Top 20 Movie Villains With Justifiable Motives

Turns out these movie villains ain't all bad. For this list, we’ll be looking at villains who actually had some good points. Our countdown includes "The Matrix", "Looper", “Captain America: Civil War”, “The Rock”, "Black Panther", and more! Did we miss your favorite sympathetic villain? Let us know in the comments.
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[@WatchMojo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6mlp4Gsf5iFa5I For more bad guy lists, click here!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6mlp4Gsf5iFa5I

[@marvinmoore3171]

Thanos does not have a great motivation , there's nothing to understand and there's no justification to what he's done , he's and he shouldn't be on this list

[@darkneon5637]

Mr freeze

[@srstriker6420]

Mr Glass should have been on this list because he has no purpose in life because he was born with a condition that bones frail and he even said do you know what the scariest feeling is, to not know why you’re here, that’s just an awful feeling also the Frankenstein monster should have been on this list as well.

[@5secondstudio771]

9:58 EXCUSE ME?!!!?? Brainwashes an entire generation into believing that he's humanities savior by feeding the children to his train and with the ending of the movie we see a polar bear that has survived in that cold world and forgive me but a polar bear is just a mammal like humans it's very likely that the two people who survived the train wreck were not the only people on the planet still alive. In fact it's not even feasible to suggest that an ice even could wipe out humanity though civilization as a whole will be fucked

[@5secondstudio771]

10:51 Preposterous

[@joshuamohlman]

“As children we love the heroes, but when we grow older we understand the villains.”

[@eugeniapatroncosta920]

Bingo.

[@cyberwarrior5939]

Where is that quote from

[@josealqueres]

@@cyberwarrior5939 JOKER

[@okidokicreations1075]

Interesthing

[@roguejester4986]

That phrase made me pity Azula from ATLA.

[@TheGrandThrawn]

Thanos placed at 10th lol, just in the middle, perfectly balanced.

[@imnotsuperstitiousbutiamal4186]

As all things should be.

[@MsKeylas]

That egotistical prick shouldn't even be in the list. Thanos couldn't care less about ANYTHING besides his own ego

[@SLOTHSRIDEUNICORNS]

You tortured and killed Loki.

[@leemangaming1020]

Magneto's motivatives in the X-Men really make sense especially with how damaged humans made him in the first place. Why should he treat humans with respect when they always hate for who he is not matter what he does; which is like what the Green Goblin said to Spider-Man "despite everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate."

[@V1ralB1ack]

He's a holocaust survivor, a mutant and a male widow (xmen apocalypse). Magneto has mostly only seen the bad of mankind. And yet he doesn't kill even a fraction as much as he could. He could easily commit a genocide with his power set in a city and that helmet but he chooses not to considering he's a victim first hand of the worst genocide ever. He really is a tragic character and Xavier is really full of shit for criticizing that poor broken man.

[@supersonicheroes]

@@V1ralB1ack You were right up until you called Xavier “full of shit”. Magneto and Professor X are both confirmed to be inspired by Malcolm X and MLK respectively, so if you call Xavier full of shit then you are basically calling MLK that too.

[@adrianbozdog9702]

@@supersonicheroes MLK has a dream, that everyone is truly equal... problem is that human greed and fear will forever make that dream impossible without some supreme since fiction to back it up (like incredibly powerful AI or precognition to stop crimes). Xavier believes that mutants should stand as a shield and suffer until humans adapt to having mutants among them where as Magneto believes humans should suffer instead of mutants until humans adapt to mutants.

[@V1ralB1ack]

@@supersonicheroes I don't give a shit who inspired what. In xmen Xavier is full of shit. You tell a holocaust victim to look on the bright side, you're the asshole. Xavier is completely not understanding.

[@adderallpaul]

@@V1ralB1ack Uhm did you not see the entire cities he leveled in the 3rd act of the movie? He did commit genocide.

[@newelljoseph5060]

The scene where Magneto was preparing to throw the missiles back at the army and Charles says 'they are just following orders' to people like Magneto who suffered at the hands of Nazi soldiers who explained away their sadism with such a line, was hands down the poorest choice of words ever

[@daydreamcomedianne]

I've been reading the Xmen comics and that is on my list of things not to say to Magneto, in addition to comparing him to a Nazi (thank you Wasp from Secret Wars).

[@fandomcultures]

@@daydreamcomedianne What comic was that?

[@daydreamcomedianne]

@@fandomcultures in secret war (I forget which issue) Wasp tells Magento he’s the most evil scum since Hitler. And this was right when he started to be written as an anti-villain.

[@KRS2000]

"I've been at the mercy of men taking orders all my life. Never again" I can't really blame him.

[@supersonicheroes]

@@fandomcultures The original Secret Wars from 1984.

[@elkensteyin]

There is one scene in the first X-Men that really holds the most emphasis for me. When Magneto & Senator Robert Kelly finally meet, Kelly says that mutants should be tagged and managed, and then Magneto shows him his arm where he was tattooed by the Nazi's, saying he's already had that happen to himself. That was enough for me to be on team Magneto after that.

[@Naruto0s44]

Same for me it was first class what the nazis did to his mom was fucked up and that drove magneto into darkness

[@dafilmqueen556]

@@Naruto0s44, and the comics was worse, especially the part where a mob burned his home and killed his 5-year-old daughter in it, and his own wife ran away from him in fear after he killed the mob responsible for their daughter's murder. Poor dude, even fatherhood was ruined for him..

[@luyandzabavukiledlamini4693]

I sympathized with after losing his mother

[@Aivottaja]

Hard cringe energy here

[@christophermerlot3366]

You forgot Bruce the shark from Jaws. He has the most sympathetic motive of all: the munchies.

[@solidsnake9898]

Beat me to it

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Sharks got to eat

[@joshua-raymcnee2273]

Weed kills people should of stayed illegal gives people diabetes and munchies 😂😂😂

[@prithvirajbasu4196]

Especially with Barbossa in this, How on earth can Davy Jones be forgotten? His motivations came from being broken hearted and betrayed by Calypso.

[@jacktheomnithere2127]

a promise is a promise; once made, you cannot break it. goddess or no, Calypso broke her promise and betrayed Davy's trust.

[@scook449]

Unlike Morpheus, Calypso warned Jones that she was untamable. She didn't want to be tied down, she wanted freedom but she still could give her heart to him. Even if she wasn't physically there, she was with him. (She was the sea itself after all) Jones wanted to live forever so he could be by her forever, but that came with restrictions, so he could only land every 10 years. He agreed to those terms. Then it took 1 time for her not to show up physically, to meet him in person on land, for him to snap and rip out his own heart. He agreed to the terms but he wanted her to force herself into a form he wanted at a time he wanted, when that was her one requirement of their relationship that she insisted on. They laid out their boundaries and he was upset when she held hers. The films even show that he was aggressive and lashed out easily, even with her. Sure, she is not stable, but she broadcasts that to everyone. That's part of the reason she likes Jack, he is just as all over the place as she is and even when they strike a deal, he doesn't force her to fulfill it the way he wants. This may be why he is so popular with women, because he isn't like the "traditional" controlling men of their time. He doesn't even blame the women when they lash out at him, even if he feels he doesn't deserve it. He likes those that are wild and free like the sea. That is why he paired up with the Turners and Swan. The reason she is agreeable with Barbarossa is because they have an agreement she is willing to cage herself for to later get out of the cage she is already in. Barbarossa recognizes that she will become a wrathful deity so he doesn't push her boundaries too much, but does use what control he has from time to time.

[@fleurdow793]

yeah davy jones,jack sparrow and babossa are my favourite characters like when babossa sacrificed himself for his daughter,that line though

[@TheBoboTheIceMan]

But unknown to her, he betrayed her first. With the first brethren court. And he loved her for her wild unchanging ways. I'd be surprised if she was there.

[@toddstarks226]

I would also have to add.. Gerard Butler in “Law Abiding Citizen”. And Russell Crow in “Unhinged”.. they cut him off for gods sake.

[@kevizz6493]

Oh I can see myself doing exactly when Gerald Butler did in "Law Abiding Citizen". The man watches his wife and young daughter get brutally murdered and feels betrayed by the justice system, so he takes matters into his own hands.

[@chrisries1955]

What's frightening is, as fictional Law Abiding Citizen is, the so-called justice system is faster to protect those in power or the ambiguous laws that protect certain demographics over others. We Americans like to think that the law is incorruptible but turn a blind eye to those who claim to enforce the law. Perhaps the judicial branch of our government should not be political? But maybe I'm just losing my mind here.

[@toddstarks226]

Or “Death Wish”? Or ( this is a stretch) but maybe Michael Douglas in “ Falling Down”? Michael Douglas character was just sick of society and government. So maybe he could’ve handled his aggression differently lol.

[@stephenlang7897]

@@chrisries1955 your almost right except it's the poor as a whole they want to keep down

[@williamsummerson1204]

I could see Gerard Butler's Law Abiding Citizen and Michael Douglas's Falling Down being on this list.

[@emilyglass5313]

Magneto is my favorite complex villain. He survived the Holocaust and has seen mutants get treated like dirt despite saving everyone's butts over a hundred times so he kind of has a point on why he does what he does even though he's the big bad of the X-Men franchise.

[@henri191]

"Just bury me in the ocean...with my ancestors that jumped from the ships , because they knew that death was better than bondage" - Killmonger during his death

[@Dimetropteryx]

Clearly his ancestors didn't jump.

[@Riddickisawesome101]

@@Dimetropteryx some of them did. It’s in history books

[@Dimetropteryx]

@@Riddickisawesome101 Yes, many did jump. The point was that if he had ancestors that were slaves, they would have been among those that didn't jump. An ancestor is someone you're descended from. Your great-grandmother is your ancestor. Her sister is not.

[@Riddickisawesome101]

@@Dimetropteryx oh ok I get what you mean now. I think he meant “my ancestors” not referencing his specific blood ancestors, but black people in general who jumped

[@Dimetropteryx]

@@Riddickisawesome101 That is what he meant, and it was stupid and wrong.

[@kevinclapson]

Killmonger loses a lot of steam as a sympathetic or justifiable villain when you pay attention to the movie. He wasn't out to liberate, he was out to overthrow and recreate the world order with HIM at the top. The entire character is an analog for the dangers of the "its ok when we do it" mentality. I've said it for years, his fathers character was the more interesting and sympathetic character. Ditto Barbosa. All his suffering was literally due to his own selfishness. Hard to justify someone that did it to themselves.

[@dstreetz91]

Barbossa wouldn't have touched a single piece of the aztec gold if he knew he was going to be a monster that felt nothing because of it. They're pirates, looking for treasure is what they do at least in PotC. I agree with Killmonger though, he was going to be a despot.

[@nasirthesenatejohnson6935]

That's what makes him a villain. He wanted to change the world but he went about it in a Psychotic power hungry way. Thats pretty much the story for most sympathetic villains. His father was murdered in cold blood leaving him to grow up in the place that he shouldn't have had to go through alone.

[@yrretgnortsmra8955]

@@nasirthesenatejohnson6935 didn't his father betway wakanda by giving a dangerous arms dealer access to the vibranium? And wasn't he going to be judged by the council when he back.

[@nasirthesenatejohnson6935]

@@yrretgnortsmra8955 Yes, he was. But none of that was Killmongers fault. I think it should be noted that T'Chaka disarmed his brother first and then proceeded to stab him in the chest, which was completely unnecessary. To add insult to injury, T'Chaka left the boy by himself after killing his dad. That would drive anyone crazy

[@Saxysaboy77]

Well the thing with Killmonger is that he was abandoned as a child. He wasn’t allowed to finish growing up to learn what’s right. He was left to die in an urban area.

[@lindildeev5721]

In The Rock, the true villain was the governement, Hummel was the hero.

[@goober5713]

No, no he wasn't. He was a terrorist.

[@Saxysaboy77]

The mercenaries he brought in to help him were also really bad.

[@Aivottaja]

The monopoly on violence - including the military - protect the government. Hummel was part of that military. And the greater public doesn't vehemently oppose this government nor the wars it starts by the command of their faceless bankster small hat overlords. All it takes it just a round of surface media nonsense to make them clamor for another one. Which produces more dead, broken or men maimed for the rest of their lives. The devil is just a man with a plan. True evil is the collaboration of men.

[@HappywifeTaylor]

I agree with magneto being number 1. As humans we have always been afraid of what we don't understand. He has every right.

[@Zeryurijin]

And when humans don't understand there has been two outcomes: We either subjugate or destroy.

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

And Magneto transcended decades

[@robirvine6970]

Yeah, I totally understand him wanting to kill all the humans in the world because 70 years ago a select group of now dead people tried to kill him but were stopped by everyone else in the world..

[@mastergems5145]

Kill Bill? Shouldn't she be on this list.

[@HappywifeTaylor]

@@mastergems5145 forgot about that one.

[@stevegallo8483]

Magneto's goal, to protect his fellow mutants, was noble. The way he went about trying to achieve it was not. It's easy to see why he went about it the way he did though, with his parents being sent to concentration camps.

[@Hinaru2008]

Specially because he tried the noble way and it didn't work for him, at the beginning he truly wanted to believe in Charle's ways. Plus in Apocalyse he completely left his mutant life to live among humans but they reminded him why he had to continue with his cause...

[@HunterShark300]

Koba is one of the most underrated and original villains in cinematic history. Matt Reeves is a genius.

[@argoth83]

Spider-Man 3 also has one of my favorite scenes in it: Sandman's transformation. There are no words as he materializes himself, and the image of him trying to grab that locket still hits me right in the heart. Being able to pick it up is what gets him into a more solid form. It's a beautiful scene in a terrible movie.

[@mac401]

Sandman makes sense he was just trying to save his sick daughter any dad would do that for his child

[@colleenross8752]

Just like John Q took an entire hospital hostage to make sure his son gets a life-saving heart transplant

[@matthewminelli]

Except for Blackbeard.

[@DevoutLikestoCreate]

Never realized how similar Koba and Magneto were until Watchmojo put them side by side on this list. That was very interesting.

[@theprofessor8821]

I was just thinking about *Raoul Silva* from *Skyfall.* While one couldn't condone the hell he unleashes, the circumstances that drove him to become the monster as we know can't be overlooked for sure.

[@Fixxer315]

I'd also consider Alex Trevayn (sp?) from Goldeneye.

[@Lupinemancer87]

I always felt that Magneto had a just cause and if I had been a Mutant as well, chances are I'd have joined him.

[@andrewmcnamara6305]

According to TV Tropes this list would be an example of "Anti-Villain", "Villain Has a Point" and "Well-Intentioned Extremist."

[@wolfboy20]

Pretty much lol

[@ChatPOPPAT]

Except for Thanos.. his plan was stupid and he killed billions for it..

[@ronaldolson6553]

@@ChatPOPPAT That's still a Well Intentioned Extremist. Even if his plan would have never worked, he still very much thought it would, so his intentions are still good, but not enough to justify his methods, even if they were effective.

[@brynleys1]

I’m quite surprised Doctor Octavius didn’t make the list at all. Alfred Molina was always seen as one of the most beloved and sympathetic villains in the superhero genre.

[@KimsLantern]

Ohhhh my god, YES!!!!!! Alfred Molina was absolutely stellar as Doc Oc!!!!! I LOVED his ‘I will not die a monster!’ line!!!!!!!

[@yufi305]

@@KimsLantern Absolutely!

[@alexlazzerly3677]

Vulture from Spiderman Homecoming immediately came to mind for me. He was just providing for his family.

[@RiVer-Parish]

Agreed I'd do the same to make sure my family is taken care of.

[@christophermerlot3366]

And screwing over a system that screwed him over.

[@Phanthief95]

Especially when it was Tony who caused him to lose his job by creating Damage Control. Tony has a very bad habit of creating villains through his actions, directly & indirectly.

[@christopherwockenfuss8452]

@@Phanthief95 Tony and Pepper light up Stark tower. Pepper: "How does it look?" Tony: "Like Christmas, but with more me." And with that sentence, Tony Stark gains the Grinch as an enemy. For the love of Stan Lee's legacy, Tony, STOP TICKING OFF THE WRONG PEOPLE!

[@srstriker6420]

Yeah because just like Zemo

[@KRS2000]

General Hummel, I can't really blame him. He even said that he wasn't ready to kill the people of San Francisco after he launched and crashed one missile into the ocean. His men on the other hand wanted to go through with it. At least before he died, he had his moment of clarity and said "What have I done?". He just wanted his fallen soldiers families to be compensated like they should have been.

[@ryancastley]

Yes. Completely agree. I really think it should be a little higher on the list. Maybe #3 or something.

[@KRS2000]

@@ryancastley #3 sounds like it would have been a good spot.

[@54raynor]

The most incredible aspect is that General Hummel is such a sympathetic, 3-dimensional villain despite being in a Michael Bay movie.

[@davidtaylor1164]

Ed Harris, good actor. Twice on this list

[@RiVer-Parish]

Captain Salazar from Pirates of the Caribbean had a good reason to hold a grudge against Jack Sparrow.

[@stephenlang7897]

Not really he was going around killing pirates whether they were violent or not Jack Sparrow just got the upper hand because everybody underestimates Jack Sparrow if somebody is trying to kill you and you kill them do they have the right to hold a grudge no not really they should never tried to kill you don't get mad because you got out played by a child I mean what Jack was maybe 17 at that point

[@thetruedarkener]

That entire movie broke continuity. As far as I'm concerned, Dead Men Tell No Tales doesn't exist.

[@RiVer-Parish]

@@stephenlang7897 Jack destroyed the man's Lamborghini ship 😆.

[@Saliha_Ali]

Maybe he did? But he also went against his own word. When Barbossa said he had heard of him, a terror who killed all men. Salazar said: "No, not man. l kill pirates." But at the beginning we see killing a HMS ships along with their crew. Besides, it's probably his ego for hating Jack, l mean he was about 17 then. Outwitted by a mere boy.

[@damienchall8297]

@@stephenlang7897 all pirates are violent or they are not pirates

[@williamthomas3359]

Also I'd put Ghost in there from Antman and the Wasp. She was turned into a weapon and all she wanted to do was survive. Very understandable.

[@ultimateslinger9857]

True. But for a villain as a whole I found her kinda Mid (Mid tier)

[@brandr7964]

Justification too

[@damienmclaren6098]

I wouldn't say being made into a weapon makes people sympathize with her. She watched her father die in an explosion that made it to where her body was constantly being ripped apart and put back together and all she wanted was to become whole again

[@twstf8905]

So, it's really Ed Harris, isn't it? Appearing multiple times in this list, he's arguably earned the #1 spot for; "misunderstood antagonist" 👍 😉

[@jodiecarlson6955]

Yes ... he does it well! In Westworld also.

[@williamthomas3359]

honestly Magneto is far more sympathetic in the comics and tv series then he was in the movies. The most sympathetic he gets was in Xmen Apocalypse. Just trying to live his live with his family than having them all killed in front of him made him join Apocalypse was very understandable. But once again, you are seriously under utilizing Roy Batty here. He was definitely the villain in Blade Runner, but he doesn't really try to commit genocide like Magneto in X-Man 2 nor does he kill a bunch of people like with Killmonger and Koba. He even saves Dekard's live saying now you know how it feels. If that's not sympathetic, I don't know what is.

[@dafilmqueen556]

Well, Magneto did kind of mourn Charles when the dude got himself killed by Jean Gray in The Last Stand. He's got a twisted obsession with him somehow, seeing as he never once tries to kill him despite how antagonistic their current relationship is, and even saves him on countless occasions. Friends gotta stick together, even if you don't agree with each other..

[@HappyMatt12345]

The way they did Michael Fassbenders version of Magneto in the revised timeline is a lot more sympathetic than the original movies version, both bc of the way he's portrayed and the way the actor plays him. The revised timeline Magneto isn't really a villain, and becomes more of an antihero.

[@anatoldenevers237]

@@HappyMatt12345 I'd say he still qualifies as a villain, at least sometimes. He's an antihero in First Class, but he still nearly destroyed the world in Apocalypse.

[@Indigo_LaCrown]

*"Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.”* (John Barth, 1958)

[@jules-yi8rn]

Ed Harris' Hummel is a great example of a sympathetic villain! He seemed so dedicated to making things 'right' in the worst of ways even he knew were wrong. I felt the same for Javier Bardem (Silva) in Skyfall...used up and discarded by the people who trained him to do what he did wanting to exact revenge. And Michael Douglas in Falling Down - a broken man trying to make his way home for his daughter's birthday only to realize he's the 'bad guy'?

[@mattb9054]

Davey Jones backstory is so tragic, true definition of heartbreak

[@TheCommenterDragon]

It was because of Sandman's motives that i always thought of him as more of an antihero than a full on villain, and of course his motives are some of the most understandable because as we all know there are people out there who will do anything to help their families, even if they have to resort to illegal methods to do so. they don't do it because they want to or because they like it they do it because they have to.

[@Jeremiah_Rivers76]

That’s why he’s my favorite from this list. My other is Zemo because of what happened to his family during the Battle of Sokovia. Even with Thanos’s explanation as to why the Snap has to happen, it’s easy to see how malevolent he is.

[@crimsonvoid1595]

I like how in No Way Home they kind of gave all the villains redemption arcs.

[@blackguyofthesouth2161]

that's not what anti hero is. he's not the main character 🤦‍♂️

[@newageBoundhippie]

he actually joined the Avengers for a while in the comics.

[@flashnfantasy]

"Ivan Vanko" from Iron Man 2. Imagine your father invented something great, and someone else displaces him and get rich with his invention, while leaving you to rot. But "Iron Man" had some charm to create his own villains, from Ultron to "Adrian Toomes" in spiderman homecoming, most of them became the antagonist because Tony Stark made them.

[@OneGaurdian]

As I recall the dude helped Howard invent it, yes, but then he was caught trying to sell it to the enemy.

[@luiscesarvianagomes970]

I see every one defending Magneto.... forgetting the side of him portrayed in the 2000 X-Men movies, where he is looking to commit genocide at all costs, with zero regard for anyone but himself. Feeding Jean Greys pent up second personality Dark Phoenix, knowing very well one wrong move and she could go nuclear and wipe life of the earth. He even discarded Mystique, someone he supposedly loved, after she protected him from a dart with mutant cure that was shot at him, and made her became human. That is not the actions of a misunderstood person, its the actions of a psychopath and sociopath.

[@dafilmqueen556]

Agreed, he lost all sense of humanity, until he himself got the cure and had to be humbled down. If he was killed in the apocalypse before Mystique changed the future, at least he died with regrets instead of indifference..

[@georgethomas4567]

Barbosa isn't even a villain he's just a man trying to regain his life instead of being trapped between death and life. Jack has done things worse than Barbosa. He tricks the (or rather a) woman he loves into killing her own father. Betrayed his friends multiple times for personal gain. He even trades his best friend to Davy Jones to save his own soul. Does that sound like a hero? Barbosa while also not a hero doesn't do nearly as horrible things. The worst he did was kidnap Elizabeth and Will but only to lift the curse placed on himself and his men.

[@LegoReader12345hello]

well to be fair, Blackbeard was willing to leave her to die.

[@LegoReader12345hello]

Well to be fair, the pirates would have gone for Will in the end.

[@georgethomas4567]

You're right about Blackbeard but she wanted to save her father even for all his faults. The fact he took away that choice and killed Blackbeard was really messed up especially the way he seemed to get a laugh out of it making a joke and all.

[@maxisnyjets8278]

John Kreese should be on this list. He's not a villain, just someone who had PTSD from the Vietnam War. We also learned more about John Kreese during Cobra Kai and how he wasn't always a villain.

[@samdavis9093]

God yes what about silver though ? Kreese dragged him back into the mess by messing with his head

[@maxisnyjets8278]

@@samdavis9093 I agree with you but Terry Silver framed John Kreese, expanded Cobra Kai and turned it into a mafia

[@fingmd]

Glad that Hummel/The Rock made this list. You can't even really say, he is a bad guy.

[@KestralKuthule]

Who created Ultron? Technically Thanos's mind imprint in a Hydra warped mindstone, oh and Hydra's little pet witch Wanda messing with Tony's mind where he then put the sceptre near a sensor it could interact with.

[@chemina8541]

add a little Thor lightning, Steve actually agreeing to Bruce and Tony working on the scepter - how is it solely Tony's fault? This 'Tony is at fault, always!' is absolutely baffling and nonsensical. I'd even say it is hypocritical because most Tony haters adore Bucky - why is mental manipulation and torture a justifiable reason for one character and not for another? Tony had no defense against Wanda, who openly stated, on screen no less, that her intention for unleashing her magic on Tony was for him to be (self)destructive and Bucky being helpless in the chair totally different? The methods and time frame vary, but in both cases someone else is pulling the strings.

[@Katkayz]

General Frank hammuel is a highly underrated character plus he had no intention of killing anyone

[@liebertjohann8524]

Riddler from the batman could have been here too he made some genuine points

[@sergoldenhandthejust1495]

Killmonger wasn't just of wakandan decent he was royalty

[@elizabethtaveras8005]

Exactly

[@misstrussteLgbTq]

I expected Magneto at one. How do you not side with the holocaust survivor!? Erik is the realistic response, Charles is the idealistic response. We all like to think we’d turn the other cheek but real life proves that isn’t how we respond. Sure, he’s often turned into a dictator to heighten drama and make X-Men look more heroic but he is the victim. We are an “eye for an eye” species. In many instances Magneto needs to be written better. Yes, Charles is a good man, but he’s a privileged man unaware of his privilege, First Class portrayed this beautifully, it’s why it’s my favourite of the franchise. Charles’ powers granted him a great upbringing but telling Mystique to hide her true form is wrong, Charles makes too many compromises, Erik won’t make any and why should he?

[@shadizersilverhand2113]

Magneto was the cynical response. He considered all normal humans the enemy after the events of the first movie (where he did want to have a cooperative relationship with humans using the world's leaders as artificial mutants so that they'd be sympathetic) by the second movie, when he tried to turn Charles into a weapon to kill all non-mutants after stopping Stryker using him to try and kill all mutants.

[@user-fh6mc9du5n]

Before I saw the X-Men movie in the summer of 2000, I wasn't aware that the character of Magneto was a holocaust survivor. Years later when I saw X-Men: First Class, not only did I get to see the driving motivations behind his actions but also his need to make sure something like that never happens to him again.

[@baylinersimp787]

The fact that General Zod from Man of Steel didn't make this list is an insult.

[@lorenzoseminara6903]

Yeah, he was engineered to preserve his people. It wasn't his fault he became a villain, they made him into one.

[@sheepboy2560]

his coup in krypton came too late. stupid.

[@da-vidcargill4975]

@@lorenzoseminara6903 oh plz u forget whaT jor el said, he would kill any one that didnt suit his world he is no justifiable;e villian

[@baylinersimp787]

@@da-vidcargill4975 "I will honor the man you once were Zod. Not this monster you've become." -Jor El

[@srstriker6420]

@@baylinersimp787 yeah it’s a good thing that Lex from BvS isn’t on here because of obvious reasons but I do wish that Mr Glass, Frankenstein monster, Vulture from Homecoming, Law bidding citizen, Fall Guy, Dracula (Gary Oldman) and Sil from Species aren’t on here as honourable mentions

[@luyandzabavukiledlamini4693]

Honestly I understand Koba after all why would he want to live side with the people who tortured and experimented on him for years! I was especially moved by the scene where he confronted Caesar and showed him all of his scars,yelling "Human work ","Human work ","Human work "

[@shareefhaddad2377]

Kahn’s motives are yet another reason I cannot forgive or condone Pike ripping into Kirk for saving Nibiru from destruction. Chances were, not even Kirk, despite his relationship with Pike, could’ve kept him from becoming the same man as Marcus, and that shows how even things like the Prime Directive can have the potential to make people no better than society’s greatest enemies.

[@damilolaowolabi6716]

I would suggest the Mandarin from Shang Chi. All he did was to resurrect his wife and reunite his family

[@darthnowlan]

Agreed.

[@Phanthief95]

He was also being manipulated by the Dweller in Darkness, so he was tricked into believing his actions were right.

[@damilolaowolabi6716]

@@Phanthief95 yeah so true. The Mandarin is literally the epitome of misunderstood characters.

[@baaron7]

Watchmojo: "we're not saying these villains actions were justified". Also Watchmojo: Top 20 villains with justifiable motives 😂

[@dantesinferno80]

Actions are different to motives

[@baaron7]

@@dantesinferno80 if the motive is justified, the action should be too, right?

[@dantesinferno80]

@@baaron7 not really - for example you may say a motive of avenging a slight is justifiable, but is I justifiable for blowing up a planet?

[@baaron7]

@@dantesinferno80 why is revenge ever justifiable?

[@dantesinferno80]

@@baaron7 why isn't it

[@marionlayton929]

I love this list... I have *always* rooted for the villains in movies!

[@PassionatedActor]

"Nobody is a villain in their own story. We're all the heroes of our own stories" - George R. R. Martin "History will decide if I'm a villain or a hero." - Harrison Ellisan In Hitlers and the S.S. officers perspective, they were the heroes and the allied as the villains. Who you side with defines your depiction of Who is the villains and the heroes. Your depiction is defined by your moral compass and background story. You May understand the villains, but you don't justifie their beliefs and actiond or agree with them. Every person has it in them to become either a villain or a hero. "You Either Die A Hero, Or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain" - Harvey Dent in Batman, The Dark Knight.

[@sirgrantelton1081]

What I liked about Barbossa is when it was revealed that he was never going to have Elizabeth killed in the first place after they were freed from their curse. He was going to let her go because even though he may be selfish, he still has a code of honor and only wanted to be human again which is why he is one of my favorite Disney anti heroes.

[@Monika-bc3dq]

Zemo is still one of the best MCU villains. I was kinda disappointed how they retconned him within MCU to fit the comic version more. I mean, we will get Baron Zemo now (and not going to complain about more Daniel Brühl either) but he was quite perfect. Just a regular guy motivated by grief and hate.

[@chrislecount4801]

He’s actually one of my favorite MCU villains along with Killmonger, Thanos, and Loki (whom I personally consider more of an anti-hero than a villain.)

[@srstriker6420]

Yeah at least he is on this list because he did had a good reason to hate the Avengers.

[@e_eyster]

Really (most) well written villains have pretty solid motives when you look at it from their perspective. Occasionally you have the chaotic evil villain who is evil just to be evil, but usually they have a goal that you can sympathize with, even if you dont agree with how they get there always.

[@darthgorbag]

A famous phrase: "Every villain is the hero of their own story"

[@ethancullen7702]

Few honorable mentions The Candyman (Candyman franchise) Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th franchise) Samara (the ring franchise) The outcasts (the final) The vulture (spider-man homecoming) Black manta (Aquaman movie)

[@srstriker6420]

Mr Glass (Unbreakable trilogy) Sil (Species) Frankenstein’s monster (Boris Karloff and Robert De Niro) Arthur Fleck (Joker) Krall (Star Trek Beyond) Cheetah and Maxwell Lord (Wonder Woman 1984)

[@greyhawk4898]

I'm surprised Doc Oct from spider-man 2 isn't in the list. Nothing the the character I grew up with, but I like him in that movie. As to the ones listed, I've always liked Erik Lensherr. I've understood him and his thinking since I first learned of him. Sadly, by the last movies he'd started becoming what he was fighting in the beginning. Even still, completely understandable.

[@dstreetz91]

Yeah the guy just wanted to have clean, renewable energy that wasn't going to pollute the planet like coal burning. Then the tentacles took over because of how advanced they were after the inhibitor chip was destroyed in an accident.

[@KC_Eden]

That's the problem with Movies these days, everyone understands where the villains are coming from making you feel sorry for them. Back in the day not knowing why someone is evil was what made them scary! 💯

[@togepreee]

Heath Ledger's Joker

[@anorganicpotato2729]

most of the time being evil for being evil is just plain boring

[@KC_Eden]

@@anorganicpotato2729 Touchè 😂

[@beatzbyreefah]

I agree with this entire list however the one that hurt the most was Koba. My God when he shot Caesar everything changed.

[@lacrartezorok4975]

In the movie, Ozymandias error is that, after years of using Dr. Manhattan as an attack dog, it's more likely that the rest of the world would see his supposed attacks as the fault of the U.S. government. In the comic, as absurd as it looks, the squid represent an outside world, something no one on Earth can be blamed for.

[@stevenjohansen3827]

Thanos makes more sense in the comics where he kills half of all life to please Mistress Death. In the MCU he could have at the minimum increased resources amongst other things.

[@dano1998]

The Planet of The Apes trilogy - such an underrated trilogy.

[@jasonrandom372]

It is a criminaly underaded trilogy. Too bad Planet of the Apes is now owned by Disney!

[@marlonclark1896]

@@jasonrandom372 as are alien and predator also now owned by Disney

[@Sueberry20101]

I can't help thinking about Francis Dolarhyde - AKA The Tooth Fairy - in Red Dragon, and Roman Bridger in Scream 3. Both were abandoned by their mothers, and at least in Francis' case abused in childhood.

[@DebzLife]

Riddler from the Batman not even on the list? A tortured, twisted orphan, who is sick of the countless false hopes by the corrupt politicians.

[@themcusbiggestfan3210]

Well he did go too far with trying to destroy the entire city

[@DebzLife]

@@themcusbiggestfan3210 so did Thanos with destroying half the universe, why is he on the list?

[@mohammadalloush8636]

@@DebzLife Go big or go home apparently.

[@RiVer-Parish]

Riddler was just tripping off some bad meth he will be fine.

[@xaviera.hendon6869]

Love the line-up! I thought about Clyde Shelton from Law Abiding Citizen for this list too!

[@Darth_Cornpop]

Captain Nemo from Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954): He was enslaved, forced to mine nitrates for gunpowder. The slavers of Rure Pentha (sp?) wanted Nemo's scientific knowledge. He refused to give it to them so they imprisoned him, then tortured and murdered his wife and young son to death. He escaped with a bunch of others by stealing a ship and then sailed to the island of Vulcania and constructed the 'Nautilus'. Nemo's sinking ships with a submarine that looks like a sea-monster is pure payback for what the slavers did to him.

[@itriggeru5770]

Great list I would suggest Imhotep from The Mummy.

[@kariebossa4851]

Not sure how him wanting to bang the Pharaoh's wife and conspiring with her to murder him makes him a "justified" villain.

[@haroldalan7080]

Magneto has a right for what he does to humans they are savage beings with cruel ways i don,t blame the guy he just wants his fellow mutants live in harmony%.

[@arianjackson2011]

Villains be like: "I did it for my family" WatchMojo: Justified

[@AKWolf24]

Davy Jones is more relatable than Barbossa

[@thegodhand8998]

Great list I’d add Shar Khan from the jungle book to this list hunters we’re going into the jungle killing the animals and he wanted them gone but wanted the wrong human gone

[@Marylsa]

I always thought magneto wasnt evil, he endured a lot and all at the hands off people. And I think we are our own worst enemy.

[@nelbelmont]

Colonel Nathan Jessup was missing... I truly understand him...

[@mountbuckekreative4044]

Plundering and killing is what Pirates do for a living basically, why should Barbossa be crazy because of that? His actions seem far more straight forward than Sparrow. so i can understand the crew considering Jack the lunatic and leave him on that little island.

[@sifilore9462]

I have to say my rational opinions on some of these guys. #1 Zemo. Sure Tony created Ultron, but Ultron basically semi-sentient/alive. He destroyed Sokovia. Don't tell me that u would blame the parents of a serial killer for giving him life, cause that is irrational. Plus in the beginning with Ross talking about their actions, those were not the Avengers fault. New York was Loki, Washington was Hydra as they've infiltrated SHEILD for more then 70 years, and no one ever knew about it. And Logas, Crossbones blew himself up. Wanda held the blast as strongly as she could before throwing it in the air and accidentally killing 26 people which wasn't her fault it was his for setting himself off. More could've died on the ground. #2. Precrime Dep. To condemn a person before they commit a crime is just like Ammit in Moon Knight. It also takes away people's choices to stand down. If seeing the future was real, what u should do is tell them so they choose for themselves to still b good or go bad. #3 Thanos. Thanos was delusional as he thought the whole universe who b grateful. He only saw the problem being over populations and didn't even think of cleaning the environment of all the pollution away, regrow forests, refreeze the glaciers, repopulate endangered plants and animals or even bring back those that went extinct this and last century, etc. etc. His main focused was the people. #4 Old Joe sounds like Precrime Dep. #5 Ozymandias. If I was Dr. Manhattan in end, instead of agreeing with him, I would've exposed him but use my godlike powers to stop the war by turning all nukes into flowers and enter into people's mind to show them a better path. But only show, not force. #6 Killmonger. While it is said he wants to aid African descendants, I've found a couple of websites that says this from what wasn't spoken in the movie, u have to realize it. Killmonger really wanted to give all of Wakanda's weapons to everyone and I mean everyone (regardless of their skin color). Spreading chaos everywhere in every streets, cities, and neighborhoods as vengeance for his own hard childhood. and #7 Magento. I agree with everything the narrator said but add this. Erik has become just like the people who took his family away and ruined his childhood, and doesn't even realize it. By the movies, it was Sebastian Shaw who put the idea of mutant supremacy in his head. The man who killed his mother and not his own og thoughts.

[@Bmore611Boy]

Watching the video and reading a few comments made me think: “Is Ra’s Al Ghul from ‘Batman Begins’ essentially Thanos on a human level?” They both operate under the belief that wiping out civilizations that are destroying themselves in search of “balance” is justified and neither one showed intent or aspirations to rule once their deed is done.

[@BallinOnABudgetINC]

Yesss!!!! This is why I love watching you guys channel… I go into this video while chewing the fat with my lady & I said I bet you Kilmonger is at the very least top 3 on this list! She said hell no, they don’t recognize us like that & I won!!! It didn’t help tht y’all put a ape’s plight B4 ours so I had to hear that, but hey what can you do?? It was all in good fun! Sick fun, but fun!

[@ctakitimu]

My favorite was Gabriel's reasons from Constantine : "It's only in the face of horror that you truly find your nobler selves," Gabriel tells Constantine, "and you can be so noble. So… I will bring you pain. I will bring you horror.

[@jopiaspieder1184]

Kilmonger was never abandoned by his own people...his people never knew of him until he showed up at their doorstep

[@carlmahome1]

Sentinel Prime and Zod both just wanted to restore their home worlds

[@nasirthesenatejohnson6935]

Thanos: The universe is finite, and so are its resources. I must kill half of all life to prevent universal collapse. Literally Anyone: Why not just use the infinity stones to create more resources for people in need? Thanos: Hmmm, I never thought of that.

[@yellowjacket8516]

I would say Davey Jones from pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 and Drago Bloodfist from how to train your dragon 2 are also good choices for this video

[@khanpudge5601]

Villain : kills 3,000,000 people Also Villain : has tragic childhood Audience : “that’s sad 😭”

[@nigelhickman2274]

Thanos 'destroyed half of all living things' (according to Romanov) - that would include people, animals, vegetation etc. All the resources needed to sustain live would be equally scarce after the snap than before. His decision was not at all justified .... or as Tony Stark would say 'not a great plan'. -

[@tonyjayequinney5116]

... planet killer meteor. Let it destroy all because human weapons can only shatter it a bit or shatter it a bit and let half humans die? The Thanos character is only trying to save all universal populations.

[@kurisuochiru5014]

killmonger makes it sound so easy like people can handle all that power

[@ramshaahmedghayaz9772]

Eric was always special.... he had his concept but whenever Charles needs him he fought beside him no matter what

[@Randomark3087]

When were kids, we hated the villains. When we grew up, we realize a lot of them are right.

[@thereallg4587]

*Killmonger makes the most sense to me. I didn't know who to root for in black panther.*

[@tjhooker824]

He was a racist black supremacist and all around evil. How could you side with him?

[@Riddickisawesome101]

I definitely rooted for him. His performance and commitment to helping his people got me to be devoted to autistic rights (I’m not black but I’m autistic, so it was the most relevant cause)

[@vikingsword3485]

The racist makes the most sense to you? What does that say about you?

[@darthnowlan]

Killmonger is a racist and wants power.

[@tjhooker824]

@@vikingsword3485 wait what? Can you please re word

[@whogg0521]

Cool list

[@christopherneumann78]

Ed Harris plays a relatable villain in a lot of movies and does it better than anyone.

[@olenaolena9073]

I’d add Quaritch and other humans from Avatar. Technically, they were trying to help Earth and Jake was a betrayer of the human race 🤷‍♀️

[@ctakitimu]

Quaritch was even open to diplomacy. There was probably enough unobtainium for everyone on the whole moon

[@joonassummanen6130]

Where's Alec Trevelyan From Golden Eye. I think he's motive is justifiable. He's parents where betrayed by the British government. I think that says it all. Also Raoul Silva from Skyfall is also a good candidate.

[@Snowman8080]

The riddler from the batman i mean he was just misunderstood his whole life

[@veronicaambler1846]

In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Prince Nuada's motive was to save his people from extinction. His ideas were extreme, but understandable. After all, he only wanted to do the same as the humans in any alien invasion movie.

[@luiscesarvianagomes970]

Yes... very understandable.... Thanos getting the power to change reality and using it to kill half the universe (indiscriminately) is understandable... dont think about the fact that he could have used that power to create more resources. But even ignoring that, i would like to see him survive long enough to know he not only killed ALL life in the universe, he destroid the universe itself, because he snapped the only reason keeping Dormammu at bay. Or Killmonger starting a war to kill all races but his own... perfectly understandable....

[@Brandon_4272]

What about Syndrome in The Incredibles??

[@BabaYagaRacing]

Good choice

[@suzannerust8658]

Yeah he was a child when Mr Incredible not only rejected him as a sidekick but basically made out that Buddy would never become a super.

[@marlonclark1896]

and Lotso from toy story 3?

[@Brandon_4272]

@@marlonclark1896 Well yes he's great but I don't think turning evil because of a misunderstanding is that justifiable

[@marlonclark1896]

@@Brandon_4272 ok well what about the villain from toy story 4?

[@wolfeusmc2011]

I still cry at Flint Marco's Sandman confession. It doesn't make it right but a lot the time it humanizes why some people turn to robbery. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just hope you can understand.". You can tell he's sorry but he'll have to live with the consequences still of his actions as sand never completely whole again

[@mojojojoslyfoxharris]

Solid list! I'd say the one villain who I would have put on this list that wasn't on it is Mr. Freeze from the Batman movies/TV shows. Granted I know that his live action portrayal in Batman & Robin by Arnold Schwarzenegger is mixed at best, but you can definitely sympathize with what his ultimate goal is. It was a means to find a cure for his wife who had contracted a rare disease and he was a doctor/scientist eager to find that cure for her by whatever means necessary! I hope that he gets a chance in a future major motion picture so that he's given the proper recognition and credit as a sympathetic villain whether it's with Robert Pattinson's Batman or the next reboot of Batman after the current one.

[@user-fh6mc9du5n]

If you want to see a portrayal of Mr. Freeze that's worthy of his comic book origins, then I'd suggest you watch the animated movie Batman: Subzero.

[@mojojojoslyfoxharris]

@@user-fh6mc9du5n Oh I have! I'm talking more about getting that translated to into a good live action adaptation in the near future.

[@TheCanadianRS]

I still to this day think Thanos has somewhat of a point.

[@nixda9326]

maybe, but that still doesnt justify killing half of the universe just like that.

[@ChatPOPPAT]

No he doesn't.. Thanos had the silliest plan ever.. the population doubled in 50 years.. so is killing half the population justified for 50 more years.. ideal plan would have been to eliminate all intelligent species in the universe as they do the most harm to the nature..

[@nixda9326]

@@ChatPOPPAT so, instead of killing the half just killing almost all living Creatures. yeah sounds legit. how about no and stop playing god?

[@edpadilla9402]

Top 10 Worst Things Shao Kahn Has Done (Mortal Kombat)

[@dylanwheeler8728]

That tears in the rain monolog always hits me right in the existential dread

[@marcosperez8973]

My favorites villains Sandman (2007 - 2021) Wasn't a villain he only want to save daughter by sickness. Zemo (2016 - 2021) I don't know why he killed father king of Wakanda. The tethered (2019) You don't mess with evil clone. Barbussa (2003 -2017) Even through he is skeleton pirate doesn't he bad guy. Thanos (2012 - 2019) Man he succeed destroying half of the universe. killmonger (2018) He won't stop until he wants. Magento (2000 - 2020) He has power of control metal.