00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most notable instances
00:14when movie villains turned away from the dark side and redeemed themselves through the ultimate
00:18sacrifice.
00:26Number 10 – Nux – Mad Max Fury Road
00:30Mad Max Fury Road has a smorgasbord of colorful characters, and at first, Nux gets lost in
00:35the shuffle.
00:36Played by Nicholas Hoult, Nux is just a minor henchman, one of many warboys.
00:46All he wants is to die gloriously for his god-king, Immortan Joe.
00:49The warlord has promised that those who do so will be witnessed and make it to Valhalla.
00:54However, as Nux embarks on a mission to recapture Joe's wives, his inner humanity begins to
00:58surface.
01:13After traveling with the wives, who are all unwilling captives, Nux's eyes become opened
01:18and he realizes just how desperately they want their freedom.
01:20When Joe's convoy threatens them all, Nux chooses to sacrifice himself to save the women
01:25from his former lord.
01:28Number 9 – General Frank Hummel – The Rock
01:30On the surface, Ed Harris' General Hummel is a sad and sympathetic character.
01:35He is a Marine Corps general who passionately advocated on behalf of the families of his
01:38fallen soldiers, yet is pleased when unheeded.
01:51Things go off the rails when Hummel and his men steal a stockpile of rockets armed with
01:54nerve gas.
01:55They then take over Alcatraz, holding multiple tourists and guards hostage, while threatening
02:00to destroy San Francisco.
02:08Hummel never intended to actually use the rockets, but he made one fatal mistake – surrounding
02:13himself with a group of psychopaths.
02:15When he realizes that they do indeed plan to murder millions of Americans, he dies in
02:19his attempt to stop them.
02:23Number 8 – Apollo Creed – Rocky Franchise
02:26Apollo Creed of the Rocky franchise was loosely based on Muhammad Ali.
02:42He's big, strong, fast, charismatic, and a master of publicity.
02:46After almost losing to a nobody named Rocky Balboa, he goes on a media blitz to set up
02:51a rematch.
02:52Apollo knows this will make him the villain in the public eye, but he doesn't care.
03:03Nevertheless, Rocky beats him outright and becomes the World Heavyweight Champion.
03:07After eventually losing the title himself, Rocky turns to his former nemesis to get back
03:10on top.
03:11Despite the bravado behind them, the pugilists form a deep friendship.
03:25Even after Apollo is killed in the ring, their bond continues into the next generation, when
03:29Rocky helps Apollo's son become champ.
03:35Number 7 – Hector Barbosa – Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales
03:40Like all the freebooters in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Hector Barbosa was
03:44a complicated man.
03:55His loyalties depended, sometimes literally, on which way the wind was blowing.
03:59He was a liar, a mutineer, a thief, a killer.
04:02All of that changes, though, in the 2017 installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales.
04:06After years of dealing with curses, sea gods, and even rising from the dead, Captain Barbosa
04:11comes face to face with his own flesh and blood.
04:13It turns out that he had a daughter, given up when she was a baby.
04:21Despite his lifetime of misdeeds, known as a man so evil that hell itself spat him back
04:26out, Hector Barbosa died, sacrificing himself to save his estranged daughter.
04:36Number 6 – Loki – Marvel Cinematic Universe Unlike the other characters on this list,
04:41Loki was redeemed twice over.
04:43The adopted son of Odin, Loki started out as a bitter and ambitious man.
04:52However, his ambition doomed him to the service of Thanos, the Mad Titan.
04:59After failing to conquer Earth and losing an Infinity Stone, Loki eventually hides out
05:03in Asgard.
05:04The death of his mother bitterly quenches Loki's thirst for conquest, prompting him
05:07to help his brother Thor in rescuing their people from Hela, the Goddess of Death.
05:16When Thanos returns, Loki dies trying to save Thor.
05:23Later, a Loki variant spawned by the Avengers Time Heist is also redeemed.
05:30He transforms into the God of Stories, a lonely fate, and safeguards all life in the multiverse
05:35from oblivion.
05:40Number 5 – Roy Batty – Blade Runner If we're being honest with ourselves, Roy
05:44Batty is as much a tragic figure as he is a villain.
05:49He's a replicant, an android enslaved by his human creators.
05:53Disillusioned by his violent servitude, Roy leads a small band of replicants in a rebellion
05:57and escapes.
05:58He travels to Earth, seeking to beg his maker for longer, freer, and fuller lives for his
06:03people.
06:04When Tyrell, his maker, doesn't give in, Roy kills him.
06:11Despite these actions, which by his own admission are evil, Roy spares the life of Deckard,
06:15the Blade Runner on his trail.
06:20Instead, he chooses to die a free man, making a rare moral choice, perhaps the first in
06:28his short, tragic life.
06:37Number 4 – Otto Octavius, aka Dr. Octopus – Spider-Man 2
06:42Like many baddies from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Rogues gallery, Doc Ock started out as a good
06:47man with noble ambitions.
06:54He is a brilliant, well-meaning scientist, and Peter Parker's mentor.
06:58However, when one of his experiments goes awry, it results in the death of Octavius'
07:02wife, and also causes his tentacles to fuse with his spine.
07:05What's worse is that they have a mind of their own.
07:14It's a case of the corrupting influence of power, as the tentacles drive Octavius into
07:18a psychotic rage.
07:19Ultimately, when his second attempt at harnessing the fusion energy threatens all of New York,
07:24Octavius regains control and sacrifices himself to save the city.
07:43Number 3 – Severus Snape – Harry Potter Franchise
07:47Severus Snape was never a good man.
07:49After all, he harbored a deep-seated animosity towards a child just because he didn't like
07:53the boy's dead father.
08:02Despite his casual cruelties, Snape saved Harry and his friends time and time again.
08:06He instinctively put himself between them and danger, and spent years as a double agent.
08:10Despite the risks to his own life, he aligned with the most dangerous wizard of all time,
08:14waiting for when the moment was ripe for action.
08:30He did all of this in the memory of his one, true, unrequited love.
08:34The man isn't without his many, many faults – a hefty dose of bitterness among them
08:37– but in the end, he died doing the right thing.
08:50Number 2 – Boromir – The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring
08:54Boromir is only a villain in the sense that he fell under the thrall of evil magic.
09:09The One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron corrupted virtually all who came near it.
09:12Even powerful figures like Gandalf and Galadriel feared its influence.
09:16Despite his strength and grit, the Ring played on Boromir's desperation.
09:20His kingdom, Gondor, was on the front line against the forces of darkness.
09:24Years of war had taken its toll on his people.
09:26Eager to protect Gondor, Boromir tries to steal the Ring, chasing Frodo away.
09:32However, he quickly regains his senses and is overwhelmed with regret.
09:38In a final act of valor, Boromir loses his life while defending Frodo's Kingsman from
09:42a horde of powerful orcs.
09:54Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:57Dany Archer – Blood Diamond – A selfish mercenary sacrifices himself to save a father
10:02and son.
10:23Grantorino – A bitter, racist loner dies to save his Hmong neighbors.
10:47Darth Vader – Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the Jedi – In recent years, debate has
10:52raged around the validity of Darth Vader's redemption.
11:00As the Star Wars universe has expanded, the full extent of his crimes have been laid bare.
11:04But thanks to the influence of his son, Luke Skywalker, Vader was able to tap into the
11:08last vestiges of the Jedi he used to be, Anakin Skywalker.
11:16With the fate of the galaxy on the line, Vader died destroying the dictatorial Emperor.
11:20A generation later, his grandson, Ben Solo, met a similar fate.
11:24Corrupted by the dark side, Ben became the Sith Kylo Ren.
11:27Kylo would also find his way back to the light.
11:31Like his grandfather before him, he died in a fight against the Emperor.
11:35Have we been a villain in your life?
11:36Leaving off your favorite fatal redemption arc?
11:38Redeem us in the comments below!
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