One of the most thrilling parts of science-fiction movies is how they'll often feature non-human characters. These can include aliens, monsters, or other unfamiliar lifeforms, and typically, such characters will be given villainous roles to play in a sci-fi story. After all, sci-fi can often be about exploring new worlds or facing some sort of threat from another species from somewhere else in the galaxy, and one way to unite humanity (in theory) is to pit them against a non-human threat.
However, science-fiction movies are just as capable of presenting compelling conflicts when the villains aren't aliens or monsters with inhuman appearances. Sometimes, the best sci-fi villains are just human beings, or characters who are humanoid in appearance. The following movies all do an exceptional job at having villains who look fairly ordinary, all things considered, showing that sometimes, man is the real monster.
10 Darth Vader from the 'Star Wars' Original Trilogy (1977-1983)
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Sci-fi villains don't get much more iconic than Darth Vader, who's arguably one of the most recognizable characters in the history of fiction. He was introduced as a significant - though not primary - villain in the original Star Wars (1977), and had his role greatly expanded in the film's even better sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
He ultimately redeems himself in the final film in the Original Trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983), but that's also the film where the human being behind the mask is revealed in full. From his voice, to his costume, to his immense powers with the Force, he's a fantastic antagonist for Luke Skywalker and the other heroes, and a deserving pop culture icon.
9 Carter Burke from 'Aliens' (1986)
While Alien (1979) is a sci-fi/horror movie, the James Cameron-directed sequel, Aliens (1986), is a louder and more in-your-face action/sci-fi hybrid. It increases the scope of the first movie in all directions, featuring a larger number of human characters, many more aliens (it's in the title, really), and more explosive setpieces.
It's also notable for featuring a villain beyond an alien lifeform with the inclusion of Carter Burke, a slimy, greedy corporate executive who fools Ripley into trusting him. He's also responsible for much of the death and destruction in the film, given he sends Ripley and a group of marines into danger without adequately preparing them. His actions become worse and worse as the film goes on, making him arguably more of a monster than any of the aliens the heroes face.
8 Roy Batty from 'Blade Runner' (1982)
Blade Runner is a film that aims to blur the line between human beings and replicants, who are genetically engineered humans with a programmed limited lifespan. There's always been plenty of discussion about whether the film's main character, Deckard (Harrison Ford), is a replicant or not, especially because he seems to act more inhuman than the film's antagonist, replicant Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer).
Deckard's sent on a mission to terminate a group of rogue replicants led by Roy Batty. The former's framed as the protagonist, and therefore the latter's the antagonist, though it's possible to sympathize with Batty to the extent that it feels wrong to label him as solely a villain. Regardless of which one's the true villain, however, the fact remains that they're both human, even if they're of the genetically engineered variety.
7 Khan from 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' (1982)
Arguably the most famous villain in all of Star Trek is Khan, to the point where he's likely a familiar name to even those who aren't big fans of the series. He's a genetically engineered superhuman first introduced in the original series, and notably took center stage in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
It's a high point of the Star Trek film series, and Khan's presence - and the considerable threat he poses - is a big reason for that. He's wrathful and then some, making it understandable why the character was resurrected (to mixed results) in 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness.
6 Mann from 'Interstellar' (2014)
Much of Interstellar feels like a movie without a traditional villain. The characters are fighting against the concept of time itself, and the fact that the heroes all venture deep into space ensures they also have to battle the elements, made all the more frightening because of the various unknowns that come with space exploration.
However, the film eventually presents viewers with a traditional villain: a seemingly ordinary - and not so subtly named - man named Mann. His actions put the heroes in even more peril, with his inclusion (and the surprise Matt Damon appearance) adding another layer to Christopher Nolan's ambitious sci-fi epic.
5 Dennis Nedry from 'Jurassic Park' (1993)
Sure, the dinosaurs are probably the most deadly things in Jurassic Park. The carnivorous ones are fearsome creatures, with the large ones being remarkably strong, and the smaller ones having an unnerving amount of cunning. The main characters spend at least half the movie in near-constant peril because of these prehistoric beasts.
However, it's Dennis Nedry who can be blamed for them ever getting loose in the first place, making him the real villain of the first Jurassic Park movie. Physically, he's no match for the dinosaurs, but it's his greed and willingness to backstab that causes a great deal of trouble. If he hadn't powered down the park's security systems to steal a bunch of dinosaur embryos, the movie wouldn't have been nearly as messy.
4 Colonel Miles Rick Quaritch from 'Avatar' (2009)
James Cameron is a filmmaker who knows what he's doing, which generally makes his perfectionism and tendency to delay movies surprisingly excusable. And sure, the characters in his films are often archetypal and simple, but they always service the story well: the heroes are easy to root for, and the villains are often deliciously hatable.
That's certainly the case for Colonel Quaritch from the Avatar series, who's a hard-nosed military man and the primary antagonist of the first film, while he returns in the second film in the body of an Avatar. That might technically mean he's only a human in the original movie, but that's enough to make him one of the most memorable human villains in contemporary sci-fi cinema.
3 Kylo Ren from the 'Star Wars' Sequel Trilogy (2015-2019)
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It says something about how good Adam Driver was as Kylo Ren that even in the underwhelming The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the character was still compelling. He emerges as one of the best parts of the divisive Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, and essentially does for those three films what Darth Vader did for the original three films.
Their arcs are even somewhat similar, and it makes sense in a way, given Kylo Ren begins 2015's The Force Awakens worshiping Vader's legacy and wanting to live up to him. His weaknesses and flaws are revealed as the movies go along, revealing him to be starkly human and capable of empathy, despite what his often cold exterior and violent actions might suggest.
2 The Colonel from 'War for the Planet of the Apes' (2017)
The Planet of the Apes trilogy (2011-2017) is an interesting one, because with each movie, the apes become more and more central, and the human characters find their roles reduced. It fits the overall narrative of the apes conquering the planet and evolving rapidly, with the gradual shift demonstrated between the first film and the last being immensely satisfying to watch.
Still, War for the Planet of the Apes, the third and final film, manages to find room for a human being to be the central antagonist. He's played by Woody Harrelson and known only as "the Colonel," and leads a small but ruthless paramilitary faction that stands up to the larger ape forces while holding out hope that humanity can reclaim the earth from the strengthening ape population.
1 Obadiah Stane from 'Iron Man' (2008)
When it comes to the MCU, most movies within the series feel like they lean towards sci-fi or fantasy (and a few manage to lean into both). Even the film that kickstarted the whole cinematic universe, 2008's Iron Man, can claim a place within the science-fiction genre, seeing as how it features advanced technology, highly powerful robotic suits, and various other things that still feel futuristic.
It also benefits from having a fairly grounded human antagonist in Obadiah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges. He betrays Tony Stark out of jealousy and greed, and even builds his own robotic suit to fight him physically in a climactic battle, establishing early on that the MCU wouldn't always feature monsters or aliens for villains.