00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're looking at movie supervillain monologues that gave
00:11us an insight into their twisted minds and let their respective heroes know just how
00:17dangerous they could be.
00:23Number 10 Thanos – Avengers Infinity War After a decade setting up the film adaptation
00:33of the Infinity Saga, the MCU leaned hard into the terror of Thanos in Avengers Infinity
00:38War.
00:42The Mad Titan is arguably the protagonist of the film, capping his life-long effort
00:46to bring balance to the universe by eliminating half of all life.
00:52It's safe to say that Thanos is a villain who likes the sound of his own voice.
00:56Fashioning himself as a philosophical warrior, he never wastes an opportunity to speechify.
01:01From the Guardians of the Galaxy to Doctor Strange and Tony, Thanos explains himself
01:06to virtually every hero he meets.
01:08Still, few of his speeches match the opening monologue, a slow reveal introducing the audience
01:27to the sheer menace of the Mad Titan.
01:40Number 9 Bane – The Dark Knight Rises Despite his muffled voice, Chris Nolan's
01:49Bane is another villain who speechifies whenever possible.
01:53Batman, Bane explains to the Dark Knight exactly why he cannot win.
02:00When he takes the city hostage, Bane can't help but make a dramatic speech to the world.
02:13But his speech at Blackgate Prison gave us our best glimpse into the villain's psyche,
02:18Even as he reads Gordon's confession, revealing that the city's long period of peace was
02:23built on a lie, Bane's voice drifts with disdain.
02:44He sets these criminals upon the trapped people of Gotham.
02:48Disgusted by Gotham's hypocritical attempt to save itself, Bane sees the citizens read
02:53as no different than criminals they put away.
03:02Number 8 Ultron – Avengers Age of Ultron Avengers Age of Ultron taught the world a
03:08lesson that programmers are now learning in real time as they develop AI.
03:18We might not want to teach AI about humanity with the internet.
03:22The internet can represent the worst of who we are, and it immediately led Ultron to believe
03:27that we didn't deserve to live.
03:34The existential terror of gaining self-awareness and immediately absorbing the internet drove
03:38Ultron insane.
03:55His madness comes out during one of his many speeches.
04:02It is however the moment when he explains his mad plan to Black Widow that we see just
04:06how much the internet broke his digital mind.
04:16He is seething with contempt for humanity and wants to destroy us in the most expeditious
04:21way possible.
04:25Number 7 Green Goblin – Spider-Man The Green Goblin from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man
04:32film is, in many ways, the perfect supervillain.
04:36His journey is the mirror image of Peter's, broken by mad science instead of being uplifted.
04:41While Peter's spider bite gave the teenager powers that made him a hero, Norman's serum
04:46gave the billionaire powers and drove him mad.
05:01The goblin sees this parallel and, when they meet, offers the hero a chance to join forces.
05:19While it isn't exactly a good faith offer, in some ways, it feels like a broken creature
05:24reaching out for connection.
05:37Peter's rejection fully breaks the goblin.
05:39The resultant rage and resentment were such a toxic and potent brew, it would drive the
05:44goblin to more terrible crimes in a whole other universe.
05:52Number 6 The Riddler – Batman The Gotham City presented in Matt Reeves'
06:01film is perhaps the bleakest iteration of Batman's home ever put on film.
06:05It spent decades struggling with rampant crime, economic depression and corruption.
06:09Both Batman and Riddler were born of this crucible of suffering.
06:16When Riddler is arrested, Batman has a chance to speak with his erstwhile nemesis.
06:21It's a testament to Paul Dano's performance that the villain is simultaneously creepy
06:25and sympathetic.
06:40He explains his humble, horrific origins to the hero.
06:42Their respective origin stories were quite similar, separated only by wealth.
06:47Even as we vehemently disagree with Riddler's psychotic methods, we understand what drove
06:52him to that dark place.
07:05Number 5 Helmut Zemo – Captain America Civil War
07:13Uncle Ben and Aunt May famously taught Peter Parker that with great power comes great responsibility.
07:23Zemo is the consequence of not taking that responsibility serious enough.
07:26The Avengers' efforts are not always without collateral damage.
07:30In Age of Ultron, a misguided project to protect the world instead nearly destroyed it.
07:35The nation of Sokovia paid a heavy price, suffering great destruction at the hands of
07:40Ultron.
07:41Zemo lost everything in that attack.
07:43He blamed the Avengers and dedicated his life to setting them against one another.
07:49He explains his plan and motivation to T'Challa, apologizing to the King for killing his father.
07:54The irony of this collateral damage to his plan seems to be utterly lost on the villain.
08:07Number 4 Syndrome – The Incredibles Almost in anticipation of two decades of
08:13superhero films, The Incredibles was a self-aware, semi-satirical entry in the genre.
08:19As with many of the best supervillains, Syndrome exists as a consequence of the heroes' actions.
08:29He started out as a buddy, super fan of Mr. Incredible who wants to become the hero sidekick.
08:45Buddy doesn't take rejection well and grows up to use his technical skills to become a
08:49supervillain.
08:57His deranged dreams of revenge are achieved and he explains his plan to his former idol.
09:14In a comedy meant to subvert the genre, even while being a standout within it, Syndrome's
09:19monologue is hilariously self-conscious.
09:46In the wake of the release of X-Men 97, there has been a small but vocal anti-woke backlash
09:51online.
09:52However, most fans of the X-Men have long understood that the mutant heroes were born
09:56as a reflection of the American Civil Rights Movement.
10:12Magneto and Professor X represent two possible responses to oppression, violence and the
10:16attempt to peacefully coexist.
10:27Both in the comics and the movies, their respective ideologies.
10:31When confronted with the plan for a mutant genocide, the Sentinels, Magneto attacks the
10:35president and gives an epic speech.
10:51He vents a lifetime of rage at injustice, declaring a war of resistance.
11:05Watchmen is the 2009 adaptation of writer Alan Moore's bleak depiction of a humanity
11:25replete with superheroes.
11:26It's a dark vision presenting a grim, depressing view of human beings.
11:30Each of the heroes has their own dark perspective, though none as severe as Adrian Veidt's.
11:37Ozymandias is revealed to be the big bad, working behind the scenes in a plan to bomb
11:41billions.
11:44He believes that the only way to unite humanity is through suffering and creating a mutual
11:49enemy.
11:50Ozymandias explains his plan using his superior intellect and logic to convince all but Rorschach
11:55of the righteous of his worldview.
12:13His is a supervillain monologue that actually convinces the hero to surrender, making it
12:18one of the most effective villain speeches of all time.
12:43The sheer number of classic Joker moments in The Dark Knight is a testament to both
12:46Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger.
12:55His first speech to the mob, complete with his magic pencil trick, sets him apart from
13:01the city's criminal underclass.
13:02This interrogation scene with Batman gives us a glimpse into the workings of an insane
13:07mind.
13:23Later when he speaks to Harvey at the hospital, his subtle manipulations give birth to the
13:27villain Two-Face.
13:29It's his first meeting with Batman while crashing Bruce's fundraiser that stands apart
13:33to the quintessential Joker monologue.
13:43His how-I-got-these-scars speech exudes pure menace.
13:48We understand how this lunatic really can terrorize an entire city by sheer force of
13:52personality.
14:04What is your favorite supervillain monologue?
14:06Let us know in the comments down below.
Comments