Who’s your favorite villain of all time? Now that is a big question. Where do you even start?

There are all kinds of different avenues to go down. Are we talking supervillains? Movies, comic books, video games? Maybe TV shows? Even after you’ve sifted through all of these different forms of media, there’s still the real world to consider as well. There are some pretty egregious villains lurking around here, too.

Assuming you actually do succeed in reaching a decision, it’s a deeply personal choice. You could go anywhere with this, really, from Doctor Neo Cortex of the Crash Bandicoot franchise to that guy who lives opposite who always lets his dog poop right on your driveway. Psychiatrists could probably glean some interesting results from the choice you make here.

Some people are going to go a little more obscure with it, while others will opt for a more popular, mainstream sort of villain. There’s really no wrong answer here. As long as they’re powerful, super charismatic and multi-faceted, you’re golden.

The Star Wars franchise, of course, has brought us some of the most charismatic villains known to humankind. From Darth Vader to Jabba the Hutt (who totally qualifies, in my eyes), these are some of the most well-known and popular villains ever created. Let’s honour them the best way the internet knows how: with snarky memes.

25 Darth Vader Totally Stole Batman's Look

1- Vader Totally Stole Batman's Look
Via: themetapicture

As Batman fans will know, our old buddy Bruce isn’t a superhero. Not in the traditional sense of the word. For one thing, his actions and morals are super questionable. I know what you’re thinking, sure, that’s never a problem that superheroes have, but Batman is a vigilante in a much more literal sense.

He also, crucially, doesn’t actually have any superpowers. Not really. Granted, he’s got Morgan Freeman down there in the basement making all manner of fancy gadgetry for him, but I’m not so sure that qualifies. At the end of the day, he’s a totally ripped rich guy. The same’s true of Tony Stark, who’s just another rich guy without his Iron Man suit. He does have that fancy robo-heart, though, which is always a convenient talking point at cocktail parties.

The crux of Batman’s character is his moral dubiousness. I she really a good guy, doing the right goo in the right places, or is he just another lawless Gothamite? That depends on who you ask. In a way, though, this dark antihero vibe is Darth Vader’s whole thing as well.

It’s like they were separated at birth. Batman’s birth, that is, because Vader is totally his father.

24 Darth Maul Just Doesn't Get The Appreciation He Deserves

Via: Imgflip

Hey, now. Whoa whoa whoa there. I know we’re not actually out here taking memes seriously or anything, but still. Stop with that sort of thing. You can’t just go claiming that one of the Star Wars villains is definitively cooler than the rest.

Let’s just back up, cool off, maybe take a nap. This is the sort of thing that Star Wars aficionados spend months on end arguing about on forums, after all.

Having said all of that, this is Darth Maul we’re talking about. As we know, there have been many Darths over the course of the franchise. Others include Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, and Darth Punk, who went on to become a French electronic music duo with such hits as Harder, Better, Faster Stronger and One More Time.

Of all of these Darths, though, none quite exuded that rock star look like Maul did. With all of those tattoos, he had a primal element about him, which made him all the more imposing. Couple that with his unique double-ended lightsaber and ferocious fighting style, and you’ve got quite a villain right here. This was a guy who didn’t even let being cut right in darn-tootin’ half stop him. Not only did it not stop him, he took it as an opportunity to come back to life with some freakish new spider-legs. How do you argue with that kind of chutzpah? You don’t, that’s how.

23 Your Lightsaber Has Seen Some Things... Bad Things

Via: Yahoo

Now, I’m not questioning the wise and powerful Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Heck no. You’ve got the wrong end of the lightsaber entirely if you think that. It’s just… something’s not entirely right here.

Put yourself in poor old Luke’s position. The poor rube has suddenly found himself thrust into an intergalactic conflict the likes of which he can’t even comprehend. There he was, an innocent farm boy, and suddenly the ridiculous revelations are coming at him hard and fast.

How can he possibly know what’s real? What isn’t? Who can he trust? It’s like Hagrid suddenly busting on in through the door of the shack and telling Harry he’s a wizard.

Nothing’s making any sort of sense at all, so your only option is to cling to the new guy who makes the least sense of all and hope for the best.

As such, Obi-Wan’s account of what happened to Luke’s father must be the correct one. He’s got a lot of faith in you, Obi, so don’t let the guy down. Don’t be quite this literal, either, because that’s not the sort of stuff a new apprentice needs to hear. Wait a couple of movies before you drop those bombshells.

22 Nobody Appreciates Vader's Soft Side

13- Nobody Appreciates Vader's Soft Side
Via: 9gag

Now, I can see how Darth Vader may have gotten a bit of a bad rap. There’s something about interplanetary tyranny and force choking your underlings at staff meetings that misinterpreted as just a little cruel. Ask just about anybody who ever met the guy, and they’d tell you. “Darth Vader? He’s a great steaming d-bag.” That’s what they’d say.

Except, of course, they wouldn’t actually dare say it, because this is Darth Vader. He’d know, he’d hear about it, and he’d crush your throat into teeny little hunks of spam from across your lounge.

He’s a villain through and through, there’s absolutely no denying that. He’s also multi-faceted, though. In the same manner as Lord Voldemort, we see his purely malevolent side, but we also get a glimpse into his past, the events that shaped him and his worldview. We don’t understand, but we understand, if you take my meaning.

In Vader’s case, we got a whole three movies of backstory and explanation. Some of it was meaningless prattle about sand and stuff, but still. There’s more to Vader. He has a softer side. What do you think that brief moment of redemption with his son was all about at the end of Return of the Jedi? Exactly.

21 Only A Sparkly Golden Bathrobe Will Do

14- Only A Sparkly Golden Bathrobe Will Do
Via: Meme.xyz

The world of Star Wars is a very complex one, aesthetically speaking. A lot of the time, space dramas such as these are primarily set on spacecraft, of course. It’s all about clinical silver corridors and metal. On the other hand, there’s also a lot of time spent on bizarre planets, in the company of their equally-bizarre denizens. As far as the planets themselves are concerned, this tends to mean a kind of cliched platformer world selection: you’ve got a fiery planet, icy planet, foresty planet, watery planet… they’re all here.

When it comes to fashion, though, just about anything goes. If you take a look around Mos Eisley spaceport, where all kinds of life forms from all over the galaxy meet, you’ll see a fantastically eclectic mix.

And then there are the Jedi. As far as they’re concerned, there’s no need to flounce around in fancy designer clothes. No Converse or trendy man-bags or any of that nonsense. The Jedi seem to favor dull brown robes. They’ve got a real monopoly on the dull brown robe market. It’s a look that’s served them just fine, after all, so why knock it?

I would question this getup, though. When I saw Snoke in that one scene, lounging there looking like freaking Hugh Hefner in that gold bathrobe, something just didn’t check out.

20 Of Hindsight, Hands, And Lightsabers

15- Of Hindsight, Hands And Lightsabers
Via: Christophercourtley.com

Personally, I’m quite intrigued to see where Kylo Ren’s character arc is going. it’s just too soon to call. Whenever you see him drifting towards one side or the other, everything flip-flops and you’re questioning what little you had managed to glean about him.

Is he going to rise as the new Big Bad of the franchise? Will he ultimately turn to the light instead?

Will he pull one of the cheeky deathbed presto changeo moments where he atones for his misdeeds? Nobody knows. There are several different ways they could play this.

The question is, how would we feel about some of these possible routes? As for me, I’m not entirely convinced that he has the gravitas, the charisma, to assume a Palpatine-like role. Maybe he will do, though. He’s still in that angsty it’s so unfair phase. We just opened the oven door to take a peek inside and he’s just not done yet.

The promise is there, however. He’s an exceptional if unrefined fighter, and the same’s true of his abilities more generally.

One of the keys here is not to make the same mistakes others have. He seems to have taken that to heart, with his personal yet practical saber design.

19 Modern Life Has Us Feeling Some Kind Of Way

16- Modern Life Has Us Feeling Some Kind Of Way
Via: Cheezburger

Well, dang. I think this is something that science needs to be pushing a little harder.

These days, there are lots of conservation projects doing great work around the world. More trees are being planted, more sustainable energy is rolling out, people are trying to take better care of our planet. It may be a little late to counteract all the harm that we’re doing to the poor old Earth in other areas, but still. They’re working at it, trying hard and getting results, and that’s admirable whichever way you slice it.

Solar power and wind power, for instance, are much cleaner ways of generating what we need. Efficiency is this problem, as getting such things to meet our needs on a larger scale is a seemingly impossible task. We’re hopefully nonetheless, and efforts continue.

Stress power, though. Stress power. If we could harness that, then we really would be set for generations to come. Millenia, probably. In the hurly-burly of modern life, stress is a real, ever-present danger. Everybody handles it differently, and everybody is affected by it to different extents. It gets to us all at times, though, there’s no denying. Imagine if we could harness it in a practical way like this. All you’d have to do is tell the average bunch of commuters on a train platform that a train had been canceled, and you could power all of London for a month.

18 The Ultimate Plot Twist Leaves You Reeling

3- The Ultimate Plot Twist Leaves You Reeling
Via: Best of Comic Books

Now, you know how it is. Whenever a big new release is in the off, whether it’s a movie, a video game, a TV show or whatever, the hype train kicks into gear. The driver starts shoveling hype coal in the hype engine room as quickly as possible… because apparently, the hype train is one of those old-fashioned steam trains for whatever reason.

Anyway, never mind all of that. My point is that fan hype will ramp ever upwards as the release approaches. The excitable discussions will go on and on. Where will the storyline end up? What’s going to happen to such-and-such a character?

Some fan theories are totally out there, and some are right on the money. Sometimes, both.

Other times, we watch the movie or finish the game and still don’t really know where we stand. Again, in the absence of any real answers, we’ll just keep theorizing. Who are Rey’s parents? We don’t know, so we’ll just keep pondering. What was really going on with the enigmatic Snoke? We don’t know that either, so it’s time for more spitballing. Personally, I think this particular fan theory is going a little too far. Nobody should ever bring Jar Jar into it, even snarkily.

17 Taking Death Star Employee Safety Super Seriously

4- Taking Death Star Employee Safety Super Seriously
Via: Best Of Comic Books

Oh, Grand Moff Tarkin. I’ve never quite understood what the title Grand Moff actually meant, but it sure does sound important. Responsible, too. He really should’ve taken better care of the facility in his charge.

Sadly, though, apparently, that wasn’t the Moff-ly way. Like a lot of Imperial higher-ups, Tarkin was complacent and arrogant. He was happy to shuffle haughtily around the halls, scowling, blaming everybody else and generally being so icy and unapproachable that you’d expect him to suddenly break out into Let It Go.

Don’t let them in. Don’t let them see. Don’t evacuate that dang Death Star, when these dastardly rebels are moments away from blowing it to heckola.

Now, of course, memes tend to be all about snark. About flip-flopping the rules and making a tense moment hilarious, by throwing in elements that don’t belong. That’s one of the biggest running themes of memes everywhere.

It’s not always about that, though. Sometimes, all you need is a dash of irony. A dash of humility. Come on, Grand Moff, get out of there. I wonder how differently the series would have played out if he had taken this route. Captain Sideburns there could’ve gone home to his mama, for one thing.

16 Darth Vader’s Dad Jokes Are The Best Dad Jokes

5- Darth Vader's Dad Jokes Are The Best Dad Jokes
Via: Dorkly

Dad jokes, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, tend to get quite a bad rap around here. You know, they’re cheesy puns, labored stories, all that sort of thing. This is all there is in the dad humor arsenal, according to the internet.

But what about comedians? Do they suddenly lose their humor mojos, just like that, the instant they have a child? Is this some elaborate conspiracy? I couldn’t tell you. There are some things the world is just never supposed to know.

I’m not sure I buy all this talk, though. My own father is a master of sarcasm and snarky wit (usually of an adult type I couldn’t possibly go into here), and that’s after having two children. Maybe it’s genetic, I don’t know. I plan on keeping on keeping on when my own children are born, regardless.

In the end, I suppose none of this really matters. When it comes right down to it, the thing to bear in mind is this: when it’s Darth Vader making a joke (which it never is, because he doesn’t do that), you’re laughing. Super cheesy? Just plain painful? You’re laughing anyway. Laughing like your life depends on it, because it probably does.

15 Snarking On Stormtroopers Never Gets Old

7- Snarking On Stormtroopers Never Gets Old
Via: Pinterest (Star Wars)

I suppose a lot of people would tell you that the Stormtroopers aren’t really major Star Wars villains. They’re faceless, nameless; have about as much personality as a scrunchie you found in your shower drain.

To that, I say: Nuh-huh. The Stormtroopers are, essentially, the face of the empire. They’re the jackbooted tyrants storming into the homes of a thousand different worlds, indiscriminately gunning people down or taking their pet platypuses. It’s their uniform, identical nature that makes them all the more frightening, in my view.

For the people of the worlds under the Empire’s control (and I use the term ‘people’ loosely, when you’re dealing with aliens as freakish as Star Wars’s can be), these guys are the true enemy. They’re never going to meet Sith Lords or other higher-ups, are they?

The Stormtroopers, then, are the face (or rather, the not-face) of the Empire. The goons. The muscle. The school bully’s bigger buddy, who looms around the back of him and shakes their fist at you.

Sadly, though, the Stormtroopers really aren’t all that threating in combat. Granted, this is mostly because their opponents are usually safely ensconced in Plot Armour™, so the troopers can’t hit them with their signature blasters.

14 No More Dang Failing Admirals Around Here

8- No More Dang Failing Admirals Around Here
Via: Piximus

Now, we’ve probably all experienced a no-nonsense boss at some point or other. Maybe you had one a while back, maybe you’ve got one now. Heck, maybe you are one. The fact is, everyone’s going to have differing opinions on that score, and different opinions of what a no-nonsense boss actually is.

If you’re working in a super fun, super casual office setting, say, a no-nonsense boss might simply be one who kindly ask you to put your nerf guns away at the end of the next round. At the other end of the spectrum, they might be the sort of boss who fired you because you said the word eggplant (which was on a list of forbidden words they’d just compiled in their mind two minutes before).

There’s a real grey area here. Most of the time. When it comes to our old buddy Darth Vader, I think it’s safe to say that most would put him firmly in the no-nonsense category. This is a man who can choke you from all the darn way across the room, using only a pinchy little hand gesture. That is not somebody you want to argue with, friends.

Who’s Employee of the Month? You’d better hope it’s you, if you like your trachea.

13 Obi-Wan Talks Smack One Last Time

Via: meme.xyz

Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan. OBI-WAN! What are you doing?

Yep, that was meant as a Metal Gear Solid Snake? Snake? SNAKE! Moment. Thanks for noticing. When I first sat down and watched Episode VI: A New Hope, I was dang young. I was totally spooked by what happened to Luke’s aunt and uncle, the same way as I was horrified by what happened to John Connor’s foster parents in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (that long spike-arm through the milk carton…. Brr).

I also found myself quite attached to the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He got a super brief screen time in A New Hope, but man did he make those moments count. He brought us one of the greatest moments in franchise history, with his mystical-hand-waving assurances that those weren’t the droids you were looking for.

And then he did the thing. There he went, disappearing in a pile of robes after being defeated at Darth Vader’s hands. This was all part of the plan, of course, but it still made me dang sad. At least he got to be snarky about some unfinished prequel business before going down. In this meme, at least.

12 That High Ground Sure Would've Come In Handy

10- That High Ground Sure Would've Come In Handy
Via: Know Your Meme

You can never underestimate the importance of the high ground. You really, really can’t. throughout military history, the greatest generals have always sought to eke out every advantage they could. Not only in terms of the number and strength of troops, but of the general situation. Supplies, terrain, morale, everything.

Nothing can be overlooked. There are strategic advantages to be found everywhere if you’re canny and devious enough to seek them out.

The high ground has always been a crucial concept for this. You’ve got a better view of the surrounding terrain, you can see approaching foes, archers had greater range, all these sorts of things. So many video games today continue to teach us of this simplest yet most crucial tactic.

As far as Star Wars is concerned, though, talk of the high ground can only mean one thing: that climactic battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan. If you’ve seen the prequel trilogy (which you’ll deny, but I know you secretly have, don’t @ me), you’ll remember that Obi-Wan totally had THE HIGH GROUND. He was so proud of this fact that he bellowed it at Anakin. He had the highest of high ground. Nobody’s ground had ever been higher than Obi-Wan’s was right then, and nobody’s ever would be.

11 Count 'Totally Savage' Dooku Strikes Again

20- Count 'Totally Savage' Dooku Strikes Again
Via: Pinterest (Tyler Oliver)

Yes, Count Dooku. We know. We see you there, with your fancy curved lightsaber and your bravado. We get it. Calm down, guy.

To give credit where it’s due, old Dooku has a lot to be feeling super smug about. He’s been both a Jedi Master and a Sith Lord, joining the latter after becoming disillusioned with the politics and shenanigans of the former. From there, he embraced the dark side of the Force and all the power that mastering it offered him. In this way, he proved powerful enough to become proficient at controlling both opposing disciplines.

Let’s not forget, also, that’s he’s Christopher freaking Lee. The acclaimed actor brought a sense of grandeur and gravitas to every role he played. Not to mention that kind of brooding, quiet menace, which is often much more intimidating than all-out anger.

Now, granted, none of this did him any good when Anakin sent his head bouncing across the floor like a stray hunk of popcorn in the movie theater, but still. Dooku was an excellent villain, in my eyes, and took no crapola from anybody. Ever. I’d like to think that he’d be a little more witty and vicious with his lines, but still. That’s what a dang funny bait-and-switch meme is all about.

10 Not Becoming A Millionaire Any Time Soon

21- Not Becoming A Millionaire Any Time Soon
Via: Buzzfeed

As I say, then, the jury is still out on Anakin. It’s the usual debate about nature versus nurture. How far did he want to go, to what extent was he pushed, all of those sorts of things. A lot of it is up to your individual interpretation, in the end.

Some fans don’t like to delve too far into it. All of this backstory, naturally, is told through the course of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and you know how people can be about those movies. They’re controversial, to say the least, for a whole variety of reasons.

Which is understandable enough, as they do verge off into goofball territory quite often. Some of this criticism is levelled at the dialogue, which does have a less-than-stellar air to it at times.

Anakin’s tirade about sand was probably something I could have done without, in the grand scheme of things. Still, it’s harmless enough. If nothing else, the prequel is perfect meme bait, because nobody really minds taking potshots at it. It’s funny that lines this would become iconic, but there it is. That’s the power of memes. You might need to phone a friend for this one, Anakin.

9 Your Midi-Chlorians For Binge Watching Are Unmatched

11- Your Midi-Chlorians For Binge Watching Are Unmatched
Via: Pinterest (Star Wars)

I’m not sure whether I’m just being a miserable old cynic, but I’m hitting the big 3-0 in a couple of months (and already considering dyeing my hair jet black and buying a Harley at the very thought of turning thirty, thanks for asking). Reflecting on my life and how much I’ve seen the world change so far, I’m a little uncomfortable.

Social media has become a dominant, dominant force. We can’t scroll through our timelines without being bombarded by eight bajillion things that people are doing. There’s that person I went to high school with, jetting off on another sun-kissed vacation. Babies, marriages, promotions and such are everywhere.

Now, I’m totally happy with where I am right now, but I can see how some may be a little perturbed by all this. It’s probably natural to get a little insecure, to want to compare yourself with others, and social media is all about that. It’s a popularity contest. How do you get those likes, retweets, shares and heart emojis? By showing off what you’ve got going on, of course.

The thing about that is, everyone’s got something going on. You can’t measure success by someone else’s parameters, only your own. If you’re a master of the art of binge-watching, that’s a success too, and don’t let anybody take your ability to watch four seasons of a show over a single weekend away from you.

8 Why Star Wars Villains Can Never Sneak Up On You

12- Why Star Wars Villains Can Never Sneak Up On You
Via: 9gag

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s one key aspect of villains: we’re not supposed to like them. That’s why they’re called villains. You can give me all the morality isn’t supposed to be black and white gum you like, but when it comes right down to it… that’s the way it is.

Didn’t you learn anything from those cheesy after-school specials and He-Man cartoons? Everyone’s clearly labeled. In He-Man’s case, Skeletor is a freaking skeleton. You can tell right there at a glance that he’s the bad guy, because he’s got a dang skull where his face should be.

The villain of the piece doesn’t tend to be liked for their morals, but for their edgy charisma.

They have a certain no effs given ever appeal that you just can’t deny. He-Man, meanwhile, probably has a 7:30 pm curfew and calls his mama seventeen times a day.

Personality-wise, there’s just no contest sometimes.

Let’s not forget, either, the greatest weapon in the villain arsenal: the infinitely superior soundtrack. A lot of the time, the good guys and gals have a generic uplifting tune, which plays whenever they tediously and inevitably prevail. Vader, meanwhile, can’t even sulkily cross the corridor to the bathroom without his iconic, menacing theme playing.

7 You Can't Resist Powerful Mind Control Techniques Like That

Via: Iwastesomuchtime

As any Star Wars aficionado will tell you, the Sith are a curious crew. These Force-sensitive individuals have devoted themselves to the Dark Side, and diverged from the Jedi pathway, way back when.

The Sith are motivated by everything the Jedi condemn: emotions like hatred, greed and anger, and an all-consuming lust for power. The shadier side of Force powers, such as Force Lightning and Vader’s characteristic special move, choking, are associated only with the Sith.

I guess you could say (speaking as a proud Hufflepuff) that they’re the Slytherins of the Star Wars universe.

Evil may be an abstract term, but cunning, ambition and a thirst for power are definitely Sith traits. They’ll see an opportunity to buddy up with somebody powerful, use them for their own ends, and then cast them aside. That’s what they’re all about.

All of these concepts are central to Anakin Skywalker’s story. This is precisely how he was beguiled, and won over by, the dark side. Well, this meme itself isn’t precisely how, you understand. I think the old guy was just a little more insidious than that. You know, just a shade.

On the plus side, I’ve always thought that their red lightsabers look far cooler than their Jedi counterparts, so they’ve got that going for them.

6 Procrastination Is A Proud Way Of Life

18- Procrastination Is A Proud Way Of Life
Via: Pinterest (Charlie GRP Dixon)

By now, I think we’ve all come to accept and respect the great power of the internet. It’s an incredibly powerful research tool; essentially the entire sum of human knowledge and experience. It’s a little frightening to think about, really, that we can carry all of that around in our pants pocket in a device about as light as a Pop Tart.

Do you remember Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park? His famous line, “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should?” That’s the feeling I get sometimes. We’re carrying around far more power than we should be. The good news is, we’re mainly using it to post selfies and watch videos of dogs windsurfing, so we’re not at much risk here.

The fact is, even if we tried to use the full potential of the web’s knowledge-gathering capabilities, we wouldn’t get very far. The allure of all of the distractions around here are just too great to resist. You’ll sit down determined to tackle that physics paper, only for your partner to find you five hours later, eyes bloodshot, watching a video about the pooping habits of giraffes. It happens to the best of us.