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Fyodor Dostoevsky, Wilkie Collins, Kurt Vonnegut (even him!), Peter S. Beagle...
What do all these legendary authors have in common? Well, errrr, first of all, they're all legendary authors. But ALSO, I've dug up Pure Evils by them all! 'Tis always bliss to give these literary giants the recognition they truly deserve. And now we're onto another genre-defining author, one who's not generally associated with turns of villainy... Isaac Asimov!
What's the Work?[]
Foundation is a series of stitched-together, anthological Science-Fiction novellas masquerading as novels (said affectionately!) written by Isaac Asimov in the 1940-50's about a Galactic Empire, thought invincible, but doomed to go to pot (die). Fortunately, Hari Seldon, psychohistorian extraordinaire, lays out a centuries-spanning Great Plan, the purpose of which is not to save the Empire (impossible), but to significantly reduce the length of the age of barbarism that will succeed its inevitable downfall. Well, the Empire gets a taste of that barbarism a little earlier than anticipated with the utter decimation of its capital planet, Trantor.
Who is the Character and What Does He Do?[]
Trantor, before and after Gilmer.
Gilmer (no, not the one from Transformers(???)) is, in the grand scheme of things, a nobody. But he managed to pull of a heck of a lot in his short lifetime. A farm boy-turned-galactic conqueror, Gilmer is a brutal warlord who sets his rotten fleet of ships on Trantor, which has a population of 40 billion, and puts it to the atomic frickin' blast. Millions of innocents are caught in Gilmer's "blasting ruin of death", and the Emperor, Dagobert VIII, has no choice but to flee to another planet, to save his hide and the lives of his family. Gilmer moves into the Imperial Palace and declares himself "Gilmer I, Emperor of the Galaxy and Lord of All".
Gilmer's men run wild, massacring countless people, stripping the city planet of everything it has, setting huge fires just because, and raping anyone they can get their hands on. Just one medical clinic receives forty-two rape victims, with 37 of them being women and 5 of them being men. Gilmer himself, meanwhile, strides around within the Imperial Palace walls (disappointed that the carpeted floors muffle the sound from his boots) and callously devours all of its resources, not caring how many hundreds of years it took the Empire to gather them. He storms at the poor castle servants and watches with glee on his televisor screens as his soldiers mutilate the planet.
Noticing just how beautiful the terrified Trantorian women are, Gilmer grows tired of his consort and partner, Billye, despite the fact that she had loved him since he was merely a wide-eyed lieutenant. When she gives him too much lip, he orders his servants to throw her out and replace her with a Trantorian girl plucked from the ravaged masses, giving special instructions to bring him someone "quiet".
Gilmer doesn't retain his grip on Trantor for very long. Since he's killed the planet, more marauders fly in to "pick her bones", and Gilmer's as well. He dies in some unspecified skirmish and his name vanishes in a desert of historical insignificance. But credit where credit is due: The dude so utterly obliterated Trantor that, within a month, its population drops from 40 billion to just around a 100 million. That means Gilmer is responsible for the deaths of 39 billion+ people. That is INSANE.
Redeeming Qualities/Mitigating Factors[]
Gilmer signs a peace treaty with the people of Trantor's University, not because he particularly wants to, but because his fleet commander, Vergis Fenn, notes that if he blows up the University, his legacy as "Emperor of the Galaxy" will be forever tarnished.
Apart from that, the current First Speaker of the Second Foundation (a faction of scientists who can either telepathically read minds or use advanced deduction to calculate minds... the lore is a lil wonky on this) claims that Gilmer, with his warrior-like disposition, came to respect the volunteer defenders of Trantor's University. The thing is, we get plenty of scenes from Gilmer's P.O.V., and his "respect" for these student-soldiers is only skin-deep; he remarks that they're "tough fighters" that he wouldn't mind recruiting, and at one point he notes one of the soldiers looks roughed up, "as a front-line soldier should". That's it. It has nothing to do with morals, just that Gilmer recognizes a strong force when he sees one, and ofc he'd like them fighting for him.
Heinous Standard[]
Gilmer is so heinous that he blows all the other Foundation villains I had formerly considered for PE out of the water. He has no ties to the Empire or the titular Foundation, the two strongest governments in the setting. He's backed by himself, and he manages the highest explicit kill count in the whole franchise. He destroys Trantor, the most populated planet in the Galaxy (a population equal to 10 worlds!) and slaughters millions, puttin' the planet through hell with unending Raping, Pillaging, & Burning, ultimately leading to nearly 40 billion people dying as a result of the planet's total ruin.
Obligatory comparison to some villains. The Mule kills millions by blowing up the planet of Tazenda, and threatens the Galaxy with his brainwashing-enforced rule, but he's significantly more powerful than Gilmer in every respect. An Imperial Viceroy nukes the planet of Siwenna, but it's nowhere near as big as Trantor. Lord Stettin of Kalgan is a confirmed Sex Predator but his kill count pales next to that of Gilmer, etc. etc.
Verdict[]
Yes to Gilmer and his evil boots!