The Big Bad Read

[the guy who be short]

Isn't Artemis Fowl (#10) more of an antihero?

And I would probably go with Gollum. Not only was he good-turned-evil, he was also turned-good-again-turned-evil-agained. It's interesting seeing how he changes from almost-hero to baddy. He's a lot more human than distant Sauron. Saruman would come second, because again, it is quite frightening seeing how he turned to evil and how anybody could, perhaps, fall to such levels, thinking it to be for the greater good.

[The Saucepan Man]

Zaphod Beeblebrox!!!???!!!

The obvious answer to the question of who was the ultimate villain in Tolkien's tales is, of course, Morgoth. His PR agents just ain't as good as Sauron's.

[alatar]

If choosing from the 'list,' then I'm going to go with "Napoleon the Pig." Driving the horse to death while living it up...too many real world exemplars for me. And Voldemort is spooky, but it's in Harry Potterworld, and so I just don't get as hooked. I've seen Saruman, and the reality drives away fear.

The maia that one fears is worse than the wizard one cheers.

[Boromir88]

My favorite villain has always been the Mouth of Sauron. It's rather strange but I find him an excellent villain because the fact that we know so little about him, he makes a short appearance and is shooed off. But as far as villain goes, let's take some of these into account:

The rider was robed in black, and black was his lofty helm; yet this was no Ringwraith but a living man.

To wear black clothing is a symbol of a person's evil. And even more frightening he's compared to a Ringwraith, yet he's not one of them, he's actually still a living man.

But it is told that he was a renegade; who came of the race of those that are named the Black Numenoreans; for they established their dwellings in Middle-earth during the years of Sauron's domination, and they worshipped him, being enamoured of evil knowledge.

Simply put, just more 'eekness' and darkness.

and because of his cunning he grew even higher in the Lords' favour...

Nothing more sweet than an evil man that's cunning, and it should say something considering that he rose well high into the ranks of Sauron. So high that:

and he learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron...

Being Sauron's herald and ambassador, he was able to learn from Sauron's own thoughts and be a good representative of his will. And concluding, maybe the most evil thing of all:

and he was more cruel than any orc.

That says a lot right there.

We know so little, yet so much, about the Mouth of Sauron, and that to me makes him the most intriguing villain in LOTR. We know:

1. He doesn't remember his own name
2. He's robed in all black
3. He is compared to a Ringwraith
4. He knows Sauron's mind probably better than anyone else
5. He's learned sorcery from Sauron
6. He's more cruel than any orc

And we learned all this in one short paragraph, yet there is so much mystery surrounding his history, his fate, what it was like to be Sauron's right hand guy. I've often thrown around the theory that had Sauron been successful and gained control of all Middle-earth he would have booted Saruman from Orthanc and placed in the MoS in charge.

So, for me, the mystery yet frightening look at just exactly how evil this man was in one little paragraph makes him my favorite villain in the story.