Top 10 Movie Villains Who Were Totally Justified
In film, we tend to think of villains and heroes in black-and-white terms. The villain is the bad guy whose wickedness knows no bounds. However, often, some of the best villains are the ones who aren’t wholly evil after all. These are complex villains, whose motivations and desires are surprisingly understandable and justified.
Shockingly evil villains are fun, but it’s the complex villains that will leave a lasting impression on you, allowing you to see and consider their perspective. Here are the 10 best movie villains who were totally justified, and where you can watch their morally grey antics on Disney+, Peacock, and more!
Roy Batty - ‘Blade Runner’
At the start of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) appears to be the villain, as a rogue replicant who, while working on a space colony, leads a revolt with several fellow replicants. He hijacks a shuttle to travel to Earth to demand that the replicant creator, Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel), grant him a longer life. In his mission, he commits many atrocities, including killing all the passengers and crew on board the shuttle, as well as exacting revenge on Tyrell and his associates.
Despite his actions, Batty's emotional final scenes will resonate with even the stiffest viewers. His pain is palpable as he muses over the life he lived, what it means to be a slave, and how all his memories will be lost to time. His actions were wrong, but he was more than justified in believing that his life had value and that he deserved to live.
Miranda Priestly - ‘The Devil Wears Prada’
Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) is the main villain of The Devil Wears Prada, as the cold, cruel, and ruthless editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Runway. When aspiring journalist Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) begins working for the magazine, Priestly makes her life quite miserable. Yet, I often wonder whether she was ever the villain of the film, or if viewers simply villainized her for being a strong woman in a cutthroat industry.
Her behavior was often quite manipulative and cruel, but she got results. She kept the industry going, and while she certainly wasn’t her employees’ friend, she molded them and set them up for success. Priestly’s ways in The Devil Wears Prada are eyebrow-raising, but one can’t truly blame her for trying to instill respect for the industry in her employees and doing what was necessary to succeed.
Anton Ego - ‘Ratatouille’
Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole) is the antagonist of Ratatouille. Known as the “Grim Eater,” he’s a notoriously critical food critic who is positioned to bring down Alfredo Linguini’s (Lou Ramona) restaurant, especially since there are rats in the kitchen. He cuts quite the brooding, skeptical figure, scoffing at Auguste Gustean’s (Brad Garrett) belief that everyone can cook. His scathing review of Gustean’s restaurant also indirectly led to the chef’s death by a broken heart.
However, even before his redemption at the end of the film, Ego was justified in his actions. While it’s easy to see him as the vicious villain tearing apart one’s dreams, the reality is that his own passion drives him. He’s passionate about food, has an extremely refined taste, and has every right to tell his blunt truth in his reviews. Meanwhile, his redemption proves that he never had ill intentions; he was just doing his job.
Medusa - ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’
Medusa (Uma Thurman) appears as a minor villain in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The gorgon tries to turn Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) and his friends to stone, though they ultimately defeat her. Before their arrival, she had been luring victims to her garden and turning them to stone under the guise of taking their photos. Her actions are villainous, but there’s more to her backstory than meets the eye, especially since she’s not responsible for her abilities.
In Greek mythology, Poseidon assaulted Medusa, but Athena punished her, turning her into a gorgon with snakes for hair. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief doesn’t touch on her backstory, though it’s implied by her particular animosity toward Percy and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario). She may be a monster, but can one really condemn her for being exactly what the gods made her?
Loki - ‘Thor’
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is the main villain in Thor. Jealous of his brother and desperate to prove himself to his father, he seizes the Asgardian throne and plots to destroy Jotunheim and end its long-standing tension with Asgard. He’s a poor leader and acts very impulsively, endangering his people and family. However, one can’t help but sympathize with Loki, especially at the very end of the movie when he confirms all he ever wanted was his father’s approval.
In Thor, Loki is dealt a raw deal. He finds out his parents hid his adoption from him, which was mainly motivated by diplomatic reasons. On top of that, his brother is handed the throne instead of him, while all indications show Thor is not ready to take on that responsibility. Loki does turn more villainous in later MCU installments, but in Thor, he’s justified in wanting to prove himself in the midst of an unfair family situation.
Magneto - ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’
In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan (Hugh Jackman) travels back in time to prevent a future where mutants are driven to near-extinction. While he initially seeks help from a young Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Magneto has other plans. The mutant risks any chances of peace between humans and mutants as he turns the Sentinels against the White House. He’s a recurring villain in the X-Men film series, but X-Men: Days of Future Past proves just how right he was.
Magneto believes that mutants are superior to humans and must exert their dominance to survive. Meanwhile, the bleak future in X-Men: Days of Future Past is exactly what Magneto feared would happen. He lived through the Holocaust and recognized the signs that mutants would face genocide in the future. Ultimately, his use of force and violence seems quite small when it comes to preventing mass casualties.
Shere Khan - ‘The Jungle Book’
Shere Khan (Idris Elba) is the villain of Disney’s The Jungle Book. The live-action adaptation gives him an even fiercer appearance, as a large Bengal tiger with scars and burns on his face. The King of the Jungle rules with an iron fist and, driven by an intense hatred of humans, attempts to kill the young Mowgli (Neel Sethi).
It’s not hard to see Shere Khan’s side of the story. He has a duty to protect his jungle, and he’s correct that Mowgli doesn’t belong and poses a threat. Given how much humanity has damaged the environment and driven Bengal tigers to an endangered species status, he has every right to not trust humans. Shere Khan did what he felt he had to do to protect the jungle and all its inhabitants.
Erik Killmonger - ‘Black Panther’
Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) is the lead villain of Black Panther, who seeks the Wakandan throne to bring about a new world order. Killmonger has deep-seated resentment toward T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his family, considering T’Challa’s father killed Killmonger’s father. However, he seeks more than just revenge as he challenges T’Challa for the throne. Using Wakanda’s resources, he plans to spark a global revolution by arming all oppressed people worldwide with advanced Wakandan technology.
Killmonger’s plan and methods are extreme, as he’s willing to throw the world into chaos and violence for the sake of liberation. At the same time, he’s driven by a genuine desire to help. He challenges Wakanda’s isolation and is quite right that, given its resources, it could do so much good on a global scale rather than caring only for its own people. He’s not a villain so much as he is a true revolutionary.
Thanos - ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Avengers: Infinity War sees Thanos (Josh Brolin) collect the Infinity Stones, which he plans to use to wipe out half of humanity. Although his plan is horrific, there’s a reason behind it. Thanos was traumatized by the decline of his home planet, Titan, which he predicted would fall due to overpopulation. When he recognizes the same signs that Earth’s overpopulation isn’t sustainable, he sets about carrying out his plan to save the planet.
While his plan is extreme, he’s not wrong about the issue of overpopulation. It will especially resonate with viewers because it’s a real-life issue, as many believe the Earth is already exceeding its carrying capacity for the human population. Additionally, in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier(2021), some individuals found their lives were better after Thanos carried out his plan. If he truly believed he was choosing between half of humanity and all of humanity, it’s hard to say he made the wrong choice.
The Wolf - ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish follows Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) as he seeks out the Wishing Star to wish for more lives after using up eight of his nine lives. Along the way, he’s stalked by the terrifying Wolf (Wagner Moura). Shadowy, mysterious, and wielding dual sickles, he seeks to take Puss’s final life before he can attain more. As villainous as he looks and may seem, though, his desire to take life isn’t very surprising, considering his true identity is Death.
Death is angered that Puss has squandered nearly all of his lives. Hence, he seeks to personally take his last one and prevent him from obtaining more. Given the events of the movie, he’s not wrong that Puss has, indeed, squandered his life. In the end, he’s not interested in maliciously taking life, but recognizes the threat of death is the only way Puss can recognize the value of life.
