Supernatural has had a lot of bad guys over the years. Between the ones that last for several seasons (like Azazel or Meg) and the various monsters of the week, we've seen some pretty cool - and some pretty lame - villains. The thing is, when the villains are good...good at being bad, that is...they can be awesome. Fun villains like Crowley made us fall in love, and gasp when they died.
I've put together a list of my favorite villains over six and a half seasons. Some of them were evil and sadistic, and others were more funny and charming, but still a bit vicious. All of them were memorable in some way or another. Some of them even turned into allies for the Winchesters after they saw the error of their evil ways.
Take a look through the slide-show below to see who we thought should make the cut of the most memorable villains. Since it was impossible for me to choose my absolute favorite, I didn't rank them in order. The truth is, I love all of them for different reasons. You might notice a villain or two missing. My criteria for putting them on the list included characteristics like charisma, humor in the face of villainy, impact on other characters or the overall storyline, and the ability to make us fear them.
Let me know what you think of the list below. Did your favorite villain make the cut? Is there a character on this list that should be named the #1 villain of Supernatural? Check out our second Supernatural slide-show that features our favorite guest stars and our third slide-show about the hottest Winchester scenes.
Make sure to check back every Friday a new episode of Supernatural will be airing. I've got a whole series of "best...." lists in mind for the show and plan to post one each day a new episode airs.
Discuss this and more in our EXCLUSIVE Supernatural Discussion Forums!
Castiel definitely turned out to be one of the most noble angels that the Winchesters have dealt with, but Zachariah is probably one of the most devilish. Primarily selfish, he wanted to bring about the apocalypse in order to allow Michael to defeat Lucifer. Along the way, he used some pretty harsh methods to get the Winchesters under control. When he ultimately failed, he was fired, but later brought back into the fold. He eventually resurrected the boys’ half-brother, Adam, just to lure Dean into becoming Michael’s vessel. Dean ultimately killed him in the 100th episode, and while I don’t want to shed a tear for an angel who turned out to be a bad guy, you have to admit that he was kind of hilarious and so very good at being bad.
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I feel lucifer should have been higher on the list, Pellegrino played that crap out of the character in every scene.
As I mentioned in the post, I didn't actually rank them. The photos appear in no particular order.
I feel lucifer should have been higher on the list, Pellegrino played that crap out of the character in every scene.
Great list! Lucifer and the Alpha were definitely two of the most chilling villains we've seen.
I'm surprised Ruby didn't make the list. I preferred season 3 Ruby to season 4 Ruby, but she played Sam, and sometimes Dean, for fools in both her incarnations. Also surprised Samuel didn't make the list. In season 4 he made a good yellow-eyes, and this season he turned on the brothers to get Mary back. In Sam and Dean world betrayal by a family member is the ULTIMATE betrayal. I hope to see Samuel again soon.
Personally I didn't like the Ruby character, although I like both actresses who played her in other roles they've been in.
As for Samuel….he was tough. I was debating including him and ultimately decided not to. But you're right, his betrayal was terrible.
Is the Mother of All going to be the next big baddie?
Yes, it appears she'll be the next big baddie. But I have some problems with how they've set her up. So unless she starts doing some crazy stuff in the next few episodes, I don't know if she'll ever make this list.
Well…in the past episodes we've realized that she is the 'mother of all monsters' so I'm pretty sure THAT in it's self is pretty crazy! But, I'm sure there is going to be some HUGE plot that the brothers have to stop. I'm nervous about how they are going to end it, since they haven't announced if they are returning for season 7. (I hope they do!!)
the latest episode was season 6 ep 14, so 5 and 3 quarters seasons, not 6 and a half.
Haha, fair enough. You're far better at math than me!
right, all feel free to mock my last comment. beer makes your mind feeble. not sure how i came to such a silly conclusion lol
the trickster (gabriel) was by far my favourite randomly recurring character (except maybe cas). he was just hilarious! he had a great sense of humour but was really just trying to help the boys
azazel was badd-ass. he was the most evil demon (except maybe lillith) but i always found him creepier
fredrick lehne played him amazingly, was so shoucked when he was in the season 6 premier
gordon was psycho
love the comments on the shapeshifter… so true
if anything else to add, i'd say mother
i mean, we only saw her for about 15 seconds but she left a big impact in that short time!!
gabriel was really just trying to help them…. :(
Maybe you didn't really think of him as a villain, but my fav is Death. He was never really against the Winchesters, but I wouldn't think of him as good either. Definitely an awesome and memorable character: chilling and hilarious.
I also noticed the absence of Ruby. Of course, I really only liked her when Katie Cassidy was on the show.
I debated including Death (which prompted a rather large email chain with a friend who I also asked for her suggestions). We concluded that we didn't really consider Death a villain, because his motives are more ambiguous than the other villains included on this list. He doesn't really WANT to do evil like the other horsemen. And, in fact, he's helped the Winchesters (even moreso than some of the other villains – like Hendrickson – who were initially against them).
That being said, I think you'll be pleased to see my new slide-show that will be released on Friday, February 25 :)
I have a random one!!! Patrick! From The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester i think it was?? I loved him!!!!
Zacariah was a dick. I am so very glad he's dead. And hope he never comes back. He was way mean to our boys!
I love Meg. She's a great character. A wild card among demons. You never know which way she's going to twitch!
Love the character and love Mark Sheppard. Been a fan ever since I saw him in X-Files, many, MANY moons ago. He is awesome!
They were fudgin' great!
What – A – Creep.
The Trickster/Gabriel was lots of fun — although he did torture Sam very badly in Mystery Spot, he was basically a good guy, um, angel!
Definitely love this character. He evoked fear like nobody's business. Really great.
What a bitch!
Azazel had the most impact of any character on the show. What he did had an impact since day one of the show.
This guy needed a life. Seriously, think how much fun you could have as a shapeshifter, how much you could do — practically unlimited. And this yahoo wastes it on bad movie imitations. Hello! Total waste of oxygen. True evil would be better than this yabbo.
This kid was excellent! The episode where she's trying to scare Dean to death — Ba boom! Ba boom! Ba boom! — Great stuff!
Nope, sorry, as a villain, a no go for me. An inconvenience, at best.
Soulless Sam was fantastic! Admittedly, JP is good whatever, whenever, wherever, but still, SS was great! Fantastic hunter and, for a guy with no soul, a fantastic sense of humor. Fetch!
I really, really, really didn't like this guy. Mainly, no, COMPLETELY because he kept trying to kill Sam! He was scary, because of his whole single-minded Kill Sam Winchester theme. His kill switch was just never turned off.
Yes! I love the shapeshifters. They are some of my absolute favorites. Unlimited fun!
Yeah, I liked this guy. He was good. And scary. And I admit I kind of would've liked to see him turn Sam into the ultimate vampire. That would've been fun. Bloody, but fun!
yeah, i like this guy he is good and i want him to be my friend
HELLO!! RUBY!!! She was the worst villain, she got Sam to turn on his own brother AND start drinking demon blood. Why wasn't she on the list?!!! From the ones that are…I would choose Gordon Walker, he was a crazy S.O.B. and probably the most dangerous (he was a hunter). My favorite…has to be the smooth talkin Crowley, He is/was pretty awesome.
OH. MY. FREAKING. GOD. How the hell could you not have included Christopher Heyerdahl as Alastair!?!?! His is the single most memorable villain portrayal in the entire series!!! On the Head of a Pin from the fourth season was absolutely incredible a lot of it being thanks to Christopher Heyerdahl. I'm sorry, but it was a travesty for you to have overlooked his incredible performance.
I second that above comment, how can you not include Alastair, and put FBI Agent Hendrickson, who was against the Winchesters, but i wouldn't really call a villian. Alistair was badass, and Head of the Pin was one of the best episodes of the series, and im not speaking for myself. That is a travesty.
My favorite "Yellow eyes" was Christopher Heyerdahl- Alstair. He was the only actor to even attempt to imitate the previous actor/body that was inhabited. And torturing Dean was delightful..
Kayel I agree with "Head of the Pin" was one of the best episodes of the series"
@inujo
Alastair wasn't yellow eyes. Yellow eyes' name was Azazel and he had been killed back in season 2. Alastair was first seen in season 4.