“ | It was Voldemort, Harry thought, staring up at the canopy of his bed in the darkness, it all came back to Voldemort. He was the one who had torn those families apart, who had ruined all those lives. | „ |
~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Lord Voldemort's actions. |
The following villains are considered "Big Bads", or the main/primary antagonist(s) of the series in which they appear; that is to say the most prominent, influential and powerful of all, the one at the center of the conflict, whose importance in the plot outshines all. They are the evil counterparts of the Big Good of a series. Even though most Big Bads are the main antagonists of their stories, it is possible for Big Bads to be protagonists (e.g. Light Yagami and Walter White).
To put it simple, a "Big Bad" ONLY appears in long-running stories with numerous story arcs and antagonists. Villains of a single movie/book/game/whatever or villains of a story without enough antagonists DO NOT COUNT. The Big Bad stands at the top of the villain's hierarchy: being almost always the leader of all the villains, or at least a very strong influence. The "Big Bad" always has a much larger significance in the story than any other villain, including possible "Bigger Bads," being the direct or indirect cause of all the troubles for most of the story if not the story as a whole. The Big Bad is usually also "The Heavy" though this position is often filled by the Big Bad's "Right-Hand" or Enforcer in stories that keep the Big Bad mysterious. The Big Bad is often the Archenemy because this latter is most of the time the main antagonist of the story.
FOR THE SAKE OF CLARITY, THERE IS ONLY ONE BIG BAD PER STORY, EXCEPT FOR THE CASE LISTED BELOW AND ONLY THEM.
When two or more characters working together share the role, it is called a Big Bad Duumvirate. If they are many who oppose each other, it is called a Big Bad Ensemble. The Big Bads are also the Overarching Villain if they influence the story in some way as a major recurring villain for the Myth Arc. There is also the Arc Villain the villain of a story arc become recurring villains if they are the villain for more than one story arc, the Big Bad Friend where an ally of the protagonist was a major villain, and Big Bad Slippage where the Big Bad starts off normal but eventually becomes the main villain. This also includes villain based Franchises as it centers around the villain rather than the hero.
- When the story is divided into distinct story arcs, it has several "Arc Villains" one after another, but when a villain appears in several story arcs and/or influences a story arc after their demise, then this villain is the one and only "Big Bad."
- When there are many recurring villains working on their own, the Big Bad has to be the most recurring and the most important villain in the entire franchise.
All items (3585)
- A (Pretty Little Liars)
- A.J. Arno
- Aaron Peel
- Abaddon the Despoiler
- Aballister Bonaduce
- Abigail Brand
- Abijah Fowler
- Abraham (My Virtual Escape)
- Abraham Kane
- Abraham Van Helsing (Hotel Transylvania)
- Absolution
- Abu Nazir
- Abyss (The Legendaries)
- Abyss Trinity
- Acererak
- Ackdos Gill
- ADA
- Adam (Dark)
- Adam (Welcome to the Game)
- Adam Arclight
- Adam Bahri
- Adam el Asem
- Adam McIntyre
- Adam Monroe
- Adam Veile
- Adam Weishaupt
- Adel (Kamen Rider Ghost)
- Adler
- Administrator (Team Fortress 2)
- Admiral Haruki Kusakabe
- Admiral Malkor
- Admiral Perry
- Adolf Hitler (Danger 5)
- Adolf Hitler (DC)
- Adolf Hitler (Zombie Army Trilogy)
- Adrian Powell
- Adu Du
- Advisor (Dan the Man)
- Aegon II Targaryen
- Agent Abrella
- Agent Bishop
- Agent Smith (The Matrix)
- Aglaeca
- Ai Imari
- Ai Magase
- Aichi Sendou
- Aiguille Delaz
- Ainz Ooal Gown
- Aisrehdar
- Akakabuto
- Akashic
- Akihiko Kayaba
- Akihiro Kurata
- Akio Ohtori
- Akish (Tennis Shoes Adventure Series)
- Akita Rrrepulsa
- Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket)
- Aku
- Akuma Shogun
- Akumaro Sujigarano
- Alain Charnier
- Alan (Daisy Brown)
- Alan Raimy
- Alan Sylvasta
- Alan’s Kidnapper(s)
- Albert de Blois
- Albert Garrick
- Albert Maverick
- Albert Wesker (Resident Evil)
- Alder and Dash
- Aldra
- Alec Stoke-d'Urberville
- Alec Windsor
- Alex (Control Z)
- Alex (Golden Sun)
- Alex Drake
- Alex Gutiérrez
- Alex Rosewater
- Alexander of Brennenburg
- Alexander Paine
- Alexandra Reid
- Alexis Leskinen
- Alfredo Catelli
- Alicent Hightower
- Alicia Sierra
- Alien (Popee the Performer)
- Alien Empera
- Alien Garut
- Alison DiLaurentis (Literary)
- Alistair Pratt
- All Your Secrets
- Ally Allston
- Alma Wade
- Almighty Tallests
- Alonzo (Sift Heads)
- Alpha (Men In Black)
- Alpha (Survivors)
- Alpha (The Walking Dead)
- Alpha Richter
- Altair (Re:Creators)
- Alucard (Rosario+Vampire)
- Alvin the Treacherous (books)
- Amalthus
- Amancio Malvado
- Amanda Woodward
- Amaru
- Amatsu-Mikaboshi
- Ambrosia
- Amon (The Legend of Korra)
- Amy Hughes
- Anarky (Beware the Batman)
- Anderson Schultz
- Andre Olivieri
- Andrew Baumer
- Andrew Earlham
- Andrew Ryan
- Andross (Star Fox)
- Angela Blanc
- Angelica Pickles
- Angelika Santibañez
- Angelus (Buffyverse)
- Angry Alien
- Animator (Animator vs. Animation)
- Anko Uguisu
- Anna (V)
- Anne Krell
- Annihilus (Marvel)
- Announcer (Battle for Dream Island)
- Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (manga)
- Anson Fullerton
- Antares (Solo Leveling)
- Anti-Monitor (Arrowverse)
- Anti-Monitor (DC)
- Anti-Pops
- Anti-Spiral
- Anton Arcane
- Anton Bartok
- Anton Kupchenko
- Anton Lone
- Anton Verloc
- Antonio Gutiérrez
- Antonius Kalas
- Anubis (Stargate SG1)
- Anubis (The Curse of Anubis)
- Anvis
- Ao Oni
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- Apocalymon
- Apocalypse (Age of Apocalypse)
- Apocalypse (Marvel)
- Apocalypse (X-Men: Evolution)
- Apocalypse (X-Men: The Animated Series)
- Apollo Geist
- Apollyon (Pilgrim's Progress)
- Apos (Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne)
- Arawn Death-Lord
- Arba
- Arch Priest Gajah
- The Archangel
- Archaon
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- Arcturus Mengsk
- Ares (DC)
- Ares (Hercules and Xena)
- Arfoire
- Argalia
- Arianna Ortega
- Ariels
- Ark
- Arkaam
- Arktos (Tabaluga)
- Armando (Elite)
- Arnie Cunningham
- Aro (Twilight)
- Art the Clown
- Arthur (Escape The Night)
- Arthur Edwards
- Arthur Harrow (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Arthur Lott
- Arthur Pendragon (The Seven Deadly Sins)
- Arthur Petrelli
- Asa Sweet
- Ash Landers
- Ashley Graydon
- Ashnard
- Ashtar
- Asmodeus (The Pope's Exorcist)
- Astaroth (Ghost 'n Goblins)
- Asterion (The Legendaries)
- Astra (Supergirl)
- Astrid Bartos
- Astronema
- Asuka (NXT)
- Asuka R. Kreuz
- Asura (Soul Eater)
- Atriox
- Atrocitus (Green Lantern: The Animated Series)
- Atropos (Arrowverse)
- Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki