Most Evil Character in Fantasy

[tebakutis]

This one is tough for me since I am so partial to villains with shades of gray. They're just more interesting. So, my favorite "pure evil" villains tend to be on the more demonic side.

Terry Brooks has a number I'd call out. "the demon" from Running with the Demon and Findo Gask, from the same series (he survives the initial series and shows up later). There's other great examples: the Reaper from Elfstones of Shannara (can't wait to see that on screen!) and the Morgawr from the Voyage of Jerle Shannara. Needless to say, I like straight up evil, as long as it is demonic.

If you extend it to videogames, I *hated* (in a good way) Loghain from Dragon Age: Origins. No way I was sparing that manipulative SOB, even if his daughter pled for it, which is why he worked well as an antagonist (he also had some gray in him, which made me like him more - he saw himself as justified). And of course breaking my "shades of gray" rule, Kefka from FF VI. Holy hell, was he awesome(ly evil). Dude pretty much destroyed the world for giggles.

[JMack]

Man, I'd totally forgotten "Running". But I do think I liked that book.

[zmunkz]

I think the most interesting and multifaceted (and evil) character I've come across is definitely The Hunter from the Coldfire Trilogy.  His extended role as anti-hero gives him a kind of depth you don't normally get in the bad guy, and he is undeniably an evil prick.

[Ryan Mueller]

I think the most interesting and multifaceted (and evil) character I've come across is definitely The Hunter from the Coldfire Trilogy.  His extended role as anti-hero gives him a kind of depth you don't normally get in the bad guy, and he is undeniably an evil prick.

Loved that character (and the trilogy in general).

[gunsmith-of-avalon]

Good call on The Limper. Loved that character. Also liked Darken Rahl. He was really evil.

I always had a hard time taking Darken Rahl seriously. Between the quasi-Satanic rituals, the pedophile as his right-hand man, his anti-Confessor campaign, and his corps of wizard-killing dominatrices, it always felt like Darken Rahl would amuse himself by punching kittens if some intrepid editor at Tor hadn't said, "Terry, I think the readers will get the point."

[Ilke]

After much thinking, some might argue that it's only an horror, but other thinks it's a fantasy so... my vote for most evil goes to:

Desmond Tiny
He's a manipulative man who doesn't care what happens to others as long he gets a laugh from it. I'm not gonna spoil, but that.... man is just pure evil, just because he feels sorry for himself for not being strong enough compared to others of the same race/tribe. He dislikes killing children, because they taste way better as babies (he says this proudly and serious). His watch is actually a still-beating human heart (implied to be from a child) with a clock stuck into it. When he's angry he squeezes it so blood come out.

[tebakutis]

I always had a hard time taking Darken Rahl seriously. Between the quasi-Satanic rituals, the pedophile as his right-hand man, his anti-Confessor campaign, and his corps of wizard-killing dominatrices, it always felt like Darken Rahl would amuse himself by punching kittens if some intrepid editor at Tor hadn't said, "Terry, I think the readers will get the point."

Hahaha. I just had to thumbs up this statement. There's evil, and there's comically evil. Darken Rahl was definitely an "I'm evil just to be evil!" villain, which, while possibly entertaining, is not nearly as memorable as a villain with a genuine cause and principles (classic example: Grand Admiral Thrawn).

[leterile]

I always had a hard time taking Darken Rahl seriously. Between the quasi-Satanic rituals, the pedophile as his right-hand man, his anti-Confessor campaign, and his corps of wizard-killing dominatrices, it always felt like Darken Rahl would amuse himself by punching kittens if some intrepid editor at Tor hadn't said, "Terry, I think the readers will get the point."

Hahaha. I just had to thumbs up this statement. There's evil, and there's comically evil. Darken Rahl was definitely an "I'm evil just to be evil!" villain, which, while possibly entertaining, is not nearly as memorable as a villain with a genuine cause and principles (classic example: Grand Admiral Thrawn).

Just had a mental image of Darken Rahl dressed like Pennywise the clown from It. Actually, Pennywise is a good evil character for this list as well.

[ClintACK]

- From Harry Potter, Dolores Umbridge made me more furious than Voldemort/Snape/Percy and Harry's parents combined.
I think that while we expect the big powerful dude to abuse people, it really hits a nerve when a common person abuses her power and authority for their own sheer delight against people who can't react in any way.
Even worse when it's someone not allied with the villain in any way (in fact, someone who was supposed to be fighting him and thought was doing so), doing things that you didn't even saw the villain doing.

+1M.

Banal, everyday evil is much scarier than cartoonish mustache-twirling evil or supernatural pure evil.

[Yora]

Banal evil is the real evil.

[ScarletBea]

Ohmygawd, I just read a chapter with such an evil character that I had to put down the book and go do something else
That woman is HORRID

(Duchess Patriana, in the first book of the Greatcoats series)

[xiagan]

[ScarletBea]

 
There are people who have seen both of us at the same time, so...

(@Eclipse, look at this! )

[Dark Squiggle]

Capricorn, from Cornelia Funke's Inkheart.
He has an evil henchman, Basta who he lets run free, spitting pure love of being nastyat everyone, but once you meet the master... Ambitious, but willing to be extragavantly cruel for no reason, not so dumb as to become theatrical. Strikes only when he can hurt emotionally, phsically and monetarily and effect multiple people - otherwise it's not worth his bother. Comes from a rough fantasy world, read out of a book by someone with a superpower called a 'silvertongue' and then tries to killl all silvertongues and destroy all copies of his book for fun and to prevent a double of himself from being made. He kills the author who wrote him. He has that distinct attitude of 'because I can'. Holds court and forces characters tto hurt each other while he watches. He is so realistic, and so evil....

[Neveesandeh]

I always had a hard time taking Darken Rahl seriously. Between the quasi-Satanic rituals, the pedophile as his right-hand man, his anti-Confessor campaign, and his corps of wizard-killing dominatrices, it always felt like Darken Rahl would amuse himself by punching kittens if some intrepid editor at Tor hadn't said, "Terry, I think the readers will get the point."

Hahaha. I just had to thumbs up this statement. There's evil, and there's comically evil. Darken Rahl was definitely an "I'm evil just to be evil!" villain, which, while possibly entertaining, is not nearly as memorable as a villain with a genuine cause and principles (classic example: Grand Admiral Thrawn).

Just had a mental image of Darken Rahl dressed like Pennywise the clown from It. Actually, Pennywise is a good evil character for this list as well.

Or Patrick Hocksetter, or whatever is name is. That kid is pure evil in the most sickening way imaginable. 'IT' probably has quite a few contenders for this list, actually.

I've just finished 'The Court of Broken Knives' and the protagonist of that book would probably count as a contender as well.

But I don't necessarily feel that the most evil villain is the most compelling. I prefer more morally ambiguous villains myself, but it depends on the setting. Some settings force people to be their worst, again, 'IT' springs to mind.