The holiday season is a time of merriment and joy, where charitable giving is encouraged, and homes are lit up by cheerful lights—everything the stereotypical villain is against. Since the standard video game bad guy doesn’t come across as jolly or giving, it’s not a stretch to assume most villains hate the winter holidays.
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Part of villains maintaining a strong, evil image, then, is keeping up the appearance that they hate the holiday season. However, there are a few gaming villains out there who give off the vibe that they secretly enjoy the holiday season and all the celebration it brings.
6 Bowser (Super Mario)
The Mario series’ King Koopa is one of the most iconic gaming villains of all time. Bowser is a formidable nemesis for Mario, and his fiery, dark world doesn’t give the impression that Bowser is one to celebrate the holidays. However, Bowser is a single dad and cares for his son Bowser Jr., one of his most endearing qualities. So, Bowser probably loves the holidays because of all the memories he gets to make for his son during the festivities.
For the sake of Bowser Jr., Bowser’s likely to go all out in spoiling him with outrageous gifts for the holidays. Watch out for the King of the Koopas during Black Friday shopping, though—he’s one villain you absolutely don’t want to cross in a fight for the last sale item.
5 Xemnas (Kingdom Hearts)
Xemnas, leader of Organization 13 from the Kingdom Hearts series and the Nobody of big bad Xehanort, is calm, cool, and collected. Obsessed with unlocking Kingdom Hearts, Xemnas tends to be singularly focused. As a Nobody, he’s emotionless. Still, despite his lack of emotions, Xemnas likely has a lowkey appreciation of the holidays, primarily because they can often serve as a time of reflection.
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As another year closes, many seek to think back over the previous year and look forward to new goals and aspirations for the upcoming one. As Xemnas is a deep thinker, he would embrace this aspect of the holidays. Plus, if he found it in him to embrace the joy of the holiday season, he would absolutely crush the holiday lights displays with his Ethereal Blades and rock the ugly sweater contest at any party.
4 GLaDOS (Portal)
While GLaDOS, the evil AI in Portal, has no real reason to celebrate the holidays anyway, she probably enjoys it for the ways she can use it to manipulate others. Playing into the commercialism of Christmas, GLaDOS would likely use the holidays as yet another tool to mess with her test subjects’ minds. While twisted, it’s certainly plausible to believe GLaDOS would love the holidays for that reason.
Another reason GLaDOS might enjoy the holidays: she appears in a Christmas spin-off: a comic strip called Randolph the Red-Nosed Turret based on the classic Rudolph song and story. Her role in this Christmas-themed parody likely has a positive association with the holidays for her.
3 Dr. Eggman (Sonic The Hedgehog)
Dr. Eggman, main foe of Sonic the Hedgehog, is certainly one of the most self-absorbed villains out there, set on creating worlds formed in his image. He shows little care for others, using his allies as stepping stones to achieve his evil schemes. And yet, for Dr. Eggman, the holidays are a prime time to show off his own brilliance to the world.
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Eggman probably relishes the yearly opportunity to set up the largest light displays, monuments to his own greatness, to impress others. Also, he would definitely give the best holiday gifts in the form of nifty gadgets and inventions. Admittedly, his perfect gifts would be less about bringing joy to others as much as flaunting his genius.
2 Handsome Jack (Borderlands)
Handsome Jack, the primary villain of Borderlands 2, has one of the most tragic and compelling backstories. While he might not have great holiday memories from his childhood, as he lived with his abusive grandmother, as an adult, he has good reason to enjoy the season—albeit for twisted reasons.
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As the self-proclaimed dictator of Pandora, part of Jack’s strategy for keeping the peace among his subjects in Opportunity is emotional manipulation and propaganda. What better way to instill citizens with a sense of ease than through holiday celebrations? During the winter holidays, though, Jack would probably make up his own celebration focused all on him, better suited to his need to control his people. It’s a brilliant strategy and one that would certainly affect Handsome Jack’s love of the holiday season.
1 Kaos (Skylanders)
Kaos, the big bad from the Skylanders series, is severely underrated as a villain. He is one of the most ambitious evildoers out there, fully committed to his role as an antagonist and incorporating every single villain stereotype into his personality: hater of joy for anyone but himself. Because of that, it is a little hard to imagine he’d be interested in celebrating the holidays.
However, Kaos is self-absorbed, leaping at any chance he can to bring glory to himself. And what better way to draw attention to himself than demanding all his henchpeople bring him holiday presents? For that reason, and that alone, he would absolutely love to celebrate the holidays.
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