Joker (Nolanverse)

12: Norman Bates (Psycho)

RIP Anthony Perkins (1932-1992)

11: Pazuzu (The Exorcist)

RIP Mercedes McCambridge (1916-2004)

10: Judge Claude Frollo (Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

RIP Tony Jay (1933-2006)

9: Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange)

8: Lee Woo-jin (Oldboy)

7: Harry Powell (The Night of the Hunter)

RIP Robert Mitchum (1917-1997)

6: Magneto (X-Men franchise)

5: Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)

4: Joker (The Dark Knight)

RIP Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

3: Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars franchise)

2: Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Honorable Mentions

Sauron (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)

RIP Alan Howard (1937-2015)

John Kramer (Saw franchise)

Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

RIP Alan Rickman (1946-2016)

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

John Doe (Se7en)

Lou Bloom (Nightcrawler)

Agent Smith (The Matrix)

Annie Wilkes (Misery)

1: Darth Vader (Star Wars franchise)

RIP James Earl Jones (1931-2024)

Mastermind:

The Joker(Comics, except those one where he is not)

The Joker (DCAU)

The Joker (Arkhamverse)

Jeremiah Valeska

Nolanverse Joker

Anarchist:

The Joker(Dark Knight Returns)

The Joker(Comics, sometimes, can be both or rather one, depend on his humor state)

The Joker(Nolanverse; mostly mastermind, but in general anarchistic)

The Joker(Batman 89; in general genius, but surprisely even more random than Ledger's Joker)

Jerome Valeska

The Joker's (Heath Ledger) rampage in The Dark Knight is seemingly concluded when he's captured by Batman (Christian Bale) and, we can assume, taken to Arkham Asylum. Yet The Joker's terrorist acts throughout the film end up having far-reaching consequences for Gotham City, namely his success in corrupting District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The Clown Prince of Crime not only facilitated Dent's downfall, he killed Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), forced Batman to kill Dent, and consequently compelled him to take the blame for Dent's rampage, in turn going into hiding. Beyond this, eight years later in The Dark Knight Rises, Bane (Tom Hardy) finally exposes the truth of Dent's actions, in turn throwing Gotham's justice system into chaotic disrepute just as The Joker initially intended. And finally, we see Bane release the prisoners from Blackgate Penitentiary and, presumably, Arkham Asylum, which one assumes would most certainly include The Joker himself - who, for obvious reasons, didn't appear in the sequel. On the balance of victimisation and overall plan success, The Joker absolutely triumphed over Batman, and there's a fair assumption he's still out there, somewhere. Though let's be honest - a villain like The Joker isn't going to stay quiet for long, so he'll be left to Bruce Wayne's Batman successor, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), to deal with.

I've have made this poster of my favourite villains in the DC film series

Which of these is a better villain?

Let’s put a smile on that face!

—Joker (2008)—