10 Hyped Movie Villains Who Turned Out To Be Just Henchmen

2015's much-anticipated return to a galaxy far, far away was met with a largely positive reception by fans and critics alike, and since Star Wars birthed the most iconic cinematic villain of all time, all eyes were on The Force Awakens' Kylo Ren, to see if he could even be remotely as effective as his ol' granddaddy was back in 1977.

And thankfully, Ben Solo proved a complex, troubled, powerful antagonist with an insanely cool lightsaber and an intimidating presence, thanks to the stature and cold line delivery of actor Adam Driver.

But, just like Vader before him, he was also bossed around by a scheming, mysterious head-honco with seemingly immeasurable Force powers: Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke had control over Kylo Ren from the start - essentially manipulating him into killing his father - and though Ren was definitely a badass, he came across as a confused child seeking the admiration of a father-figure whenever he conversed with his master.

He constantly asked Snoke for guidance and was always determined to impress him, and this soft, pandering behaviour did slightly weaken his credibility as an evil dark side threat, no matter how "scary" his Halloween face-mask made him look.

Of course, the Snoke/Ren power dynamic was flipped on its head in The Last Jedi, but had Ren not fooled his superior, he'd have been at the mercy of an infinitely more powerful master for the rest of his days.