Once a villain not always a villain! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notable instances when movie villains turned away from the dark side and redeemed themselves through the ultimate sacrifice.
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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!