8 Terrifying Interpretations Of Comic Book Villains
And you thought the Sentinels were scary enough before...
In comic book adaptations, it is said that the hero is only as good as their villain. Oftentimes this can be seen to be true, with a weak villain bringing down an entire movie or TV show. As such the reverse is also occasionally true.
When a villain is done well, it can raise a TV show or movie to be far better than it would be otherwise.
Harder still than simply translating a villain onto the big or small screen, is translating the fear that a villain causes with them. It's hard in the modern age to be scared of a supervillain in a spandex costume. Still, audiences in recent years have seen actors take a character that would otherwise be dismissed as goofy and make them terrifying.
The final scene of The Boys may have been one of the most horrifying TV moments of last year, while Thanos helped make Endgame the highest-grossing movie off all time. Comic book villains are in their prime.
Those two are only part of the picture though. The movies on this list have taken characters who were once ridiculed and made them villains to be remembered.
8. Rasputin - Hellboy (2004)
Karel Roden shines as villain Grigori Rasputin in Guillermo Del Toro's 2004 version of Hellboy.
Rasputin in the Hellboy comics appears as the primary villain in Volume 1. Awoken from his slumber in the Arctic circle, he seeks to release the gods of chaos and destroy the earth.
Roden takes this role in the film and runs with it. Taking inspiration from the true mad monk and the legend surrounding his murder, Roden plays Rasputin with a sinister calm. His ability to appear from the shadows like a nightmare and take control of the situation makes him a truly terrifying foe for the B.P.R.D.
This is to say nothing of his control over the demon Sammael, to whom he gives the power of reincarnation. And then there is his own reincarnation. The sight of him rising from his pit drenched in blood is powerful and horrifying.
Rasputin as a character is scary. He is one of those villains who maintains their cool, calm composure giving everything they do and say a sinister and refined air. Beyond this, Roden embodies the role perfectly, displaying a Rasputin that can truly be feared by all who see this film.