1. Jubal Early
My number one, Jubal Early, is an endearing, intriguing and yet absolutely vile character who appears in the final episode of the series, Objects In Space. Early is a bounty hunter who comes for River. Played by Richard Brooks, Early is in my mind the best villain to appear during the shows fourteen episode run, and when I first saw Chiwetel Ejiofor in Serenity I was hoping he had been cast as Early. Alas, it was not so. What makes Early such a great character is that he is the most formidable opponent that the crew had come across smarter than Saffron, scarier than Niska and a better fighter than Crow. Partly inspired by Boba Fett, he physically dominates the crew and is also shown to be a highly intelligent and eccentric man. Fixating on philosophical ramblings including the existential meaninglessness of places and objects, he is enticing and interesting, and that's something no other villain offers. The episode is focused solely on him, rather than the main cast, with the story following his journey through the ship Serenity. It is not just his psychological ramblings than make him an interesting supporting character he's also far from a one-dimensional bad guy. Apart from his super Alliance soldier routine Early does have that sick, twisted side that is quintessential to a great villain. He holds a sadistic side River reveals that he used to torture his neighbour's pets and that his mother sensed a darkness in him. This is shown by him threatening to rape a detained Kaylee if she or Simon did not comply with his wishes. Early himself refuses to observe his evil behaviour as his own, denying responsibility be claiming he has to, for the job. However, River offers the entirely valid counterargument that such excuses and qualifications are the reason why he took the job. His well-crafted, multi-faceted character is what makes Early so memorable. Formidable physically and mentally, it takes a combined effort from the crew to defeat him, ending with Mal booting him into space. Early has the last lines of Firefly as he floats through space, "Well... here I am," he states. Although his fate is left uncertain and very pessimistic, Whedon has claimed that Early definitely survived and that he, as the shows creator, loves the character. He's not alone. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment!