Famous Villains

When you think about famous villains most of us directly think about our silver screen bad guys who dominated and tried to beat up our favorite heroes namely batman, superman and spider man. But when you step into the real world there are more dangerous and psychotic villains who have committed some gruesome atrocities. With such cruel acts these real life famous villains have left their mark on society and made a permanent place in history. So let's have a look at some famous villains, their names and something more about them in movies and in reality.

Famous Villains in History

When we speak about famous villains in history the first name that strikes our mind is Adolf Hitler, one of the most dreaded men in the world. Hitler gained mainstream attention because of many inhuman acts he committed against the Jews. But there many more famous villains which you haven't heard but were some of the most important people in history like Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Reginald Edward Harry Dyer (9th October 1864 - 23rd July 1927): Popularly known as "General Dyer", he is one of the most famous people in the Indian history of Independence. General Dyer is the man that gave the shooting orders on 13th April 1919 that killed more than one thousand people. Many civilians had assembled in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, India to celebrate the occasion of a popular Indian festival. The general ordered his men to fire bullets at innocent individuals that led to a blood bath in the whole of India. This infamous incident in history is now known as the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

Genghis Khan (1162 - 1227): Genghis Khan was one of the most feared individual in Asia at his time. He and his army of barbarians who tore Asia in half, killed destroyed and burned everything that stood in their way. There are also rumors that his army used to eat human flesh which they believed kept them young and energetic. In his time he built one of the greatest empires in whole of Asia and is regarded as one of the most influential people in history.

Joseph Stalin (18th December 1929 - 5th March 1953): The infamous dictator of the U.S.S.R, Stalin crushed the Russian people with his repressive principles of communism. He adopted the name "Man of Steel" and the term "Stalinism" which defined his cruel and oppressive rule. Joseph Stalin sent millions of soldiers to forced labor camps which resulted in deaths of more than 20 million of them.

Idi Amin (1925 - 16th August 2003): Considered one of the most ruthless dictators after Hitler. Amin was the President of Uganda from 1971-79. He ordered the murder of more than 300,000 of his own people and expelled more than 60,000 Asians from Uganda, which affected the country's economy very badly. He filled up his own pockets with his country's wealth and was also an advocate of Islamic terrorism. He was personally involved in the Palestinian hijacking at Entebbe in July 1976. Due to his villainous tactics he was forced to leave Uganda and he sought protection in Saudi Arabia.

Famous Movie Villains

Besides the Joker character that Heath Ledger played superbly well, there have been many famous villains on the silver screen that have redefined the bad guy image in Hollywood. Here are some names of famous movie villains who won many praises and accolades.

Agent Smith - Hugo Weaving: The Matrix: The joker may only use a knife to murder people, but if a villain has super powers he could cause much more destruction. That was Agent Smith the main antagonist of the cult classic "The Matrix". Smith's highly inimitable voice and the hate which he had for humans puts him at #1 spot in my list of famous villains. Many people say that the creators of the Matrix didn't do justice to Smith's character in the sequels of this film but nevertheless, we had Hugo Weaving making the character more cool every time we saw him.

Scar - Jeremy Irons: The Lion King: Animated villains are often comic than serious in cartoon films. But no one could compare to Scar, the power thirsty lion who expresses his lust and hunger to be the king with his sarcastic and dry commentary. His cold and ruthless plan of killing his brother and then being successful in making his own nephew feel responsible for this tragedy is termed as one of the most evil acts in animated history. Jeremy Irons won lots of praise and acclaim for portraying this character with such intensity.

Bill the Butcher - Daniel Day Lewis: Gangs of New York: Daniel Day Lewis has always been popular for making bad characters famous villains that the critics and audience both enjoy watching. If you people have seen Gangs of New York, then you must know what impact Daniel had on the movie. Most villains show their true colors after some time but Bill the Butcher was a crazy maniac from the start. It was one of the few times that fans and critics agree on a point that Bill the Butcher saved the movie or made it a classic to remember.

Anton Chigurh - Javier Bardem: No Country for Old Men: I agree with all of you that the Dark Knight's Joker was an unstoppable force of nature and he symbolizes anarchy and chaos. Now let's not forget Anton Chigurh also possessed the same characteristics, some call him even meaner than the Joker. While Joker uses dynamite and bombs to prove his point, Anton uses simple weapons like oxygen tanks and other surrounding objects that lie around to kill his victim. Chigurh decides his victim's fate over a coin's toss. You can also debate that the Joker kills smartly sometimes with a plan, but Anton's just a scary serial killer.

John Doe - Kevin Spacey: Se7en: We all have a normal idea that villains only hurt the good guys and the guys who are against the villain. Meet John Doe, the ultimate hater of all those who delve in sin. The gruesome punishments that are given to Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in Se7en puts John Doe in this famous villains list. In the end of the film when Kevin Spacey finally shows his true colors, gives se7en one of the best film endings of all time.

So these were some of the most famous villains in films and in real life. Most of the real life villains were also termed as serial killers and understanding serial killers psychology requires a lot of patience and persistence.