A lot of movies come with interesting and multifaceted villains that sometimes make you think about what made them that way. Luckily for us, there are films dedicated to explaining their backstories. Here are some movies that would show just that.
1. 'Joker'
Joaquin Phoenix did an incredible job portraying the DC villain in a whole new light. In the animated movie "Batman: The Killing Joke," Joker is just a guy who tried to make it as a comedian and was pushed into crime to pay his bills.
The live-action movie shows a more sorrowful and in-depth origin into the supposed nemesis of Batman. Both were aspiring comedians, but Phoenix's Joker went through a more mundane transition as opposed to falling into a vat of chemicals.
You can watch it on Max
2. 'Cruella'
This one is a bit controversial. Some people love it while others say that the Cruella in the movie "101 Dalmatians" was far too drastic of a change from the origin movie. There's actually some point to that considering Emma Stone's character was more of a lovable anti-hero.
Cruella in the older movies, on the other hand, was a flat villain. She killed dogs for the sake of fashion and was unapologetic for it. What's more confusing is that Cruella was rather fond of dogs in the 2021 movie.
You can watch it on Disney+
3. 'Maleficent'
Here's one that can be considered as one of the best origin stories out there. Because of the movie, we come to realize that Maleficent is not some witch or sorceress. She's actually a fairy who is kind-hearted and loves all manners of creatures.
After she was betrayed for power, she became cynical and somewhat villainous, but in truth, she became the way she is to prevent others from taking from her again as they did with her wings. In the end, we can see that she is still the same kind-hearted fairy we were first introduced to.
You can watch it on Disney+
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4. 'X-Men: First Class'
This was basically the origin story of a lot of characters, including why Professor X is sporting his iconic wheelchair, but since we're talking about villains, the focus would be on Erik Lehnsherr, mostly known by "X-Men" fans as Magneto.
Based on past movies, we already know that Magneto's main goal was to protect mutant-kind from humans, but it was never revealed what fueled his motivations and beliefs. The movie shows that Magneto, as a child was a survivor of Nazi Germany who intended to exploit his powers.
You can watch it on Disney+
5. 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith'
Darth Vader is one of the most popular villains in film history, and it helps that he comes from one of the biggest movie franchises out there. In "Revenge of the Sith," we start to understand why a potentially powerful Jedi was pulled into the dark side.
Anakin Skywalker feared that his lover, Padme, would die in childbirth as he saw in his dreams. He approached another powerful being to prevent it from happening. Unfortunately, that powerful being was Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who turned out to be a Sith Lord.
You can watch it on Disney+
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