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Some of the most incredible action movie villains became memorable due to their ability to make audiences satisfyingly anticipate their eventual comeuppance at the hands of the heroes. However, some films defy expectations and make their villains' deaths the most tragic part of the story.
Whether they had justifiable motives or made valid points, these antagonists' deaths impacted viewers who thought these villains didn't deserve their demises. In so many action films, some villains stood out as more sympathetic than others, and it only became tragic when they ultimately met their end.
10 Erik Killmonger - 'Black Panther' (2018)
Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) grew up affected by the death of his father and the suffering of marginalized people in society. Once he assumed the throne of Wakanda, he planned to support these groups by going to war against other nations. His plans, however, were thwarted in the end, and he died peacefully watching the sunset, choosing a warrior's death over imprisonment.
He was noble in his reasons to help the oppressed, but he went about his goals in a bloodthirsty and genocidal manner. He was a man who tried to do what he thought was right after being burdened with seeing so many people suffer.
9 William Foster - 'Falling Down' (1993)
All William "D-Fens" Foster (Michael Douglas) wanted to do was go home to his daughter's birthday party. However, a failed marriage, a fired job, and copious amounts of pent-up anger led to his rampage through the streets of Los Angeles. Ultimately, he met his end, preferring to die as the bad guy rather than serve in prison.
Foster became a complex antihero because he genuinely believed he was the good guy in his story. Once faced with the reality of his actions, he looked into himself and realized he had become everything he had spent his entire life trying not to be.
8 Mitsuko Souma - 'Battle Royale' (2000)
Mitsuko Souma (Ko Shibasaki) stood out as a cunning and ruthless participant throughout the events of Battle Royale. Her desire to survive over everyone else stemmed from her need to feel triumphant after growing up with low self-worth in an abusive household. Her brutal defeat near the film's end saw her give one last act of defiance before proclaiming that she didn't want to feel like a loser anymore.
Though her actions were unforgivable, Mitsuko was still a child trying to make a name for herself. She felt empowered by the game and wanted to be perceived differently by her peers. It's tragic to think she died still believing she wasn't strong enough.
7 Andrew Detmer - 'Chronicle' (2012)
Andrew Detmer's (Dane DeHaan) life was plagued with hardships as he dealt with being an outcast and having an abusive alcoholic father. Once he and his friends mysteriously gained telekinetic powers, he slowly developed a superiority complex. He used his powers to commit vengeful acts until his one friend had no choice but to put an end to his mayhem.
Andrew was a good kid, wanting to be loved by his peers, and was desperate for acceptance. His internal struggles and doomed friendships ultimately led to his eventual downfall, and he became unrecognizable from the boy he initially started as. His death is tragic because the actions leading to his villainy could have been avoided had he received the help he desperately needed.
6 Harvey Dent - 'The Dark Knight' (2008)
Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) became a powerful ally in Batman's crusade to root out Gotham's crime syndicates. However, the traumatic loss of his girlfriend Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and the disfiguring burns to his face corrupted Dent by the very evil he was trying to defeat, and he became the villainous "Two-Face." Eventually, he was stopped by Batman before he could enact revenge on those he saw responsible for Rachel's death.
Dent's descent into vengeance led him astray from his moral principles and everything he worked so hard to uphold. It's a sad end to a man who could have made a significant difference in Gotham in a way that Batman could never have achieved.
5 Dr. Otto Octavius - 'Spider-Man 2' (2004)
Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) turned to a life of crime to pursue his life's work of creating an energy source for the benefit of humanity. With the corruption to his mind by his new sentient mechanical arms, he became a mad scientist going against his ethics. His final moments saw him realizing his mistakes and sacrificing himself to stop his rogue experiment from destroying the city.
Octavius wanted to fulfill his dream and become a hero to humanity, but his recklessness and obsession with his work led him down a dark path of villainy. His death is also redeeming as he learns the errors of his ways and stops his experiment, wanting to stay true to himself and not become a monster.
4 Gorr The God Butcher - 'Thor: Love and Thunder' (2022)
Gorr (Christian Bale) felt betrayed by his God for the destruction of his civilization and the death of his daughter. He became corrupted by the Necrosword, vowed vengeance on all Gods, and started a massacre. Yet his anger towards the Gods masked his grief for his daughter, and when Thor (Chris Hemsworth) convinced him to choose love over hate for his dying wish, he decided to resurrect his daughter and passed away in her arms.
Gorr was blind with anger and disillusionment. He enacted revenge on every God he deemed responsible for his pain, but it was all to distract himself from his true feelings, and in his final moments realized he couldn't keep them buried anymore. His choice to bring back his daughter was a loving act from the real Gorr, who finally left his existence in the arms of the one he loved most.
3 General Frank Hummel 'The Rock' (1996)
General Frank Hummel (Ed Harris) had agreeable motives behind his plan to threaten the US Government into paying reparations to the families of his forgotten fallen soldiers. He failed to realize, however that the road to achieving this goal would be made through deaths of innocence. He died as a result of his plan going too far and getting betrayed by the men he thought he could trust.
He was a patriot who genuinely believed he was doing the right thing and had no intent on following through with his threat. His naivety of the situation and misguided trust in his men led his righteous cause to devolve into an act of evil to which he couldn't stop even when he tried.
2 Roy Batty 'Blade Runner' (1982)
The rogue replicant Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) wanted a longer life from his creator and demanded freedom not just for himself but for all sentient life. His motives, while justified, still led him on a violent path which led to the deaths of innocence and the murder of his creator. In his end, he realized he could no longer fight the inevitable and peacefully passes away while knowing everything he's ever experienced will be forgotten.
Batty just wanted to be free from his fears and to be treated fairly and experience the joys of being alive. Knowing that he could never truly experience the life he wanted is heartbreaking as he becomes less like a villain and more like a tortured soul.
1 Darth Vader/ Anakin Skywalker 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi' (1983)
Darth Vader's (James Earl Jones) journey through the Star Wars franchise saw him go from a tragic-fallen hero to a menacing dark lord of the Sith and eventually returned to the side of light after sacrificing himself to save his son and restoring order to the galaxy.
His fear and anger corrupted his former life as Anakin Skywalker. He turned against his friends and ruled the universe in tyranny. Yet when faced with his son's belief that there was still good in him, he slowly realized a part of himself was redeemable and finally fulfilled his destiny to bring balance back to the force. He died finally at peace with himself, knowing that there was still good in him.