Who's the first to come to mind when I say - Villain?

Thanos , especially given the scale of his schemes.
 
Brandin of Ygrath, from Tigana.

Probably because he's the villain I've rooted for most; charismatic, intelligent, witty, forward-thinking (at times), cultured. Yet unmistakably a villain, for what he wants and takes isn't his, and shouldn't be his, and his methods cause great suffering and his reasons are deeply selfish.
 
My wife and I are currently watching the Star Wars movies, 1 through 9, so Darth Vader popped instantly to mind.
 
Kane The Mystic Swordsman from Karl Edward Wager's series . Kane is immortal , amoral, callus ,has the eyes of silent killer , craves power , want's to rule the word no matter how much destruction and suffering is involved.
 
Of the ones I recognise, we seem to have a fondness for intelligent menace.
 
The word 'villain' makes me think of someone with few (if any) redeeming qualities and who is (more often than not) ultimately doomed to failure. Equal parts intelligent and ruthless, but also with a touch of the theatrical (because every fictional villain has their own inimitable style).

The person that always springs to mind is William Shakespeare's Richard III. His internal monologues are the stuff of legend, and his portrayal so convincing that even today this is thought to be his true character (even though there is little real evidence to suggest this is so). I think that many a modern villain, from Francis Urquhart to Ernst Blofeld has his roots in Shakespeare's villainous monarch.

Some good suggestions already; I particularly like The Joker, Servalan, and Saruman (much moreso than Sauron). A few others would include Obadiah Hawkeswill, Davros and The Emperor (rather than Darth).
 
Darth Vader first, then Lawrence Oliver in Marathon Man, and then some cockney bloke in a Guy Ritchie film who claims to have known the Kray Twins. "I'm a bleedin' villain, me!"
 
The face of Donald Pleasance immediately sprang to mind.

BTW is there a difference between a villain and a baddie? Somehow, Darth Vader just seems like a baddie to me.
 

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