Top 7 Sci Fi Villains

A Sci fi film like any other tends to have good guys and bad guys, not often is a galaxy or future imagined as conflict free. Having a good bad guy makes the feature immeasurably more enjoyable, how many of us sit around routing for the bad guy? There are traits that are required to be a good villain; Ruthlessness, technology, intelligence and charm. There are thousands of villains in sci fi but I have selected a list of 7 of my favourites for you to enjoy.

Michael Kenmore

Species – Wraith

Origin – Stargate Atlantis

The wraith are a classic evil race which has enslaved an entire galaxy of Humans and treat them like cattle, vampiric in style they suck the lifeblood from their victims through their hand. Much darker than previously encountered villains in Stargate their Gothic appearance, based on Hellraiser and their vampire style attacks brought a new dimension to the Stargate franchise. The Hive ships they used were akin to Aliens and their intelligence made them formidable foe. Michael was a wraith which had been reverted to Human form using a special anecdote but when he returned to his wraith he became a constant thorn in the side of Atlantis and was conflicted between his human and wraith side, this internal inbalance making him both volatile and explosive.

Scare Factor - 5

Smart Factor - 4

Kill Factor - 3

Likeable Factor - 2

Hal 9000

Species - AI System

Origin – 2001: a space odyssey

Hal 9000 is an AI unit on a space ship with a mission order. Tapping into our fear or reliance on technology for space exploration Hal is the perfect example of computer going rogue. Capable of self-interest and a control of all systems makes this villain both extremely dangerous and cruel. Of course the subject of machine vs man is a sub-genre in itself of sci fi, the difference with Hal is the ability to manipulate actions. Unlike other machine attacks which are all out warfare, HAL uses logic and intelligence to manipulate the crew.

Scare factor - 4

Smart Factor - 5

Kill Factor - 1

Likeable Factor - 1

Borg Queen

 

Species – Borg

Origin – Star Trek

The borg are a decidedly dark race first seen on Star Trek The Next Generation and have been the most formidable enemy of the Star Trek federation since Khan. A cyborg race controlled by a desire to assimilate all lifeforms into their collective the Borg had the intelligence and technology far superior to any others, assimilating technology from races giving them the most advanced technology. The borg queen was the central head of the Borg race and provided an enjoyable dialogue with the brilliant Captain Picard, who was also assimilated into the Borg Race.

Scare factor - 4

Smart Factor - 5

Kill Factor - 4

Likeable Factor - 1

Scorpius

Species – Scarran/Sebacian half breed

Origin – Farscape

Scorpius is perhaps the longest serving villain in a Sci fi series, constantly providing a hated enemy in Farscape. Scorpius is intelligent, evil and has the masterful skill of survival, often seemingly indestructible. The enemy of John Crichton the Human who find himself in a different universe and imbedded with technology of worm holes he has some classic dialogue with both scorpius and the implanted neural clone Harvey. The comedic element of scorpius gives him the edge of craziness that any good villain should have.

Scare Factor – 3

Smart Factor – 5

Kill Factor – 5

Likeable Factor – 4

Ripley

 

Origin – Alien

Species – Human (Mainly)

Ripley was part of a crew that stumble across an alien race, the alien race did not take kindly to this intrusion and began to use the Humans as hosts for their babies.  Ripley ruthlessly slaughtered many of these aliens and the mother (or so she thought). Ripley is both cold, aggressive and gun ho with her attitude to alien encounter

Scare Factor - 2

Smart Factor - 4

Kill Factor - 5

Likeable Factor - 0

 

Boba Fett

Origin – Star Wars

Species – Clone

Boba Fett is an emotionless bounty hunter working for the evil Jabba the Hut and alongside Darth Vader. With no army or gang as such he is a cunning deceitful bounty hunter who captures Han Solo to return him to Jabba. His back story as a clone is revealed in the prequel and adds depth to his heinous ways.

Scare Factor - 1

Smart factor - 5

Kill Factor - 3

Likeable Factor - 5

Gaius Balter

Origin – Battlestar Galactica

Species – Human?

The problem with Baltar is that he is inherently selfish to the detriment of all others, his selfish acts knows no bounds, as he plays a significant role in many deaths. His constant inner turmoil comes across as a mental health disorder but his strong sense of self-preservation manipulates others around him. Highly intelligent he is able to gain positions of power with ease, the conflict of self-preservation and humanity makes him a dangerous villain.

Obviously all my villains are based in space travel Sci fi and not the fantasy realm. Feel free to comment your own views, opinions and villains.