Villains you would join if given the choice between them and the "good guys".

[KnightOfTwo]

Since Star Wars has been mentioned before. I will gladly throw my lot in with this gentleman.

Spoiler

I agree, Malgus is probably one of the most sensible Sith I've seen depicted. However for SWTOR I'd throw myself completely behind the Star Cabal.

A group operating from the Shadows, made up of people from all different walks of life who want stability and order to the galaxy. They worked for centuries trying to keep the Jedi and Sith as far away from each other as possible because they knew they would just keep waging war. When the Sith returned to Republic Space, the Cabal started setting up plans to eventually have the Jedi and Sith wipe each other out. The goal then being to return the galaxy to the wills of the regular people and not have it torn apart by two competing religions dead set on wiping each other out due to philisophical differences, not caring who ends up caught in the crossfire. I would have joined them in a heartbeat.

I'd also be inclined with join the Brotherhood from Xmen if I had to pick a side. The Xmen have good intentions but they always come off as far too creepily placating. Why do you have to prove to people that you aren't monsters just from being born different? Why do you have to put up with persecution because of your genetics? Why do you have to try and win those people over who are not only discriminating against you, but actively seeking your death? Screw that, take a stand. I'm not always onboard with Magneto, he can quite frequently cross the line I'm comfortable with, but I would rather side with them over the Xmen.

As for my own, I always side with Bhelen in Dragon Age: Origins. He might be a ruthless dictator, however his is the forward looking regime for Orzammar. He wants to open up more of the Dwarven Civilization (that is really dying off) to the surface world, he wants to work more with them to help fight the darkspawn, he wants to stop all the political infighting that is making the dwarves kill each other off quicker, he shows understanding and the practical need to do away with the whole "castless" situation (he even falls in love with and marries a castless woman). He is ruthless out of necessity, because the dwarves are dying for the sake of tradition. Bhelen isn't a nice guy, but he actually gives a damn about the future of his people.

 

[TristanBelmont]

And yes, I know the entire third X-Men movie was a not so subtle gay rights thing and what not. But the idea still stands.

Well, the X-Men was started as a "not so subtle" gay rights thing, so it's not too surprising that the movies would be that way as well.

 

[FPLOON]

Uh... N from Pokemon Black & White? *shrug*

Other than that, I don't know if the Ice King counts at this point in the Adventure Time series...
(Too bad I can't go "super" meta and choose the Ice Queen... Fuck it! I choose the Ice Queen!!)

 

[immortalfrieza]

Honestly, I wonder if some of the more morally conscious parts of the Empire split off to join the Rebellion when they got word of them blowing up a planet.

Something like they were down for the whole stable peace dictatorship thing until they started blowing up planets.

According to the EU that's exactly what happened. Blowing up Alderaan was a massive PR disaster for the Empire that resulted in mass defections of troops from the Empire and citizens signing up to the Rebellion like crazy. Even if they HAD succeeded in destroying Yavin 4 and wiping out the Rebellion, more Rebellions would have popped up anyway.

Snip

I'd do roughly the same thing since both Orders are blindingly stupid and never learn from their mistakes. I'd less join them and more like fight alongside them for a few years though, something of a mercenary who's end goal is to learn all they have to teach first. Afterwards I'd form my own Order, one based around practicality and adaptability, dropping the whole "Light Side vs. Dark Side" thing and focusing on using the Force in as the situation warrants.

OT: I'd let the Venom Symbiote merge with me. I prefer Venom's initial characterization, that of a basically helpful creature that only wanted to peacefully co-exist with it's host, until Parker rejected it and it turned evil as a result. Later retcons turned it into a vengeful incarnation of evil that basically a G-rated version of drug addiction, (though they've started turning that around somewhat in recent years) and that characterization has never sat well with me.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

OT: I'd let the Venom Symbiote merge with me. I prefer Venom's initial characterization, that of a basically helpful creature that only wanted to peacefully co-exist with it's host, until Parker rejected it and it turned evil as a result. Later retcons turned it into a vengeful incarnation of evil that basically a G-rated version of drug addiction, (though they've started turning that around somewhat in recent years) and that characterization has never sat well with me.

Actually, in the comics, Peter did let the symbiote merge with him, but after a while, the symbiote started to take too much control of him and started to suggest some questionable things. Therefore, Peter ditched it.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Actually, in the comics, Peter did let the symbiote merge with him, but after a while, the symbiote started to take too much control of him and started to suggest some questionable things. Therefore, Peter ditched it.

As I recall the Venom symbiote originally merely controlled his body to go out and fight crime while he was sleeping and that Peter was disgusted by it's attempts to bond with him permanently, so he got rid of it, it was otherwise completely harmless. It's only later retcons that turned it into Satan as black goo.

Some of the symbiote's spawn have managed to be heroic as well. The whole canon behind the symbiote species is pretty screwy really.

 

[Vegosiux]

I have to bring up David Xanatos again. The guy's pragmatic, keeps his cool, doesn't execute people for failing him (and if you're a good henchman, he'll be as loyal to you as you are to him), even owns up to his own failures, and never falls for the "all or nothing" trap.

Plus, he's rather courteous and respectful towards his enemies, too, often more than vice versa, and it's genuine. And finds himself working with the heroes more often than with other villains.

 

[waj9876]

Every Single Villian Other Than Sombra - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I would totally join their sides if I was in said universe. I could so get behind eternal night, chaos is awesome, and I was kind of on Chrysalis' side through the season 2 finale.

I could see myself joining Team Plasma or Team Flare in Pokemon. The whole "get rid of trainers so I'm the only Pokemon trainer left" was only the boss's idea. Team Flare was awesome, and who knows? I might be able to become immortal if they use Xerneas. I'd build up my own team and challenge the protagonists before they could stop the machine. Hell, I'd even try and see if I could challenge the Elite Four and defeat the champion before Calem or Serena does. My main Pokemon would have been the same as Diantha's too. A Gardevoir. Might be able to get a gardevoirite from her too.

Kira from Death Note. I was totally on his side throughout the entire thing.

I could see myself being a Templar from Assassin's Creed.

I'd totally join the Despair group in Dangan Ronpa.

If I was in Persona 4, I'd have totally been on Adachi and Izanami's side. They were completely right with what they believed humanity wanted.

 

[NerAnima]

Since Star Wars has been mentioned before. I will gladly throw my lot in with this gentleman.

Spoiler

I'd also be inclined with join the Brotherhood from Xmen if I had to pick a side. The Xmen have good intentions but they always come off as far too creepily placating. Why do you have to prove to people that you aren't monsters just from being born different? Why do you have to put up with persecution because of your genetics? Why do you have to try and win those people over who are not only discriminating against you, but actively seeking your death? Screw that, take a stand. I'm not always onboard with Magneto, he can quite frequently cross the line I'm comfortable with, but I would rather side with them over the Xmen.

As for my own, I always side with Bhelen in Dragon Age: Origins. He might be a ruthless dictator, however his is the forward looking regime for Orzammar. He wants to open up more of the Dwarven Civilization (that is really dying off) to the surface world, he wants to work more with them to help fight the darkspawn, he wants to stop all the political infighting that is making the dwarves kill each other off quicker, he shows understanding and the practical need to do away with the whole "castless" situation (he even falls in love with and marries a castless woman). He is ruthless out of necessity, because the dwarves are dying for the sake of tradition. Bhelen isn't a nice guy, but he actually gives a damn about the future of his people.

I'm not even sure if Bhelen is the villain, because if you think about it, he does a lot of things that make more sense than becoming extinct just to preserve tradition. I think the only reason that he's seen as a villain is because of the Dwarven Noble Origin, which granted shows that he is an ass, but other than that, he isn't nearly as bad as the Assembly, who with-hold troops from you during the Blight, after you just saved their asses! I hated the lot of them, except for Harrowmont, he was alright, not great, but alright.

In any case, I would have to say Pegasus from Yu-Gi-Oh! I always felt kind of sorry for him, since he had lost his wife, and his eye, and just wanted her to be back. The method he was going about it wasn't great, but most plots in that series weren't exactly well thought-out. Plus, he had that gorgeous voice in the English dub, and I can't help but love it whenever he's on.

And, while I'm at it, let's say the Helghast and the Sith, although the latter would be short-lived. The Helghast because, well let's face it, the "good guys" are the bigger pricks out of the two. They constantly screw the Helghast over, and then seem outraged that they take offense to that. I'm sorry, I'd rather take the guys who just look like Nazi's, as opposed to, well....

And the Sith, simply because the Jedi say that you have to "give up your emotions" which I just cannot do. I rely on my emotions too much, although I would prefer a group right in the middle, which doesn't give in to hate, anger, etc., but allows themselves to have emotions and get horny without going nuts over it. Also, not nearly as many interesting people on the Light Side as opposed to the Dark.

 

[NerAnima]

Actually, in the comics, Peter did let the symbiote merge with him, but after a while, the symbiote started to take too much control of him and started to suggest some questionable things. Therefore, Peter ditched it.

As I recall the Venom symbiote originally merely controlled his body to go out and fight crime while he was sleeping and that Peter was disgusted by it's attempts to bond with him permanently, so he got rid of it, it was otherwise completely harmless. It's only later retcons that turned it into Satan as black goo.

Some of the symbiote's spawn have managed to be heroic as well. The whole canon behind the symbiote species is pretty screwy really.

Are you sure? The main symbiotes that I remember are Venom, Carnage, and the crazy combo of the Symbiote and Doc Ock (that thing was freaky. ) While they may have been alright to begin with, their track record since has not exactly been sterling. I am just basing it off of my very limited knowledge of the comics and my somewhat decent experience with the games, so I may be completely off, and if so, just disregard this.

 

[Saulkar]

I have to bring up David Xanatos again. The guy's pragmatic, keeps his cool, doesn't execute people for failing him (and if you're a good henchman, he'll be as loyal to you as you are to him), even owns up to his own failures, and never falls for the "all or nothing" trap.

Plus, he's rather courteous and respectful towards his enemies, too, often more than vice versa, and it's genuine. And finds himself working with the heroes more often than with other villains.

So much yes. He is really the only villain I could never hate and at times could actively sympathise with.

 

[Ieyke]

If not for the fact that his opponents are the Avengers, I'd happily say Doctor Doom.
Doctor Doom has seemingly villainous methods, but he's actually a benevolent ruler and has proven himself the world's rightful ruler multiple times. Every time he has conquered the world it IMMEDIATELY starts to move more towards world peace and general harmony than it does under any other circumstances.
He'd sacrifice his life to protect his country.
He protects Latveria so fiercely that it is the absolute safest country on the planet, and Doom's castle is likely the safest place in the universe. Should Latveria come under attack and its people be in danger, he shelters them in his castle.
He occasionally has to kill some people for reasons only he has a complete grasp on, but it's never without reason.
That said, I don't really know how I could work with Doom. He doesn't really have "teammates" beyond his legions of Doombots.
*shrug*
But yeah, I'd side with the Avengers if that was the other option. How could I not?


I'd also happily work with David Xanatos.
Dude's a badass.
I'd never actually be in particular danger, I'd get to hang out in an awesome sky castle, I'd probably end up with an awesome battlesuit, and I'd always be on the winning side...in a sense. Also, he's a chill dude and not especially "evil".
Mostly I'd just feel bad for constantly hassling the Gargoyles.


I'd work for the Tau...maybe. Unless the Ultramarines came along. Then I'd instantly switch sides and let the Marines "liberate me from my Tau oppressors".
The Tau are pretty neutral as far as 40k factions go, and as far as ordinary humans go, the Gue'Vesa are among the best armed troops around. The only factions who are more "good guys" are the Ultramarines and Salamanders.
Anything you can get to up your chances of survival in the 40k universe is a good idea.


Necrons........Depending on the details of their approach to ruling the galaxy, I'd be fine living under their rule.
Essentially, they're just pissed at all the other forces in the universe for all the chaos and strife they've caused. The Necrons once ruled the galaxy, and it was a galaxy of order. They claim only to want to rule it again as they once did and once more enforce order, seemingly allowing all non-Chaos races to exist peacefully so long as it's under their rule.
I'd be okay with that. If they want to arm me with the galaxy's most powerful weaponry and have me battle the rest of the 40k galaxy....okay. I'd rather be armed with Necron technology than anything else. It's unfathomably powerful.
They're essentially an entire race of Doctor Dooms and Doombots.


Fire Nation. *shrug*
They're just strict. I'd side with the Water, Air, and Earth nations over the Fire Nation, but I wouldn't have any real issue just living as a villager in the Fire Nation.


Though certainly not THE villains, the Scorpion Clan of the Legend Of Five Rings is often perceived by the rest of Rokugan as villains, though that's basically never actually the case.
I belong to the Scorpion Clan or Dragon Clan.

I'd work for The Monarch and The Sovereign/Guild Of Calamitous Intent and just avoid Brock Samson like the plague.

 

[Grayjack]

Zvezda in World Conquest Zvezda Plot. Although they are the protagonists, they're technically the bad guys.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

snip

She is pretty badass and Lelouch isn't a fighter, but two things in what appears to be Lelouch's defence, 1. The ridiculous costume might be what was needed to encourage people to join the rebellion in the face of a serious and oppressive regime, and 2. My opinion of Lelouch rose dramatically when I had seen the whole series. For now though, I understand.

 

[Loonyyy]

For me I can think of a few. For Star Wars there's the CIS in the Clone Wars and the Galactic Empire in the originals. The reason is simple: for he clone wars the CIS was a state which seceded because of the fact that the Republic was just to corrupt and ineffective, and instead of listening to their grievances they simple ignored them. And then what happened? They got invaded. As for he Empire, well, come on. Apart from the blowing up of a planet, they didn't do anything wrong, and even then it was justified since it was a bastion for an armed royalist rebellion that was threatening the peace.

I'm not sure where this tendency to try and claw back some shades of grey in Star Wars comes from, but in this case it really doesn't work so well.

Princess Leia: No! Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons, you can't possibly...
Governor Tarkin: [impatiently] You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system! I grow tired of asking this so it will be the last time: *Where* is the rebel base?
Princess Leia: ...Dantooine. They're on Dantooine.
Governor Tarkin: There. You see, Lord Vader, she can be reasonable. Continue with the operation; you may fire when ready.
Princess Leia: WHAT?
Governor Tarkin: You're far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration - but don't worry; we will deal with your rebel friends soon enough.

Tarkin knows that Alderran has no military value. He blows it up purely to send a message.

The CIS is a little greyer.. until you realize it's dominated a bunch of brutal autocratic governments (Geonosis, Zygerria), racial-nationalist movements (Quarren Isolation League) and incredibly ruthless mega-corporations (Trade Federation, Commerce Guild, Banking Clan, Techno-Union). While the expanded universe does fill in the blanks and show there are good people working on either side, the bulk of the CIS's concerns are less with corruption and ineffectiveness and more with the taxation of trade routes and the implementation of humanitarian laws.

Also, I'm gonna concur with the Star Wars people: what's wrong about having the Sith in charge?

The same reason we don't tend to let psychotic crack-addicts run governments here on Earth.

(Yes. The dark side is basically crack. You start using it and it feels great, in fact the more evil shit you do the more powerful you feel. Then, over time it gets to the point where you need it in order to do anything, and suddenly you're the dark side's *****. That's why dark side force users, despite often having very interesting and subtle philosophies, ultimately come down to acting like cackling lunatics all the time. They're not running the show any more.)

I thought Darth Plaugueis by James Luceno was a really good example of this. The Sith have a cunning plan, intrigue, and ruthlessly use their powers to manipulate galaxy events, but as the end nears, Plagueis becomes paranoid as to the cost the Force wants of him, he becomes certain that events that happen against him are the result of the Force taking it's due for the power it's given him, and that he needs to do things for the Force, the Dark Side, to maintain any power.

I think that a lot of the backstory filling novels and Old Republic/Clone wars books really improve on the source material, and give a deep mythos, whilst understanding the source material. The post-NJO books just are a mess, where they let Karen Traviss loose with her Mary-Suredalorians and most of the authors got on board with ridiculous attempts to make the Dark Side and the Sith seem like some sort of compatible philosophy. Jacen Solo... urgh. The horror. I can't think of many worse written characters in the EU, and that's saying a lot (Exclusively in his Legacy of the Force incarnation. Which was horrible). Drew Karpyshyn (Yes, that one), really seems to get the Sith, in a way that the authors tasked with bringing Star Wars into the future really don't seem too.

 

[Auron225]

I'd happily buy a $5 halloween mask from a store, hire the mystery team to come look around my house, put on said mask and run around trying to scare them before failing hilariously and being demasked. In the meantime I shall my practise the line;

"And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you pesky kids and your meddling mongrel!"

Honestly? Probably a more obscure one but I would consider joining Nox from Wakfu. That is, after hearing his tale, his true motives and absolute assurance that his plan would definitely work... but I'd still feel shit the whole time.

EDIT: WAIT! Does Hank Scorpio count?? =D

Spoiler: Cus I'd TOTALLY work for him!

 

[Dr. Crawver]

Honestly? Saren from mass effect. Sure he was indoctrinated, but the weight of evidence he could provide was astounding, where as Shepard was going the the time saying "Nah, don't like that plan, I'll kill you instead, then make it up as I go along." At no point until 3 do they even get an idea of how to beat the reapers (and kinda have to use space magic to do it). Saren knew and accepted their defeat is inevitable, and wanted to save what he could and succeed. Better that than try to save everyone and fail.

He was cold, ruthless, and dangerous, but at no point did I think he was evil. I would have sided with him without a doubt in the hopes that he was right.

 

[Ikasury]

In my ongoing attempts to see if anime has anything to offer me, I've been watching Code Geass.

Yeah... the Britannian's are all evil and foppish and stuff, buuuuut I doubt I'd have to put much thought into a choice between Team Cornelia and Team Smug-Overdressed-Overpowered-Little-Shit-Who-Is-Totally-A-Genius-No-Really-We-Said-So.

^^^ the end makes up for season 2, just saying

as for baddies i would totally join? hrm... that's difficult, mostly because i'm a purely neutral entity that tends along the lines of 'NOT-GIVING-A-FUCK'...

but if i had to choose... Deathstroke from the Teen Titans... what the guys is awesome and i'd love to go hamming it up around the world just mercilessly killing people for money... gotta respect the neutral~ :3

otherwise probably Mitochondrial Eve (Parasite Eve) and Krillian (Xenogears) because honestly, who can argue with BILLIONS of years of conspiracy planning or genetic engineering-super-robot-gods?

oh, wait, WAAAAAAAAAAAAIT... i know!! Orochimaru, he's like all three in one, yea, yea!! i'd go with him :3 boss~

 

[immortalfrieza]

Are you sure? The main symbiotes that I remember are Venom, Carnage, and the crazy combo of the Symbiote and Doc Ock (that thing was freaky. ) While they may have been alright to begin with, their track record since has not exactly been sterling. I am just basing it off of my very limited knowledge of the comics and my somewhat decent experience with the games, so I may be completely off, and if so, just disregard this.

There's Toxin, who was basically good for most of it's existence despite being the child of Carnage, and then there's hybrid, an amalgamation of heroic symbiotes that merged together after their "sister" symbiote tried to kill them all (Scream, which counted as a very iffy example because she was kind of crazy.)