Chosen one bad guys

[sarrowsmith10]

You realize that 99.9% of all "evil" characters have redeeming qualities right? And almost no evil character thinks of themselves as evil. Bad guys are always trying to do what they think is morally right in their own heads (Obviously Anakin thought killing innocent kids was the right thing to do, but its still wrong and an act of evil). Often turning to the dark side (or becoming evil) for characters is often because of something tragic or unjust that happens to them so they use that to rationalize their decisions.

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy)- Shinra used and abused him, so he goes on a killing spree
Vader- Palpatine tricked him and he felt abused by the Jedi, so he goes on a killing spree
Thanos (Marvel)- Wanted to bring order to the Universe, so he goes on a cosmic killing spree
Galactus (Marvel)- Just wants to get a nice meal, so he eats planets (and everyone on them if they don't flee)
Loki (Marvel)- Odin lied to him about being an Asgardian, so he kills a bunch of people on Earth
Magneto (X Men)- Family killed by Nazis, humans have a vendetta against him, so he tries to kill a bunch of non-mutants, kills some mutants
Raz Al Gul (Batman)- His family was murdered, wants to cleanse Gotham so the good people can start over, so he murders a bunch of people
Red Hood (Batman)- Pissed that Batman let him die and didn't avenge his death. (Raz Al Gul brings him back from the dead after Joker kills him), he kills bad guys... I guess he's more of an anti-hero than a villain.. shrug
The Templars (Assassins Creed)- Think that if they have the relics of Eden they can save humanity... so they murder a bunch of people
Shea (Assassins Creed/Templar)- Betrayed by the Creed, so joins the Templars against his better judgement, so he assassinates ALOT of people.
Dracula (Castlevania)- His human wife is burned at the stake by humans, so he decides to end all life on the planet in the most horrific manner ever.

I'm sorry this is a lot of western comic/game references... there are a few characters that I can think of that are just evil for evil's sake. Like Heath Ledger's Joker in Batman or Evil/Mr. Zorg from 13th Element. But I actually think pure evil characters with zero humanity are rare in fiction and usually make fairly boring characters.

[joe_galindez]

It's not your intentions that make you evil, but what you actually do to people.

[SoFt]

A li'l off-topic, but I don't feel like Galactus belongs on that list. He's a case of Blue and Orange Morality, or even True Neutral; his eating planets is a matter of sustenance no more evil than a lion eating an antelope. He's a fundamental force of nature in Marvel, and if he doesn't eat planets and subsequently dies, an omnicidal being of even greater power gets loose and just tries to blow up the universe for fun x) .

Cogent point otherwise. I consider it a mark of poor writing if a prominent villain is motivated solely by a petulant desire to kick all of the world's puppies. That sort of simplicity really only fits on low-level sociopaths and unknowable Greater Scope Villains. Interesting dichotomy, now that I think about it.

[joe_galindez]

Does he need to eat planets with people on them, though?

[SoFt]

Yes, actually . When he was "young," he always sought out planets devoid of life, but the older he gets, the more he needs to consume. Eventually, lifeless worlds just weren't cutting it anymore. He remains as selective as he can be and will cut deals with residents of planets he visits to spare their world if they can help him find others, but that's just a matter of kicking the can down the road more often than not.

[Zaboem]

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It had already been decided and prophesied and basically set in stone that the son of Devil, the Anti-Christ, would rise to power one day and lead a war to destroy the world of the living. For good or for bad is not specified. The top ranking demon and head angel in Earth don't really want to go to war. They both think the whole thing is stupid. They agree instead to share manipulation of this chosen child as soon as he is born and supply equal amounts of good and evil influence. The first if many twists happens at the hospital when the son of the devil is accidentally switched with a random child. The demon and angel then oversee the raising of a normal mortal child whom they believe has divine powers and cosmic significance. This false anti-christ becomes the bad guy only in that he is a privileged little snot and a somewhat mean kid. The story from there almost ignores the actual son of the devil who seems to go on to live a mundane and boring life outside of a minor curse or two; he plays no significant role in the story.