10 Great Sci-Fi Movie Villains Who Only Appeared Once

Yes, a lot of this list’s villains are literal monsters, but you know we had to reserve a spot for some smug “What if the worst monsters of all—are MAN?!” theorizing. As far as human monsters go, though, the technologically enhanced cult head honcho Immortan Joe from Mad Max Fury Road is in a league of his own.

Building his empire by shamelessly rationing public access to one of the most fundamentally necessary resources, water, Immortan Joe by the time we meet him onscreen is a hulking but aging freak, a powder-faced megalomaniac who holds onto power through violence meted out by his zealous followers the War Boys.

Both borrowing from and predicting no small number of real life figures from corrupt corporate overlords pillaging the global south to hyper-macho militias positioning themselves as a vigilante border patrol across America, Immortan Joe is a villain of the times and as such it’s a shame we never got to see a more in-depth look at the circumstances of his rise to power—though it was real satisfying to see his face torn clean off.