With the releases of The Last of Us on HBO and The Super Mario Bros. Movie in theaters, video game adaptations have become part of the entertainment industry conversation in a major way. In old times, video games were seen as a poor source for adaptations; movies such as Double Dragon, Wing Commander, and House of the Dead made it appear as if the concept was cursed. However, more and more adaptations have broken this trend, proving to either be massively financially successful, massively critically successful, or both, creating a surge of interest in the medium.
One thing that cannot be denied is that the villains in these adaptations have always been the best parts. For some reason, in adaptations where the overall work doesn't survive intact, the villain typically somehow does; in good adaptations, the villain tends to be a particular high point. As audiences look back over the villain performances in video game adaptations over the years, there's only one word that can be used to describe them: iconic.
10 Koopa — 'Super Mario Bros.' (1993)
In this oddity directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, Dennis Hopper plays Koopa, the king of Dinohattan, a dimension parallel to Earth. Upon discovering that Luigi's girlfriend Daisy has been kidnapped, the Mario Bros. (played by Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo) rush to save her before Koopa can use her meteorite fragment to unite the worlds.
Hopper's performance in this film can only be described as gleefully over-the-top. In a film full of absurdities, he somehow manages to be one of the strangest elements. In spite of Koopa bearing little resemblance to the Bowser of the games, Hopper's performance manages to be so utterly ridiculous that it steals the show regardless.
9 Kotomine Kirei — 'Fate/Stay Night: Heaven's Feel' (2017-2020)
In this dark anime action trilogy adapted from a "visual novel" game, Kotomine Kirei is a priest tasked with overseeing the Holy Grail War, a battle royale between magic users who summon (somewhat exaggerated) mythological and historical figures to do their bidding. Kirei initially appears unsettling but vaguely benevolent; however, as the trilogy goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that he's working a sinister angle of his own.
From the first moment Kirei appears, he demonstrates a commanding screen presence, aided by Joji Nakata's incredible voice performance (matched almost perfectly by Crispin Freeman in the English dub). Even the occasional comedic scene doesn't diminish his intimidation factor. With this, his beloved status in the franchise's fandom, and his involvement in almost all the trilogy's most memorable moments (especially in Spring Song) in mind, it's hard not to call him iconic.
8 Dr. Robotnik — Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1992)
In this cult classic cartoon series, Dr. Robotnik is an evil would-be dictator attempting to conquer the planet Mobius with the aid of his robot henchmen Scratch and Grounder. While consistently thwarted by Sonic the Hedgehog, he always manages to get away intact, rendering him a constant (if incredibly goofy) threat.
Despite coming from a relatively short-lived cartoon, the take on Dr. Robotnik depicted here has achieved iconic status on the Internet. Between his hilarious animation and Long John Baldry's voice performance, the Robotnik of Adventures has become the source of hundreds of memes and YouTube edits. Even if audiences have never seen a single episode of the show, they likely recognize its take on Robotnik.
7 Jinx — 'Arcane' (2021-)
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In this adult animated series adapted from League of Legends, Jinx (voiced by Ella Purnell) starts her life as an orphan, committing petty crimes to survive with Vander's team. After a horrific accident that leaves her and Vi (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) as the only survivors, the two go their separate paths, resulting in a bloody rivalry that claims many lives around them.
While it takes several episodes to get there, Jinx is a commanding presence. Her sympathetic backstory, plus the fact that she's simply fun to watch, has endeared her to audiences despite her being very firmly a villain. While already one of the more popular characters in LoL, Arcane pushed Jinx to new heights.
6 Vega — 'Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie' (1994)
In this anime movie adaptation of Street Fighter II, Vega is one of M. Bison's henchmen tasked with assassinating Chun-Li. He attacks her at her apartment, and things do not go as planned for him.
There's a reason why any anime fan of a certain age gets immediately hyped up upon hearing the song "Ultra" by KMFDM, and that reason is Vega. While he's a relatively small presence, the fight scene Vega gets is incredibly memorable and one of the best moments in the movie, to the point where it overtakes anything involving the movie's actual main storyline in popular consciousness. Any villain who steals the show to that extent deserves to be called iconic.
5 Mewtwo — 'Pokémon: The First Movie' (1998)
In this animated Pokémon movie, Mewtwo is an artificial genetic experiment created from a fossil of Mew, who turns against his masters and becomes a threat to the world.
Mewtwo has become one of the most iconic Pokemon, and his portrayal in this movie is almost entirely why. When the franchise has returned to the Mewtwo well (such as in Detective Pikachu), The First Movie is where they take cues from. Given his status as a genuinely threatening villain in a franchise otherwise lacking in them (he almost kills Ash), it's easy to see why.
4 Dracula — 'Castlevania' (2017-2021)
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In this animated Netflix series, Dracula is an infamous vampire living in Wallachia. While essentially retired at the start of the series, the death of his love, Lisa, causes him to embark on a genocidal campaign of vengeance.
It's hard for any new take on Dracula to stick out, but Castlevania somehow pulls it off. Its Dracula is melancholy, philosophical, and brooding, almost genuinely sympathetic at times as his true motivations for his campaign come out, and Graham McTavish sells it. Any performance that can put an interesting spin on a character this old deserves to be called iconic.
3 Shang Tsung — 'Mortal Kombat' (1995)
In this Paul W.S. Anderson-directed martial arts extravaganza, Shang Tsung is the sorcerer who puts on the Mortal Kombat tournament in order to unite "Earthrealm" with the horrific Outworld dimension.
Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa's performance in this movie cannot be described as anything other than iconic. Nearly every line out of his mouth has become a beloved meme in the Mortal Kombat fandom and among film fans in general. Mortal Kombat was one of the earlier adaptations to achieve high esteem, and Shang Tsung is a large part of why.
2 M. Bison — 'Street Fighter' (1994)
In this infamous Jean Claude Van Damme vehicle, M. Bison is the dictator of Shadaloo and Guile's arch-enemy, who plots to take over the world.
While the movie as a whole is hard to call "good," it's impossible to argue against Raul Julia's performance as Bison being iconic. Despite the actor being practically on his deathbed, he delivered one of the most over-the-top, scenery-devouring performances in cinematic history as if it was just Tuesday for him. Bison stands as the primary reason why audiences won't think, "quick, change the channel," when they see this movie.
1 Adam Smasher — 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' (2022)
In this Netflix animated series based on Cyberpunk 2077, Adam Smasher is the Arasaka corporation's heavy and the nightmarish "final boss" of the series. A fully-converted cyborg, Smasher almost resembles a walking tank more than a man.
Despite getting the least screen time of any major character in the series, Smasher still establishes himself as one of the most memorable villains in recent history. Alec Newman's voice performance is immediately unsettling and commanding, even with the character's relatively limited and almost monosyllabic dialogue. That, along with his actions in the series and his terrifying design, has rendered him one of the most iconic elements of a series best described as an instant classic.