Key Takeaways
- It’s worth paying more attention to villain origin stories to better understand their complexities and motivations.
- Maleficent, Cruella, and the Joker provide compelling supervillain origin stories that add depth to their respective characters.
- X-Men: First Class beautifully depicts the complex relationship between Magneto and Professor X and does justice to their ideologies.
I can’t be the only one who can’t stand to watch this Batman ‘s parents getting killed outside the theater, Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider again. Sure, these heroes are great, and their origin stories define who they are as heroes, but we’ve seen them dozens of times already. Thankfully, we Cartoon Movies There you can skip those events and get straight into the good part when your hero is established and don’t have to waste time treading old ground.
The same cannot be said about villains, however. Villains in hero stories only get a short time to establish themselves before they are finally defeated by the hero, which is a shame. Villains are often some of the more interesting characters in media, comics and otherwise. They have a dashing quality and a delightful arrogance that makes them a lot of fun to watch. What’s even more entertaining than watching an ordinary person become a hero is watching an ordinary person get dragged down by a villain. These are Awesome Supervillains The origin story finally puts the spotlight on the bad guys.
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6 Maleficent
Become the Queen of All Evil
malicious
10 dollars $27 Save $17
- starring
- Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning
- Theatrical release
- 2014
It may seem odd to call Maleficent a supervillain, but it makes sense when you think about it. She has magical powers, she can put curses on innocent girls, and she can even transform into a dragon. To me, she seems like a bona fide supervillain. As far as we know, Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty is just doing evil for evil’s sake, but this origin story gives her more depth. It’s the story of how a good person who is betrayed by the one she loves turns to evil. I’m not saying that her actions are justified, but at least this movie helps us understand how she became the wicked witch we know and hate.
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5 Cruella
Not black and white
Cruella
$14 $39 Save $25
- starring
- Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Ray
- At the Theatre
- 2021
Continuing on the topic of Disney villains, Cruella was a character most people never expected to see her origin revealed. After all, she was just a fashion mogul with an obsession with Dalmatian fur, right? Well, that story ends up being a lot more interesting than you might think. It takes a character who is already willing to cross some moral boundaries and places her in a world where she has to push those boundaries even further, to the point where she no longer even knows who she was in the first place. It also tries to justify why Dalmatians are particularly triggering for her, but it felt a bit forced and unnecessary.
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4 X-Men: First Class
Ideological classification
X-Men: First Class (2011)
- starring
- James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne
The relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr (aka Professor X and Magneto) is one of the most complicated in comics. We only ever knew them as rivals pursuing the same goal – equal rights for mutants – but clashed when it came to the means to achieve it. First Class takes us back to when the two first met, teamed up and ultimately fell out. Knowing Megneto’s past helps us understand his thought process and why he is so violent towards humans. The film perfectly depicts his journey from being on Xavier’s side to being on his side, yet still leaving us with great respect for him. It’s not easy.
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3 Joker
Going crazy
Joker (2019)
$21 $25 Save $4
- starring
- Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Robert De Niro
One of the few supervillain origins without a hero at all, Joker is a psychological exploration into the mind of a mentally ill man trapped in a system that doesn’t always help him recover. The way the world seems to conspire and work against this man, despite Arthur’s mental state, would push anyone to the brink of villainy. The film transforms the typical depiction of the Joker as a madman who enjoys seeing others suffer into a sympathetic man with no choice but to resort to violence.
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2 penguin
The Rise of a Criminal Genius
penguin
- release date
- September 19, 2024
- cast
- Colin Farrell
While it’s hard to speak to the quality of the show itself, as it hasn’t been released yet as of this writing, the premise sounds very promising. The character was briefly introduced in The Batman, but his true origins were hinted at at the end of that film. Spoilers aside, The Penguin will see the titular character go from a unique position to quickly becoming Gotham’s most powerful villain. Unlike a regular movie, the series will allow us ample time to see just how far the character will go to dominate Gotham’s underworld.
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1 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
There is no more Anakin
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- starring
- Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor
Do the prequel trilogy have a lot of problems? Yes. Does Revenge of the Sith hold up even if you question some key events and motivations? No. But the core of the story is solid. Anakin has been told to suppress and hold back his emotions, plus has always been disrespected by the Jedi his whole life. This finally comes to a head when he has a vision of Padme dying and will try anything to save her, even turning to the dark side. There’s a lot of rubbish to cut through, but I think the film succeeds in showing us why Anakin became Vader, even if the path to get there is a bit murky.
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