I’m really excited about today’s Top Ten Tuesday as it’s all about something close to my heart: the dark side! Yes today’s Top Ten Tuesday is celebrating villains so below are some of my favourite villains, character I love to hate, or just to hate!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Villains
Sherlock
Moriarty
The Moriarty that appears in The Final Problem is a wonderful criminal mastermind. I adored the novel Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz but no-one can deny Andrew Scott completely made the role his own in Sherlock. The crown jewels scene is so iconic it even has its own Funko Pop which I really want to add to my collection
The Lion King
Scar
Scar is without doubt my favourite Disney villain! Yes he’s absolutely despicable, yes he killed his brother and sent his nephew into exile but Be Prepared is one of the best Disney songs going!
Die Hard
Hans Gruber
Die Hard – I love this film so much! It’s become a bit of a go to movie for me and I could happily sit and watch it week after week. Bruce Willis is of course great as John McLean and the film is full of action, fight scenes and explosions some of my favourite things in movies. However without a doubt in my mind it’s Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber that makes this film – he has some fantastic lines but his presence, his delivery and yes that voice, he makes the quintessential villain.
Alice In Wonderland
Queen of Hearts
I am a late convert to rating the Queen of Hearts and I must confess my appreciation of her as a character doesn’t come from the original source material (I haven’t read it), or either of the Disney adaptations but instead comes from Marissa Meyer’s Heartless – I love the twist it put on her background and added depth to the Disney caricature.
Harry Potter
Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore and Bellatrix Lestrange
Having grown up with Harry Potter Lord Voldemort had to feature on this list, cruel, ruthless and unafraid to play on the elites fears to get what he wants – power! Much more controversially on my list of Harry Potter villains is Albus Dumbledore himself, Leader of the light, I definitely think he’s morally questionable though and I completed a discussion post all about it! Finally Bellatrix Lestrange had to make my list – Helena Bonham Carter just brings the character to life in the films and as much as I wouldn’t want to bump into her in a dark alley she is delightfully insane.
Star Wars
Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader and Kylo Ren
Not going to lie I’m a Star Wars geek, I love it! Emperor Palpatine is the bad guy pulling the strings in the original trilogy, his backstory is interestingly developed in the prequel trilogy. Darth Vader is of course THE villain of the whole Star Wars saga, the mysterious masked man leading the destruction of planets. Vader is the centre of one of the biggest reveals in cinematic history, instantly recognisable by a breath alone and he has his own theme music! Plus lets be honest who hasn’t had the occasional day where someone has irritated you and you just wish you could force choke someone like Vader! Kylo Ren is the antagonist of the new trilogy – Leader of the First Order I can’t wait for the final film to discover if he embraces the dark side fully or finds redemption. I’m not even sure which I’d prefer!
The Chronicles of Narnia
Jadis – The White Witch
Jadis is The White Witch who plunged Narnia into eternal winter in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Jadis was incredibly intelligent, but cold, calculating and utterly ruthless. Ruling through fear and unafraid to turn anyone who disagrees with her to stone – she also ensured that although it was always winter it was never Christmas!
Scandal
Eli Pope
King of deception and manipulation Eli Pope heads up a spy agency known B613. Throughout Scandal Eli proves there’s not much he won’t do to get watch he wants.
Hercules
Hades, Pain and Panic
I have only ever watched Hercules once, in the cinema when it was originally released. My uncle took me to watch it and I really don’t remember much, although I loved Pegasus and my uncle nabbed a huge poster from the cinema he worked at for my Christmas present that year. What I do remember though is Hades, Pain and Panic being the most hilarious trio of bad guys. Of course that could just be ten year old me…
Sleeping Beauty
Maleficent
Maleficent is another villain who I have come to appreciate much more with the introduction of her backstory in the Angelina Jolie film. The heartbreak and betrayal of her past certainly adds a layer of depth, and to an extent, understanding to her decision to curse Aurora
So there we have ten of my favourite villains plus a few extra! Who are some of the villains that stick in your mind? If you’ve shared your own Top Ten Tuesday let me know in the comments!
Sarah Withers Blogs 
TeaPartyPrincess
Some absolutely excellent villains here! I always love it when you get a good, complicated backstory for a villain, it makes them so much more powerful. And villainous.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk
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Sarah @ SWB
Thank you! And yes I love a good backstory, I don’t want my villains to be two dimensional bad guys, I want to understand why they’re doing what they’re doing and be torn about how I feel about them!
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goldenbooksgirl
Scar is my favourite Disney villain too, and I totally agree Be Prepared is an incredible song. I hated Eli when I watched Scandal too!
Amy x
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Sarah @ SWB
I really think if you made me name my favourite Disney song as much as I love some of the others I would have to pick Be Prepared every time! Disney do have some fantastic villains though
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Lakshmi
Good to see Jadis and Maleficent on these lists, didn’t know they were such popular villains! Also, SCAR. (Beeee prepareeeed!) The Lion King films are just lovely, aren’t they?
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Sarah @ SWB
I adored the original – for me it was the highlight of a fantastic period of Disney movies!
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Aymee (@asphaltcowgrrl)
I love your list this week! You have a lot that I haven’t seen yet. But OMG, Andrew Scott’s Moriarty is my favorite by far (and I love anything Sherlock).
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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Sarah @ SWB
I adore Sherlock! I have the Sherlock funko pop but I definitely need to add Moriarty in his crown to my collection!
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iloveheartlandx
I love this list, you have so many brilliant villains here!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/top-ten-tuesday-182/
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Sarah @ SWB
Thanks! I love a good villain, especially if they have an interesting backstory, I do love to me torn about empathising with them whilst remembering they’ve done some bad things!
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iloveheartlandx
Yes, that’s always the best!
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readitandweepgirls
Girl, this list is amazing! I can’t believe I didn’t include a Star Wars villain in my list, I’m also a huge Star Wars dork! I would’ve included Darth, Anakin is a truly fascinating character. But I like Kylo a lot too. And omg I’m obsessed with Adam Scott as Moriarty, Sherlock is one of my favorite shows!! 😱❤️
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Sarah @ SWB
Vader has always fascinated me, I remember my uncle dressing up in a Darth Maul mask and appearing at breakfast one morning and terrifying me!
I’m so intrigued as to what will happen with Kylo in the final movie, I feel he’s gone from misguided to nonredeemable by the end of the first movie and then on the edge by the end of the second, Adam Driver is such a great actor and perfect for the role!
I’ve always loved the Sherlock books, I bought myself the complete collection as a young teenager, but Sherlock is an incredible TV series, I’m still living in hope that they manage to get everyone back together for another episode or two at some point!
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readitandweepgirls
Oh gosh that would’ve scared me so bad! Haha my brothers and I would dress up as different characters for Halloween 😂
Me too! I feel like Kylo is a really interesting character, a lot of people I know don’t really like him but I think his desperation makes him a fascinating villain.
And oh gosh me too haha it’ll be like another five years before that happens though 😭 I wish the show was more frequent, but the episodes we do get are damn near perfect so I can’t really complain too much haha.
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Ari @ Books. Libraries. Also, cats.
The White Witch totally freaked me out as a kid! I was obsessed with Narnia and always climbing around in my closet looking for an entrance!
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🎃🕸Renee Lake👻💀 (@damianarose)
Ok I love half your list. Hercules, Die Hard, Moriarty, Star Wars 🙂
My ttt
http://www.thehauntedgravebooks.com/2018/10/haunted-october-top-ten-locations-that.html
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Kirstie Ellen
Some great characters on this list! Very interesting that you included Dumbledore 🤔 the White Witch is one of my most hated children’s fiction villains!! She’s right up there with Miss Trunchbull from Matilda.
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Brooke Lorren
Jadis and Scar were definitely evil. I loved the Queen of Hearts’ backstory in Heartless.
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Aj @ Read All The Things!
I agree that Dumbledore is a villain. He made some really bad choices and put a lot of kids in danger. No one should have trusted him with a school.
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Siobhan @ Novelties
I love all of your choices.
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