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Movies are often not too complicated with their character backstories. The bad guy does a bad thing and the good guy saves the day. But what can turn a good story into a great one, is having people question whether the actions of a character are justified because of their past trauma.
This trauma can take on many different forms, from neglect by their parents to losing someone they care about, or being considered a monster right from the start. Either way, these tragic backstories had fans debating to themselves if the villain really is the "bad" guy.
Warning: This list may contain spoilers.Updated February 14, 2023, by Kath Leroy: With so many villains appearing in movies of all genres, it's easy to lose focus and miss out on getting familiar with some of the best, most complex antagonists that the current cinema has to offer. While there are still some movie villains who are evil simply for the sake of being evil, a lot of antagonists are haunted by their childhood, traumatic experiences, or other horrific life events. These shaped their character and made them who they are today. It's often these villains that the viewers enjoy the most since their former life makes it difficult to decide whether they're truly evil or whether their actions might actually be justified.
1 Killmonger In Black Panther (2018)
After he returns to Wakanda, determined to win the throne for himself, Killmonger goes on to become the main antagonist in Black Panther. However, from Killmonger's point of view, his actions make perfect sense and don't make him evil. He's merely asking for what he believes to be his family's right.
Granted, Killmonger is more brutal in his determination to win the throne of Wakanda for himself, but the tragic death of his father and the oppression he had faced in the past make it easier to understand where he's coming from. Unfortunately for Killmonger, he doesn't achieve his goal as his cousin T'Challa kills him in the final battle between the pair.
2 Magneto In The X-Men Series
Whether Magneto is a real bad guy has been debated for decades now. The X-Men movie series shows that both the younger version of Magneto (played by Michael Fassbender) and the older one (portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen) have one main goal. Magneto wants to protect his fellow mutants from being persecuted and killed.
As a holocaust survivor, Magneto knows what it's like to be persecuted for who he was born, and he's determined not to let it happen to others like him, no matter the consequences. Magneto's ultimately noble intentions show that even though he doesn't always act in a savory way, he has the mutants' best intentions at heart.
3 Cruella (2021)
Cruella had always been previously portrayed as an antagonist in the 100 Dalmatians movies. However, that all changed when she got a solo movie in 2021 with Emma Stone portraying her. In this movie, after the brutal loss of her mother, Cruella has to survive without her parents. Such a difficult childhood and an early loss are enough to explain her future actions.
When Cruella finally finds the person responsible for her mother's death, she decides to get revenge. And nowhere in the movie does she kill any of the dalmatians even though they belong to the person she hates the most and played a role in her mother's death.
4 Draco Malfoy In The Harry Potter Series
It's true that Draco Malfoy acted as a bully for the better part of the Harry Potter movies. As he grew up though, it became obvious that he was far from a stereotypical villain. He wasn't able to kill Dumbledore even though other Death Eaters pressured him to do so.
What's more, he lies to them about Harry's identity so that he would protect him even though he and Harry were never friends. Draco was pushed to the dark side by his cruel and cold father, and as soon as he managed to free himself from Lucius' influence, he showed that he wasn't a bad person after all.
5 The Grinch (2000)
The Grinch's story has been told in a children's book and many adaptions, but his antics ruining Christmas for Whoville and his redemption arc remains the same in all. Living in solitude on Mt. Crumpit, The Grinch grew to loathe the Whos and everything they stand for. In the book, it was never explained why he was such a grump.
However, the 2000 movie adaptation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas provided fans with The Grinch's tragic backstory. Adopted as a baby in Whoville, he was a timid child who fell in love with Martha May Whovier. Jealous that Martha liked the Grinch more, classmate Augustus MayWho began bullying the Grinch which set off a chain of events that turned The Grinch into the villain he was.
6 Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th)
Jason Voorhees is the undead mass murderer of Camp Crystal Lake as he terrorizes the camp counselors. Introduced in the movie Friday the 13th, he has appeared in numerous movies, books, and video games.
The 2009 reboot directed by Marcus Nispel turned Jason's backstory into one that was more undeserving. In the opening scene, a young Jason witnessed his mother being decapitated at the end of her killing spree. While Pamela Voorhees deserved her death, no child should ever see such a gruesome event.
7 Mr. Freeze (Batman & Robin)
Batman & Robin, released in 1997, may have been one of the worst Batman movies ever, but it featured a very cool Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze as its main antagonist. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl teamed up to prevent Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from taking over the world.
Batman and Robin discover Mr. Freeze was Dr. Victor Fries, a scientist who had put his wife, Nora, in a state of cryogenic stasis until he developed the cure for a disease to save her life. But a lab accident with sub-zero coolant caused him to become dependent on diamonds to survive. After Poison Ivy took Nora off life support, she convinced Mr. Freeze that Batman was responsible.
8 Syndrome (The Incredibles)
Syndrome was the main antagonist of Pixar's The Incredibles and was hell-bent on removing superheroes from existence. Similar to Watchmen's Ozymandias, Syndrome was a genius gone mad over a small event that spawned his entire villainous mindset. Intent on tricking the world into thinking that he is a superhero, Syndrome had plotted for Mr. Incredible and many other supers into coming to his island to train his powerful Omnidroid.
Mr. Incredible discovers that Syndrome is Buddy Pine. When Pine was a 10-year-old child, he proclaimed himself to be Mr. Incredible's number one fan and, with the self-given moniker IncrediBoy, accidentally caused the destruction of train tracks while he tried to help Mr. Incredible fight a villain. Mr. Incredible's cold response to the young child causes Pine to grow cynical about superheroes.
9 Frankenstein's Monster (1931)
In what is arguably the best Frankenstein adaptation, 1931's Frankenstein saw Frankenstein's Monster as the creation of scientist Henry Frankenstein. Henry, along with his assistant Fritz, digs up corpses for body parts to create life. The experiments resulted in a hideous creature with the brain of a corrupt criminal after Fritz damaged a stolen brain. However, upon awakening for the first time, The Monster is frightened by Fritz and Henry and Fritz mistook his fear for an attack.
The Monster later escapes the tower after killing Dr. Waldman, mistakenly kills a young girl Maria and is then left to burn in a windmill after attempting to kill Henry. However, Frankenstein's Monster did not ask to be created, thus turning him into the villain.
10 Sweeney Todd (2007)
2007's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street saw Johnny Depp portray serial killer barber, Sweeney Todd who would use the corpses for meat pies. "Sweeney Todd" was an alias used by Benjamin Barker who had been exiled for a crime he did not commit. Judge Turpin was jealous and wanted Barker's wife, Lucy, to himself.
After returning to London, Todd's accomplice, Nellie Lovett, tricked him into believing his wife was killed. Todd later discovered Lucy was still alive, but he had murdered her thinking she was a beggar.
11 Carrie (1976 & 2013)
In 1976 and 2013, movie adaptations of one of Stephen King's best novels, Carrie, shocked audiences. Carrie White is a shy teenager with budding psychic powers. She is relentlessly bullied at school and is abused by her extremely religious mother. Carrie's bullies conspire to pull a prank on her by rigging the prom election and dumping pig's blood on her as she stands on stage. However, Carrie's telekinesis is fully realized, and she murders almost everyone in the gym.
The pig blood was a symbol of Carrie's embarrassing moment when she had her first period and thought she was dying as her classmates laughed and threw tampons at her. That moment, combined with her mother locking her in a closet, was unearned trauma that would make anyone go mad.
12 Darth Vader (Star Wars Franchise)
The plight of Anakin Skywalker and the wrath of Darth Vader is told across six Star Wars movies. The original trilogy saw Vader as the main antagonist as he attempted to destroy the rebellion and bring his son to the Dark Side. Although he redeemed himself for his actions upon his death, Anakin never deserved to become the villain in the first place.
Born into slavery on Tattooine, he was rescued by Qui-Gon Jinn who insisted on Anakin becoming a Jedi even when the Jedi Council said he was too old. Later, he blames himself for leaving his mother behind after she was taken and killed by Tusken Raiders. And finally, he was manipulated by Chancellor Palpatine into turning to the Dark Side, believing it would save the love of his life from death. All of these events would have turned anyone to the Dark Side.
13 Maleficent (2014)
Disney's Maleficent was released in 2014 and was a prequel/re-telling of the classic Sleeping Beauty. It starred Angelina Jolie as the titular character as fans discover Maleficent's backstory. Before she was the witch that cursed Princess Aurora, she was a powerful fairy that guarded the magical forest that bordered a human kingdom. A young Maleficent meets and falls in love with a human named Stefan, but they grow apart as they get older. Later, she mortally wounds King Henry in defense of the magic forest. Henry, on his deathbed, declares that whoever kills Maleficent will be crowned the next king.
Stefan, desperate to become King but remembering his love for Maleficent, cuts her wings instead of killing her to become king. Maleficent later curses Stefan's daughter, Aurora, as she had in the original animated classic. Anyone who had been betrayed by the person they loved can instantly relate to Maleficent's tragic turn.
14 Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal Rising)
Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a cannibalistic serial killer portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the Hannibal movie series. However, it was Gaspard Ulliel's turn as a younger version of the character that revealed Hannibal's heartbreaking story in 2007's Hannibal Rising. The movie delves into Hannibal's childhood and teen years living in Nazi-occupied Lithuania.
After witnessing the death of his parents and being forced into hiding with his sister, Lecter later goes on a killing spree to exact revenge on all who were involved. But it was a claim that Lecter was fed his own sister in a broth that sparked his cannibalistic nature.