Top 10 Movie Villain Backstories

whether they're taking over the world or just need to rob a bank these villains are certainly carrying some emotional baggage one more diamond my love welcome to watchmojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top ten villain back stories in movies kitty who I had the best grades in the class and I didn't get diddly squat for this list we're looking at those classic cinematic villains and are choosing those with the best and most effective stories that offer us a glimpse into why they're bad to the bone and just so you know a spoiler alert is probably in order the chase Candyman through the town to Cabrini Green where they proceeded to sawed off his right hand with a rusty blade number 10 the Grinch dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas the centipede the famous dr. Seuss book and timeless animated short didn't offer much background for the famous green Christmas Heder I must stop this whole thing what the 53 years I put up to this now but the filmmakers devised a back story that'll make anybody shed a tear for this misunderstood creep once we discovered that the Grinch has been a victim of some nasty schoolyard bullying his crusade against Christmas cheer is more than understandable you don't have a chance with her you're eight years old and you have a beer anyone who is humiliated in front of the love of his or her life is justified in wanting to live a life of Solitude the grinch just took his anger a bit too far we are glad however that he abandons his all-out war against Whoville and becomes a beloved member of the community in the end number not Freddy Krueger via Nightmare on Elm Street franchise delving into much darker territory we now follow the dream master himself Freddy Krueger in a franchise spanning nine film so far Kruger is clearly fueled by revenge but only at the end of the first film do we learn his motive for targeting Elm Street kids turns out that Kruger was also a child killer in real life to stop him the parents on Elm Street chased him down and burned him alive to gasoline put it all around the place made a trailer out the door then let the whole thing up and watched it burn more secrets about the killer's past emerge in later films but it's the first reveal that packs the biggest punch this is just a dream you're not alive this whole thing is just a dream number eight Maleficent Maleficent Vava one of Disney's most terrifying and enduring villains Maleficent received the origin story treatment in her own self-titled live-action epic and it was nothing like we expected although villain backstories often rely on a sad past to make us feel some pity this origin transformed this Evil Queen into a lovable antihero I like you begging do it again backstabbed and stripped of her beautiful wings by Stefan her human friend and future king maleficents desire for revenge becomes understandable her complexity grows as we learn that she ends up caring for the princess she is cursed I will not ask you forgiveness because what I've dumped tears unforgiving it's difficult to pinpoint where our loyalties lie with this one to be a feared creature what I wings in a world where you don't belong number seven Jason Voorhees the Friday the 13th franchise though he is the iconic masked face of this famous franchise Jason only appears in the final seconds of the original film prior to that the entire first film sets up the backstory that creates one of cinema's most enduring serial killers that's when his psychotic mother goes on a killing spree to get revenge for the death of her young neglected son who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake while the counselors were busy fornicating I was the cook Jason should have been watched every minute we even end up feeling bad for the poor innocent child that is until he starts killing every horny teen in sight number six Alec Trevelyan Goldeneye my god you just be a good boy and die your first James Bond has faced his fair share of interesting villains but none has hit him more personally than goldeneyes Alec Trevelyan you're late done listen I have to stop in the bathroom ready to save the world again after you double O six a remarkable character he begins as an agent and Ally alongside James but soon turns out to be Britain's and James's greatest threat similar to RAL Silva in Skyfall Trevelyan is an ex mi6 agent out for revenge in this case because he blames the British government for the deaths of his parents and in one of life's little ironies the son went to work for the government whose betrayal was the father to kill himself his wife beginning his path to retribution early he trains with mi6 and eventually plans to wipe out Britain's economy with help from the goldeneyes satellite if you don't bet big you can't win big but you might lose big you know James I was always better number-5 syndrome The Incredibles I was wrong to treat you that way I'm sorry see now you respect me because I'm a threat it didn't take much to set young buddy pine off and make him the world's most dangerous super villain having been ignored by his idol mr. incredible when he tries to help him fight crime young buddy vows to one day get revenge on the superheroes he once idolized and revered well I finally figured out who I am I am your ward incrediboy although not as elaborate or destructive as other backstories it's fascinating to witness how such a small action can have such dire consequences take this one home and make sure his mom knows what he's been doing I can help you you're making him a snack mister Incredibles choice directly influences buddy and sets him on his path to become syndrome his most dangerous nemesis moral of the story kids if you get famous don't ignore your fans don't worry I'll be a good mentor supportive encouraging everything you weren't number four Hannibal Lecter the Hannibal Lecter franchise I know that I'm not smart then how did you catch you you had disadvantages what disadvantages you're insane what started as a minor character has evolved into one of literature and cinemas most beloved and feared madmen sounds charming most audiences were introduced to lectures mysterious demeanor and unnerving sense of McCobb menace in the Silence of the Lambs but that story began in media res when it comes to Hannibal the cannibals backstory two prequels fill in the blanks for us beginning with red dragon which reveals a bit more about why Lecter is in jail ultimately however it's the demented Hannibal rising that gives us the full backstory we deserve filling in details about how he lost his family my studies in fascinated and absorbing completely and where he acquired his peculiar palette and his taste for vengeance yes I still find myself thinking about my sister and the men who took it from me number three Lord Voldemort the Harry Potter franchise the Boy Who Lived the world's greatest Dark Wizard needed an appropriately disturbing backstory one that took eight films and a full decade to reveal in full who crooks I can trust to turn my reading and I didn't fully understand it motivated by a fear of death and his hatred of his half-blood heritage and armed with the prophetically that one child has the power to vanquish him Tom Riddle evolves into Lord Voldemort a wizard so evil most witches and wizards dare not speak his name and who owned that wand we do not speak his name his story is pieced together through flashbacks and memories each of which helps us to understand Voldemort start beginnings and vengeful pursuits a little better and satisfying our curiosity about the motivations of this evil villain I can make things move without touching me I can make animals do not want without training I can make bad things happen to pay a clue mean to me number two magneto the x-men franchise still fighting the good fight from here it doesn't look like that playing by your rules magneto is the only comic book villain on this list and that's saying something about director Bryan Singer's talent and the indelible performances of both Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender this brilliant franchise flipped all formulas on their head with the incredibly sad and touching backstory of super villain Magneto a psychotic vehicle anti Nagappa Al Smith would hit for bringing seeing a young Erik Lehnsherr ripped apart from his parents at a Nazi concentration camp and discovering his magnetic powers at the same time gets our hearts hurting for the poor man who would be Magneto a character we should normally despise this short opening scene paved the way for a long-running franchise where the line between hero and villain is often blurred food before we unveil our top pick here are some honorable mentions the kids are isn't what started me at my work with the moment I decided to end my life it started me in my work and brought meaning to it life is cruel why should the afterlife be any different you know what the scariest thing is to not know your place in this world to not know why you're here Gilman what human what humor what Peter Creek was born Simon Peter Gruber he's Hans Gruber's brother number one Darth Vader the Star Wars franchise join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son another famous villain who central to an entire franchise Darth Vader's image and background remained a mystery for years although glimpses into his past in the original trilogy revealed family problems akin to a Greek tragedy why didn't you tell me you told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father your father was seduced by the dark side of the force it wasn't until the prequel trilogy that we learned how the man once known as Anakin Skywalker became the evil figure in the black helmet we eagerly watched young Anakin grow up and struggle with his inborn skills knowing full well what fate had in store for him what will happen to me now reaching a climax in Episode three and torn between obi-wan and Darth Sidious the death of Anakin's wife is the final peace that leads Skywalker to succumb to the dark side once and for all it seems in your anger you killed her I couldn't she was alive I felt it do you agree with our list first I've ever seen which villian backstories have marked you the most why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers for more outrageous top 10s published every day be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com it is pointless to resist you

Channel: WatchMojo.com

Views: 4,388,699

Rating: 4.8563776 out of 5

Keywords: films, movies, villains, movie villains, backstories, villain backstories, freddy krueger, the grinch, alec trevelyan, darth vader, magneto, lord voldemort, hannibal lecter, jigsaw, top 10, watchmojo

Id: JWIfwryQ6f0

Length: 14min 5sec (845 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 21 2015