Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Fictional Villains Could Have Easily Won If They Hadn't Messed Up

People Explain Which Fictional Villains Could Have Easily Won If They Hadn't Messed Up
Warner Brothers/YouTube
Make us preferred on Google

I like to say that a lot of villains would probably beat our supposed heroes and walk away the victors if so many movies didn't require the villain to start talking about their motives or gloating about having captured our heroes during climactic moments. Why wouldn't you just take out your opposition right then instead of humoring them or massaging your ego? Haven't any of these people read Machiavelli's The Prince? (I doubt Machiavelli would appreciate all that senseless ego-stroking.)

People told us all about which villains should have known better after Redditor BigEditorial asked the online community,

"What villain could have won easily, but they f***ed it up?"

"He just shouldn't have had..."

"Syndrome from The Incredibles was actually a very intelligent villain. He just shouldn't have had a cape."

RockEarth

"Bane had broken..."

"Bane had broken Batman's back and could've easily killed him but let him live."

BiffChildfromBanger

Why did he just walk away?

Oh, that's right, because the screenplay sucked. We're not even going to rant about what happened to Talia.

"He played himself."

"Scar. If you're so big and bad just kill the kid yourself, you already killed his dad, finish the job dude. He played himself."

KelsConditional

Scar was so full of himself. He could have easily done it, but then again... hubris.

"Palpatine literally announced..."

"Palpatine literally announced he was back (to the entire galaxy) like 1 week before his fleet was ready to dominate them all. Why didn't he just wait 1 week? Nobody would have known he was even coming, they could never have stopped him."

Jek-Porkinz

You have to give those people adequate time to defend themselves, otherwise it won't be fair!

(Just kidding, the screenplay failed people there.)

"Without Vision..."

"Ultron really could have taken Vision's body. Twice he attempted the download and got over 50-60% in pretty quick time. There was no real need to disconnect himself just because the Avengers were in the area. Lock the door and finish it off.

Without Vision, they had no chance of winning."

ShiftingSands1

"It's not until..."

"Sauron.

This is nothing against LOTR, this is an intentional character flaw, but the he couldn't even comprehend that someone might want to destroy the ring instead of using it. He was so sure that someone would try to weaponize the ring that Aragorn had only to show his face and Sauron goes "ah, he must have the ring!".

It's not until the very moment that the ring hits lava that he finally realizes how bad he f***** up, and he gets 30 seconds to think about how the last thousand years have all been an excruciating waste of time."

lankmjc

Poor Sauron.

He definitely got too big for his britches... erm... his robe?

"If he did that..."

"Voldemort. He decided to "hide" his Horcruxes in places that had significance to him. All he had to do was hide it at the bottom of the ocean, or bury it in some random forest, or put it in a volcano or something. If he did that, well then Harry and co would have had a tough time destroying them."

Thunderstruck115

Yes, Voldemort, you were so easy to figure out in hindsight. Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you really should have just dumped those Horcruxes at the bottom of the ocean and never had to worry about anyone, let alone HARRY POTTER, figuring out their locations.

"One bullet..."

"Viggo Tarasov, the Russian from John Wick. Literally had him tied up dead to rights. One bullet to the brain would have ended the franchise at the first movie."

neverleavingthewagon

It's Hollywood, though. And what's Hollywood without unnecessary sequels?

"He literally just watched..."

"Count Dooku. He literally just watched as his master told Anakin to kill him, and didn't say anything. There were several long, long pauses!"

Zooplanktonblame

"He always managed..."

"Dick Dastardly in every episode of Wacky Races. He always managed to get out miles in front of all the other cars in order to lay his dastardly traps. But for some reason, he'd rather sit around and wait for everyone else to catch up in order to win by cheating, rather than just winning every single race as he would have done otherwise."

existentialgoof

I think you all know what you need to do here: Demand that screenwriters do better. Honestly, they're just insulting our intelligence at this point.

Have some examples of your own? Feel free to tell us all about them in the comments below!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Jimmy Kimmel; Matthew McConaughey
Scott Kirkland/FXX via Getty Images; Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Jimmy Kimmel Reveals NSFW Way Matthew McConaughey Consoled Him During Emmys—And It Actually Helped

Every awards show has an "In Memoriam" section, and every time it's a tear-jerker.

And at this year's Emmys, even funny man Jimmy Kimmel couldn't keep from crying, following the death of his childhood friend and frequent fixture on his show, Cleto Escobedo III.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joanna Wietrzyk
Fred Lee/Getty Images

HYROX World Champion Who Soiled Herself During Event Speaks Out To Apologize After Controversy

On September 12, Joanna Wietrzyk of Australia won in the Pro Women's solo division at HYROX Beijing 2026 and set off a literal sh*tstorm of controversy. Wietrzyk suffered acute gastrointestinal distress, soiling herself, partway through the course, but she chose to continue and finished in first place.

HYROX is a standardized global fitness-racing series that combines eight kilometers of running with eight functional workout stations. Participants run one kilometer, then complete one of the functional workout stations, then repeat this sequence eight times alongside the other competitors in their division.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Letterman; Donald Trump
Amy Sussman/WireImage; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

David Letterman's Resurfaced Warning About The Future Of The Media Under 'Authoritarian' Trump Is Eerily Accurate

A resurfaced clip of former late-night host David Letterman has gone viral for a prescient warning he gave to the media about the perils of being a "suck up" to an "authoritarian regime" like the Trump administration.

Letterman originally made those remarks during an appearance last year at The Atlantic Festival. He criticized the Trump administration and cautioned media outlets while reflecting on the administration's efforts to silence Letterman's fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Dave Lowe
60 Minutes

Lifelong Texas Republican Goes Viral With Criticism Of Proposed AI Data Center On '60 Minutes'—And Everyone's Saying The Same Thing

Dave Lowe, a resident of Red Oak, Texas, and a "lifelong conservative Republican," went viral for his reaction to a proposed AI data center in his community, giving 60 Minutes reporters a response observers say perfectly sums up conservative thinking.

Data centers—vast, industrial buildings packed with servers, networking hardware, and storage systems—form the physical backbone of modern computing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of JD Vance at rally in North Carolina
C-SPAN

Vance Dragged After 'Accidentally' Coming Up With Juvenile Nickname For The Far Left In Cringey Speech

Vice President JD Vance was widely mocked online after he misspoke while criticizing the "far left" at a campaign rally for MAGA North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley.

Vance was in the city of Greensboro to encourage voters to vote for one of the MAGA candidates that has been endorsed by the White House. Whatley was previously the chair of the Republican National Committee from 2024 to 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less