10 Best Buffy The Vampire Slayer Villains

All things considered, there's no villain that Buffy has ever faced more devastating and effective as Angelus. Sure, his endgame wasn't as large scaled as Glory's or as transformative as the Mayor's, but Angelus's brilliance comes from how personal an opponent he is for Buffy.

Years ago, Angel was cursed with a soul, forced to live with his sins. Worse than that, if he ever had a true moment of happiness, he would lose his soul again and become the monster he once was. After a night with Buffy, the old vampire turns to his former self, calculating, cruel and torturous.

In killing Jenny Calendar (Robia LaMorte) and laying her in bed for a lovelorn Giles to find, in then kidnapping and torturing Giles and in joyously toying with Buffy and her friends, Angelus was not just a harsh and horrifying villain, but the most personal villain the Scoobies ever faced. Buffy can't bring herself to kill him; he makes her pay by killing those close to her.

No villain on the show has ever been as deplorable, menacing and emotionally devastating as Angelus, and given how many great villains the show has had, that's saying a lot.