Movies are a big deal to me, and one thing that just screams "AWESOME" to me are 1980s movies. It was an era of great movies and great actors. You had the Frat Pack, who gave memorable performances in movies such as The Goonies. The 80s was a breeding ground of talent for a lot of todays top movie stars (Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Robert Downey Jr to name just a few).
However, the 1980s movie to me, was where people could kick ass, blow shit up, kill shit, take on entire armies of people and escape with just a scratch.
We always remember the hero in a 1980s movie. You have John Matrix in Commando, John McLain in Die Hard and John Rambo in Rambo (and how awesome it is that they were so creative with names....never have too many John's). However, the movies created some of the most memorable, and badass villains in movies to date.
This, my first top ten and the first in an opening 80s Bananza Trilogy of top tens is dedicated to those villains that made my favourite heroes, and even some of my favourite movies, what they are today.
So, let's get down to it.......My Top Ten 80s Movie Villains
Number 10 - Packard Walsh - The Wraith (1986)
The first time I saw The Wraith was actually pretty recently, thanks to a heads up from my brother. The story sees a motarized gang headed by Packard Walsh (played by Nick Cassavetes) terrorizing a small town in the Arizona desert. They are out of control. So bad ass and out of control that Walsh murders local teen Jamie Hankins for being seen with 'his girl'. Welcome Jake Hankins (played by Charlie Sheen), a random who just happens to show up in the town. Around the same time, an awesome, unreal, invincible car appears in the town and takes out all the guys from the gang, ending with Packard himself.
Now, Packard Walsh is badass. Not only does he have an awesome car, but he is the head of an ruthless gang. A gang who are all pretty fucked up it is fair to say. And he looks 80s badass too. The leather jacket, semi-mullet, dangling earring and 'gnarly' necklace combo make for such an appearance.
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| Packard with his gang (picture courtesy of imageshack.us) |
It's not just the appearance that makes him pretty bad though......he murdered a guy because Packard thought he should be with another man's girlfriend. Not just that, but he races one badass car (a 1977 Pontiac Firebird, I believe) and gets to keep defeated cars at the end of races. He does however meet a fitting end, with his final race against The Wraith himself.
So, the appearance, the cars, the stealing of girlfriends, the murdering......and all in a quiet desert town is what makes Packard Walsh my number 10 badass villain.
Number 9 - Nuclear Man - Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
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| Nuclear Man with Lex Luthor.... loving the suit Big Man! (picture courtesy of superman.nu) |
Not much of a synopsis needed here. We are all familiar with the Superman movies. Superman IV sees Christopher Reeve in his fourth outing as the Man of Steel. His enemy for this movie. Well, Lex Luthor of course, but this time Lex had a new threat to Superman. And his name was Nuclear Man. A badass mother fucker powered by the sun. Like a solar power-house, Nuclear Man pulled of some seriously badass stunts that kept Supes quite firmly on his toes, including kicking the shit out of the Great Wall of China and erupting Mount Etna.
As we all know however, Superman prevails in this one. After figuring out the weakness for Nuclear Man (the fact that he is powered by the sun), Superman follows Nuclear Man into space and moves The Moon in front of the Sun, making the big guy powerless. He then puts him into a nuclear reactor, killing Nuclear Man.
Now, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace isn't really a great movie. Cheap special effects and a story full of plot holes and such make it a pretty poor outing for the Man of Steel. However, we cannot take away the fact that Nuclear Man is one seriously badass villain. Come on....he beat the shit out of one of the 7 wonders of the world. He erupted a volcano for shits and giggles (well, not his shits and giggle, but more Luthor's shits and giggles). He also tries to crush Metropolis with an icon of modern America. This guy doesn't give a shit who he hurts, what he's doing and why he's doing it. I would say he looked good doing it, but have you seen his costume? Makes Superman's blue and red look like an Armani suit. Superman IV's Nuclear Man at number 9!
Number 8 - Biff Tannen - Back To The Future series (1985, 1989 and 1990 respectively)
Now I know what you are going to say. "One of these is in the 1990's." Well, if you are going to say that, don't bother. It is a franchise born in the 1980s, and with the last film being released just as we enter the 1990s, I consider it to be an 80s trilogy. That's my opinion, and I respect yours if it is different, so respect mine!
Unless you have been stranded on Mars, or have never set foot into popular culture, you will be fully aware of the Back To The Future franchise. It is a personal favourite trilogy of mine. It has everything; sci-fi, action, romance, revenge......it is just awesome.
Anyway, for those of you who aren't familiar with the franchise, let me sum it up for you as briefly as possible. The series follows the adventures of Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doctor Emmet Brown (or Doc for short, played by Christopher Lloyd) as they travel through time to try to prevent Marty's constant interferrances in his parent's meeting, thus putting his entire existance at risk. It's pretty mind boggling, and if you have never seen it, shame on you......Go buy the trilogy and don't leave your hole until you have!
The villain in these movies is Biff Tannen. A guy who has been bullying Marty's father for like 30 years. Pretty dedicated I'd say. Anyways, I'm not gonna go into the details too much. If I spoke of all the time paradoxes and shit I'd be here for years. Basically, what makes Biff a pretty bad badass....well, there are 2 reasons......
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| A young Biff Tannen with his gang (picture courtesy of the moviemind.com) |
1) His persistance in bullying George McFly. 30 years of non stop bullying. That is heartless to say the least. Pretty badass I'd say.
2) There are a few incarnations and ancestors of Biff throughout the trilogy. For example, when Marty is back in 1955, he sees a young Biff Tannen. In 2015 he sees a 78 year old Biff. It also deals briefly with Biff's great-grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen. All of these incarnations and ancestors are the same. They bully, and have a relentless thirst to do so.
Of course revenge is sweet at the end. In the new present day Marty had created, Biff was more of a kiss ass to the McFly's, and was bossed around by George (thanks to George knocking Biff out in the third movie).
Biff Tannen, a lifetime of relentless bullying has earned you the place of number 8 on my list of pretty badass villains.
Number 7 - Terry Silver - The Karate Kid: Part III (1989)
Although the Karate Kid series decreased in quality by the time we got to the third instalment, you can't deny the pretty badass nature of one of it's main antagonists, Terry Silver (played by Thomas Ian Griffith). If you don't know anything about the Karate Kid: Part III, let me just fill you in on the basics.
John Kreese (Martin Kove) has been completely ruined by Mr Miyagi and Daniel-san. In the first movie, Daniel defeated Kreese's best fighter, effectively ruining his reputation and his school. Fast-forward to the third movie, and Kreese wants revenge. Using the help from his buddy, Terry Silver, he leads Daniel into a false sense of security, gaining Daniel's trust and eventually coming down on his like a ton of shit.
So, what makes Silver so badass? During the movie, Silver does a shit ton to Daniel. Fakes the death of Keese, saves Daniel from a fake beating, takes him away from Miyagi to train with him and all for what.....to lead him into a false sense of security. Once Terry had accomplished it, he gave up on the charade and had Daniel beaten to within an inch of his life. Of course, Daniel and Miyagi have their revenge, but that doesn't take away the fact that he is one mean ass mother fucker! He is also a martial arts master, so you know he could probably kick your ass.
And his appearance. That ponytail just screams out 80s villain! Terry Silver, number 7!
Number 6 - Ivan Drago - Rocky IV (1985)
Ivan Drago (Played by Dolph Lundgren)......what more do you need to say. The Russian powerhouse was Rocky's nemesis in the fourth instalment of the hugely successful series. Although it isn't the best of the series (that would be Rocky I, with it's incredible tale of the American Dream at work, but that's a thought for a different day), it's the movie that saw Rocky single handedly win over the Russians and solve the problems of the Cold War.
Now everybody knows Rocky IV. In the movie, Rocky travels to Russia to fight one of the world's most feared and scientifically enhanced athletes in the world. Training in the Russian wilderness, with the elements as his only source of training against the superior equipment and training of Ivan Drago, Rocky steps into the ring, defeats him, and gives that awesome speech at the end about togetherness, and that everyone is the same.....completely changing the whole Russian impression of capitalism, and shredding the hatred that had built up during the course of the Cold War.
Drago is bad ass. He is huge, ripped, Russian, and has fists like concrete blocks. The early going sees the guy kill Rocky's long time nemesis/friend/mentor Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) in the ring. He kills the guy with his fucking fists! And what makes him truly badass is that he shows no remorse for it. "If he dies, he dies." What the fuck man? Drago is a guy you don't wanna mess with, and although Rocky beats him in this movie, we find out, in Rocky V, that the fight had actually given Rocky brain damage and that he could no longer fight. Not only did he kill Creed, but gave the world champion brain damage!
Ivan Drago, you are one cold hearted, mean ass Russian! And you have a place as number 6 in my top ten bad ass 80s Villains.
Okay, so that is the end of part one. The characters that fall numbers 10-6 in my top list. Just to keep you going anyway. Keep checking back for the top 5, as they will be up on here pretty soon!
Thanks for reading, and any comments would be awesome, maybe you could throw your 2 cents into your top villains (bear in mind that this is only the first 5.....my top 5 will be revealed soon!)
Although the Karate Kid series decreased in quality by the time we got to the third instalment, you can't deny the pretty badass nature of one of it's main antagonists, Terry Silver (played by Thomas Ian Griffith). If you don't know anything about the Karate Kid: Part III, let me just fill you in on the basics.
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| Terry Silver with Daniel-san. (courtesy of brainorndorff.com) |
John Kreese (Martin Kove) has been completely ruined by Mr Miyagi and Daniel-san. In the first movie, Daniel defeated Kreese's best fighter, effectively ruining his reputation and his school. Fast-forward to the third movie, and Kreese wants revenge. Using the help from his buddy, Terry Silver, he leads Daniel into a false sense of security, gaining Daniel's trust and eventually coming down on his like a ton of shit.
So, what makes Silver so badass? During the movie, Silver does a shit ton to Daniel. Fakes the death of Keese, saves Daniel from a fake beating, takes him away from Miyagi to train with him and all for what.....to lead him into a false sense of security. Once Terry had accomplished it, he gave up on the charade and had Daniel beaten to within an inch of his life. Of course, Daniel and Miyagi have their revenge, but that doesn't take away the fact that he is one mean ass mother fucker! He is also a martial arts master, so you know he could probably kick your ass.
And his appearance. That ponytail just screams out 80s villain! Terry Silver, number 7!
Number 6 - Ivan Drago - Rocky IV (1985)
Ivan Drago (Played by Dolph Lundgren)......what more do you need to say. The Russian powerhouse was Rocky's nemesis in the fourth instalment of the hugely successful series. Although it isn't the best of the series (that would be Rocky I, with it's incredible tale of the American Dream at work, but that's a thought for a different day), it's the movie that saw Rocky single handedly win over the Russians and solve the problems of the Cold War.
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| Ivan Drago - Russian badass (picture courtesy of amazingben.com) |
Drago is bad ass. He is huge, ripped, Russian, and has fists like concrete blocks. The early going sees the guy kill Rocky's long time nemesis/friend/mentor Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) in the ring. He kills the guy with his fucking fists! And what makes him truly badass is that he shows no remorse for it. "If he dies, he dies." What the fuck man? Drago is a guy you don't wanna mess with, and although Rocky beats him in this movie, we find out, in Rocky V, that the fight had actually given Rocky brain damage and that he could no longer fight. Not only did he kill Creed, but gave the world champion brain damage!
Ivan Drago, you are one cold hearted, mean ass Russian! And you have a place as number 6 in my top ten bad ass 80s Villains.
Okay, so that is the end of part one. The characters that fall numbers 10-6 in my top list. Just to keep you going anyway. Keep checking back for the top 5, as they will be up on here pretty soon!
Thanks for reading, and any comments would be awesome, maybe you could throw your 2 cents into your top villains (bear in mind that this is only the first 5.....my top 5 will be revealed soon!)
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