Animation
Scar
The Lion King · 1994
Fratricide, a musical number, and a lifetime of resentment
Threat index 76
Tyrant · Anime
Frieza
The galactic realtor who destroys planets for the resale value
Attribute scores
Power95
Intellect80
Menace94
Fear factor78
Cultural impact90
Charisma84
Editorial estimates on a 0–100 scale, calibrated against every other character in the index. Not official canon.
Who they are
Frieza runs an interstellar business that clears inhabited worlds and sells them, and he does it with the affable tone of a man discussing quarterly figures. He is small, softly spoken, and by far the most cruel presence in his series. His multi-stage transformations established a storytelling convention that shonen anime has been using ever since.
Defining traits
Multiple power transformationsPlanet-destroying energy attacksCorporate crueltyTotal confidenceSurvives injuries that should be fatal
What makes them dangerous
He can destroy a planet almost casually, and he has an empire that does it professionally.
And what undoes them
He never trains, which means everyone who survives him eventually surpasses him.
Things you might not know
- Toriyama has said the character was conceived partly as a satire of speculative real estate dealers.
- The arc built around him ran for well over a hundred episodes, a length that became infamous.
- His polite Japanese speech register makes the cruelty land harder for native listeners than translations usually convey.
Why number 7 in Most Dangerous
Planetary genocide as a commercial operation, carried out repeatedly across an empire that spans a galaxy.
Why number 8 in Most Powerful
He destroys inhabited planets as a business practice, and he does it without ever training a day in his life.
Why number 10 in Animation & Anime
Politeness as cruelty, delivered by a character who destroys planets as a business decision. His transformations became a genre convention.
If you like this villain
Animation
Judge Claude Frollo
The Hunchback of Notre Dame · 1996
The darkest antagonist a major animation studio has ever released
Threat index 77
Animation
Mother Gothel
Tangled · 2010
The villain whose weapon is a compliment with a knife in it
Threat index 73