Agreed The Grinch did not hate Christmas he hated people that ruined it for him which is SO UNDERSTANDABLE

Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. The guy had an abusive childhood.

When I was born, neither of my parents showed up. Then I was raised by ocelots. By the time I was with my biological family, I had to work as a lawn gnome. And then there’s my brother, Roger. oh how I hate him. To top it off he’s even the mayor of Danville. But I will one day become supreme ruler over the entire Tri state area!!

essentially what you're saying is that the star wars prequels are the best backstory ever

I like how Voldemort is here even though the films barely dove into his background compared to the books

Ads that you can't skip through are like the herpes of the internet.

My allegiances lie with Maleficent, for sure. I loved Maleficent, so much deeper and adult in its story than the original Sleeping Beauty,

Magneto deff has one of the best and most emotional back stories ever.

Magneto's back story will forever be my favorite Villain backstory

Magneto is the best villain...hands down!! The actors brought his character to life brilliantly especially Ian McKellen

Vader’s back story was heartbreaking. Especially after watching Clone Wars. Kylo Ren’s back story was pretty sad too. He should’ve gotten an honorable mention.

What I don't get about the Friday the 13th films is that in the 1st film, we were all led to believe that Jason had drowned when he was a little boy. Then, we find out in the 2nd film that he has been alive this whole time. Why didn't Mrs. Voorhees notice that her son was still alive? Is she too blinded by her own vengeance to notice him?

To be honest - i just clicked because Dr. Evil is on the thumbnail. E: I am disappointed.

Great list! The one I sympathize with the most is Magneto.

how is jiqsaw only an honerable mention

I knew that Darth Vader would be in the first place

you can't put dr. evil in the thumbnail and not even mention him. That's all I FRICKIN want outta this FRICKIN show!!

I'm glad that Magneto was on the list. He deserves it after they went into detail explaining how he became the person that he is during First Class and Apocalypse.

Death Vader’s backstory is really given meaning in the clone wars series, we see more character development and his eventual change from Anakin to Vader

I can’t argue with numbers one and two but for three, Snape had a much more compelling backstory than Voldemort. Also, Gollum TOTALLY should have been top five!

IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!........Top 10 Movie Villains That Turn to the GOOD SIDE .........!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That time when every killer is in the list except Myers. TRIGGERED. Great vid tho

Good picks and I agree with number one but I think Michael Myers should have at least gotten an honorable mention. Rob Zombies interpretation into his childhood was very well done.

I don't think many people really comprehend just how good Darth Vader's story arc is.

Dearth Vader has to be in this

I actually thought Severus Snape would be on this list! His back story got me - and I'm sure everybody else - right in the feels!

Jason should be number one, he was bullied for being deformed and drowned (or lived...I’m confused as fuck) and saw his mother died and had an eternal lust for revenge.....I almost shed a tear for Jason...... But I lack emotion so...no tears from me, but I still feel bad for him.

Idk if he is technically a villain but Walter White should definitely be on the list in my opinion.

I loved the movie Spiderman 2 for the origin story of Doc Ock!

"top 10 movies that didn't get a sequel"..... a video of the top 10 movies that left a cliff hanger at the end or hint that there would be a sequel but it never happened because the movie itself did really bad

Maleficent's backstory made me cry in the movie theather, and still does to this day.

I feel for magneto and Hannibal 💔

Darth Vader hit me hardest, to see Anakin spiral in the prequels was hard to watch

Just show me one second from "Revenge of the Sith"'s finale and the score by John Williams will make me feel cold and pain. Episode III is truly great.

O07 GoldenEye will forever be one of my favorite action movies on top of that the game that goes along with it just makes it like that much more iconic

Although 100% agree with Davy Jones being on the list as he's my favourite PotC character but I think Barbossa also deserved an honourable mention

Jigsaw deserves the #1 spot. The back story of John Kramer is what made the entire SAW series interesting. Without it, it'd be nothing but torture porn.

10-The Grinch 9-Freddie Kruger 8-Norman Bates 7-Joker 6-Mr Freeze 5-Ray Finkle 4-Darth Vader 3-Dracula(Gary Oldman) 2-Ra's al ghul 1-Voldemort

The list of villains’s backstories is a pretty good one, I have to admit that I was quite satisfied and surprised.

Magneto"s real name in the comics is not Erik Lensherr, that's one of his aliases. His real name is Max Eisenhardt.

It made me so happy to see Davy Jones on the list :)

with voldermorts back story mojo didn't mention that voldermort was conceived over a love potion which is why he can't feel love

By far Mr Glass

Til this day Anakin Skywalker’s fall still hurts😭 No matter how much I told myself not to get attached because of what I knew I went ahead and did it anyway😂

I just love how they went from the kid friendly grinch to the nightmare demon.

What about Two-Face from the Dark Knight?

The other lesson learned from 'The Incredibles' is 'Being turned away by your idol for whichever of the many reasons that there could be (including it's too dangerous) doesn't justify killing other people who weren't even there or endangering countless other lives just so that you can get your moment in the sun - especially not if your idol was forced to go underground and can't have those moments anymore while you've worked hard and prospered and can do and be anything now."

Davy Jones only on honorable mention? So sad.

Speaking of Syndrome... We need an Incredibles 2!!!!

How about Golden Face from Threat Level Midnight?

I can relate to grinch, I went as far to become thing I fear most, becoming the joker. Don’t worry, no permanent scars and I’m getting help

I was surprised that they didn’t put Michael Myers in honorable mentions

Anyone else on a Mojo movies list binge? No? Just me...okay.

Mr.Glass from Unbreakable should be top 5

Francisco Scaramanga had a tragic past until he became the greatest and feared assassin in the world. Anakin's concerns for his mother as a kid was... but a clincher on his path to Darth Vader. And when his mother died, it drove him off the deep end. Padme's progeny was what really snapped Anakin to the Dark Side. Did any anime villains have tragic backstories?

Davy Jones deserved more than just an honorable mention

A pity Davey Jones was only mentioned and Dr. Evil wasn't, just shown at the beginning.

Jason is not the killer in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

How is Gollum not on this list???

bruh I would like to put "Jigsaw" on the "Saw" franchise to be on any parts of these lists instead of honorable mentions

I'm predicting Darth Vader as #1.

Freddy Krueger, Voldemort, and Darth Vader

I knew all 10 villen's & their past but putting all together is & makes it watch-ful,thank'a

Top three best villains with the best backstory. 3. Freddy Krueger 2. Magneto 1. Jason Voorhees These are my three favorite villain backstories just my opinion.

Not to be picky but using Friday the 13th part 5 is invalid because that was not Jason but Ron I think this name is

Darth Vader is #1 on this list and the list of the Top 10 Sci-Fi Villains

The Skyfall villain, Robert Silva. M set him up and might’ve even been his real mom.

General Griveous should be at least a honorable mention

In the books, I think there was a version saying that if you said 'Voldemort' he can use it as a sort of beacon to figure out where you are which is why people don't say his name, but I'm not 100% this is true

I don't see why jason's back story is higher freddy's back story

“Remember that day at the academy? Think!!” “I hope it’s mostly oral and not too...brief, baby!”

My list (I will say films not names, unless there is more than one villain) 10: Spiderman homecoming (vulture) 9: captain America (winter soldier) 8: the grinch 7: X-Men (magneto) 6: the Incredibles 5: the Incredibles 2 4: ant man and the wasp (ghost) 3: unbreakable 2: star wars (Darth Vader) 1: Thor Ragnarok (hela)

I'm glad that the Grinch and Darth Vader made it to this list.

Hannibal Lecter's backstory is one of the most depressing ones in this! If you have ever seen Hannibal Rising you will understand! It actually made me feel bad for one of the most monstrous villains in cinema and made me root for him in Hannibal Rising when he was getting revenge, only when he was getting revenge not when he turns on the good people! I'm sorry but I don't actually have much sympathy at all for Lord Voldemort's backstory, even though I do sympathize with him being picked on as a kid and being an orphan, that doesn't justify anything, and most of the other backstories don't justify anything either, except maybe Maleficent! I rooted for her all the way when she was going against the King, but not when she cursed Aurora! Aurora was completely innocent in all that! To be fair though, Maleficent tried to stop the curse from happening before it happened when she figured things out, and she tried to undue it once it did happen! And I do sympathize with Alec's backstory, what the government did to his family was sad! A kid having to go through that is terrible and shouldn't happen! And I definantly sympathize with Magneto's past! Being in that concentration camp, seeing his mom murdered before his eyes when he was just a young kid because he couldn't get his power work to save her, is horrendous and makes me cry for the child he was! Again though, doesn't justify murder, or attempted murder, of millions upon millions of people! How is he any better than the Nazi's if he does that! And nope, Darth Vadar's past doesn't justify what he did either! Again sympathy for the child he was that grew up a slave with his mother and then couldn't save his mother from a brutal death! And I understand that he was scared to lose his love! But that didn't justify what he became either! I sympathize with Koba, and Mr. Glass, and Jigsaw, and Davy Jones, but once the victim becomes the abuser, I lose all sympathy for them then! I cry for the people they were before that turn, but I do not have sympathy for the people they become when they turn, for the most part! There are always those rare cases where I see that they make mistakes but the regret their actions and try to change! I think people regard those types of villains as Anti-heroes though, not true villains! They should take responsibility for what they did, but I can see they are trying to be better and do better and change, so I can forgive them! If you have ever seen any episodes of Criminal Minds, there are some villains on there that had no clue what they were doing because they were in mental breaks, with either hallucinations or a split personality was doing the killing or they just didn't have the mental capacity to comprehend what was right and wrong! I have sympathy for them! And I think either with help or care they would be decent human beings! Some of them were actually good people where something very traumatic happened to totally break their minds, but with help they could become good people! Also for some reason people were able to sympathize with Dexter Morgan from Dexter, even though he was a serial killer, and others! There are different degrees of bad, and I don't put many people in the completely evil, unredeemable category! There are some in there though! I'm not saying everyone can or has the capacity to be redeemed! But some villain's do!

Megatron said to optimus "We were brothers once" And this word broke my heart

Jigsaw, Koba And Davy are just mentions? Jigsaws backstory is bloody incredible....slightly confusing yes but brilliant!

In case you were wondering how the Mojoholics voted in our poll, see the votes and entries here: watchmojo.com/suggest/Top+10+Villain+Backstories Make sure to sign up and participate on future lists at www.WatchMojo.com/suggest Note that Viewer votes are just one of the hundreds of data points and variables that we look at when we create our lists, however.

I dunno... I got Jigsaw making the cut

10. Grinch (How the Grinch stole Christmas) 9. Freedy (A nightmare on elm Street) 8. Maleficent (Maleficent) 7. Jason (Friday the 13th) 6. Alec Trevelyan (Golden eye) 5. Syndrome (The Incredibles) 4. Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal Lecter) 3. Lord Vodemort (Harry Potter) 2. Megneto (X - Men) Honourable mentions Jigsaw (Saw) Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean) Mr. Glass (Unbreakable) Koba (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) Simon Peter Gruber (Die hard with a Vengeance) 1. Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Every time I watch ep 3 I hope and pray that Anakin doesn’t turn, even tho I know what’s gonna happen it still hurts every single time. His backstory is truly tragic.

If you're eight and have a beard high five

I only liked because of that number one spot

Is it just me or does Magneto and Maleficent have something in common?

5:12 ist a Jason Kill...its the Copycat with Blue Mask instead of Red.....

What about Harley Quinn her backstory is pretty deep especcialy the version with her crazy father!!???

If only this video came later Arthur Fleck could’ve had his chance in the spotlight

My top 8 favorite Villain backstories 1. Lotso - Toy Story 3 (2010) 2. Syndrome - The Incredibles (2004) 3. Frank Butterman - Hot Fuzz (2007) 4. Turbo - Wreck It Ralph (2012) 5. Tai Lung - Kung Fu Panda (2008) 6. Kingpin - Into the Spider-Verse (2018) 7. Pearl - Pearl (2022) prequel to X (2022) 8. Constance - Monster House (2006)

X men first class is still one of my favorite movies. I wish Matthew Vaughn had directed more of them

2:13 grab em by the....

Special thanks to our user Jamesfan1991 for submitting the idea on our Interactive Suggestion Tool at www.WatchMojo.com/suggest

Vader did endure so much. He definitely deserves the spotlight.

For some of these villains, you really didn't need to know the backstory for the movie, and people would just think, "Oh yeah, he's just doing that because he's an asshole". But for characters like Vader, Magneto and a few others, the backstory gives the audience a clearer picture on their actions and in some cases, some sympathy. With Vader and Luke, a story definitely had to be explained on his past and Magneto arguably has the most tragic backstory of any villain,

The ghosts from 13 Ghosts had great backstories too!

The biggest reason Voldemort is like he is, was because he was conceived with the help of a love potion. His mother fell in love with a muggle who didn't love her so she gave him love potions to seduce him. Bc of this Tom was unable to love.

Wonderful list!!!!! XMEN MAGNETO IS THE MOST HEART BREAKING BACK STORY BEHIND THE BAD GUY>

The thing with Jason is how he drowned while the counselors were not paying attention wast the only thing. In Pamela's tapes, she reveals a lot more about his background

Sauron has a hell of a backstory too, they just couldn't really go into it in the films.

3. Freddy Krueger 2. Jason Voorhees 1. *We don't speak his name*

Good list. I would have had Jigsaw ON the list, but overall great video.

My List 1. Magneto 2. Maleficent 3. Darth Vader 4. the Grinch 5. Hannibal Lecter 6. Syndrome 7. Sylvia 8. Mr. Glass 9. Koba 10. Jigsaw