Animation
Cruella de Vil
One Hundred and One Dalmatians · 1961
No magic, no army, just a coat she wants very badly
Threat index 66
Trickster · Comics
The Joker
The most valuable argument any hero has ever had
Attribute scores
Power48
Intellect88
Menace90
Fear factor88
Cultural impact99
Charisma96
Editorial estimates on a 0–100 scale, calibrated against every other character in the index. Not official canon.
Who they are
The Joker works because he is the exact inverse of the man he torments: no plan that survives contact with reality, no fixed origin, no interest in money. Batman imposes order on chaos; the Joker exists to prove that order is a costume. He has been a goofy prankster, a mass murderer and a philosophical opponent depending on the decade, and all of those versions are canon.
Defining traits
No consistent originChemical weapons and gag devicesImmune to intimidationObsessive fixation on BatmanTotal unpredictability
What makes them dangerous
He does not want anything you can give him, which removes every negotiating tool a hero has.
And what undoes them
He needs Batman. Remove the audience and the performance loses its purpose.
Things you might not know
- He was written to die in his first appearance and was saved by an editor at the last minute.
- Two different actors have won Academy Awards for playing him, which no other comic book character can claim.
- His most acclaimed comic appearance explicitly states that he remembers his past differently every time.
Why number 1 in Comics
The only major comics villain with no fixed origin, which is why he has survived eighty years of contradictory interpretations without losing coherence.
Why number 2 in Most Iconic
Eight decades, dozens of interpretations and two Academy Awards for two different actors. He is the only character on this list whose contradictory versions have all become iconic independently.
Why number 2 in Most Charismatic
Every actor who has played him has been the most watchable thing in their film, across eight decades and wildly different tones.
Why number 16 in Scariest
The fear is that he wants nothing you can offer. Every negotiating tool a hero has is useless against someone who is not trying to gain anything.
If you like this villain
Animation
Animation
Bill Cipher
Gravity Falls · 2012
A floating triangle that is far worse than it looks
Threat index 87