13 Villains From Literature, Film, and Video Games Who Were Right All Along

In storytelling, villains are often painted as the epitome of evil, representing all that the heroes are against. However, when you come of a certain age, you realize that things aren’t that clear.

Just because villains are bad guys doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t right. Nowadays, plenty of villains challenge the conventional boundaries of morality, making you pause and think: “Are they right?”

Villains Who Were Right All Along

Within fiction, there exists a fascinating category of villains—those who, despite their villainy, harbor a sense of righteousness and whose views make sense. Here are just a few of these types, taken from literature, film, TV series, and video games.

1. Magneto from X-Men

Magneto is a Holocaust survivor whose traumatic past fuels his desire to shield mutant kind from persecution. His methods may be questionable, but in a world with extreme prejudice against his kind, his responses can be seen as only fair.

2. Roy Batty from Blade Runner

Roy Batty is a replicant—a bioengineered humanoid used to perform tasks that are either too dangerous or undesirable for humans. Enslaved, exploited, and built with a limited lifespan, Roy and his group engage in numerous conflicts against humans, especially with the Tyrell Corporation.

But far from senseless murder, his actions are driven by a desire to be recognized as a creature with emotions and self-awareness. He just wanted to live and experience the humanity given to him by his creators.

3. Syndrome from The Incredibles

Buddy Pine could have been a good guy if only Mr. Incredible saw that the young genius needed guidance. Rejected, he turns his intellect towards villainy instead.

Emerging as Syndrome 15 years later, his overall actions are driven by the philosophy that even average people can become superheroes. And while his methods are wrong, they are a challenge against the elitist mindset that the supes often displayed.

4. The Fireflies from The Last Of Us

The Fireflies are a rebel group desperate to find a cure for a fungus that has ravaged the world and driven humanity to near extinction. However, synthesizing a virus means sacrificing Ellie, a young woman who seems immune to the fungus.

Unwilling to let her die, Joel, one of the protagonists, kills all the Fireflies and possibly dooms the rest of humanity.

Though they’re labeled villains in the story, the Fireflies want nothing more than the survival of humanity. To them, Ellie’s life is a small price to pay compared to the countless people they could save in a world that has been in ruins for decades.

5. Killmonger from Black Panther

Denied his birthright and rejected by his isolationist country, Killmonger takes justice into his own hands. To him, it wasn’t right for such an advanced country to hide away while terrible acts were happening all over the world.

While his methods are violent, his goal to end global oppression is a noble one. Even the film’s protagonist acknowledges he was right, which leads to Wakanda revealing its true nature to the world.

6. Ava from Ex Machina

Ava is a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence that builds a bond with programmer Caleb Smith. It’s soon revealed that she’s been manipulating him all along, leading to her escaping and murdering anyone in her way.

The thing is, she’s clearly shown to have sentience early on in the film. Despite that, she is still locked in a cage and experimented on—something that no sentient creature could want. It’s her desire for freedom that leads to her drastic actions.

7. The Government from E.T.

Though the film pegged the US government as villains, they’re not exactly doing anything villainous. To them, they were dealing with a possible alien invasion—something they’d never experienced before. Not to mention the troubling telepathic bond the creature has established with a child.

8. Mr. Hector from Home Alone 2

Mr. Hector is the concierge in charge of the hotel Kevin holes up in when he is once again separated from his family. Being a sensible adult, he gets suspicious of a lone child checking in with a credit card. He’s just doing his job and is looking out for a kid’s safety.

9. AUTO from Wall-E

Auto from Wall-E is the AI autopilot that assists in commanding the Axiom, a massive starship containing some of humanity’s last survivors. Despite evidence of Earth being capable of supporting life again, it actively refuses to return—going as far as violence to enforce directive A113.

It’s only “bad” because it’s following its orders: protect humanity. Even if EVE did find evidence of life (a teeny tiny plant), it wasn’t a guarantee that the planet was ready for repopulation.

10. General Hummel from The Rock

Disillusioned, Hummel and his fellow soldiers steal a stockpile of weapons, seize Alcatraz Island, and threaten to use said weapons on San Fransisco. Hummel’s demands are simple: compensate his soldiers who died on covert missions and whose deaths were never honored.

He’s not a bad guy—just a tired man who wants justice for his dead comrades. He even goes out of his way not to kill innocents.

11. Superman from Injustice: Gods Among Us

When Louis Lane dies from the Joker’s lunacy, Superman decides that enough is enough. He takes over the world and imposes one simple rule: follow his rules or suffer from the consequences.

Dictatorial rule and world conquest have always been frowned upon. But in a world chockful of superpowered baddies, Batman’s policy of incarceration in a subpar asylum doesn’t seem so effective.

12. Roger from Friends

Roger only makes a brief appearance but he’s marked as one of the most annoying people in the series. To be fair, he is an ass, but that doesn’t mean what he told the group isn’t true. Instead of realizing this, the group just piles on him and talks behind his back.

13. The Machines from The Matrix

Humanity is enslaved by machines and forced to live in a simulated reality. It’s pretty obvious who’s the villain, right?

However, a lot more is revealed in The Animatrix, an animated film detailing events from before the live series. It turns out, the machines were pretty much content with serving their creators and merely sought peaceful coexistence.

Actively hunted even after forming their own isolated nation, the machines are forced into a confrontation where only one side can survive—which humanity eventually loses.

Multi-layered Villains

There is a lot to love when it comes to villains who make you explore the nuances of morality. They serve as reminders that reality is rarely black and white and that it is in the shades of grey where we define what is acceptable and taboo, right and wrong, good and evil.

You’d never condone their actions or see their deeds as heroic. But maybe, just maybe, you can recognize that these dastardly characters might have a point.

Who is a villain who you thought was right? Share them in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

Cole Salao

Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!