10 Sci-Fi Movie Villains That Had Totally Lame Deaths

1. The Aliens - The Word Of The Worlds

Aliens War Of The Worlds 2005
Paramount Pictures

Any time that an existing property is adapted for the big or small screen, there's always a question of just how true said adaptation will stay to the key plot points of the source material.

To defend any of the movies, TV shows, radio productions, or stage spins on H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, then, their lame ass endings come down to them remaining fiercely faithful to Wells' 1898 novel.

Of course, this list is looking at movies, and the obvious choice to explore when looking at the plentiful feature-length adaptations of The War of the Worlds is Steven Spielberg's 2005 Tom Cruise-fronted take on this sci-fi tale of alien invasion.

Regardless of which version of this story you've seen, it all ends with the utterly anticlimactic reveal that the aliens can't actually deal with the bacteria on Earth - and thus, a bunch of aliens die, the alien invasion retreats, and it's all because these extraterrestrial sorts can't cope with the basic human cold.

No matter how you spin this story, no matter how tense and atmospheric you construct your take on it, anyone adapting The War of the Worlds is always going to face an uphill battle when it comes to the moment when the aliens are finally defeated.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.