10 Movie Villains That Were Total Fanboys

Few movies are complete without a villain to give the hero purpose and let them achieve their full potential, but it's also fair to say that most movie bad guys have fairly typical, generic motivations - to kill the hero, dominate the world, and so on.

Sometimes, though, things get a little more interesting than that, especially if the antagonist actually ends up being rather fond of the hero - in fact, obsessed with them enough to be an outright fanboy.

Fanboy culture sure is a strange phenomenon, and to see it reflected in movies themselves is weirder still, yet given how obsessive people can evidently be in reality, it absolutely makes sense to witness it on-screen.

From superhero movies to sci-fi blockbusters, horror flicks, and dark comedies, these 10 movies all featured villains who were unrepentant fanboys, whether dangerously obsessed with the hero or fascinated by something in their periphery.

It's great to be passionate about things, but as these movies all show, there's a point at which unchecked, unhealthy enthusiasm gives way to creepy delusions and, well, a violent, overpowering sense of entitlement...

Perhaps the single smartest idea in the entire Star Wars sequel trilogy was to make the new primary antagonist, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a card-carrying Darth Vader fanboy.

From early on in The Force Awakens, it's made abundantly clear that Kylo is obsessed with Vader, to the extent of even worshipping the melted remnants of his mask.

It's of course worth mentioning that this adoration is only exacerbated by Kylo being Vader's grandson, and throughout the sequel trilogy he desperately attempts to live up to the legacy of Vader's tyranny.

While The Force Awakens perhaps felt a bit too much like a soft-reboot of the franchise, portraying the new Vader figure as a literal Vader fanboy - and an hilariously petulant, anger-prone one at that - made for a clever twist.

Some even went as far as to suggest that Kylo was designed to poke fun at Star Wars fanboys themselves, what with his childish tantrums and initial obsession with the past - that is, until, he decided it was better to burn it all down in The Last Jedi.