The 20 Greatest Villains Of All Time

4. Sauron (Lord of the Rings)

Sauron is the extremely powerful, and ultimate, villain in The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien described him as “A great eye, lidless, wreathed in flame.” Sauron is the evil force that Frodo sees, feels and senses, every time he touches “the ring.”

Throughout the trilogy, we are always aware of Sauron. He is the antagonist that we know Frodo has to defeat, and we are always aware that it will be a huge battle. The prologue shows Sauron as a gigantic, mace-wielding psychopath, who is able to destroy armies with one single blow. Sauron is pure evil, and Frodo, unfortunately, has to go to Mordor, home of Sauron, to destroy evil and “the ring” once and for all, even if it means at the peril of his own life.