The Best Villain Ever

No I haven't written him, but I do wonder who he is. Literature and television have provided us with plenty of examples of what a good villain is, and for me there are three main things that make up a good villain:

1. They are smart
   
   


2. They are not easily defeated, and
   



3. It's usually nothing personal.
   
   

Warning spoilers ahead…………

The best bad guy I can think of in recent memory was definitely Jubal Early the Bounty Hunter in the last episode of Firefly "Objects in Space." He's crazy, and he's also crazy smart, he's strong, quick and does not hesitate to inflict grievous bodily harm, but mostly he's just there to do the job. It's hard to argue with this kind of logic. He finds your weakness and uses them against you, like when he asks for Simon's help and says

Or you refuse to help me...
...I shoot your brain out and I go upstairs and spend some time...
...violating the little mechanic I got trussed up in the engine room.
I take no pleasure in the thought, but she will die weeping if you cross me.

Yup, he's a bad man.

Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, dressed in pink and surrounded by cats you don't get crazier than that. She was smart, she had secured a position of authority that Harry couldn't easily undermine, and while it might have been personal I think Ms. Umbridge just really enjoyed her work.

How about John Doe
from Se7en: Insane, intelligent, always one step ahead. He's already got the game all laid out and you have to play to win. Really he doesn't want to hurt Mill's he's just jealous…..really. So when Mill's opens a box to find his wife's severed head is it really John's fault that Mill's becomes the embodiment of wrath?

Last but not least President Snow from The Hunger Games. Seriously, this man was an evil genius, he was killing children and had somehow gotten the country to believe that not only was this acceptable, but entertaining- now that takes brains. Second he was the President; not only was he hard to get to but no one who had access to him really wanted him dead. Last but not least, it wasn't personal, you're name was randomly picked from a giant spinning raffle ball. Plus he never really had to get his hands dirty anyway- you were the one doing all the killing.

Now that I think of it maybe I should add a fourth characteristic of good villains:

4. They may not all know karate but they all know krazy.

What do you think makes a great villain? Any examples?