just a little, I give them that. So that's why the Saints are just at the bottom of this list.

NUMBER 4: SCAR, from 'Lion King'
I know Lion King's fans will kill me for saying that, but like I said before 'Just because You are a fan doesn't mean You can be blind to some clearly visible flaws.' And Scar, as a whole, isn't really the best Disney villain ever. Not even by Shakespearian model.
Sure, he killed Mufasa, took over the Pride Rock and persuaded Hyennas to help him, and even almost got Simba, but plain and simple, no matter how loud You will shout at me, Scar is an IDIOT. Simple as That. First of all, what is his motivation? He wants to take the throne, that's it. And once he does that, turns out he is a horrible ruler with overblown ego. And his Ego is only matched by his stupidity. After killing Mufasa, he has Simba right there. If he wanted to kill him, couldn't he do it right there, on the spot? Or how about when he reveals he killed Mufasa, and tries to frame Hyennas for his deeds. Rule number one for one who thinks he is wise: SHUT UP!!!
I do not understand why Scar is so popular. Sure, he committed some of the darkest deeds in Disney movies, compared only to what Judge Frollo did, but still he is pretty weak. It is not power that makes us strong. Touching the power and being able to turn away from it does it. And it's clear he does not know how to use power and manage.

NUMBER 3: The Villains of 'Captain Planet and the Planeteers'
All of them. Supposedly, this TV-show was done for the art, and with good intentions. If so, then they really should have spent more money on scriptwriters and writing, especially the villains.
Because these villains are so freaking stupid. Even if they were supposed to be symbolic, this symbolism fails becausethey are not subtle at all. Think about it, would You even want to start business with somebody that a name like Looten Plunder, Hoggish Greedly ot Sly Sludge? Certainly not.
Some of their evil scheme also make no sence, like one of Verminous Scum in the episode about AIDS. Listen:
'What the people know the kid has AIDS, we can Panic the whole town! See, when people panic, they don't think! If they don't think, they'll stay stupid about AIDS and it can spread! And when it spreads far Enough, WE TAKE OVER THE EARTH!'
I am sorry, but how the hell does that work!?! I know this was made when AIDS was believed to be another Black Death, but... come on. If this was supposed to be an educational show about the need for protecting the environment, why couldn't they make it more reliable, by showing that people may harm themselves wihtout even knowing it? Did it really need villains, at all? The way I see it, the answer is: NO.

NUMBER 2: Darth Nihilus, the Lord of Hunger, from 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords'
We are getting close to number two, so it's take to take serious. Darth Nihilus, The Lord of Hunger, is what both the game and the actual game box imply is THE BIG BAD. And to be far, he is one scary villain. He is basically a Force Spirit (Wound in the Force, to be more precise), locked inside his armour and a mask, who must consume other Force sensitives or entire planets, in order to survive. He is so powerful with the Force that his will alone keeps his flagship, 'THE RAVAGER', in one piece.
And like I said, he is the one the game tells us is our Final Boss. So, how does the final fight with him look like? Well, he tries to consume the Jedi Exile (the player), weakening himself since the Exile is also a Wound in the Force, and then he goes berserk and attack with the lightsaber, and the player defeats him... in about 5 minutes. For comparison, the final fight with Darth Sion, the Lord of Pain, lasts about 10 minutes, and battle with Darth Traya, The Lord of Betrayal, lasts about 20 minutes. Wow, I mean WOW! I mean it's so Anticlimactic it's impossible to believe the game made us believe this was the Final Boss. FINAL FREAKING BOSS!!!
Well, at least there was some kind of explanation to his sudden loss of power. Number 1, however...

NUMBER 1: THE TRIX (Or Winx Club villains in general)
Yeah, as much as I hate that braingedenerating waste of time, I have to admit, I really wanted to give the Trix a chance, because I kinda liked the idea of young witches learning their stuff and gaining their first experience as spellcasters. But...Bullies!?! Evil from the start!?! Wanting to take over the world!?! Seriously, give me one good reason why must they always want to Conquer the Universe!?! WHY!?! What, is it really so hard to try making a three-dimensional villain!?!: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFDTMW…
And what is worse that we know right from the start these villain are going to blow. Believe it or not, the Trix do have a theme song to speak off. And, in my opinion, it matches them the way fist makes a match with a nose. For characters, that are supposed to be taken seriously as villains, the lame pop song taken from Hannah Montana's drunken party simply doesn't fit. In fact, listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p5vGi…
And for comparison, Darth Nihilus theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsMgL8…
BIG DIFFERENCE, isn't it?
And like I said before, they follow every single cliche used in poorly written scripts. Bullies? Checked. Psychotic and Evil from the start? Checked. Lusting for power and nothing else? Checked. Wanting to take over the Universe? Checked. Always being defeated at the last stand? Checked.
And as usual in these lazy script, we never know who they are outside of being 'evil'. Even their appearance is awful - Sure, all the outfits in this show are horrible, but the Trix are probably the worst, as they constantly make me wonder 'Those are supposed to be life-threatening villains, or BSDM prostitutes?'
With the other villains, there is nothing I can add. All of them follow the same cliches, are little more than filler, and sometimes have an even worse motivation (Diaspro, Mitzi, Chimera and Tritannus) - basically, they are villains because they do not like the protagonists too much. Are You Fucking Serious!?! They purposely betrayed their own kin, wasted their entire energy and resources, and ruined their lifes for such an insignificant reason!?! What kind of sence, does that make????
I would say something more, but I have five more villains to present, so let's end this: Winx Club is awful. And their villains very disappointing.

OK, we have left the five most disappointing villains behind, now we can discuss the five awesome villains. Let's start with...

NUMBER 5: Galactus, from Marvel Universe
I had difficulties with choosing one good villain from either Marvel or DC, but for this list I had decided to go with Galactus. And why not? He is basically a God, a Titan whose is practically  invincible (keep in mind, the power he gave to Silver Surfer are just an atom of his power). But his power has a terrible price: his power devours him, and he must consume entire planets, in order to survive. I wouldn't be surprised if that's where the idea for the World Devastators in Star Wars came from.
But Galactus goes more than just a powerful Planet Eater. He is actually intelligent, aware of what he can do, and when he has to, he can keep his promise, like he did to never devour Earth. It still doesn't change the fact he is probably the worst enemy in Marvel Universe, worse than even Apocalypse or Doomsday. And when it goes to the fact, I would go with 'The Silver Surfer' show from the 90s: That CGI effect made him even more intimidating.

Pop quiz: Who is a True Villain of Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'? Dorian Gray? NOOO! It's...

NUMBER 4: Lord Henry Wotton
He is a true reason why Dorian Gray became what he became as the story progresses. If he hadn't been there, all the deeds Dorian committed never would have happened.
Lord Henry is a hedonist, who keeps spreading his theories about the world and how one should behave, yet he never tries his theories himself. Almost as if he knew how corruptive his teachings are. But it goes way beyond just teaching Dorian. One chapter of the book has him doing research on Dorian, by which he learns of his tragic past... and which possibly helps Lord Henry guide Dorian to do exactly what he wants him to do. He is really a horrible teacher- even when he informs Dorian of Sybil's death he is like 'Come on, Dorian. Bitch is dead. Let's go to the theatre.' What an asshole.
Yeah, it's no wonder his wife leaves him by the last chapter of the book.

NUMBER 3: Alexander Lelard Cayne, from 'Hitman: Blood Money'
Now this is more what the villains of 'Captain Planet' should be like. The leader of the Franchise, Cayne uses violence only when he has to, he is more eager to persuade, to manipulate the masses to do exactly what he wants them to do. It helps that he used to be a FBI boss, and is still considered a State Security advisor.
Ingame, Cayne is making an interview to a journalist, using Agent 47's exploit as a way to justify why cloning should not be made legal. In reality, it's a diversion to ensure the Franchise will have monopoly on cloning. And needles to say, it works - very lately he turns out to be an unreliable narrator. But the journalist catches the bait, and it seems he was very close to achieving his goal. But even at the pretended 'funeral' of Agent 47, turned out he had a weapon and a body armor - clearly a professional, and a very dangerous foe despite all his weaknesses.

NUMBER 2: MALEFICENT, from 'Sleeping Beauty'
This was the first Disney movie I had ever seen. And one hell of the introduction to the villain. Maleficent is by far one of the best worst Disney villains. Sure, her motivation wasn't too deep, but the rest was pure genius. She proclaims herself the Mistress of All Evil, but as it turns out, she isn't just boasting due to her ego, she really has the Power and potential. It might as well be her title, why not?
But apart from her Power, Maleficent has a very subtle personality. She isn't just a bloodthirsty bully, she is actually intelligent, quiet and diplomatic. When she first appears, she isn't showing anger, just expressing politely and diplomatically her saddness to the fact she wasn't invited. It might have been she would have never cursed Aurora if Wearyweather just shut up and let King Stephan explain. And maybe she would understand why the runner couldn't reach her (Her fortress is called the Forbidden Mountain! What more do You require?). Anything is possible.
Also, she is one of the few villain who never had a villainous breakdown. When she turns into the dragon, she is just showing that this time she means business, and Philipp must defeat her, in order to survive and save the Kingdom. One thing for sure, You do not want to be her enemy.

And the NUMBER 1 Best Villain is...

KREIA, also known as Darth Traya, The Lord of Betrayal, from 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords'
This villain won a 2006 award for the best video game character. And that says a lot about the character. She is not just a great villain, she is also  a 'Take that' to the Continuous Decay the Star Wars Universe kept on going ever since 'Return of the Jedi'.
Kreia is a completely different type of the villain. She is not interested in taking over the Galaxy, neither is she interested in eradicating the Jedi Order. She was both a Jedi and a Sith Lord before, was betrayed by others and ever since became obsessed with the Force and studying it just so she can destroy it. That's right, she wants to destroy the Force to make Jedi and Sith realize they are it's slaves, and that it makes them weak, and that their teachings are worthless. That's one hell of a motivation.
But what also hits the player is how subtle and intelligent she is. If there were no cutscenes showing her actions behind the player's back, you would never guess she was the Big Bad. And her teachings and lines are so well thought-out You will start to think she has a point, and believe her words to be a truth about the Universe. Also, I love her voice, just watch this sample you will want to play a game just to hear her speak:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCxcJu…
By the way, tell me if that line of her sounds familiar:
Kreia: 'But I did not walk alone. To be united by hatred is a fragile alliance at best.'
...
Janek: 'We have a lot in common, though to be united by hatred is a fragile alliance at best.'

Yup, she must have been an inspiration for the Outcast. Kreia is the original Count Wallenrod, and if you decided to learn more about her, you will see why I consider her the BEST VILLAIN EVER.

As always, read, comment, fave, discuss, whatever. I hope you have enjoyed reading it just as much as I had fun trying to write it down.