4 for 4: Best Finale Villain

by Mac McFearson

Evil. In and of itself it is the one word that could possibly capture all that the human race would like to avoid. Some cower from it, some despise it, and yet some gather the courage to stand up against it. Though almost all would agree it is the dark cloud that constantly hovers over our existence. However, evil in an epic struggle against the forces pledged for good, makes for a damn good anime. And so in volume II of 4 For 4---my ranking of some important aspects of each season of Digimon---we will look at those who take the cake of evil in their respective seasons---the finale [or final if prefer] villain[s]. 

I’d also like to note that originally I wanted to make this over-all best villain, but selecting each villain to represent each respective season would have been a whole other task in itself. So I narrowed it down to ones we know are coming sooner or later. Keep in mind though, they aren’t always the best. 

4; Apocalymon   

To start, we go to the final villain of the first season. And while the Goggle Boy race was quite close, this particular list might not be so competitive. A perfect example of this is our number four spot Apocalymon. Yes, there are some positive aspects worth mention about Apocalymon, and we’ll get through them quickly. Very quickly. First off, I thought his ability to use past villains attacks was a nice touch. He is pretty gruesome looking. And generally is fairly powerful, after all turning eight kids into zeros and ones ain’t exactly child’s play. And… and, that’s about it. There’s really no way around saying this---Apocalymon just sucked. Okay, he sucked. And for the purpose of making this column a decent size, I’ll go through some of the reasons why.

First, his mediocre run in Adventure only lasted two episodes [which wouldn’t have been too bad if it weren‘t for the fact that he sucked]. Apocalymon just dropped in out of nowhere. No background, no clue to it beforehand, and a unimaginative [to say the least] ‘how and why’. On top of that Apocalymon was just a nuisance . This is suppose to be the final enemy of a season and yet throughout his time in the season his only memorable trait was how he constantly whined. Yes I understand the awful American dubbing had to do with lines like “ Why do all of you get the pizza, while I get the crusts?” But honestly, you can put it ancient Greek for all I care, his nature and general tone was that of little child incessantly whining. Final villains are not suppose to be whiny. Final villains are suppose to evil, menacing, and maybe a little edgy. Apocalymon was just plain, sad. And to top it all off, he was ugly. I previously said he was “pretty gruesome looking”---that was being generous. He’s just ugly. Ugly is not evil, ugly does not threaten two worlds, ugly does not scare me, ugly does not make me want of cower in fear. Ugly just makes me wants to change the freaking channel. And honestly after having to look at Apocalymon for an episode and a half, even Muk starts looking better. 

All in all Apocalymon barely managed to hold serve in the areas that any good villain should dominate in, and absolutely failed in just about everything else. Piedmon was the real finale villain, even if he wasn’t technically the final villain. In my not so humble opinion Apocalymon was just another unnecessary attempt to fake an ending. Remember after Myotismon? Yeah, once was enough. The second go around on that page was tragic. Lets get on with this.

3; Lucemon

Here we go to Lucemon. Much the improvement from Apocalymon. Lucemon was indeed a fitting finale villain. Unfortunately the main reason for Lucemon being in the three spot is well, default really. No disrespect. Lucemon was great. It’s just that I don’t believe Lucemon is better than my top two [and of course Apocalymon isn’t better Lucemon]. So no, hate, that’s just the way it goes.

Now to the big-bad Lucemon himself. Quite the powerful digimon, who’s pure evil is almost unmatched. An enemy who truly seemed to simply enjoy causing pain and fear. Sweet, isn’t it? And the most considerable aspect of Lucemon is the story and personality behind the villain. If you don’t the story by now, you should. Lucemon was once a digimon who once brought peace to the digital world, but like Lucifer told of in the Bible before him, Lucemon fell into darkness. The Ten Legendary Warriors then defeated him and locked him away in the center of the Digital world. Yet even from there he managed to corrupt Cherubimon, so that he could gather enough data to restore himself. That background has a lot to do with what makes Lucemon an interesting and truly evil villain. It’s been said that the evil that once knew good is evilest of them all. True or not, the process of unadulterated goodness being converted and perverted into evil is something that is captivating and interesting in a sick way. And it simply makes that evil that much more wicked and maniacal. Don’t underestimate what a rebellious soul is capable of.

And as I said at the top of Lucemon’s section, there’s really too much to sway Lucemon either way. I mean, yes all the things I’ve mentioned above make Lucemon a very good villain. And honestly, there isn’t much negatives you can count against him. He trumps Apocalymon by a mile, but unfortunately just miss out on the number two spot a relatively short margin. All in all though, Lucemon is a good boy of light gone bad becoming quite the wicked villain. Not bad for a little girl, huh JA?

2; Malomyotismon

In a career spanning two season Myotismon became the most well known and best villain over that time period. First off lets address the most obvious of knocks against Malomyotismson, the fact that he only appeared in approximately three episodes. The reason that doesn’t hinder him from appearing in the top two of this list is that he was just plain brilliant in those episodes. As oppose to say someone like Apocalymon who made a very short and unimpressive [to say the least] appearance, Malomyotismon’s time in 02 alone was Myotismon at his best. Lets break this down.

First off, the way Malomyotismon made his way into the season. The whole deal with Oikawa wasn’t the strongest thing in Malomyotismon’s 02 run, but it was still original and unexpected in a good way. Any good anime should have twists and surprises, Malomyotismon and Oikawa provided that. Next the background of his entrance. Preying on Oikawa’s fear and sorrow alone was cruel enough, but then using Oikawa to prey on the fears and insecurities of innocent little kids. That’s evil in every sense of the word. Really wrap your mind around that. MM was sick enough to even think of suck a thing, and malicious and powerful enough to do whatever necessary to go through with it. And lastly [read: most importantly], just his demeanor. It was vintage Myo. He had always been known for being devious, witting, and just cocking enough to make him the coolest villain, ever. And an easy argument could be made for Myotismon as the smartest villain ever as well. From the dark spores, to trying to use the DD’s fears and weaknesses against them this is one villain who used brain as well as brawn. Myotismon was the complete package. Evil, twisted, cunning, and just cocky as hell. And really he was the only villain that really truly that feeling of… like he just expected to win. It wasn’t like every other villain in just about every other show on TV period where the bad guys just seem like losers. Myotismon was the one that felt like he could take two worlds. For that reason alone he became the villain you love to hate.

And you know that little flaw I talked about, that one about Malomyotismon being in only two and half episodes? If it weren’t for that MM would be number one. And if this were a list for best overall villain Myotismon over both Adventure and 02 would be number one. However, based on those 2 ½ episodes in 02, Malomyotismon sits in the number two spot. Just don’t tell him that.

1; D-Reaper

Despite a lack-luster appearance by Apocalymon, this list has been filled with great villains. Each having a unique style to go with their evil and powerful substance. Apocalymon I’ll be it did suck [did I mention that already?] but he certainly was, different. Myotismon has always been one of the more unique characters in the Digimon series, and Lucemon’s entire history is interesting in it’s own way. And there’s no change here at the number one spot as the D-Reaper was most certainly a finale villain like no other.

With the D-Reaper it was more than just evil, it was the kind of evil, the way it went about things in a way so much different from any other villain. All other villains---no matter how ruthless---were still well, digimon [or humans occasionally]---which the D-Reaper was not. And Digimon, no matter how evil, are capable of having human characteristics such as fear [did you see Myotismon’s face when Kari got her Digivice in Adventure], pity [Apocalymon, true it was for himself, but none the less, pity], and they can be altered in the way they think [Lucemon, from good, to really evil.] . The D-Reaper in sharp contrast to that, was a heartless, emotionless, cold, destructive force. The perfect killing machine. It didn’t want revenge, it didn’t want to take over the digital world or earth for personal gain, it just went about destroying everything in it’s path because that’s what it was created to do. The D-Reaper had no sense of good or evil, it only knew to destroy anything it saw as imperfect.

Now, it is true that you do miss out on that emotional side of evil. Like in the case of Myotismon’s confident cunning, or Lucemon’s intriguing persona and background. That just made the entire experience that much better. However, even if it was unintentional, the D-Reaper did at times come off as a maniacal mind simply closing out all emotions. As I said early, it didn’t have a sense of good or evil, yet it still managed to take actions that only a sick person would do [The whole thing with Jeri as a prime example]. It acted in a disturbing manner, even it wasn’t trying to or didn’t know it was.

Greatest Finale Villain Of All-Time: D-Reaper

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