Thor: Love and Thunder hits theatres July 7, and anticipation for another installment of the cheeky and hilarious God of Thunder is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t appear to include Loki, the fan-favorite God of Mischief.
Loki has had a believable and strong character arc as far as the MCU is concerned. Going back to his first appearance in Thor, though, Loki began as the villain in the series. Even then, there was a large amount of love for him online, and he’s not the only villain moviegoers feel so passionately for. Redditors abound have listed several of these villainous scene stealers as characters that they love to root for.
Smaug (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
Smaug was a true highlight in the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug. Redditor Spirit_Panda had far more love for this treasure-hoarding dragon than other parts of the movie. They said, “Smaug in The Hobbit pt 2. I didn’t like bard and the fishing village in general, especially the governor and his aide.”
The Hobbit trilogy was not well received by fans. There were many complaints about the series, from the insertion of characters who weren’t in the book to the heavy use of unnecessary CGI. What was universally appreciated, though, was Smaug. When watching the movie again, it is apparent how much effort went into building the character. When the rest of the film doesn’t have that attention to detail, it’s impossible to not root for the villain.
Clyde Shelton (Law Abiding Citizen)
Law Abiding Citizen is a revenge movie. Clyde Shelton is on the hunt for the people responsible for killing his family, and he points out the holes in a faulty justice system along the way. Redditor Mage2016 listed this movie with Redditor MickWounds stating, “Yep. A better ending would have been him getting away.”
This is easily one of Gerard Butler’s best action movies, but Clyde is also one of his most divisive characters. On the one hand, Clyde is committing violent acts in the name of revenge but on the other, he is on a mission that can be sympathized with. It truly chalks up to the movie’s writing, which blurred lines for the audience to where they could surprisingly connect with this character. Clyde is grief-stricken and committed to what he believes is a righteous mission.
Iceman (Top Gun)
Iceman was more of an antagonist than a villain in Top Gun, and regardless of how fans saw him, they still liked him. A deleted user listed several reasons in favor of rooting for this aviator, choosing him as the better pilot: “[Iceman] obeyed the rules, and was a skilled flier.”
A likable hero or at least an understandable hero is important to any film, and that’s what Top Gun lacked. Tom Cruise certainly had a draw as Maverick but his character consistently chose stunts and wild endeavors over being a good wingman. When the audience is given an antagonistic character who is more dependable and reliable than the lead, chances are that they will be more appealing.
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest)
Davy Jones was put forth by Silent_Shout with a deleted user seconding that notion. They added, “Calypso did kind of break his heart and then other people tried to use it to take away any semblance of freedom he actually had.”
Davy Jones is painted as this villainous character primarily due to his debt collecting with Jack Sparrow. Aside from that, he’s a character who has gone through immense heartbreak and people attempting to control him. With those facets at play, it’s difficult to not root for Davy Jones. He’s a character purely coming to collect on a deal that was struck, and he’s simply working with the cards he’s been dealt.
Roy Batty (Blade Runner)
Upvoted hundreds of times on Reddit was the suggestion of Roy Batty from a deleted user. Another user, raskolnikovredeemed, tacked on the following comment, “He was really almost the tragic hero of the story. Why’d he have to kill Sebastian though?”
Roy Batty is one of those examples where the movie villain was actually right, yet his methods of going about proving so were questionable. Batty is an android seeking to protect his kind and learning about being human in the process, and there are moments when he truly feels more human. For instance, the tears in the rain scene is packed with emotion, so much so that the audience can root for this character whose supposed to be a villain.
Johnny Lawrence (Karate Kid)
The Karate Kid franchise always made a point of the underdog attempting to topple the bully. But one deleted Redditor didn’t think the story of Daniel one-upping Johnny at the competition was fair, writing, “He’d been studying martial arts regularly and some kid who’d been at it for a week got lucky at the tournament.”
Johnny did lose to someone who had been training for a far less period of time, yet the issue runs a bit deeper than that. For an audience to have empathy for an antagonist like Johnny means that there’s an issue with the story. By giving Johnny more skill or luck by winning, there is a notable plot hole, which, in other words, means the audience has to suspend disbelief. This makes sense in fantasy or science fiction but for fiction set in real life, that’s easier said than done.
Zod (Man of Steel)
General Zod was one influential character from Man of Steel, and it’s one of the many reasons that Redditors identified him as a villain that they root for in the film. Redditor haloman69 “felt so bad for him because he was only trying to save his people.”
What draws people to his character is that General Zod has been given a purpose, which is to save his species. He’s driven and focused on a goal that defines who he is until it’s ripped away from him. Zod is an example of a villain people can relate to because he is so passionate and the audience wants him to succeed — if only he would have picked another planet.
Neil McCauley (Heat)
When asked about a movie villain they rooted for, Redditor _bobby_tables_ suggested Heat, explaining, “Al Pacino actively played the good guy as unlikeable. Was hoping Robert De Niro’s character would get away.”
This heist movie is another example of what happens when the audience is given a main character they can’t connect with as much as the villain. Likability is integral to rooting for a character, and so is complexity. Neil has layers, as he is not a one-dimensional villain with a murderous mission; he is an individual trying to get out of the game and fall in love.
Joker (The Dark Knight)
Redditor allover_twist put forth the beloved Batman villain and Dano1850 added to this idea, saying, “That hospital scene did it. What makes a good villain is the temptation of his/her idea. The more tempting the idea the better the villain.”
The Dark Knight had the perfect casting for a Batman movie. Heath Ledger’s portrayal is legendary, but what’s more impressive is the concept that came from his performance. Chaotic characters can wedge a seed of doubt into the mind of the audience, as they often have silver tongues and become convincing in their arguments. Joker did this to Harvey Dent, and if he can convince Gotham’s White Knight with his persuasive speech, he can certainly pull in an audience as well.
Magneto (X-Men Series)
Magneto has been at the forefront of the X-Men movie franchise from the beginning, and fans have witnessed so many key elements of his journey as a character. Redditor Arcade42 found Magneto a sympathetic villain, explaining, “He keeps telling the mutants that humans will always want to kill them because of jealousy and fear, and he’s legit always right.”
The mutant villain constantly circulated around the idea that humans would never understand or accept the mutant race. Magneto was right often as several times throughout the franchise, fear produced a lot of hatred. As a result of having his point consistently proven correct, the audience feels a lot of sympathy for Magneto overall.
