There’s no question that a fantasy movie is only as good as its villain, and these antagonists were unparalleled forces of nature in their stories. While the formula of most fantasy films ends up with the hero winning the day, this isn’t the case with every narrative, as there are plenty of great movies where the villain wins. However, it’s even more surprising when an antagonist is set up to be all-powerful and unstoppable, and the hero defeats them regardless. The main characters often achieve this through some sort of magical connection or loophole in the fantastical world.

Some movies and fantasy TV shows have the perfect villain who has the right amount of power to match wits with the hero. However, there are many more examples of protagonists having to work hard to uncover a way to defeat the unstoppable force of the villain, as they have better resources, more formidable magic, and a seemingly foolproof plan. It’s easy to attribute the success of these heroes to plot armor, as the protagonists leave many conflicts with the villain unscathed. However, a universal takeaway from the defeat of these antagonists is that good will always triumph over evil.

5

Lord Voldemort

Harry Potter (2001–2011)

Ralph Fiennes played the adult version of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies, beginning with his appearance in The Goblet of Fire​​​​​. While Voldemort was always a terrifying villain, in both the books and on screen, much of his gravitas and the fear he inspires is made possible by Fiennes’ performance. It will be difficult casting Voldemort for the Harry Potter TV remake, as Fiennes has come to define the role in so many ways. However, the darkness of Voldemort is one of the most important pieces of Harry Potter​​​​​​.

It comes to pᴀss that Voldemort’s arrogance and belief in his absolute power is the source of his undoing. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) doesn’t defeat Voldemort because he’s a better wizard or is inherently more powerful. Voldemort’s refusal to consider the power of love and that he might have made a mistake makes it possible for Harry to slowly destroy the Horcruxes. Additionally, Harry’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good, something Voldemort would never do, gives the side of good an edge.

4

Darkness

Legend (1985)

The highly underrated 1985 Ridley Scott movie Legend has become a cult classic in recent years, and Tim Curry’s turn as the monstrous villain Darkness is a large part of why. As the physical manifestation of all that’s evil and villainous, Darkness only seeks to make the world as twisted as he is and uses his considerable powers to do so. Though the character design of Darkness isn’t the only indicator of his evil and corruption, Scott and the production team did an excellent job visually representing how terrifying he is.

Tom Cruise and Mia Sara play the young heroes, Jack and Lili, who come up against Darkness, putting a stop to his quest to plunge the world into eternal night. Surprisingly, Darkness is intrigued by Lili and her innocence, as she’s the opposite of everything he’s made of. Though the visuals and aesthetics of Legend are often praised more highly than the story itself, the film is elevated by the strength of its villain, giving the conflict an edge.

3

Thanos

The Avengers (2012–2019)

Thanos’ powers in the MCU are some of the most formidable of any villain. He’s so unstoppable that, at first, the Avengers don’t defeat him at all. Josh Brolin’s Thanos wins in Avengers: Infinity War, successfully using the Infinity Gauntlet to eliminate half of the population. After this crushing defeat, most of the Avengers accept their losses and try to move on until Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) creates a way to go back in time and stop Thanos before he can kill everyone.

A lot goes wrong in both Infinity War and Endgame, and there are no guarantees that just because the Avengers go back in time, they’ll be more successful the second time around. However, through fierce determination and a little bit of luck, they manage to reverse Thanos’ plan and bring back many of the people who were lost in Infinity War, though it comes at the cost of beloved friends and heroes in Endgame​​​​​​. There are plenty of corners of the multiverse where Thanos remains the victor, as his plan was almost foolproof.

2

The White Witch

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

The upcoming remake of The Chronicles of Narnia has been generating a lot of buzz. How Greta Gerwig will revamp the visual style and the story structure from the originals will impact the upcoming series’ longevity. It remains to be seen if Gerwig will adapt C.S. Lewis’ books in chronological order or order of publication. However, missing out on the White Witch would be a mistake for the remake. Though replacing Tilda Swinton will be difficult, the character of the White Witch is one of the best villains in all of Narnia.

Smart enough to understand how to manipulate the Pevensie children and strong enough to take on Aslan himself, it’s through divine intervention that the characters end up defeating her. In fantasy movies like The Chronicles of Narnia, there’s an element of fate and destiny that comes into play in the conquering of a villain like the White Witch. The Pevensies were always meant to travel to Narnia and bring peace back to the land, but without this predestined success, the White Witch could’ve easily maintained control of the land.

1

Sauron

The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003)

As difficult as it is to imagine The Lord of the Rings trilogy without Frodo (Elijah Wood), it’s just as hard to think about J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal fantasy tale without its formidable antagonist. Sauron manifests in many ways in The Lord of the Rings, as his physical form might have been vanquished a long time ago, but as long as the One Ring exists, his spirit will never fade. Frodo experiences this firsthand, as every time he puts on the Ring, he feels the pull of power and the seductive evil that Sauron uses to control his disciples.

Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power explores Sauron’s backstory in the Second Age, but in the original movie trilogy, the audience feels the weight of Sauron’s overwhelming power. In the end, Frodo isn’t strong enough to destroy the Ring, and it’s because of Gollum (Andy Serkis) that it falls into the fires at Mount Doom, and Sauron’s rule comes to an end. Often, stories like The Lord of the Rings examine how chance and fateful encounters are what ultimately lead to the destruction of the forces of evil.