Most Sympathetic and Unsympathetic Villains in Comic Book Movies

[The Overlord]

*cough* That Thanos' plan "does not make sense" is a feature, not a bug. Thanos is an extremely intelligent, charismatic *fanatic*, and a flaw with the plan is a sign that the world is wrong, not that Thanos is wrong. This is confirmed by his actions in Endgame, when faced explicitly with his plan not-working.

As for why Thanos is so invested in the whole "kill half of everyone" plan? My theory is, its because of the death of Titan. He came up with the idea of halving the population to fix Titan's problems, it wasn't done, and Titan died. Embracing, with absolute certainty, that this plan could have saved Titan? Means he doesn't have to grapple emotionally with either of these scenarios:

1. "My original plan was useless and counterproductive, and the time I spent advocating it might have distracted from pursuing actual workable plans. Thus, I am partially at fault for Titan's death."

2. "My original plan was useless, but *not* counterproductive, because absolutely nothing anybody could have done could have saved Titan. Thus, I was not at fault, but I was absolutely helpless."

You can see how neither of these would exactly be exciting scenarios to embrace. Given the alternative, "All the problems of the universe can be fixed with mass death, and I can still save other worlds" looks like an awfully appealing personal religion ( with Thanos as the self-decreed savior, natch ).

And this is why I do not Thanos is sympathetic, when confronted by the fact that his plan does not work, he decides to destroy the entire universe and rebuild it with people who will be grateful for his actions. That makes it seem like he is doing this for his ego, not for his supposed good intentions.

Thanos is not pure evil, but he is not sympathetic either, IMO, there is a huge middle ground between those 2 points. Thanos is a compelling character, but sympathetic, I do not think so. He is a better person then Hela, Ronan or Ego the Living Planet, but that's an easy bar to pass. I would not deem up there with the really sympathetic villains in these movies (Two-Face, Dr. Octopus, Lizard, Magneto, etc).

 

[2kt09]

And this is why I do not Thanos is sympathetic, when confronted by the fact that his plan does not work, he decides to destroy the entire universe and rebuild it with people who will be grateful for his actions. That makes it seem like he is doing this for his ego, not for his supposed good intentions.

Thanos is not pure evil, but he is not sympathetic either, IMO, there is a huge middle ground between those 2 points. Thanos is a compelling character, but sympathetic, I do not think so. He is better then Hela, Ronan or Ego the Living Planet, but that's an easy bar to pass. I would not deem up there with the really sympathetic villains in these movies (Two-Face, Dr. Octopus, Lizard, Magneto, etc).

+Loki and Baron Zemo

 

[Batmannerism]

Sinestro....because he had to be in the Green Lantern movie - of which he was the only good part.

 

[The Endless]

The GL movie should've been like the animated movie First Flight.

Basically a buddy cop movie in space. So we watch Hal grow whilst Sinestro slowly devolves.

 

[Herofan]

I think Scarlet Witch is a villain and an unsympathetic villain.

 

[Zarex]

*cough* That Thanos' plan "does not make sense" is a feature, not a bug. Thanos is an extremely intelligent, charismatic *fanatic*, and a flaw with the plan is a sign that the world is wrong, not that Thanos is wrong. This is confirmed by his actions in Endgame, when faced explicitly with his plan not-working.

As for why Thanos is so invested in the whole "kill half of everyone" plan? My theory is, its because of the death of Titan. He came up with the idea of halving the population to fix Titan's problems, it wasn't done, and Titan died. Embracing, with absolute certainty, that this plan could have saved Titan? Means he doesn't have to grapple emotionally with either of these scenarios:

1. "My original plan was useless and counterproductive, and the time I spent advocating it might have distracted from pursuing actual workable plans. Thus, I am partially at fault for Titan's death."

2. "My original plan was useless, but *not* counterproductive, because absolutely nothing anybody could have done could have saved Titan. Thus, I was not at fault, but I was absolutely helpless."

You can see how neither of these would exactly be exciting scenarios to embrace. Given the alternative, "All the problems of the universe can be fixed with mass death, and I can still save other worlds" looks like an awfully appealing personal religion ( with Thanos as the self-decreed savior, natch ).

My thinking on The Mad Titan is that he REALLY likes killing, which is why he went immediately to the "Kill Half!" option when faced with resource shortages on Titan. But, like most monsters throughout history, Thanos doesn't like to think of himself as a blood thirsty mass murderer. So " I'm saving the universe! " is the lie he tells himself to keep on culling.

When you are a genocidal maniac, the solution to every problem looks like a mass slaughter.

 

[metaphysician]

My thinking on The Mad Titan is that he REALLY likes killing, which is why he went immediately to the "Kill Half!" option when faced with resource shortages on Titan. But, like most monsters throughout history, Thanos doesn't like to think of himself as a blood thirsty mass murderer. So " I'm saving the universe! " is the lie he tells himself to keep on culling.

When you are a genocidal maniac, the solution to every problem looks like a mass slaughter.

I would say its a little more complicated than just "I like killing". I think Thanos was seduced by the romance of the Hard Man Making Hard Choices. He had a vision of himself as the Great Hero, possessing the conviction only he had which would allow him to save the world no matter the price. Hence choosing a solution that would only be possible for such a hard edged pillar of conviction, because it would be the most self-flattering. If anyone were willing to do it, it wouldn't mean anything.

Then, things went catastrophically wrong, and its either double down or admit error.

 

[Batmannerism]

I would say its a little more complicated than just "I like killing". I think Thanos was seduced by the romance of the Hard Man Making Hard Choices. He had a vision of himself as the Great Hero, possessing the conviction only he had which would allow him to save the world no matter the price. Hence choosing a solution that would only be possible for such a hard edged pillar of conviction, because it would be the most self-flattering. If anyone were willing to do it, it wouldn't mean anything.

Then, things went catastrophically wrong, and its either double down or admit error.

I like the way you phrased that....athough I would add that Thanos was probably also a bit psychotic. He seemed to genuinely believe that he was doing what was necessary. Particularly in Infinity War, when he says to Gamora "I'm the ONLY one who knows." Sounds like he has a real messianic delusion.

 

[Charzhin0]

And this is why I do not Thanos is sympathetic, when confronted by the fact that his plan does not work, he decides to destroy the entire universe and rebuild it with people who will be grateful for his actions. That makes it seem like he is doing this for his ego, not for his supposed good intentions.

Thanos is not pure evil, but he is not sympathetic either, IMO, there is a huge middle ground between those 2 points. Thanos is a compelling character, but sympathetic, I do not think so. He is a better person then Hela, Ronan or Ego the Living Planet, but that's an easy bar to pass. I would not deem up there with the really sympathetic villains in these movies (Two-Face, Dr. Octopus, Lizard, Magneto, etc).

This is an interesting point, which I think clashes with your later claim that ''Thanos is not pure evil''. I think he is pure evil if his underlying intentions reached far beyond his original plan. I.e. he began wanting to erase half the population so the universe can become balanced. Then, he decides as a last resort to wipe out the entire universe which is a massive divergence to his original plan - which had at least some merit (although very little). In Endgame, he does become pure evil because his motive shifts to wanting to rule the universe - in the disguise of doing it for balance. Same can be said about Ego, Ronan, Hela, etc. They want to rule because they are power hungry.


Apocalypse in his movie is very similar to Thanos. Apocalypse see's humanity has become dictated by the weak who control the world. His idea is to cleanse the earth of the evil of weak vices such as money, nukes, and politicians and make way for the strongest. This has some merit in theory like Thanos' plan. BUT when the opportunity arises to the point he can grasp world domination essentially, by taking over Prof Xs mind and controlling everyone and being everywhere, his underlying evil intentions are exposed. Thanos' intentions are just a extrapolation of that. Both are pure evil, deep down because they are egomaniacs.

 

[Charzhin0]

Theres not many villains who are sympathetic in the movies. Two-Face in Dark Knight, Magneto, Silver Surfer and Winter Soldier are the only ones that come to mind.

 

[metaphysician]

I like the way you phrased that....athough I would add that Thanos was probably also a bit psychotic. He seemed to genuinely believe that he was doing what was necessary. Particularly in Infinity War, when he says to Gamora "I'm the ONLY one who knows." Sounds like he has a real messianic delusion.

One doesn't need to be psychotic to convince themselves they are a deadly messiah. They just need to have the wrong kind of warp in their moral compass, the kind that forgoes the traditional forms of venality for more lofty and esoteric indulgences. An absence of humility is not, ultimately, madness.

 

[Batmannerism]

One doesn't need to be psychotic to convince themselves they are a deadly messiah. They just need to have the wrong kind of warp in their moral compass, the kind that forgoes the traditional forms of venality for more lofty and esoteric indulgences. An absence of humility is not, ultimately, madness.

I'm no psychiatrist so I'm not qualified to judge, but I have met my fair share of crazy people. I suggest that For Thanos to believe that he's the only person who can save the universe, is more than just a lack of humility.