20 Film/TV Villains Who Were Just Misunderstood

20) Javert – Les Miserables

Javert is a villain in the sense that he’s the main antagonist of Les Miserables, but is he really much of an evildoer. When you think about it, throughout most adaptations of Victor Hugo’s famous novel, the character is portrayed sympathetically and it’s actually quite difficult not to feel bad for him by the end of his plot arc.

Of course, as those who are familiar with the story, you’ll know that Javert ends up committing suicide, unable to come to terms with the fact that the man who he has spent his whole life chasing, and the man who he always thought to be the “bad guy,” has saved his life. It’s something that the relentless inspector just can’t accept and so, he throws himself off a bridge.

“Who is this man, what sort of devil is he, to have me caught in his trap and choose to let me go free? It was his hour at last, to put a seal on my fate, wipe out the past and watch me clean out the slate. All it would take was a flick of his knife, vengenace was his and he gave me back my life” he sings.

Javert is a popular character when it comes to the argument of whether or not a villain is really a villain. While he’s certainly considered the antagonist, isn’t he just doing his job? The law is the law, and Valjean committed a crime. Sure, he only stole to feed his family, but stealing is against the law and it’s Javert’s job to enforce it.

19) Doc Ock – Spider-Man 2

One of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies, the doctor was most memorably depicted in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2.

Doctor Octavius had it all: a brilliant mind, a beautiful wife, and plenty of funding to continue his nuclear fusion experiments. Unfortunately, a tiny thing the Greeks liked to call “hubris” causes him to go against his normal safety procedures and keep his reactor humming past the point of no return. The reactor explodes, the doctor’s robotic arms become fused to his body, his wife dies, and the whole thing causes him to go a little crazy.

Doc Ock (as the papers so eloquently begin to call him) only ever wanted to give the world clean renewable energy, but his efforts have instead led to his ruin. He is inspired to rob banks by “talking” to his robotic arms (crazy!), but it isn’t because he wants to buy lavish gifts or cars. He simply needs money to continue his experiments to give the world free energy.

Spider-Man should just stay away and let him work! After all, this man could be the answer to our high energy prices.