Commodus (Gladiator)

'"They tell me your son squealed like a girl when they nailed him to the cross. And your wife moaned like a whore when they ravaged her again and again... and again."

- Commodus to Maximus about killing his son. '

Commodus is the main villain in the 2000 film, Gladiator.

Commodus was a psychotic and unpredictable man who abused his power, lusted after his own sister and thought of himself as a god. Commodus always threatened to kill those who he thought of as a threat to himself or didn't give into his whims.

He was played by Joaquin Phoenix and is based on a real Roman emperor of the same name. The real life Commodus was also mentally unstable, dressing up as Hercules and fighting in the coliseum himself.

Character Biography
He murders his father, Marcus Aurelius, to become the Roman emperor after he learns that his father has chosen Maximus Decimus Meridius, the film's hero, to be his successor over him. Born with a silver spoon, Commodus depends on his army to do things for him but isn't afraid to do his dirty work himself. What's worse, he even slaughtered Maximus's family after having them raped and then also forced himself upon his sister. In the end, his lust for power led to his downfall when he tried to fight Maximus in the arena, mortally wounding him. However, before Maximus died, he grabbed Commodus's hidden stiletto and plunged it into his throat, killing him instantly, fulfilling his revenge.