Who is the better pony villain?

[Shanks 10,816]

Tirek was the closest thing this entire franchise ever had to Satan, G1 Tirek could turn ponies into dragons with his rainbow of darkness to pull his chariot and threatened to decapitate Spike twice yet the G4 Tirek is even more of a badass than his G1 counterpart. He escaped from the MLP equivalent of hell and drained enough ponies magic dry in order to actually be able to do the same to Discord.

[crisahys 149]

I tend to go for Chrysalis because of her depravity for love as well as an agenda for her cause. I think that she is more of a comparison to the alien problem people think they have on earth (abductions, invasions, etc...). 

[PrymeStriker 408]

Discord had the most entertaining role as an antagonist and, by Twilight's Kingdom, had some of the best development. Put simply, I would want to live Discord's world of chaos. 

[Stellafera 3,836]

Before Season 4, I wasn't particularly fond of any of them, but Discord has acquitted himself as quite the interesting anti-hero and an excellent supporting cast member. So...

 

surely you should've seen this coming Applejack

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,162]

For me, it HAS to be King Sombra, and the reasons why are below, which I copied from another I made in a different thread.

 

1. Little to no given backstory: We're given enough to at least get a taste for him, but not too much to have an official mindset about his motivations or whatnot. It is for the most part up to us to fill the blanks (or the comics eventually). That mysterious angle about him just give him that dark edge for me.

 

2. Lack of an apparent ego: Don't get me wrong; I don't hate egotistical villains. I mean that's one reason why I love Chrysalis was that she had a colorful personality. However, that can also be their downfall. She had Twilight in her hooves, then just revealed herself to her. Had she not done that, she could've very been successful. Discord had this same issue when he basically painted a target on him at the end of "Return of Harmony." Sombra, in contract, smartly bides his time and waits. Yes, he wants the Crystal Empire, but he knows he can't do much with the shield magic going on. He knows being big and boastful will not do him any good.

 

3. Intelligence: Had it not been for Spike, he very well could've had Twilight as his permanent captive. It took her genius to figure out his hiding spot for the crystal heart, Spike's concern when Twilight wasn't answering, her magic & foresight to beat the door, and her outside the box thinking to get to the top of the tower in quick time. Had it been anyone other than Twilight (not counting alicorns) he could've came out the victor.

 

4. Presence & Threat: You didn't see him much, but you didn't need to. One of the reasons why Sauron works as a villain is that you don't see him all that much. His strength of presence comes in rumors and warnings. Remember in "Fellowship of the Ring" when Gandalf was talking about the black speech in Bag End? Similarly, Sombra's presence is felt from the instant the ponies walk into the barren wasteland of the frozen north. You hear the creepy wail and fear inches up your spine.

 

5. Fear: Just look at the crystal ponies themselves. Just the mere mention of thought of Sombra is enough to send these ponies into full-on PTSD. Just WHAT did he do to these ponies aside form slavery? How bad were their working conditions? What horrors did these ponies witness?

 

6. Power: It took both Celestia & Luna to banish Sombra; and he still managed to curse the empire to vanish. You know from Celestia's warnings and what we see his do that he is indeed a VERY powerful unicorn. What is his power was left unchecked? Would he have eventually tried to conquer Equestria proper?

 

7. Design: In a sense I can see why some didn't like his physical design, but to me it evokes the dark side of kingly power. Add in his magic and he's a terror.

 

Of course all of this is IMO. Again, I'm a big fan of Chrysalis as well, but I prefer Sombra simply because he is the better villain. Chrysalis might be the better character, if you will, but as a villain she didn't work out as well...on the show at least. Now the comics, on the other hand, she improved a great deal with her cunning and deception; not to mention her brutality. That puts her almost on level with Sombra for me.

 

Saying that; Sombra is best pony villain. <3

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

Discord by far. Most clever, most developed, best acted, and biggest threat imo.

[The Shadow Stallion 127]

Another Sombra villain fan, sweet!

[Snow Frostflame 3,568]

I'd say Queen Chrysalis and her Changeling army they could of taken over Equestria completely they had everypony fooled and even fooled Twilight near the end but she did the stupid thing and imprisoned her causing her to escape with Cadence and ruining her plan

 

Chrysalis is best villain 

[Megas 27,787]

Tirek by far, he was a pretty frightening villain

[SparklingSquirrels 21,356]

I like Discord the most.

 

He was really funny and had a great personality. It was nice to have a different type of villain than the typical other ones.

[NavelColt 22,882]

Was? Discord, obviously. He had personality, he had the powers, he had the scheme, he had the fitting role and antics to fit the show perfectly, he was the perfect anti-thesis to the show's promotion of harmony and friendship, etc.

[mars 4,863]

As much as I love Discord, I got to say Tirek. The guy literally takes away a pony's power, and can even take Discord's!
He was just so evil and creepy, he almost freaked me out.

[~ Indigo Windigo ~ 232]

Gosh, I must say.. #DISCORDISHbestANTAGNOSIS Lol

[paradoxical 1,735]

I don't like the 2d villain, and the fuller the villain the more I'm likely to like them.  I also like a villains who don't see themselves as bad per se.  I think that Discord fills these roles the best. 

 

of course that requires the head-canon that the reason for his evilness is a lack of concern for others matched with a love of humor (especailly somewhat slap-stick-y humor.).  Discord didn't see himself as harming others as much as just having a good time and why did others decide to bother him?

[hip-indeed 304]

This is very hard.  They're all really cool, well-designed and intimidating/powerful for different reasons, but... Well, I would say Discord,but frankly he has an unfair advantage as he became an actual recurring major character and has had much more screentime and exploration.  So based on an equal-footing criteria of only judging them based on their original, two-parter eps... I'd still say Discord 'cause gosh-darn it he has an awesome personality, awesome design,awesome voice and truly awesome powers (Wacky Land from looney tunes, go!)  

 

...Yet in the heat of the moment I voted Nightmare Moon int he poll first because I knew Discord would have by far the most votes and secondly because I think she has the overall most badass and beautiful design of any villain  and perhaps any character overall in the show, to me.  Those eyes, that black coat, that mane... I dunnooooooooo I love her.

 

I also love Chrysalis (who i was a HUUUUUUUUUUGE fanboy of when she was first introduce, and though that has waned I still think she's fantastic), and I think Tirek is insanely badass and great, and Sombra had a cool design and THE most terrifying powers... but y'know.

[paradoxical 1,735]

  Sombra had a cool design and THE most terrifying powers... but y'know.

 

Totally an opinion thing, but I thought the sucking powers thing was much more terrifying than the vague black crystal thing.

[hip-indeed 304]

Totally an opinion thing, but I thought the sucking powers thing was much more terrifying than the vague black crystal thing.

I'm talkin' about the fact that just an old doorway with a TRACE of the guy's power lead to a nightmare realm forcing you to experience your greatest fears... if the guy had actually been able to directly fight the characters there's no telling, he might have been even more powerful than Tirek at his peak, at least with the sort of power he had if not in a contest of sheer physical brutality.

[Frosty Nerd 833]

I am in love with the way that Discord is hilarious and cunning   I just don't know how I can say that enough. He is super smart. He is a genius. He was so dangerous that the only way Celestia and Luna could stop him was to turn him to stone. The Elements of Harmony against Disharmony.

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

My favorite villain is Queen Chrysalis because of how tricky she is and her entire army of changelings.

 

EDIT: Chrysalis isn't my favorite villain anymore.

Edited July 29, 2014 by TheJLeeTeam

[Squidi 41]

Nightmare moon all the way!

 

Although chrysalis and or sombra would be my second choice, nightmare moon has a great story to her of a corruption nature. Plus shes awesome

[Xiv 64]

While all of the villains have been pretty excellent, I have a mayor soft spot for the Queen.

She had a VERY important agenda to her people, and did her best to fulfill it. Her actions are not excusable; she is in fact a massive sadist, as well as having a common villainous ego.

The truth is, however, her people needed to feed. They probably starved to death. At least Cadance is alive! Right? Right...

Edited July 27, 2014 by Xiv

[QuestioningLogic 9]

King Sombra is best villian. He was definitely the most evil, and that door is just so awesome. He's a get-inside-your-head kind of villian, but has raw power to back it up as well. 

[A goat 323]

Discord is best villain. You know I'm right.

[GreyScholar 1,584]

Discord has over 50 percent of the votes, mine included.

 

Sighs, now if only Discord could still be the villain he once was and in which I fell in love with.

Edited July 29, 2014 by EquestrianScholar

[The Shadow Stallion 127]

I'm sorry to Chrysalis fans but I don't think she is a good villain. Her Hubris is too great and will defeat her many times over. However if she didn't have all that hubris she probably wouldn't be a villain in the first place. So her greatest weakness in a way is the very thing that makes her evil, in my opinion anyway lol.

 

Again, King Sombra for me. Embodiment of ultimate evil.

 

I think the main reason why Discord is so well liked is because he has been the villain that has been shown THE MOST. I mean hes in over 10+ episodes. All the other villains get 1 or 2 if they are lucky. Don't get to see many backstories and personality development on other villains as much. Honestly if the other villains had as much air time as Discord, the poll might be a whole lot closer lol