A proper show is nothing without it’s big bad, and boy did this year deliver. Women just edge out the men this year (unless you count animals), proving that women can be just has cunning and devious as the men who normally dominate the “best villain” conversation.
Tina Minoru (Runaways, Season 2)
While all the members of the Pride are scary, none quite reach the same heights of true evil as Tina. Her determination to get her daughter back is frightening. Let’s not even mention the way she destroyed her office in that fight with Nico. Now that she’s possessed by an alien, Tina is even more formidable.
If you didn’t get it already, this lady is scary!
Bullseye (Daredevil, Season 3)
Fans have been clamouring for Bullseye to appear in the Netflix series since it was first announced back in 2014. Four years later, our patience was rewarded with a new and unique take on the character that turned him from a one-note assassin into a truly compelling villain. Wilson Bethel dripped with menace in the role and made Bullseye one of the scariest villains we’ve seen in these Marvel shows.
White Violin (The Umbrella Academy, Season 1)
Ms. Lint (The Tick, Season 2)
Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? Season 2 saw Ms Lint moving up the ladder from henchwoman to full blown villainess – with a detour into heroine along the way. She proved that she can outsmart all the men around her – and actually managed to pull off her evil plan in the end (unlike some other villains on this list).
Mr. Nobody (Doom Patrol, Season 1)
An omnipresent, 4th wall breaking, narrating, animal recruiting, joking, multidimensional Brotherhood of Evil reject played by Alan Tudyk. Enough said.
Herr Starr (Preacher, Season 3)
He’s probably the most wild part of this already wild show. A German zealot who wants nothing more than a Messiah to bring about a new world for God, Herr Starr will do anything to get what he wants, even if that includes accidentally getting raped, and his head being cut to look like a penis.
Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones, Season 8)
Cersei Lannister’s vile manipulations of everyone and everything got her on the Throne. She never backed down, she didn’t empty her city of the people and she beheaded the Dragon Queen’s best friend. Ultimately, Cersei pushed Dany to the point of no return and this caused fate to finally catch up to her.
Admiral Whiskers (Doom Patrol, Season 1)
The surprise villain of “Therapy Patrol” and one of the two ultimate villains of the finale “Ezekiel Patrol”, Admiral Whiskers is an adorable radicalized rat who is determined to get his revenge on Robot Man, who accidentally killed his mother.
Shadow Weaver (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)
Shadow Weaver is one of those darkly manipulative villains that get under the skin. Favoring Adora over Catra for all of their childhood, she knew that the rift between the two would push Adora into the box Shadow Weaver wanted of her good little soldier. Shadow Weaver, time and again, failed once Adora left and Catra was climbing the ranks and winning favour. I expect she’ll be back.
Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones, Season 8)
Dany started the series as a White Knight type and slowly but surely devolved into someone with a savior complex and the need to get what was hers. Despite it being controversial, Dany was the last villain of Game of Thrones and if she had not been killed, she would have kept going and going until she had the world under her heel.
Bushmaster (Luke Cage, Season 2)
If the Marvel Netflix series have proven anything, it’s that the best seasons are the ones with compelling villains. While Bushmaster may not be as iconic as Vincent D’onofrio‘s Kingpin or David Tennant‘s Kilgrave, he can comfortably slide into the number 3 slot among the franchise’s villains. Bushmaster provides both a physical and emotional threat to Luke Cage, all while managing to be fun and comic book-y in all the right ways.
Bruce Wayne/Batman (Titans, Season 1)
Batman was arguably a bigger villain to the new Titans than Trigon was this season. He never makes a real appearance himself, but the way Dick sees him and recounts his childhood, Bruce wasn’t the loving father Dick needed. He was distant, angry, and possibly abusive(?), leading to the now infamous “Fuck Batman” line.
It took a while to get to her, but it was well worth it. Vanya’s devastatingly powerful and having that much power in one person who was abused and ignored as a child and even as an adult combines into one seriously messed up villain.