Across the sixteen games that make up the Fire Emblem series, the franchise has seen countless villains. While the series possesses a notable amount of sympathetic villains that make up the series' well established "Camus archetype," Fire Emblem is not at a loss of completely deplorable and vile antagonists.
While there is something intimidating about villains wielding great power, there's something special about villains so heinous that a player is given a great sense of accomplishment when they are inevitably conquered. So today, we're going to examine the worst, most treacherous and irredeemable cretins that have appeared in the Fire Emblem Series. As this list will be discussing acts committed by major antagonists in the Fire Emblem series, expect major spoilers ahead!
10 Gangrel - Awakening
The primary antagonist for the first act of Fire Emblem: Awakening, Gangrel is completely irredeemable for the first third of Awakening. The king of Plegia, Gangrel displays no value of human life, actively seeking out war and conquest with the surrounding nations.
Gangrel is notably responsible for the death of Emmeryn, who sacrifices herself to prevent Gangrel from obtaining the Fire Emblem.
9 Hans - Fates
A Berserker form Nohr, Hans is such an antagonistic scumbag that he's still the player's enemy even if they choose to side with Nohr.
A former criminal and murderer, to state that Hans is amoral and power hungry would be an understatement. No matter which route a player selects, Hans attempts to murder his own ally, Gunter as ordered by King Garon, showing no remorse nor humanity. Gunter share many traits with bandits and brigands across the series, but is put in a worryingly high position of Nohr's military.
8 Jedah - Shadows Of Valentia
A manipulative follower of Duma, Jedah is leader of the Duma faithful, serving as one of the central antagonists of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
Over the course of Shadows of Valentia, the more the player learns about Jedah, the more hatable of a character he becomes. One of Jedah's most egregious acts include sacrificing the souls of his own daughters to Duma, turning them into witches in exchange for power. Most importantly, in the final act of Shadows of Valentia, Jedah successfully manipulates Celica into offering her soul to Duma, claiming it to be a means of protecting Alm.
7 Valtome - Radiant Dawn
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn's senators of Begnion are some of the most conniving antagonists the series has seen. Of the numerous members of the Begnion Senate, one of the most loathsome members is Valtome.
The Senator given control of the Begnion Central Army in Part Three, Valtome is shown to be incredibly arrogant, viewing himself as the pinnacle of perfection. This arrogance drives his actions and decision making, as her completely disregards temporary a temporary ceasefire brought about by Queen Elincia. Furthermore, in addition to commanding his soldiers to attack in the middle of a ceasefire, he attempts to order the execution of his own general, Zelgius for refusing to fight in said ceasefire.
6 Valter - The Sacred Stones
A Wyvern Knight in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Valter is a bloodthirsty and incredibly sadistic general of Grado.
One of the first antagonists players come across in The Sacred Stones, the degree of Valter's impact on the story is based upon which route a player chooses to take. While Valter is always viewed as a less than likable individual, he's at his worst in Eirika's route. In this route, it is revealed that Valter murders his own comrade, a level-headed general, Glen, as doing so would extend the length of the ensuing war. As if this were not enough, Valter even brings Glen's corpse to his brother, Cormag, saying that it was the work of Eirika.
5 Lekain - Radiant Dawn
While the previously mentioned Valtome is a remarkably despicable member of the Begnion Senate in Radiant Dawn, Lekain, Duke of Gaddos is in a league of his own.
The source of a major portion of Radiant Dawn's conflict, like many other entries on this list, Lekain is selfish and power-hungry. In addition to attempting to overthrow his own country's government, Lekain manipulates both the nations of Daein and Kilvas using blood contracts.
4 Sonia - The Blazing Blade
Sonia is perhaps the most detestable female characters in Fire Emblem history. Appearing in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, Sonia is follower of Nergal who marries Brandon Reed, the leader of the assassin organization, The Black Fang. Prior to this marriage, The Black Fang was an honorable group that would only target corrupt individuals. However, through Sonia and Nergal's influence, the group becomes increasingly corrupt and violent.
Additionally Sonia is extremely abusive to her adoptive daughter, Nino, whose birth parents Sonia murdered. While Nino seeks nothing more than Sonia's affection, on the night of Nino's first assassin assignment, Sonia commands the assassin, Jaffar to execute Nino once the job is completed.
3 Ashnard - Path Of Radiance
The main antagonist of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Ashnard is the king of Daein and one of the most memorable antagonists the series has seen, for better or for worse.
Ashnard is a man who cares about one thing: strength. It is for this reason that he intentionally thrusts the continent into turmoil and war, creating a world in which the strong prosper. Apathetic to thought of casualties, Ashnard actively seeks to bring about as much destruction as possible so that he may attempt to validate his ideals.
While this is Ashnard at his core, it's just the tip of the iceberg, as Ashnard also murdered his own father and rides a sentient Dragon-Laguz whom was twisted by "feral elixir."
Speaking of "feral elixir..."
2 Izuka - Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn
The story of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is one full of a great deal of racial allegory and theming due to the war between the human Beorc, and the Laguz. Izuka is a character who takes these racial themes and turns them up to eleven, not just looking down on the Laguz, but not even viewing them as people, more as living tools.
Izuka's most notably created "feral elixir," a drug that is forcibly given to numerous Laguz across both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn that drive subjected Laguz insane and prevent them from shifting back into their humanoid forms.
1 King Desmond - The Blazing Blade
Despite never being fought in any game, and only making a brief appearance in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, King Desmond is without a doubt the most despicable character in Fire Emblem history.
The king of Bern, Desmond was consumed with jealousy and paranoia targeted towards his own young son, Zephiel. While Zephiel wanted nothing but his father's affection, Desmond loathed him, attempting to strip away his right to the throne and even contracting assassins to target Zephiel. Prior to these assassination attempts, Zephiel was a well adjusted and idealistic prince. However, due to this continued unbridled malice and violence, Desmond drove Zephiel to grow bitter, setting the stage for Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Had it not been for King Desmond, the events of The Binding Blade and the war it entails could've been entirely prevented.