Just want to know what villains would be on your guys' top 5 villains list, because I'm weird like that.

I'll do mine once I've seen everyone's 8D.

Deathstroke
Joker
Sam Heap
Satan (Blue Exorcist version)
Hirouken Emperor

Picking shit out of my bunghole,

1. Megatron (Transformers)
2. Cobra Commander (GI Joe)
3. Max (from The Losers)
4. Harbinger (Mass Effect)
5. Haytham Kenway (Assassin's Creed III)

To kind of explain my choices,

Megatron and Cobra Commander are pretty iconic and cross quite a few mediums and have this timeless, irredeemable villain quality to them that's entertaining as hell. A lot of people can recognize them just from their design, which kind of puts them on a similar plane as Darth Vader; you might have never seen the movies or shows/ read the comics but they're so ingrained in pop culture that they've transcended the generation they were created in.

The Losers (the graphic novel, not the campy movie) is a pretty friggin' awesome story that I highly recommend about a betrayed group of US Special Forces soldiers that are caught up in a rogue CIA agent's plot and are thought to be dead/ accused of being war criminals by Max, the said Rogue CIA agent. Max's staying power in the story stuck with me, especially because I honestly had no idea what his big plan was or how the Losers were going to take him down to clear their names, but it kept me engaged the whole way through. He's also one of those charismatic and very well presented individuals that you can't help but like, despite what a raging asshole they happen to be.

Harbinger's the chief bad guy in the Mass Effect Trilogy, despite making his debut in ME2 as the leader of the Reapers, the race of sentient machines that return every 50,000 years to harvest and destroy every civilization in the galaxy. I was tempted just to put Reapers here, but since I get the impression this is just about singular characters, I went with the guy who orchestrated every major event in the series, from ordering Sovereign to remain behind to open the Citadel to allow the Reapers to return in the first game to being the controller of the Collectors who are the primary antagonists of the second game, to leading the Reaper invasion in the 3rd game, just about everything can lead back to Harbinger. Mass Effect, hands down, is my favorite game series of all time and you don't spend 60 hours playing something so well written and engaging without getting emotionally attached to it, especially the overwhelmingly bleak premise of the entire series, which one of the developers compared to if you are an ant in an ant farm, how do you stop the scientists from coming and clearing out the tank? Knowing you're eventually going to have to deal with hundreds, if not thousands, of Reapers ranging from 160 meters to 2 kilometers in length and are powerful enough to single-handedly destroy entire fleets of state of the art military warships, is just a bit overwhelming.

And last but not least, Haytham Kenway is by far one of my favorite villains in any form of media, a Templar who was by far the most interesting part of Assassin's Creed III, which is universally seen as the worst of the series. He's charismatic, charming, incredibly skilled and intelligent, and he has just enough dry, biting humour to make him endearing, especially considering how ruthless he is. Seeing as you play the first lengthy part of the game as him and his encounters and relationship with his son, Connor (who is the main character in the game that you play with for most of it), he gives the Templars their own distinct voice in the game and in some ways makes it easier to understand why they pursue their goals, as well as casting some justified criticism at the Assassins. The interplay between the father and son from two ancient, warring orders was my favorite part of that game and I think in many ways, it stuck with me more than most of the other character relationships in the other games.

No particular order, really.

But firstly, honorable mentions, because It was real hard to choose xD. Doctor Doom, Mr Sinister, Venom, Darkseid, Father(FMA:Brotherhood), Asura(Soul Eater), Colonel Nohman(Zone of The Enders), Kessler(Infamous), Grigori(Dragon's Dogma), The Elder God/Mortanius The Necromancer(Legacy of Kain). And many more.

1.Thanos
2. Kruger
3. Handsome Jack
4. Andrew Ryan/Father Comstock
5. Apocalypse

Thanos - The Mad Titan really goes without saying for why he's one of my favourite villains. Anyone who's familiar with Marvel will mostly know him through the Infinity Gauntlet storyline where he nearly wiped out all of earth's heroes. Thanos is one of those masterminds that won't hesitate to get his hands dirty, the guy is pretty much super strong and fast, plus he can wield and manipulate cosmic energy. His obsession with Mistress Death is one of the more interesting "relationships" in Marvel, as he is willing to be an omnicidal maniac just to show his love for Death. He also fought Odin, taking a direct blast from him and getting back up to exchange a few words with him. He gets some respect for that at least xD.

Kruger - I'd consider him the main villain in Elysium. Say what you will about the movie, but god damn Sharlto Copley's performance as this psychotic, sadistic, unpredictable killer was the best highlight of the movie. You slowly start to see him unravel in his scenes, slowly becoming more reckless, and crazed. Every scene, Kruger stole the light for me, and he's probably the more recent villain on this list. I have a soft spot for Psychopaths.

Handsome Jack - I cannot stress how much I love Handsome Jack. one of the best characters introduced in Borderlands 2, was the main villain. He's egotistical, funny, deranged, and one helluva douchebag, offering commentary every so often on your adventure to kill him. While at first it seems like the typical Douchebag villain, certain Audio logs, and plot points in the story show more of a cunning, merciless side to him. Humor is a big part of Borderlands 2, and probably half of the more hillarious one liners and comments come from Jack himself.

Andrew Ryan/Father Comstock - It was hard since both of these guy are greatly written and performed by their respective voice actors. Where to begin? Andrew Ryan, one of the more iconic Video Game villains, especially for the popular "Would you Kindly" scene, to which you are given a plot twist which is well executed. Both characters represent Utopias. One has fallen, showing the loss of humanity over gaining power, hence why the Splicers are always after adam, they crave it. Whilst on the opposite end, It's an utopia built with very questionable morals, a sort of "The deeper you go, the darker it gets" like theme. While I don't want to get into a full on talk about why these characters are some of the best villains in Video Games, I will say that anyone who's played the first Bioshock and Infinite will understand why I chose them.

Apocalyspe - First exposure was from the X-Men animated series in the early nineties. He reminds me of Thanos, in that they are both egotistical Masterminds, and both are capable of getting their hands dirty. Apocalypse is considered the oldest, and one of the first Mutants, from Ancient Egypt. He has a "Survival of The Fittest" belief, wanting to rule over Earth with that same philosophy. The Age of Apocalypse is one of my favourite Comic Series in Marvel.

Dr Eggman.
Zinyak [Saints Row 4]
Scar [FMA, at least when he was a baddie]
Vaas Montenegro [FarCry 3]
Chucky, if he counts.

What a messed up list.

Dervish said And last but not least, Haytham Kenway is by far one of my favorite villains in any form of media, a Templar who was by far the most interesting part of Assassin's Creed III, which is universally seen as the worst of the series. He's charismatic, charming, incredibly skilled and intelligent, and he has just enough dry, biting humour to make him endearing, especially considering how ruthless he is. Seeing as you play the first lengthy part of the game as him and his encounters and relationship with his son, Connor (who is the main character in the game that you play with for most of it), he gives the Templars their own distinct voice in the game and in some ways makes it easier to understand why they pursue their goals, as well as casting some justified criticism at the Assassins. The interplay between the father and son from two ancient, warring orders was my favorite part of that game and I think in many ways, it stuck with me more than most of the other character relationships in the other games.

The Assassins are the real villains of the story arc.

1. Darth Vader (Star Wars)

I mean come on. How has this not been posted yet? Darth Vader *consistently* has better international recognition than the president of the United States.

2. Colonel Kurtz (Apocalypse Now)

Not all antagonists are villains. Kurtz is. Kurtz' legendary brutality puts him in a league of his very own.

3. Bad Horse (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog)



4. Yurt, the Silent Chief (Demon's Souls)

Part of his appeal is in his presentation. While you struggle to find your humanity, Yurt is secretly murdering all your friends and allies -- the last living things in the universe. You won't know it's happening until it's too late, and there's no way to bring them back.

5. Raoul Silva (007: Skyfall)

The best villain in a long series of notorious villains. Played to perfection by Javier Bardem, a regular in Cormac McCarthy films (No Country for Old Men, the Counselor). I can't even say 'Raoul Silva' without immediately wanting to watch Skyfall again. In fact...... yeah, yep, this is happening now.

Extra list of five, because I can:

1. Ben Wade, from 3:10 to Yuma
2. Moriarty, from Sherlock (prefer the BBC version, but most Moriarty incarnations are good)
3. Loki, from the Marvel movie series (be honest, you're thinking it too)
4. Joker, from Dark Knight (not that interesting from a character standpoint but damn was it ever done well)
5. Handsome Jack, from Borderlands 2 (Butt Stallion says hello)

The Joker (Tim Burton's Batman and the Dark Knight)
Pious Augustus (Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem)
Walter Sullivan (Silent Hill 4: The Room)
Makoto Shishio (Rurouni Kenshin)
The Loc Nar (Heavy Metal)

Honorable Mentions:

Captain Martin Walker (Spec Ops: The Line) - depends upon the ending, but in truth as you play the game, you begin to suspect the real villain is Walker and not the Colonel.
Max Cady (Cape Fear)
Jigsaw (SAW series...if it counts)
Officer Frank Tenpenny (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
Edge/H30 (Remember Me)
The Horseman (Metallica: Through the Never)
Lavona Succuboso (Metalocalypse)

The Nexerus said
The Assassins are the real villains of the story arc.

It depends if you favour the ideals of compassionate anarchists over benevolent dictators. It's very morally grey, which is why I really love the whole premise behind the series.

I could have done without the whole First Civilization thing, because the rest of it's captivating.

mdk said
1. Darth Vader (Star Wars)I mean come on. How has this not been posted yet? Darth Vader *consistently* has better international recognition than the president of the United States.

Darth Vader's a shoe in for a solid and obvious choice. I thought some variety would be nice, personally.

Do you count when the protagonist is also the villain, ie Walter White?

Dervish said
It depends if you favour the ideals of compassionate anarchists over benevolent dictators. It's very morally grey, which is why I really love the whole premise behind the series.I could have done without the whole First Civilization thing, because the rest of it's captivating.

Pseudo-anarchists. They have an established ranking system. They also happen to be a cult that worships ancient aliens, but that's besides the point.

I agree about the subjectivity of the factions, though. That's one thing Ubisoft got right.

1.Glad0s (Portal)- I get the feeling everyone who played the portal series and made a list is going to be banging their head against the wall for not adding her now.

2. Xykon (Order of the Stick webcomic)- Few other villians reach the level of evil that Xykon is at, none manage to be so fucking comedic while doing so.

3. The Thing(John Carpenter's The Thing - If it existed, it would have taken over the universe by now.

4. Gentleman Johnny Marcone (Dresden Files)- He's pretty much always a side-protagonist, but he is definitely a villain. He's a normal human in a supernatural world who is so badass he has been recognized by major supernatural entities as the baron of Chicago.

5. Jan Valentine (Hellsing Ultimate, The TFS abridged Version) - Skull-fuckings for everyone!

Honorable Mentions:
Master (Fallout 1)
Pyramid Head (Silent Hill)
The Lich (Adventure Time)
SHODAN (System Shock series)
Clockwerk(Sly Cooper series)
Wheatley (Portal 2)- The Only reason he's not on the list is because I didn't want to fill it with multiple characters from the same series.
And most other villians people have listed

1. Kazuo Kiriyama(Battle Royale)
2. Hänsel and Gretel(Black Lagoon)
3. Sasori(Naruto)
4. Karl Ruprecht Kroenen(Hellboy)
5. Insane Black Rock Shooter(Black Rock Shooter

I list these as they come to mind.

1. Light Yagami (Death Note)
2. Hannibal Lecter (Red Dragon Series? Not sure what the novels are referred to as.)
3. Alex "DeLarge" (A Clockwork Orange. Maybe not a 'villain per say, but y'know.)
4. Norman Bates (Psycho)
5. Freddy Kreuger (Nightmare on Elm Street, just because I can.)

Larfleeze
The Joker
Hush
Venom
Darth Vader

(Will explain later)

Here's my five, of movies and literature, in no particular order:

Bill the Butcher, The Gangs of New York: He's a cruel, twisted man but damn if he's not charasmatic. A bad guy who also has a code of rules he abides by. He was played so well by Daniel Day Lewis I was not mad when he took revenge on Leo Decaprio's character ( I don't even remember that guy's name).

Saruman the Wizard, The Lord of the Rings: One of the wise, the highest ranked of the immortal Maiar and yet tempted like any man with promises of incredible power, knowledge, and treasure by Sauron. I chose him over the Eye because he was supposed to be good, to watch over Middle Earth and instead he lay waste to it and was responsible for the death of untold amounts of people and the invasion of the Shire.

Napoleon, the Pig, Animal Farm: Leads the revolution of farm animals against their masters and ends up betraying them and becoming what he supposedly was against. The story of so many so called revolutionaries. I wanted him turned into bacon when I read this book back in school.

Nurse Ratched, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Whether you saw the movie or read the book, she is the personification of how evil and petty and abusive people in a position of power can become.

Patrick Bateman, American Psycho: When I first read this book, I couldn't get past the first real violent scene with the blind man and the dog. I don't believe I've ever read a book in which I hated the main character so much.

1. Claude Frollo (Hunchback of Notre-Dame)
2. Mordred (King Arthur)
3. Kefka Palazzo (FF VI)
4. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (James Bond series)
5. Saren Arterius (Mass Effect)

In no particular order:

Saren Arterius (Mass Effect)
Zachary Comstock (Bioshock)
Magneto (X-Men)
Ra's Al-Ghul (DC Comics)
Haytham Kenway (Assassins Creed)

All of these are up on my list because they are villains whom act for what they believe to be the greater good (Comstock not so much, but I just love the twist).

I strongly considered Saren, but then I realized he only makesa handful of appearances in the game and you fight him twice. I honestly thought the Illusive Man was a far more captivating antagonist.