2 of 20

Write now Article Tools

What makes for a great villain? They must be memorable, dangerous, intriguing, and motivated. Our modern sensibility easily detects what I call moments of "mustache twirling," where someone just loves to be evil. Taking these things into consideration, I think the most superior villain in a super hero movie to-date is Magneto from the X-Men franchise.

Granted I have been a long-time fan of the comic books, I had high expectations for Marvel's Master of Magnetism when I bought my ticket for the first X-Men film. I was more than pleasantly surprise by both the writer's handling of the character, and Sir Ian McKellen's portrayal of the role. So what makes Magneto great?

Erik Lehnsherr-Magneto's actual identity-is a survivor of the Holocaust. He has seen what wickedness humanity is capable of, and he moves to act against it for the good of "mutantkind." His is the cry of action-to shoot the dog before it can bite too severely. He also thinks he's doing the right thing, which makes him a hero in his own mind. He is the champion of a people who face discrimination and violence, and he doesn't play nice with those who oppose him. That he is said to be the most powerful mutant alive doesn't hurt, either.

Magneto is charismatic, intelligent, and deeply wounded-making him the most interesting and dangerous villain of any of the comic book movies that have been made.

Learn more about this author, Andrew Browers.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Rating best villains in superhero movies?
We want to hear your view. Write now!