Jun
News
Victorious Villains
Sometimes a great movie is only as good as its villain. Great antagonists give us a reason to root for the hero to overcome the odds and beat them once and for all. In fact, some villains become so popular with audiences they earn their own spin-offs.
We may be experts in electric ride on cars and disney ride on toys, but that doesn’t stop us from finding time to watch the latest blockbuster releases from DC, Marvel and Disney. So, we wanted to dive into the data to find out which movie villains are the most iconic, looking at Instagram posts, Google searches and movie appearances.
The world’s most-loved villains
1 – Joker
Victorious villain score: 10/10
Batman’s nemesis The Joker, also known as The Clown Prince of Crime can be crowned the world’s most-loved villain. The criminal mastermind with a sadistic sense of humour is one of the most iconic villains in pop culture, so it’s no surprise that the arch-villain has a perfect score of 10. He takes first place for all 3 of the categories we looked at.
2 – Catwoman
Victorious villain score: 9.1/10
Next up is the second DC villain on our list, Catwoman. The character takes second place thanks to her number of movie appearances, ranking in the top 3 for the factor. Catwoman also ranks in the top 5 for Instagram posts and Google searches.
3 – Maleficent
Victorious villain score: 8.6/10
In third place is the Disney villain Maleficent. She ranks in the top 3 thanks to the high number of Google searches placing in the top 5 for the factor. Maleficent also ranks in the top 10 for both Instagram posts and movie appearances.
| Rank | Villain | Instagram Posts | Google Searches 2021 | Number of Movie Appearances | Victorious Villian Score |
| 1 | Joker | 14,438,368 | 69,200,000 | 23 | 10.0 |
| 2 | Catwoman | 2,816,003 | 8,539,000 | 18 | 9.1 |
| 3 | Maleficent | 1,475,484 | 12,299,000 | 10 | 8.6 |
| 4 | Bane | 915,209 | 4,156,000 | 13 | 8.0 |
| 5 | Loki | 5,999,860 | 55,820,000 | 6 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Thanos | 4,199,516 | 35,690,000 | 5 | 7.7 |
| 7 | Cruella de Vil | 500,237 | 5,934,000 | 9 | 7.5 |
| 8 | Winter Soldier | 1,907,381 | 3,475,000 | 7 | 7.2 |
| 9 | Magneto | 602,710 | 4,029,000 | 8 | 7.0 |
| 10 | Poison Ivy | 1,176,224 | 1,091,000 | 14 | 6.9 |
| 11 | Scarecrow | 973,908 | 1,058,000 | 15 | 6.8 |
| 12 | The Penguin | 145,059 | 3,380,000 | 20 | 6.8 |
| 13 | Green Goblin | 428,549 | 5,440,000 | 7 | 6.6 |
| 14 | Ursula | 642,963 | 3,995,000 | 6 | 6.3 |
| 15 | Riddler | 323,813 | 2,215,500 | 9 | 6.0 |
| 16 | Mystique | 448,448 | 2,421,000 | 7 | 5.9 |
| 17 | Evil Queen | 928,839 | 298,100 | 9 | 5.5 |
| 17 | Captain Hook | 726,014 | 1,661,000 | 6 | 5.5 |
| 19 | Gaston | 446,266 | 2,430,000 | 4 | 5.2 |
| 20 | Two-Face | 106,257 | 1,057,000 | 18 | 5.1 |
The most-loved villains on Instagram
1 – Joker
Instagram posts: 14,438,368
Taking first place as the most-loved villain on Instagram is The Joker, with nearly 2.5 times the number of posts than the second most-loved villain. First appearing in the 1940s comic books, The Joker has remained popular over the years thanks to his unpredictable nature, leaving us hooked.
2 – Loki
Instagram posts: 5,999,860
Taking second place is the Marvel villain and Norse God of mischief Loki. We empathise with the character’s complex motivations as a villain always on the cusp of redemption. Despite his status as a villain, the character is so popular that he was recently given his own spin-off TV series.
3 – Thanos
Instagram posts: 4,199,516
Next up is the Avengers Endgame villain and purple-skinned space tyrant Thanos, one of the most compelling and powerful villains in the Marvel cinematic universe. The “Mad Titan” was only known to die-hard comic book fans before we glimpsed him in post-credit scenes and as the arch-enemy to the Avengers in Infinity War and Avengers Endgame. He is now regarded as one of the greatest superhero villains of all time.
The most Googled villains
1 – Joker
Google searches in 2021: 69,200,000
Taking the top spot as the most searched villain is The Joker. The charismatic supervillain has enduring popularity thanks to the many different takes on the character. From the 1960s movie based on the TV series to grittier versions portrayed by Jack Nicholson and Joaquin Phoenix, with Heath Ledger providing the most iconic version.
2 – Loki
Google searches in 2021: 55,820,000
Next up is the Marvel villain Loki. The character based on the Norse god first appeared on our screens as the villain in Thor, played by Tom Hiddleston. He has attempted to conquer both Earth and Asgard during his time as a character in the Marvel cinematic universe, before allying himself with the Avengers and becoming an antihero.
3 – Thanos
Google searches in 2021: 35,690,000
Taking third place is Thanos, the alien warlord and Avengers antagonist who sought to bring stability to the universe by eliminating half of all life. Even after the end of his storyline, Thanos remains one of the most searched characters thanks to Josh Brolin’s powerful nuanced performance.
The villains featured in the most movies
1 – Joker
23 Movies
Taking the top spot for the most movie appearances is the Joker, featuring in 23 films. The most well-known movies are the Dark Knight Rises and Joker, with both Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledger winning Oscars for their portrayals. The Joker has also appeared in many animated Batman movies, adding to his total.
2 – The Penguin
20 Movies
In second place is another of Batman’s enemies, The Penguin, making 20 appearances in both live-action and animated Batman movies. This character is one of Batman’s most enduring enemies, featuring in many animated Batman films as well as notable performances by Danny DeVito and most recently, Colin Farrell.
3 – Catwoman
18 Movies
Next up is another of Batman’s nemeses, Catwoman. The character first appeared in the first issue of the Batman comics and has remained a staple supervillain ever since, including a live-action film in 2004 starring Halle Berry and appearances as the character by Michelle Pfeiffer, Anne Hathaway and Zöe Kravitz.
Methodology
Beginning with list articles of the top Disney, Marvel and DC villains, we ranked each one on the following factors, giving them a normalised score out of ten for each factor before taking a final average score across all ten.
The most-loved villains on Instagram: The number of Instagram posts hashtagged with each character’s name.
The most searched villains: The total number of Google searches for each character’s name in 2021 according to Google Ads.
The villains in the most movies: The number of films featuring each villain according to Wikipedia.
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