 ✓
| ||
|
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 | ||
  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, strong drug use, extremely traumatic themes, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | If one does what God does enough times, one will become as God is. | „ |
| ~ Lecktor on power. |
| “ | Do you know how you caught me? The reason you caught me, Will, is we're just alike! You want the scent? Smell yourself! | „ |
| ~ Lecktor taunting Will Graham. |
Dr. Hannibal Lecktor is the overarching antagonist of Michael Mann's 1986 psychological thriller film Manhunter.
He is a notorious serial killer who brutally murdered nine college girls and left two survivors, with one being put on life support and the other admitted to an insane asylum. When he was caught and his heinous crimes were exposed by FBI Agent Will Graham, he brutally attacked Will, nearly killing him.
He is now incarcerated, but continues to psychologically torture Will from behind his cell, and even tries to help Francis 'The Tooth Fairy' Dolarhyde kill Will's family by providing Dolarhyde with Will's address.
He is notably far more evil and unsympathetic than any other incarnation of the character, as he lacks any of the sympathetic and redeeming qualities of the novels, Anthony Hopkins' film version, or Mads Mikkelsen's TV version, and takes sadistic pleasure in psychologically torturing Will and trying to get his family killed.
He was portrayed by Brian Cox, who also played Killearn in Rob Roy, Hermann Goering in Nuremberg, Ward Abbott in the Jason Bourne film series, Dark Yabu in Vexx, William Stryker in X2: X-Men United, Lionel Starkweather in Manhunt, Agamemnon in Troy, Scolar Visari in Killzone, Pariah Dark in Danny Phantom, General Hemmer in Battle for Terra, Mr. Kreeg in Trick 'r Treat, Jack Denham in Syndicate, Conrad in Bob the Builder, Logan Roy in Succession, Kostas Becker in The Simpsons and Niander Wallace, Sr. in Blade Runner: Black Lotus.
Personality[]
This version of Lecktor is subtler but also more twisted than any other incarnation. He presents a calm exterior and a polite facade, but beneath that exterior is a cruel, manipulative psychopath who kills because it gives him a sense of God-like power and who also delights in getting into people's heads and playing sick mind games with them that inflict great emotional (and sometimes physical) harm. He also had a very twisted sense of humor, as it was once stated that when he was pressed for info about one of his missing victims, he instead gave them a recipe for potato chip dip.
Biography[]
Previously to his arrest and incarceration, Dr. Hannibal Lecktor was a respected psychiatrist and member of Baltimore, Maryland's social elite. However, it was later discovered that he was a serial killer who tortured and murdered numerous college girls. Only nine were confirmed; however, the exact number could have been larger. Two of his surviving victims were hospitalized, with one being put on a respirator in Baltimore and the other being taken to a private mental hospital in Denver. One of his victims was a patient of his, and FBI Agent Will Graham had interviewed him for questioning. Graham began to suspect Lecktor was the killer and went to a pay phone to call the police. When he had done so, Lecktor brutally attacked Graham with a knife and almost killed him before he was arrested. This left not only physical scars on Graham but also emotional ones, seeing as to how Graham would try to put his mind inside that of the killers he was following so he could catch them but could not bear the depravity of Lecktor's own thoughts. This led to his retirement. Upon Lecktor's arrest, one of the cops who had investigated Lecktor's basement was so horrified by what he found that he suffered from emotional trauma.
Lecktor is first seen in the film speaking to Will from behind bars. Will has come out of retirement and believes Lecktor has information that could lead to the arrest and capture of a new serial killer, "The Tooth Fairy". Instead, Lecktor taunts Will that the only reason Will caught him was that they were one in the same. Lecktor also demands access to case files and requests Will's home phone number, which Will promptly rejects.
Embittered by this, Lecktor requests access to the prison phone and secretly manages to convince an unwitting secretary to hand him Will's phone number. He then gives this information, to Francis Dolarhyde, the "Tooth Fairy" whom Will is trying to capture, requesting Dolarhyde to "spare himself" and "kill them all", requesting that Dolarhyde not only kill Will but his wife and young son as well. This immediately forces Will and his family to relocate.
In his final appearance in the film, he calls Will shortly after Dolarhyde's brutal torture and murder of tabloid reporter Freddie Lounds, taunting him that he must be glad to be rid of Lounds, who had been harassing him. He then tells Will that the "Tooth Fairy" murders people because it makes him feel like God; he then insinuates that Will exercised such power himself when he antagonized the killer to the point that he murdered Lounds.
Will eventually confronts and kills Dolarhyde before reuniting with his family, finally being allowed to retire peacefully and be rid of Lecktor's malevolent influence while Lecktor rots in prison the rest of his life.
Trivia[]
- Cox based his performance on infamous Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel, noting how ordinary he seemed, and how such evil could hide behind such a "normal" facade.
- Notably, Lecktor is the only version of the character who is not portrayed as a cannibal.
- Ironically, despite lacking this monstrous trait, this version is arguably the least sympathetic and humane of the character.
External links[]
- Hannibal Lecktor on the Hannibal Wiki
- Hannibal Lecktor on the Pure Evil Wiki
