Villain Superlatives & Punchable Characters
Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review.
This week’s TTT is: All About Villains – top ten favorite/most compelling villains in books, top ten of the most vile villains/bad guys in books, top ten villains I secretly (or not so secretly) love, favorite tv villains, favorite comic book villains, ten “villains” of contemporary lit. Because I’m not someone who actively looks for villains or likes/hates them I’m going to give out top six villain superlatives! I’ll be giving each villain/book a superlative for what they really excelled at as I read them. I loved how Hannah used superlatives for recent TTTs. I’m also going to share four punchable characters from books I’ve read. Yes, I ran out of villains and needed to fill the space but whatever okayyyy?
Six Villain Superlatives
Most Likely to Fall in Love With // The Darkling
The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo • I feel like most people loved The Darkling even though he was pretty evil, and clearly the villain of the series. I have such a bad bookish memory but I know I wish he had a different ending (I just don’t remember what his ending was to be honest). I know there were a lot of Darkling-Alina shippers out there, so I know he’s most likely to make the reader fall in love… despite his villainous ways!
Most Likely to Change Your Mind // Ignifex
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge • I was annoyed with Ignifex when the book first got started because he was a bit too aggressive for me. The love in this story (like a lot of Beauty and the Beast retellings) can involve what feels like stockholm syndrome, but I can’t decide if this one is. In any case, he grew on me quite a bit as I learned about his past and some other ~things~ I won’t spoil.
Most Likely to Creep You Out // AIDAN
Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman • I was not as obsessed with this book as other people, but Gemina definitely changed my mind a little bit. I was so creeped out by AIDAN and all that he could do. It was like some serious Big Brother shit. I don’t even know how to describe it, but it gave me the willies.
Most Likely to Make You Want a Backstory // Levana
Fairest by Marissa Meyer • I know I wanted to know way more about Levana and how she came into power (and also her evilness), so Fairest was (kind of) an interesting story. I wish there was even more to actually make me feel bad for her, but I totally didn’t. It was cool to learn more about how she grew up and gain some insight into why she did the things she did.
Most Likely to be a Worse Villain than the Actual Villain // Dolores Umbridge
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling • Literally everyone I know basicaly hates Umbridge more than Voldemort. Any time there’s a question on a book tag or TTT about worst villains, she makes everyone’s list. Ya know, the side villain from one Harry Potter book instead of the actual terrible villain in the rest of the books! I can’t lie… she was utterly terrible.
Most Likely to Give You Trust Issues // *Spoiler!*
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard • Obviously I can’t name this person because it would be a big spoiler for the book, but the words: “anyone can betray anyone” are repeated SO many times that you KNOW there will be some kind of betrayal. Who does the betraying, however, is where the twist comes in. The series itself lost its luster for me once the reviews for book two came out, so I haven’t continued even though that cliffhanger was a doozie.
Four Super Punchable Characters
Matt from Game On by Michelle Smith • This was a classic example of a dickhead ex-boyfriend going to far. I wanted to throttle him every single time he appeared in the story. I’m happy with how things turned out for Eric and Bri (childhood best friend romance for the win) but I wish Matt disappeared forever, ASAP.
Everyone from In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch • I’m always bummed when I book I’m super excited about is… not great. All of the main characters in this story could have used a swift kick to the shins. The three girls in the story were so selfish and annoying. I didn’t mind the two guys, but they weren’t even anything to write home about. I can’t even remember anyone’s names from this book, so…
Piper from Diplomatic Immunity by Brodi Ashton • I like Piper less and less the more I look back on this story. I don’t know how she thought she could get away with anything. It was infuriating to read about her because she stopped at nothing to get what she wanted, never used common sense, and hurt people without caring.
Everyone from The Royals series by Erin Watt • The two books I’ve read so far have been utter crap and utter crack at the same time. I’m dying to see where the series goes in the final book even though everyone is terrible. I don’t like any of the characters and the way they behave, but I can’t stop reading. I didn’t mind the main character, Ella, as much as the boys. God-awful.
This is a really fun way to do TTT! I agree, dolores umbridge is definitely worse than the actual villain xD And the Darkling really stole almost everyone heart! The fandom practically flipped when Ruin and Rising came out xD Great list!
Right?? Thank you!
AIDAN scared me SO MUCH when I read Illuminae. I still don’t completely trust it….
Great list! 🙂
Same here!
Oh I really like the idea of doing superlatives! And your’re totally right, Umbridge was terrifying because she was right there in their day-to-day lives and not in some faraway place only to show up in the end.
Thank you! Yeah, she was so so evil.
I never understood why people shipped Alina with The Darkling. He was atrocious!
And YES! AIDAN was so creepy but so fascinating at the same time. I’m hoping he’ll appear in Gemina as well because he was really entertaining.
UGH. MATT. I was ready to throw him off a cliff for how douchey he was.
And I so agree about Paper Princess. Those boys and everyone in them are terrible, but I still love reading them. I really need the last book already!
Haha I was so addicted to the Royals series! I need the final book. Totally predicted that ending though.
I didn’t ship Alina with the Darkling but I was definitely curious about him and drawn to him! haha.
The Darkling, Queen Levana, and Umbridge are great choices! I haven’t read the other books on your list but I’m sure I would agree. For me, my all-time favorite baddie is the White Witch (Chronicles of Narnia #1).
Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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I really, really hated Umbridge! She’s just the kind of villain that I truly cannot stand, and when I reread the series earlier this year, she just still stood out as the character that I truly hated with every fiber of my being. Great list, Lauren, and I love the superlatives idea!
Yes absolutely! It’s funny to me how much we ALL despise her even when Voldemort is arguably just as terrible/more terrible haha!
Hahah it is so true that I absolutely HATE Umbridge more so than the actual main villain. I think it’s because she’s a really strict teacher, and I’m sure everyone has had a teacher or a principal that was *somewhat* strict like her? Or at least would HATE to have a teacher like her?
I actually really liked AIDAN hahah. I’m excited to see what role he’ll play in Gemina! And I really need to read Cruel Beauty at some point!
Yeah so true! She’s a more relatable villain, compared to a crazy wizard without a nose lol.
I like AIDAN too for the most part! He/it creeped me out a lot but I’m totally ready to see where the story goes with him/it later haha.