10 Movie Characters Who Had Every Right To Become The Villain

For every big-screen villain simply hellbent on world domination for the sake of it, there have been a number of other movie antagonists whose reasons for eventually turning to the dark side weren't just incredibly fascinating, they were quite understandable. And while no one is condoning some of the often-disturbing actions a lot of the following "bad" characters unleashed in the end, their choice to turn their back on the side of good was actually rather justifiable in hindsight.

Then you have those more heroic figures who must have certainly been tempted to give in to the darkness within at various points in their lives, but chose to stick to their guns (or lightsabers) and fight for a better tomorrow. Had these regularly beaten down and tortured characters opted to let their anger and hate consume them, though, you'd struggle to find anyone who would argue against them having every right to do so.

So, from those forces of good who took one hell of a beating in life, to some rather intimidating leaders who were nudged on their paths after some horrifying experiences - and with a special nod to the @buffys X post that inspired this list - you couldn't really blame this lot for breaking bad.

In the time leading up to 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, that film's eventual "villain" Wanda Maximoff was well and truly put through the wringer.

Following on from her parents being murdered by Stark Industries weapons, the Scarlet Witch was ultimately turned into a weapon, eventually watched her brother die in Sokovia, her beloved Vision was murdered a few times, and she eventually lost her two sons during WandaVision.

After all that devastating pain, and ultimately being corrupted by the Darkhold, is it any wonder Wanda was pushed to the point of complete and utter desperation by the time of Multiverse of Madness? Here was a woman who'd lost everything and was now understandably willing to go to some rather extreme, dreamwalking lengths to reunite herself with her boys Billy and Tommy in another part of the multiverse.

Admittedly, Wanda's brutal murdering of various sorcerers and Illuminati members are the sort of villainous moves that aren't exactly easy to forgive, but she wasn't a monster. She was a long-suffering figure who simply wanted to take something back after years of agonising loss, a person who still didn't end up being reunited with what was left of her family when all was said and done.