Fantastic Beasts: Ranking Every Character From Worst To Best

As villains go, Percival Graves is one of the more under-stated and complex in the Harry Potter franchise as a whole. His intentions are never entirely clear (he appears at first simply to be a misguided cog in the Congress machine), but as he develops he gains significantly more interest. He's darkly charismatic, venomous when necessary and a similar sort of figure to Dolores Umbridge, without the pink.

The problem with Graves is that he's rather badly undone by the twist ending that reveals he's actually Grindelwald. Perhaps it's because Colin Farrell does so well with the character, but the revelation feels almost like it's been tagged on for an added punch (which isn't necessary).

Narratively, it would have been better for Graves to just be one of Grindelwald's fanatics (mentioned early in the film but entirely invisible beyond that), and the twist does take away some of the lustre of the performance.