15 Worst Villainesses of 2016

October 06, 2017

Without further delay, the baddest of the bad who rocked our world last year:

15. Harley Quinn


Make no mistake about it; "Suicide Squad" should be called the Harley Quinn movie. The merry band of anti-heroes are nothing, nothing without Margot Robbie's scene-stealing portrayal of Joker's unhinged paramour.

14. Assistant Mayor Bellwether


Jenny Slate can do no wrong as a voice actor, and her Mayor in "Zootopia" shows her range beyond likeable cartoons. That is, if you haven't ever fantasized about throwing the annoyingly vapid Marcel the Shell out the window.

13. and 12. Thora and Thessaly Thacker


Unfairly or not, Tilda Swinton is a shoo-in for villainous roles. Making up for her monkish turn in last year's "Doctor Strange," Tilda plays gossipy twin sisters in the Coens' ensemble movie "Hail, Caesar!" in a foreshadowing of her meaty role in this year's brilliant "Okja."

11. Enchantress


Cara Delevingne's signature catwalk-reared surliness provided the much-needed gravitas for the DC Comics supervillain's first turn on the screen.

10. Freya


The coldest of cold bitches deserves a place in this list, no matter how much you sympathize with her motivations in the road to gelidness. Emily Blunt ratchets up the cool factor in "Snow White and the Huntsman's" 2016 sequel faster than you can say, "Winter is coming."

9. Councilwoman Klubeck


She may be animation, but Councilwoman Klubeck in "Norm of the North" is closer to reality than most anyone in this list. "Deep Space Nine's" Salome Jens gives voice to a character who should be the poster girl for environment destroyers around the world.

8. Irina Vlaslov


If blackmailing is an art, then Kate Winslet's queen-bitch mobster in last year's pulpy "Triple 9" is Michelangelo. No, make it a Silvestr Shchedrin.

7. Angela Rance


It won't be obvious to you from the get-go but Geena Davis' Angela is Hollywood royalty among fictional characters. We don't want to spoil it for you; you'll have to find out in "The Exorcist" television series, quite possibly the true heir to the original film.

6. Lillian Luthor


What's more nefarious than a bad seed? The flower whence it sprang, of course. Melissa Benoist's Supergirl has a formidable adversary in the woman who saw Lex grew up. As foe to anyone emigrating from other worlds, she's pretty much the Trump of Earth.

5. Rachel Duncan


Props to Tatiana Maslany for multiplying evil to infinity with the unflinching Rachel. In a world of clones as "Orphan Black", the concept of family, let alone kindness to strangers, continues to elude this knife-happy bad hat.

4. Ruby


Played to gory perfection by Jena Malone, Ruby in "The Neon Demon" is the silver screen's Elizabeth Bathory for the 2010s.

3. Valak


Nothing scarier than the nun from the Convent of Hell. "The Conjuring 2" was one terrifying thrill ride, thanks to this habit-clad demon with whom we won't be singing "I Will Follow Him" anytime soon.

2. Lucille


What could be more heartless than an intangible object? For someone so phallic-looking, "The Walking Dead's" resident vampire bat is the closest thing to the anthropomorphic embodiment of feminine rage. It is a conceit made even more ironic by the fact that it stems from the twisted mind of the polygamous brute Negan.

1. Ravenna


In "The Huntsman: Winter's War", Charlize Theron mounts a grand, if not camp, comeback of the avian scourge from "Snow White and the Huntsman". She is by far the best rendition of the Evil Queen Stepmother since Sigourney Weaver in "Snow White: A Tale of Terror." Still the mirror image of sheer beauty and vanity, Ravenna did not just make 2016 her kingdom, her dominion; she made it her bitch.

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