 ✓
| ||
|
This Villain was proposed and approved by Villains Wiki's Pure Evil Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this villain from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a futile "heroic" attempt of redemption) and the user will have high chances of being | ||
|
| “ | Hello, father! | „ |
| ~ Barty Jr. revealing his true colors. |
| “ | And they say I'm mad! | „ |
| ~ Barty Jr. after Barty deduces his true identity knowing no one will believe him. |
| “ | You won because I made it so, Potter. You ended up in that graveyard tonight because it was meant to be so. And now the deed is done. The blood that runs through these veins runs within the Dark Lord. Imagine how he will reward me when he learns that I have once and for all silenced the great Harry Potter! | „ |
| ~ Barty moments before trying to kill Harry Potter. |
Bartemius "Barty" Crouch, Jr. is the secondary antagonist of the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth installment in Warner Bros. Pictures‘s Harry Potter film series.
He is a Dark Wizard as well as an infamous Death Eater who tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity under the orders of Lord Voldemort. Years later, he escapes from the Azkaban prison and impersonates the Auror Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody to engineer his master's return alongside Peter Pettigrew so Voldemort can finally face and kill Harry Potter.
He was portrayed by David Tennant, who also played Zebediah Kilgrave in Marvel's Jessica Jones, Sir Piers Pomfrey in the St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, Cale Erendreich in Bad Samaritan, Roderick Peterson in Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger, Dread the Evil Genie in Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Lord Commander in Final Space, Wilf in Postman Pat: The Movie, Brendan Block in Secret Smile, Brimscythe in The Legend of Vox Machina, Steven Clemens in The Bill, Edgar Fallon in Criminal: UK, Dennis Nilsen in Des, Harry Watling in Inside Man, and the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who.
Disguised as Mad Eye, he was portrayed by Brendan Gleeson, who also played Clarence in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, John C. McCloy in Mission: Impossible II, Lord Johnson-Johnson in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Jack Van Meter in Dark Blue, Menelaus in Troy, Raynald of Châtillon in Kingdom of Heaven and Jackie Sullivan in Joker: Folie à Deux.
Biography[]
Background[]
Bartemius Crouch Junior, was born sometime around 1962 or 1963 into the influential pure-blood Crouch family. Said family had strong connections to the Ministry of Magic, and as such, it's no surprise his father was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time. The relationship between father and son appeared to be less strained than in the book given to Bartemius Crouch's portrayal as a nice and likable, yet stiff and professional man who nonetheless held strong devotion against Dark Arts and its practitioners. While unconfirmed, Barty Crouch Jr's presence as one of the witnesses during Igor Karkaroff's trial suggested that his father occasionally brought him along to the Ministry at least to further teach him the mentality against Dark Arts knowing the Ministry of Magic needed all help it could get to stop Voldemort's followers who still at large and not wanted his son to be seduced by Dark Arts like them.
Unfortunately, despite everything, whatever dissatisfaction he felt in his life saw Barty Crouch Jr embrace everything his father fought against by joining Death Eater and proceeded to rise through its ranks to the point of acquiring his own Dark Mark. Alongside Bellatrix Lestrange, he was involved in torture and killing sprees throughout First Wizarding War, including the case of Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom's torture into insanity via the Cruciatus Curse. Though he kept his father in the dark about his dark involvement, Barty Crouch Jr's secrets were ultimately revealed during the aforementioned trial of Igor Karkaroff, much to the shock of the audience. Barty then attempts to kill Igor for exposing him, however Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody magically knocks him off his feet with a Stunning Spell, allowing nearby guards to detain him. Shocked and devastated by what his son had become, more so with Barty Crouch Jr made no attempt to deny his involvement in said crime, Bartemius Crouch disowned his son in a fit of sorrow. Such revelation became a controversy among magical people in Great Britain; some such as Sirius Black believed that Bartemius Crouch was a poor father for sending his own son to Azkaban while Dumbledore argued that he had no choice but to do so.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire[]
Sometime prior to the events of the film, Barty Crouch Jr escaped on his own and ensured no one, not even Ministry officials who periodically visited Azkaban, noticed his disappearance even at the slightest, all through unspecified means. He even managed to procure a new wand for his own along the way and joined Voldemort and Wormtail's meeting at Riddle Manor. After Voldemort finishes admonishing Wormtail for questioning why they must acquire Harry Potter in the plan to restore his body and power, Barty Crouch Jr reassures the Dark Lord that he won't let him down. Voldemort then orders Barty Crouch Jr to commence his part of the scheme starting by gathering up other Death Eaters who remained at large and sending them up a sign.
Barty Crouch Jr is later seen at the wreckage of the campsite where the Quidditch World Cup has recently taken place not too long after Death Eaters attacked it before disappearing. Satisfied by the damage done by his peers and that his efforts to call them back into their master's service had been paid off despite his doubts, he conjured the Dark Mark into the sky before leaving, but not before being noticed by Harry.
By the time Dumbledore welcomes both students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons into Hogwarts, Barty Crouch Jr has defeated Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody after studying the veteran auror's character more than enough to properly impersonate him, knowing his intended position as a DADA teacher would help him bringing Harry closer to Voldemort's grasp as per their long-term scheme. As Moody, he arrives at Hogwarts by the time the storm poured over the castle and nonverbally bewitched its Great Halls' enchanted ceiling to mimic the storm on the outside, causing panic among horrified students until he reveals himself by undoing said enchantment. He then properly meets Dumbledore and the school's staff before taking his time confirming that Harry is present while taking a sip on his Polyjuice Potion to maintain his facade.
On the next day after using the Confundus Charm on the Goblet of Fire (presumably by disguising himself as Igor Karkaroff), Alastor/Barty teaches fourth years class about the three Unforgivable Curses, despite the fact that they were supposedly not old enough for such unsettling subjects. After disciplining Finnegan for his misconduct (placing his chewed gum beneath the desk), he asks Ron about one of the Unforgivable Curses he is familiar with. Ron replies that he knows the Imperius Curse from overhearing one of his father's conversations and Alastor/Barty responds by telling him the reason why Arthur's topics pertaining to it are sensitive from the start. Enlarging a tailless whip scorpion, he casts Imperius Curse on it and has it hopping around the students to scare the daylight out of them, Draco included. But then, Alastor/Barty states that he could force it to do reprehensible things with ease by either jumping out of the window (and falling to possible certain death) or drowning itself by leaping into a nearby bucket full of water before concluding with revealing how alleged Death Eaters within Ministry's custody managed to evade punishment by claiming that they became Voldemort's followers unwillingly via such curse.
Alastor/Barty then demonstrates how the next Curse, Cruciatus Curse, worked as per Neville's answer, but the sight of the bewitched Tailless Whip Scorpion in pain proved to be more than he signed for. Fortunately, Hermione noticed this and yelled at the fake professor to stop. Ceasing the Curse, he asks anyone for the last Unforgivable Curses. With no one answering, Hermione in particular who was too disgusted to say anything, Alastor/Barty cast the spell instead, unknowingly giving Harry the answer of how his parents perished at the hands of the Dark Lord long ago. Citing that only one individual managed to survive such a potent Curse, Alastor/Barty uncomfortably stared at Harry before taking another sip of his flask and continuing the lesson. Afterward, Alasto/Barty Crouch Jr goes to comfort Neville who is still shaken by the demonstration of the Cruciatus Curse.
Alastor/Barty joins other professors in the ensuing uproar where Harry's name emerged from Goblet of Fire as the reluctant 4th champion of Hogwarts in the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. He makes it clear to everyone that the artifact can only be tampered with via an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm; a feat that clearly was too much for Harry to achieve at the time. That said, Harry's fate has since sealed thus have to participate until the end as Bartemius Crouch pointed out owing to the potent binding contract between the Tournament and its participants through the Goblet. After calming down a bit, Dumbledore orders Alastor/Barty to keep an eye on Harry until they were able to figure things out.
Afterward, Alastor/Barty discreetly ensured Ron and Hagrid give some insights about the first task (dragons) by having The Boy Who Lived accompany the latter's date with Madame Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons, where they set out to take a look at Charlie Weasley and his squad of dragon handlers transporting four dragons for Triwizard Tournament.
Alastor/Barty shows up to defend Harry from Malfoy who attempts to jinx him from behind following their heated argument. He played Draco's game by transfiguring him into a ferret, levitating him around with Levitation Charm, and finally dumping the transfigured Malfoy into Crabbe's trousers, much to everyone's amusement and McGonagall's horror. As much as the deed is understandably too much that McGonagall changes Malfoy back and admonishes him for it, Alastor/Barty nonetheless gains Harry's trust.
Bringing Harry into his office following the fiasco, Alastor/Barty discusses with The Boy Who Lived what other contestants (Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum) are capable of. Upon learning that broom flight is among his strengths, Alastor/Barty suggests Harry to use his wand (using Accio charm to summon his broom). The advice works in their favor as the first task is seizing Golden Dragon Egg from a dragon where Harry's being Hungarian Horntail, though The Boy Who Lived is forced to send his dragon opponent plummeting to her death. During the Yule Ball, Alastor/Barty is shown enjoying himself sitting alone while everyone is dancing, taking a sip on his Polyjuice Potion to maintain his disguise.
To discreetly help Harry with the next challenge, Alastor/Barty lets slip the way to solve the Golden Egg's riddle and the existence of Gillyweed to Cedric and Neville, respectively, knowing the two would pass the knowledge to Harry. He is then shown asking Ron and Hermione to come with him upon seeing them and Harry struggling to find the way to breathe underwater before instructing Neville nearby to help The Boy Who Lived with his books to ensure the Longbottom's part in guiding him.
When it's finally the second task, Alastor/Barty joins other professors in supervising the event, during which he pushes Harry into the water when the latter, too overwhelmed by the sensation of his Gillyweed, painfully changing him inside out to give him fish-like abilities. After the event concludes with Harry in second place thus able to proceed alongside his fellow contestants, he interrupts the heartfelt conversation between The Boy Who Lived and Bartemius Crouch, criticizing his attempt to take the young Potter into summer internships after what happened to the intern who went into Department of Mysteries. In the ensuing tense exchange, Alastor/Barty unwittingly gives away a hint of his true identity (the habit of flicking his tongue in a distinct manner) to his father before abruptly leaving.
Not taking any chances, Alastor/Barty uses Killing Curse on Barty Crouch Sr, though he made a mistake in leaving his corpse undisturbed long enough for Harry to stumble upon it. Nevertheless, he maintains his facade during a heated subsequent meeting with Cornelius Fudge and Dumbledore about Bartemius Crouch's assassination, which is then interrupted by Harry's presence, which he notices first.
Barty Crouch Jr's struggle to maintain his disguise didn't go unnoticed as he had to discreetly steal some boomslang skin and lacewing flies from Snape's storage. Still, no one suspects him owing to Harry's single-minded focus on his participation in Triwizard Tournament, and worse, Snape's misplaced grudge towards The Boy Who Lived resulted in the potions master viewing him as responsible.
During the Third Task, Alastor/Barty gestures to Harry to take the left path in the living maze so The Boy Who Lived reaches the Triwizard Cup, which he already bewitched into a Portkey leading to Little Hangleton's graveyard. He also discreetly puts Krum under the Imperius Curse to rid of the other contestants starting from Fleur. Against all odds, the scheme to bring Harry to the very place where Lord Voldemort conducts the Dark ritual to restore his body and power is successful; not only Cedric is killed for being an unneeded spare, but also Voldemort truly returned. Even so, Harry manages to escape with Cedric's lifeless body in tow.
As everyone mourns Cedric's death, Alastor/Barty drags the grieving Harry to his office unnoticed by those who are present but Fred and George. Examining the wound on Harry's arm Wormtail made, which was crudely shaped after The Dark Mark, Alastor/Barty listens in as Harry recounts his unwilling part in Voldemort's rebirth starting from the bewitched the Triwizard Cup, going so far describing it all went the same way with his latest nightmares which seemingly prophetic. Realizing the effects of Polyjuice Potion wearing off and running out of stock, Alastor/Barty becomes panicked and irrational, giving away how he orchestrated the whole thing through his rants. Now that there's no need to maintain his crumbling facade, Alastor/Barty decides to kill Harry.
Fortunately for Harry, Dumbledore (who was presumably informed by Fred and George) blasts his way into the office with Disarming Charm deliberately aimed at both the door and his torso, all while flanked by Snape and McGonagall. Weakened, Alastor/Barty is subsequently force-fed with Veritaserum and forced to reveal the whereabouts of the real Moody whom he locked inside his enchanted metal trunk all along. As Snape is dismayed by the revelation of Moody's imposter being the thief all along, Barty Crouch Jr eventually and painfully reverts to his true form before being subdued by Snape. Undaunted, Barty Crouch Jr reveals his burning Dark Mark tattoo, which signifies Voldemort's restored state of being, and gloats that he will be welcomed back like a hero among his fellow Death Eaters. But the claim won't come to pass with Dumbledore ordering an owl to be sent to Azkaban with the knowledge of one of its inmates escaped.
Barty Crouch Jr's fate afterward remains undisclosed, but since most of the events that happened in the books also were mirrored in the films, and Barty never appears nor is mentioned in subsequent films after The Goblet of Fire, he most likely received the Dementor's Kiss as with his book counterpart, thus marking the conflict between Dumbledore and Ministry of Magic in the next film.
Personality[]
Barty Crouch Jr. is portrayed as a cunning and manipulative criminal, deeply devoted to Lord Voldemort and driven by a desire for revenge against his father, Bartemius Crouch. He's a skilled actor, capable of deception and manipulation, even while under the influence of the Imperius Curse. His personality is a blend of loyalty to Voldemort, a rebellious streak against his father, and a manipulative streak that allows him to achieve his goals.
Victims[]
- Bartemius Crouch - Killed by Crouch Jr. off-screen.
Quotes[]
| “ | I will not disappoint you, my lord. | „ |
| ~ Barty Crouch Jr. talking to Lord Voldemort. |
| “ | Morsmordre! | „ |
| ~ Barty Crouch Jr. conjuring the Dark Mark. |
| “ | Get your filthy hands off me, you pathetic little men! | „ |
| ~ Barty Crouch Jr, after he is exposed as a Death Eater. |
| “ | Hello, father! | „ |
| ~ Barty Crouch Jr. revealing himself to his father. |
| “ | 'Marvellous creatures, dragons, aren't they?' Do you think that miserable oaf would've sent you into the woods if I hadn't suggested it? Do you think Cedric Diggory would've told you to open the egg underwater if I hadn't told him first myself? Do you think Neville Longbottom, the witless wonder, could've provided you with gillyweed if I hadn't given him the book that led him straight to it? HUH?!? | „ |
| ~ Barty reveals to Harry Potter his role in the tournament. |
| “ | I'll show you mine if you show me yours! | „ |
| ~ Barty after being exposed. |
| “ | You know what this means, don't you? He's back. Lord Voldemort has returned! | „ |
| ~ Barty informs Dumbledore about Lord Voldemort's return. |
| “ | I'll be welcomed back like a hero! | „ |
| ~ Barty taunting Harry and Dumbledore, also his last words. |
Trivia[]
- It remains unknown as to how Barty Crouch Jr. was able to sound like Alastor Moody given within the film continuity, the Polyjuice potion doesn't affect the drinker's voice (unlike in the books). This can be explained as either being a mistake on the filmmaker's part, or that perhaps Barty was able to learn how to imitate Alastor's voice. It is also possible there might be a spell or another potion used by Barty to gain Alastor's voice.
- Alternatively, it was intentional to preserve the plot twist where Barty Crouch Jr. disguised as Alastor Moody.
- He had a lizard-like tongue flick that he generally hid when disguised as Moody, however, seeing his father caused the tic to slip out, indicating that he had to concentrate to avoid the habit; and his concentration falters under emotional provocation, such as seeing his hated father.
- The change of Barty Crouch Jr's portrayal in the films was apparently made to establish him as a more formidable villain compared to his more sympathetic book counterpart. Even so, this leaves two jarring plot holes revolving around him in the form of the lack of explanation of how he escaped Azkaban on his own and even acquire a wand along the way.
- Given Voldemort's confidence in his forces' ability to sway Dementors to their cause owing to their dubious loyalty towards the Ministry of Magic, the prospect of Barty Crouch Jr winning over some of such Dark Creatures so they let him go and even collaborated to cover up his escape hence foreshadowing their desertion to Death Eaters' cause best not to be ruled out.
- While it can be assumed that he got lucky his original wand was still intact thanks to Ministry officials' sloppiness, it's possible that he borrowed Voldemort's wand which he subsequently used to cast Dark Mark after surveying the damage Death Eaters brought forth upon Quidditch World Cup under his orders and later, subduing Moody.
- His role in the film is mostly similar to his role in the book; he impersonates Moody and puts Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. However, there are a few changes:
- The film established that Barty Crouch Jr. somehow managed to escape Azkaban on his own sometime prior to Quidditch World Cup, as he joined the conversation between Voldemort and Wormtail over the plan for the former's return to power until Nagini alarmed them about Frank Bryce who overheard their plans as shown in the film's beginning. During his aforementioned escape, he managed to keep everyone, including his father Crouch, in the dark about it along the way, until the latter eventually realized what's going on when Barty, in his Moody disguise, unintentionally identifying himself to his father by twitching his tongue.
- Related to the change above, coupled with the omission of the World Cup along with forest scene and Winky in the film, Barty Crouch Jr's motive in casting Morsmordre at the campsite was changed; he casted the Dark Mark to signify the crime that took place there instead of scaring away the Death Eaters for disloyalty to Lord Voldemort. He also had procured a wand for his own at this point, terminating the need to steal Harry's to do the deed in the book.
- Additionally, he appears in Harry's dream alongside Wormtail before Voldemort for the same reason.
- Barty Crouch Jr's arrest and subsequent trial which led to his imprisonment was played differently in the film: Here, he was present in Karkaroff's trial seemingly as the witness until the latter exposed his part in Bellatrix's torture on Neville's parents, prompting him to flee only for Moody to subdue him. As the guards restrained and brought him to his father, Barty Crouch Jr didn't bother to deny Karkaroff's testimony, merely twitched his tongue and sarcastically greeted him in a show of defiance leaving Mr. Crouch (who was more likable in the film) devastated and reluctantly sending his son to Azkaban.
- After killing his father, Barty Crouch Jr. left his body in the forest for Harry to find instead of turning it into a bone (which also explained why his confession in killing Bartemius Crouch omitted in the film, as everyone already knew that Barty Crouch was murdered, unlike in book).
- There is no mention of Barty receiving the Dementor's Kiss, but it likely still happened anyway, since most of the events that happened in the books also were mirrored in the films, and that Barty never appears in subsequent films after The Goblet of Fire.
- The film established that Barty Crouch Jr. somehow managed to escape Azkaban on his own sometime prior to Quidditch World Cup, as he joined the conversation between Voldemort and Wormtail over the plan for the former's return to power until Nagini alarmed them about Frank Bryce who overheard their plans as shown in the film's beginning. During his aforementioned escape, he managed to keep everyone, including his father Crouch, in the dark about it along the way, until the latter eventually realized what's going on when Barty, in his Moody disguise, unintentionally identifying himself to his father by twitching his tongue.
External Link[]
- Barty Crouch Jr. on the Pure Evil Wiki
