Continuing our year in review for 2015, we’re taking a look at the layered villains who jumped out of the crowded landscape.
While nasty characters are plentiful, these more than your everyday simple gun toting bad guy.
Find out which ones made our list.
Damien Darhk – Arrow
Damien Darhk from Arrow. Whether he’s cheerfully life-sucking the heroes or complimenting them when they pull off something clever, Neal McDonough gleefully chews the scenery and has such fun with the unrepentantly villainous Darhk. He’s so entertaining that he’s found his way onto The Flash and the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow!
Jamal Al Fayeed – Tyrant
Jamal Al Fayeed on Tyrant. You may have pitied him at times, but he was always quick to remind us just how twisted and disturbed he was. He was the brother you wanted to watch, even if Barry was who were (supposed to be) rooting for. He killed his uncle and his mother, tried to kill his son, and left his brother for dead after faking his execution. Tyrant just won’t be the same without him – and not just because the familicide will be slowing down.
Hanzee – Fargo
Hanzee from Fargo was terrifying. He wasn’t over the top or particularly verbose, like some other Fargo bad guys — he was near-silent, stealthy, and deadly. He was an incredibly effective and skilled killer. On top of that, Hanzee had a lot of depth, having to deal with rampant Midwestern ’70s racism on the regular from both random people and even the Gerhardts, who had raised him from childhood. Hanzee’s quiet intensity was remarkable (and scary) to watch.
Sin Rostro – Jane the Virgin
Sin Rostro/Rose on Jane the Virgin. Say what you will about the ridiculousness of this CW telenovela, but when Sin Rostro kidnapped baby Mateo, mere minutes after viewers watched his realistic birth, it packed a heavy emotional punch. Having a child taken away from you would be an incredibly frightening experience for any parent, but when it comes at the hand of a known drug lord and killer? A million times more frightening!
Kai – The Vampire Diaries
Kai from The Vampire Diaries. He is super charming but insane! He is power crazy and ends up murdering his pregnant sister on her wedding day, all with an evil smirk and a chuckle.
Killgrave – Jessica Jones
Kilgrave on Jessica Jones. He may see himself as innocent of his many crimes, but the manipulation of others to act on his behalf makes everything more disturbing. One of his more dastardly deeds is his manipulation of women for his own pleasure – from street harassment to rape. Kilgrave is a creep, hands down.
Erica Kravid – Heroes Reborn
Erica Kravid from Heroes Reborn is one of the franchises best villains. You can never tell whether she’s truly being open with any of the characters and she’s also pretty deluded. She keeps thinking that her daughter is going to warm up to her wicked ways and help her move everyone into her new world in the future, but don’t expect that to happen.
Theo – The Following
Theo from The Following was cold, calculated, and downright creepy. He murdered violently with no remorse, even killing his own wife. Thanks to his hacker abilities, Theo was able to fly under the radar by taking on different personas, making him an even bigger threat and tough to catch.
Chanel Oberlin – Scream Queens
Chanel Oberlin from Scream Queens. She may have bid adieu to reality with two of her friends, but she really is one of the best TV villains. She was good at being calculating, malicious and just anything a villain should be. If she didn’t like you, she’d find a way to make your life a living hell. It just sucks that the Red Devil may have taken her from us.
Black Jack Randall – Outlander
Black Jack Randall from Outlander was one of the most terrifying villains this year. His obsession and subsequent rape of Jamie was absolutely twisted and brutal. Tobias Menzies’ performance had me shifting uncomfortably every time he appeared on screen.
Rowan Pope – Scandal
Rowan Pope on Scandal is the worst kind of villain. He does terrible things (well, mostly he has people do terrible things for him), but he always has some twisted way of justifying it. Plus the psychological torment he’s put his own daughter through? Evil, evil man. But of course, he’s completely captivating to watch.
Wilson Fisk – Daredevil
Wilson Fisk from Daredevil is one of the most interesting villains of 2015. He’s crazy and powerful, but also intelligent and calculating. His belief that he must destroy Hell’s Kitchen in order to save it is insane, but his ability to convince people that he’s right is downright scary. His quiet, introverted demeanor can turn into a brutal rage with the slightest provocation, making him absolutely terrifying, but also fascinating to watch.
Mike Milligan – Fargo
Mike Milligan from Fargo was the most enjoyable kind of villain. Intermittently smarmy, charming, and ruthless, we’d gladly have listened to him reciting the Jabberwocky all day long. In between demonstrating how well-educated he is, he was busy plotting to take out rivals and Gerhardts alike. The tension and nervousness we felt whenever Milligan shared a scene with one of our heroes was out of this world.
Reverse Flash – The Flash
Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash on The Flash was a villain over 17 years in the making. He coldly and calculatingly killed Barry Allen’s mother in the hopes of creating a Flash with enough strength to get himself home, framing his father for the death, but then had to kill Harrison Wells and his wife, taking the actual skin from Harrison’s dead body to make his plan come to fruition. Then he was a combination of good an evil messing with the minds of many over the years to accomplish his goal. It was very sick and only a real villain could pull it off.
