villains

10 Villain Costumes that Would Win Fashion Shows

July 8, 2016 By Toby Isaacson Leave a Comment

They say a story is as good as its villain. After all, no matter how many ways we find to tailor old, traditional storytelling, there’s no denying that a good antagonist is what stirs up the drama necessary to create a compelling plot. But, wait! They’re not only memorable through actions and personality. In fact, many of them cling to our memories with the incredible design of their outfits. Some of them are very difficult to replicate, but human creativity managed to conquer all odds and gave us some ingenious villain costumes.

Image Courtesy of Disney Studios

When worn in the context of their universe, these villain costumes don’t necessarily stand out. But bring them into our world and it will become clear just how catwalk-worthy they are. Here are 10 Villain Costumes that Would Win Fashion Shows.

#1 Maleficent

It would have to be a serious case of haute-couture for it to work, but Maleficent’s apparel is as intimidating as it is gorgeous and memorable. In case you’re ever in need to feel like a true dark queen while sipping at your evening tea and watching Netflix, parade in this outfit to get out your evil villain laugh.

#2 Cruella de Vil

Cruella doesn’t exactly have one particular trademark look, but she’s managed to make her black and white chromatic compelling enough for it to be turned into several villain costumes. She stays true to her bicolored aesthetic and she makes evil look even classier with her thin cigarette and the high heels.

#3 Poison Ivy

Not all villain costumes need to scream at the top of their lungs that they’re being worn by the bad guys. Poison Ivy managed to become a renowned antagonist for Batman from the comfort of her ultra-sexy and brightly green apparel. Who knew even flowers could be so dangerous? Green isn’t a creative color.

#4 Ravenna

A costume very similar to the one worn by Maleficent, Ravenna manages to stand out with a pinch of appropriate personalization. Given her name and all, it only made sense that the finishing touch would be a gorgeous raven feather collar and some sparkles to the dress.

#5 Prince Nuada

Presented as an antagonist in Hell Boy 2: The Golden Army, Prince Nuada is the son of elf king Balor. Also, he is the one wearing one of the classiest and most eye-catching outfits seen on male villains. It was so impressive that the comic adapted the look, not the other way around.

#6 Two Face Costume

He didn’t wear any particular outfits in The Dark Knight, but Two Face has worn some villain costumes with variations. One of the most fashionable of them all was the one from his portrayal in the DC Animated Universe – a stylish suit colored one half in white, one half in black.

#7 Emma Frost

All of Emma Frost’s villain costumes have in common the scanty and unapologetic look that most comic book female antagonists have going on for them. However, there is a certain alluring class to her outfit choices, really well represented by January Jones in X-Men: First Class.

#8 Doctor Facilier

Disney villains are where it’s at. In the case of the antagonist of The Princess and the Frog, it wasn’t just his voodoo-inspired apparel that was stylish. The man managed to carry himself and behave with true menacing class as well.

#9 Ursula

An odd choice, perhaps, but wouldn’t it be really something if you saw a model parade a menacing black dress that ended in details resembling tentacles? A villain must inspire terror through appearance alone and this dress would certainly do it.

#10 Vidal

You might recognize him off Pan’s Labyrinth. He’s a man very fond of strictness and rules, which is why his fashion choices go hand in hand. Luckily for him, the military style is unlikely to ever go out of fashion and the fact that he tweaked his clothes a bit is definitely a bonus.

6 Movies and TV Villains That Are More Likeable Than the Heroes

January 19, 2015 By This Blog Rules Guest Leave a Comment

Why is it that so many movies and TV series want us to believe in a black and white world where the evil characters have no redeeming features?

The truth is that many famous villains are actually more likeable than the heroes if you take the time to understand them.

The Wicked Witch of the West – Wizard of Oz

This poor lady is probably one of the most misunderstood film characters in history. She is portrayed as such sort of cackling, hideous fiend. Yet, all she is trying to do in the Wizard of Oz is reclaim a family possession. You see, the evil Dorothy kills her sister, The Wicked Witch of the East. She does this through the unconventional murdering technique of landing a house on her. The brazen little hussy from Kansas then steals the dearly departed witch´s ruby slippers. Our friend the witch just wants to claim her inheritance.

Wile E. Coyote – Roadrunner Cartoons

Is it just me or does anyone else sit there willing the coyote to finally win the battle and stuff that horrible roadrunner into his Acme Corporation microwave? The poor little dude lives in a barren desert and his only chance of staving off potentially life threatening hunger is to act like the predator he is. Despite his creative genius and admirable work ethic, the coyote is usually let down by his ingenious traps.

Frankenstein´s Monster – Frankenstein

Who do you think is the villain in the Frankenstein movies? It surely couldn´t be the hapless sap who got stitched together out of dead people and then finds that the whole world hates him because he´s ugly and walks funny. To be fair, the original book makes it clear that the monster is a decent chap who just happens to be a terrifying look freak. If there is a real villain it is the mentally unstable, unethical scientist who brings him to life.

Scar – The Lion King

If they had just given him half a chance then Scar would have been a far better ruler than stupid old Musafa and that young wiper snapper lion. Cleverly, he realized that the circle of life has to involve more than just lions, while his despotic predecessor kicked out the hyenas in a strangely racist forced migration policy.

The Matrix – The Matrix Series

Are the humans the good guys in the Matrix or the evil yet nattily attired ones? If you are human then you probably think that your fellow species is in the right in this movie series. Having said that, how does this whole sorry situation develop in the first place? What´s that; the sons of Adam made robots and then basically enslaved them so that they did all the naff stuff that people were too good for? Hmm, and following their righteous uprising the robots very kindly left the homo sapiens in a delightful fantasy world?

Shere Khan- Jungle Book

Let´s face it; this geezer was one shrewd operator. Clearly the ravenous, carnivorous part of him just wanted to eat some human flesh. That´s, like, what carnivores do. If Disney was run by cows then you would be the villain for popping that juicy big hamburger onto your grill every day. The other impressive aspect of Shere Khan is that he realized that the arrival of a man-cub would inevitably upset the delicate jungle eco-system. Mowgli was probably already planning to chop down hundreds of tree and drill for oil. Even if he wasn´t, the boy has no place in the jungle but the tiger does.

5 Lovable Movie Villains We Just Can’t Hate

May 4, 2014 By Fred Mitchell Leave a Comment

If there’s one true thing about mankind, a trait that seems to remain the same even across various cultures and societies, it must be the fact that we do love a good story. Stories, fairytales and all forms of slightly ritualized narratives have accompanied us from, well, basically, from the beginning of our humanity. And another constant seems to be that every story has a good set of characters and a bad one, at least up to some point. While it’s true that modern stories tend to be more complex and try to also portray the motivations of the “bad guy” and to therefore cast him in a more humane light, every story still needs some kind of struggle or tension between the good and the bad. Therefore, there will always be a need for villains to make a story worth repeating. As long as mankind exists in it actual form of humanity, there will always be a job for movie villains in every Hollywood story.

But how about those kind of nice movie villains that are so cute that we just can’t hate? As if resonating with the bad guys up to some point and seeing the problem from their perspective wasn’t enough, some villains are also impossibly cute or just so charismatic that we can’t really want them to lose. Since those delightful fellows are such an interesting mix of good, wrong, and plenty of spice, it was time to have a cover story that featured the most memorable of this strange villain breed. Therefore, here’s our take on how the list of top 5 lovable movie villains should look like, in a random order.

1. Victor from “Despicable me”

Victor is, initially, a pure villain who is, well, just despicable. But the problem is that even the term best used to describe him, despicable, is in itself impossibly cute. Really, each time one hears “despicable” being used to describe something, one can’t help but smile, right? So since the bad guy in this movie makes you smile even from the beginning with the way his evilness is described, that should be a strong hint for what’s to follow. The cute movie villain falls in love with three adorable little girls and adopts them, while the audience falls in love with him. And they conquer the world together, happily ever after.

2. Dracula (from almost all Dracula movies)

The daddy of all vampires, Dracula provides movies with a very rich and seemingly inexhaustible source of inspiration. We’ve previously shared with you a list of the best movie depictions of Dracula, and it’s already pretty clear that in many cases, the character is so charismatic and sometimes so human (like when he shows us his vulnerable side that is nostalgic for his dead wife and falls in love with Mina) that we can’t help rooting for him. Admit it.

3. Loki from “Thor”

We won’t deny that Tom Hiddleston’s charms may have very much to do with it, but even though Thor is the main character in the series, Loki has a way vaster girl fandom. The man (well, villain) is pure erotic intensity in a pack, walking around and throwing witty come-backs. How could anyone not like him?

4. Beetlejuice

There are two reasons to be crazy for this guy. One, he’s one of Tim Burton’s best creations and we’re in love with that man’s mind. Two, even though we don’t secretly root for him and want him to win at any point in the movie, the character is just so cool (in a 90s kind of way) that everyone agrees he deserves to have the movie named after him. P.S: He brags about the good times he had during the black plague. Adorable!

5. Hannibal Lector

Even though the man is clearly psychotic and probably the only truly evil entry on this list, we all somehow hold up a small hope that he genuinely loves Clarice and that this details makes him a bit more human. Also, we’re fascinated by his intellect, thus making a list of lovable movie villains incomplete without him.

Top 5 James Bond Villains

January 16, 2012 By Vernon Gadson 1 Comment

James Bond is cool. We know he is and we love him for it. But Bond’s gadgets and suave sex appeal (if you’re into that sort of thing) are not the only reasons for the franchise’s fan base and longevity over the past decades. It is the villain, the rival, the nemesis of Mr. Bond – and his continued distinction and rogue tactics – that has brought the books and the films to the fore of franchising. But who have been Bond’s greatest adversaries? [Read more…]

Top Five Fictional Pirates

October 14, 2011 By Vernon Gadson 3 Comments

Talk Like a Pirate Day may have been and gone, but pop culture’s love affair with pirates is still going strong (ew, a half rhyme). While there were a great many awesome pirates throughout history that actually existed, you can’t deny that there are just as many equally cool ones who didn’t. As such, here is a list of what might possibly be the best pirates to never sail the seven seas.

5. Captain Pugwash

Captain Pugwash first appeared in a comic strip all the way back in 1950, securing his own BBC cartoon series seven years later. Pugwash himself is perhaps not the most efficient pirate, but he is certainly one of the more lovable. [Read more…]