The Bad Guys You Admire the Most

[KoudelkaMorgan]

Bertrand Zobrist from Dan Brown's Inferno. The book is typically terrible Dan Brown tripe, but it did at least have a central theme that managed to peek its head up above the constant "I know we are in a hurry, lives at stake, but let me educate you about all this architecture that we stop and admire every 2 minutes before we go through yet another (not) secret passage."

Zobrist may have had been overly dramatic, and his trail of breadcrumbs was totally (intentionally) pointless in the end, but he at least did what NEEDED to be done in admittedly the tamest way possible.

If someone doesn't do similar in real life then we are all going to have a problem, sooner NOT later.

 

[sextus the crazy]

For me, its the Wehrmacht, the German Military of World War 2. Despite popular conception, the German army was not involved in most of the atrocities of the Nazis and the SS. I like them because of their fucking effectiveness. I do not recall many instances where they were beaten without the enemy having vastly superior manpower or firepower, and can name a couple when they won when the enemy did have these advantages. Despite the fact they were on the moral wrong side of the war, I can't help but respect and admire them and some of their generals such as von Manstein and Guderian. Also, Stlye Points. [http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/003-02.jpg].

Ditto. As a war history enthusiast, I cannot ignore their girth or effectiveness.

OT: The Jackal from Far Cry 2. Unlike the psychoic Vaas and the horrible Hoyt from Far Cry 3, the Jackel is a much less blatantly horrible villain. From the short amount of characterization (the interviews), we get the image of someone not evil, but jaded and broken. As he puts it himself, he's a humanist and does have some sort of compassion that's been suppressed by the horrors of the shit he's witnessed. He's honestly no worse of a person that the mercenary main character and fits the morally great landscape that FC2 provided. He's gamings first Col. Kurtz (and still better than Col. Conrad from Spec ops).

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

*high five for fedora hate*

Too be honest, it's not the fedora itself I hate. When I first saw them adorning the heads of my favourite noir detectives they were cool. The last decade, however, has changed them from being pretty spiffy hats to an easy way of identifying yourself as a tool. It's one of the most disappointing fashion trends I've seen in my life, but now anyone who chooses to wear one is a twat or wants to be seen as a twat. ='(

oh i agree, in theory/detective style they look just fine, but there is maybe 1% population that actually pulls it off in that manner, the other 99% have an aura about them that just emits tool on a nanosecond basis.

 

[Shock and Awe]

For me, its the Wehrmacht, the German Military of World War 2. Despite popular conception, the German army was not involved in most of the atrocities of the Nazis and the SS. I like them because of their fucking effectiveness. I do not recall many instances where they were beaten without the enemy having vastly superior manpower or firepower, and can name a couple when they won when the enemy did have these advantages. Despite the fact they were on the moral wrong side of the war, I can't help but respect and admire them and some of their generals such as von Manstein and Guderian. Also, Stlye Points. [http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/003-02.jpg].

Ditto. As a war history enthusiast, I cannot ignore their girth or effectiveness.

I'm sorry, but,

Spoiler

 

[sextus the crazy]

For me, its the Wehrmacht, the German Military of World War 2. Despite popular conception, the German army was not involved in most of the atrocities of the Nazis and the SS. I like them because of their fucking effectiveness. I do not recall many instances where they were beaten without the enemy having vastly superior manpower or firepower, and can name a couple when they won when the enemy did have these advantages. Despite the fact they were on the moral wrong side of the war, I can't help but respect and admire them and some of their generals such as von Manstein and Guderian. Also, Stlye Points. [http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/003-02.jpg].

Ditto. As a war history enthusiast, I cannot ignore their girth or effectiveness.

I'm sorry, but,

Spoiler

This is what happens when I write at 1 in the morning.

Spoiler

 

[Shock and Awe]

For me, its the Wehrmacht, the German Military of World War 2. Despite popular conception, the German army was not involved in most of the atrocities of the Nazis and the SS. I like them because of their fucking effectiveness. I do not recall many instances where they were beaten without the enemy having vastly superior manpower or firepower, and can name a couple when they won when the enemy did have these advantages. Despite the fact they were on the moral wrong side of the war, I can't help but respect and admire them and some of their generals such as von Manstein and Guderian. Also, Stlye Points. [http://www.history.jp/wehrmacht/003-02.jpg].

Ditto. As a war history enthusiast, I cannot ignore their girth or effectiveness.

I'm sorry, but,

Spoiler

This is what happens when I write at 1 in the morning.

Spoiler

I KNEW I saw that somewhere before. Good show my good sir.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Atlas/Fontaine for keeping up a fake Irish accent that long and working in a three word phrase everywhere that I didn't recognize it until the game said, hey, look, he's always been saying this!

But seriously now, fucking Wile E. Coyote. His determination is not of this world. Every attempt he makes usually ends in catastrophic failure with him horribly injured. He bandages himself up and gets right back to work.

 

[knight steel]

This guy right here he's from Naruto and is called Tobi:

I won't spoil his real identity but in short his goal is to create a perfect world where there is no pain-sickness-death-war but where everyone both alive and dead can be happy and at peace.Why then is he a bad guy,well you see to do this he needs to drag everyone forcefully into an Illusion that he can completely control and manipulate in short he's would remove all of humankind of free will in order to create peace.

Add to that the determination and willingness to do anything and everything needed to complete his goals regardless of the sacrifices,his manipulative mind and schemes which control the whole plot as well as a nifty power set that make him almost impossible to beat and you have a great villain.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Oh man. I actually know a lot more interesting villains than I do heroes. Does that say something about art these days or is it just me?
___

To start, I'm gonna go with a straight up bad guy. The idea of him is rather unoriginal in general but BRILLIANT in everything else that counts as far as an actual character goes.

This guy:

When he was first introduced in the Sorcerers Stone, he was pretty standard as far as bad guys go but he still had a little bit of mystery about him. Chamber of Secrets then expounded some more upon him but it wasn't until the Half-Blood Prince where we finally see him shine as a true villain. The Orphanage scene is especially enlightening. So in the end, what makes him an awesome villain? For me, not only is he incredibly smart, he knows how to get others to loyally support him, to wheedle out information from someone, and above all, to be as cold and as tough as hardened steel always.
___

Next in line is Venom. But NOT as a character. As a corrupting influence.

Now, IMO, this is as pure of a "demon inside" sort of deal as one can get. It throws into the limelight the choices that everyone with power must make. It shows the rush of pleasure gained from abuse of said power but it also shows the terrible consequences of choosing such. That, sooner or later, you will push everyone away and it will eat you up inside until there is nothing left. So, all in all, a really nice break away from the usual villains we see. And it tackles an issue in real life that's not brought up very often. Sometimes, the real villain is you.
___

Last, but not least, is Lord Cutler Beckett

Seriously. Just look at this guy. He's a boss, through and through, navigating with style and applaud. But of course, the style doesn't make the man. Not to worry because Mr Lord Beckett is one of the best tacticians rivaling and even, dare I say it, surpassing ol' Captain Jack himself. You see, I have more respect for Beckett because he doesn't rely on sheer luck as Sparrow does. Captain Jack likes to make it all up as he goes along and he makes it all up nicely. But that's the problem. He's still going from moment to moment. Realistically, Beckett should have won, but oh well. Movies are still Grade-A.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

Jaime Lannister (Game Of Thrones). Starts out like a prick but due to events turns out not to be so
hopeless as a human after all.

I don't watch GoT, but it think you're describing a Heal Face Turn [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeelFaceTurn], not a villain. Correct me if I'm wrong.

For me it's The Illusive Man.

His combination of ruthless businessman and charming scoundrel is something I can only aspire to. I'm pretty sure that his attitude and diplomatic manner are not just great for a story, they're an actual recipe for success if you could copy them.
He's also just a great character, I've never seen a more convincing villain. If they had held off on stating his crookedness till late in ME2, i would probably have believed he was a stand up guy. I even found myself questioning my decisions when he was around, and I'm an undiluted Paragon.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Jaime Lannister (Game Of Thrones). Starts out like a prick but due to events turns out not to be so
hopeless as a human after all.

I don't watch GoT, but it think you're describing a Heal Face Turn [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeelFaceTurn], not a villain. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I read all the books so far, for the first few hes a straight up horrible person. Its only after one certain event that he doesn't have a real change of heart, but more of a shift in perspective. He never really was evil, he just had really fucked priorities.

 

[Lieju]

Although we aren't really meant to hate him, and I'd argue he (and Candace) is the actual protagonist of Phineas and Ferb:

Obviously I like him (and identify with him to the extent that's kinda sad) but still, there's a lot to admire in Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.
I know I would have given up (on taking over the Tri-state-area, or getting revenge on the world,or just life in general) about 1000 failures ago.

Spoiler: Also, his singing

Hopefully this doesn't bring on a ton of Abrahamic hate but Lucifer.

My memory of the bible is a bit foggy but I don't exactly remember him being depicted as evil when acting under his own devices. There is a reason arguing for the unpopular or unsupported side is called being a devils advocate. That was what his entire purpose was. Pretty much every "Evil" act he does up until his attempted usurpation attempt is him doing what is essentially his job under direct orders from the big man himself. The usurpation could easily have been just Lucifer being sick and tired of having a job that makes everyone hate him and curse his name.

While it is more sympathy than admiration I do have to admire the dedication, charisma, and straight up balls it must take to assemble an army against your all knowing and all powerful boss, then lead said army against him.

The Abrahamic mythologies are kinda a mess when it comes to who Lucifer actually is. (Is he the same as Satan or Devil? Depends on who you ask)

He isn't the serpent in the original story (it's clearly just snake), but ever since I was a kid I always liked the serpent. I mean, s/he is the one who tells the truth, God is the one who lies. I read it as a kid and went 'yeah, I'm totally on the side of the snake here'

In the book of Job he is God's servant and visit God's place to bet on stuff with him.

But even if we look at how Christians depict Satan, as the ruler of Hell, isn't he more like a jailor for God?

 

[Yeager942]

I did it 35 minutes ago.

 

[Nouw]

Gus from Breaking Bad. He is the epitome of a professional criminal. In this sense, Walter is his perfect foil.

I'm reminded of the saying "it's just business, nothing personal."

I did it 35 minutes ago.

We can save this world.