10 Movies Where The Villain Deserved To Win

8. Shan-Yu - Mulan

Law Abiding Citizen
Disney

Unlike General Francis X. Hummel, Shan-Yu doesn’t have admirable goals, nor is he afraid of civilian casualties. It’s harsh to say he deserved to conquer China too, but similar to Sid, he deserves a much better rap.

The fact is, throughout history empires rise and fall, battles are won and lost. In an ideal world, there would be no wars, but in the world we live in, Shan-Yu is only a villain because of the side he fell on.

He was a respected general who fought alongside his men, leading them fairly and fearlessly. Though he’s given a typical evil aesthetic, he doesn’t do much wrong in the movie other than be on the opposite side of the war to Mulan. He attacks villages, but again, it’s a war movie; all’s fair.

When he discovers the man who defeated his army was actually a woman, he doesn’t fly into a rage, question it or run off to internet message boards. He doesn’t change. He wanted to kill that man, and now he wants to kill that woman.

The upcoming remake doesn’t feature Shan-Yi (or Mushu or Li Shang for that matter), but whoever is the villain has some big, complex shoes to fill.

Contributor

Self appointed queen of the SJWs. Find me on Twitter @FiveTacey (The 5 looks like an S. Do you get it? Do you get my joke about the 5?)