Every Harry Potter Villain Ranked Worst To Best

"What villains are these, that trespass upon my private lands!" — J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"

A hero's greatness is directly related to the villainy of his foes. Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader. Superman has Lex Luthor. Harry Potter has Lord Voldemort — and that's just the tip of the villainous iceberg. The Wizarding World is lousy with evil-doers, and we're ranking the lot of them. We're using "Harry Potter" as a blanket term for the Wizarding World. Thus, you'll find characters from the "Fantastic Beasts" movies included, though the banker that denied Jacob Kowalski's (Dan Fogler) loan application just missed the cut.

You won't see the basilisk, the troll, or the merpeople on this list, as they are more monsters than villains. Likewise, Crabbe, Goyle, and the Dursleys are antagonists, but they are largely played for jokes, and villains bring a special sort of menace. Severus Snape, memorably played by the late great Alan Rickman, is also excluded. Though he spent time with practically everyone on this list, the Head of Slytherin House is not one of them. He was a hero, "always."

In some ways, Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs) is the poster boy for the Death Eaters. He exudes the sort of casual maliciousness and general disregard that great wealth tends to engender. "Pure blood" tends to suggest a certain degree of inbreeding. Lucius looks like a man whose parents might've been related. Maybe it's just the long, stark blond hair talking (somewhere a Targaryen is nodding their head sagely). His tailored, all-black ensemble suggests comfort with a certain level of villainy. Lucius takes great pride in his appearance, which is in marked contrast to the rest of the Death Eaters, most of whom look like they correlate evil with dirt.

Beneath the poise and polish, Lucius Malfoy is a spineless bootlicker. His only power is over those that have none: Dobby, his son, and muggles. Lucius is a bully, and like all bullies, he cowers before true power. He is basically a Death Eater cosplayer. He puts on the uniform and attends the conventions and knows all the right things to say. The only thing genuine about his act is his sneer, which he's probably been using since his nursemaid changed his first diaper. To steal a phrase coaches use to describe athletes who lack a certain mental toughness, he just doesn't have that dog in him.

Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) is the most unfortunate person on this list. No, not because of his terrible haircut. A product of abuse and neglect, Credence ends up with a dark, parasitic force inside of him called an Obscurus, which manifests as a malevolent black cloud with a particular hatred for roofs and windows. All of which is to say, Credence has reasons for eventually breaking bad, and they have nothing to do with a desire for personal power or wealth.

In a move from Emperor Palpatine's playbook, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp-Mads Mikkelsen) grooms Credence from the shadows as a weapon he can wield against Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). Believing Grindelwald is his only friend, Credence goes along with it. When Credence learns he's a Dumbledore, he has a change of heart. The drama is all very Shakespearean. Credence is never truly out-and-out villainous, but few on this list can match his sheer power.

Every Dark Lord needs three things: breathtaking arrogance, a unique look, and a completely loyal henchman who's comfortable doing the dirty work. Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) are one such pairing from the Wizarding World, but "Star Wars" also provides a notable example. And though she isn't as well-known as Lestrange or Darth Vader, Linda Rosier (Poppy Corby-Tuech) is every bit as dependably vicious.

Rosier is all in on Gridelwald's anti-muggle crusade. If it were up to her, they would kill every last muggle. It's not clear where such hatred comes from, but it's not just an act. When Grindelwald sets up shop in a house in Paris, Rosier helps kill the muggles who live there, including a baby. (What is it with "Harry Potter" and violence against helpless babies?) She is also instrumental in recruiting other wizards and witches to the cause, including Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol). It's a lot easier to get other people to drink the Kool-Aid when you are gulping it down yourself.

There's not much about your garden variety spider that isn't gross, what with all the legs and eyes and creepy-crawly. At least those can be dispatched with the bottom of a shoe. Aragog is another breed entirely, a hairy monster the size of an elephant that can talk and has a taste for human flesh. And apparently, he breeds like a rabbit, because he's got thousands of children, most of them likewise grotesquely oversized and all of them starving for a bite.

All of which is to say, Ron's reaction when he and Harry encounter Aragog in his den is entirely reasonable. What sane person willingly walks into that? The only thing more alarming about the whole ordeal is how calm Harry is — at least until the hordes of hungry spiders start chasing them.

Aragog isn't as maliciously villainous as most of the characters on this list, but he makes the cut simply based on his nightmare quotient and the indifference with which he condemns Ron and Harry to a gruesome fate. "My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid on my command, but I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst." Shudder.

This fearsome man-eater was once a beautiful, good-hearted woman, but a blood curse eventually left her permanently transformed into an enormous snake. That was enough to put her on Lord Voldemort's radar. He adopted Nagini, and she became his most trusted ally. Then, he decides to take things to the next level by bonding one-seventh of his soul to her (I guess so they would never be apart again). It'd almost be romantic if not for all the killing and maiming the pair are responsible for.

Nagini is far more than Voldemort's pet and the official Death Eater mascot. She's an infiltration specialist and has acted as Voldemort's eyes and ears (but not his nose!) on numerous occasions. Almost ridiculously, Nagini passes for Bathilda Bagshot, nesting inside the old woman's corpse and operating it like a meat suit, which is all very funny until you remember that Nagini bursts forth and tries to eat Harry Potter's face.

The most unbelievable thing about "Harry Potter" is the Wizarding World's initial disbelief that the Dementors decided to join up with Lord Voldemort. What about these soul-sucking ghouls suggests they can be trusted? Their horrific, eyeless faces? Their specter-like appearance? How they leech warmth from the very air? Their hunger, which they can only sate by consuming souls? Any one of these is a cause for skepticism, but taken as a whole, the only surprise is that the Dementors stayed "loyal" as long as they did.

Of course, since their loyalty can be bought by whoever provides the best buffet — literal soul food — there is little wonder they rush to Voldemort's side, as wanton killing is sort of his brand. At Azkaban, the Dementors were limited to snacking on prisoners — snacking, but never outright gorging themselves. Once they fled the Ministry's employ, it was open season. Dementors don't speak, but if they could, they probably would've said something like, "Meat's back on the menu, boys!"

Gellert Grindelwald is sort of a "Mad Men" corporate executive sort of Dark Lord. He's polished and sophisticated, well-dressed and well-mannered. Grindelwald is the type of man who might sit in a cafe reading the newspaper, idly kill someone for blocking the light or laughing too loud, and then go on drinking his coffee as though nothing has happened. While Lord Voldemort's evil is more obviously in-your-face (looking like a snake will do that), Grindelwald affects an air of culture and contemplation uncommon in villains. 

Since comparing the two Dark Lords is inescapable, and we're here already, Voldemort might simply execute a follower who failed him, while Grindelwald would monologue about how disappointed he is, offer a glimmer of hope, and then execute the follower without a hint of emotion. Voldemort burns hot, and Grindelwald is ice cold. Both envision a world with themselves at its head. Megalomania is sort of an occupational hazard when it comes to Dark Lords. There's never enough.

Obi-Wan Kenobi once said Darth Vader was "more machine than man, twisted and evil." Substitute "snake" for "machine" and the same could be said of Lord Voldemort. Like Vader, Voldemort willingly sacrificed his own identity in pursuit of absolute power. The comparisons mostly end there. Vader smothered Anakin Skywalker but never actually killed him. By splitting his soul seven times to ensure his immortality, Voldemort completely obliterated Tom Riddle. Ego death has never been more brutally complete.

There is little wonder why Voldemort is so wildly inhuman. Without the ego, the only thing left is his base, animalistic nature. This manifests outwardly in his appearance but is just as recognizable in his behavior. Voldemort is violent and impatient. He's casually cruel and places no value on life. His closest companions are little more than tools who are one misstep away from being destroyed and discarded. The only time he demonstrates anything close to affection is toward Nagini, which may be nothing more than an expression of their kinship as cold-blooded killers. Game recognizes game. While he is clever, he has the low cunning of the predator. All of his efforts are bent toward two ends: taking his rightful place atop the Wizarding World and killing Harry Potter. Nothing else matters.