5. Anakin Skywalker – Star Wars
Darth Vader is possibly the most iconic villain of all time, but let’s just take a step back and think about him for a minute.
Born into slavery, he finds himself rescued as a boy, but only on the condition that he joins a space cult who believe that he may or may not be their messiah. After growing up as their “chosen one” and being told that all of his natural emotions must be purged, they suddenly decide that they don’t trust him, and that he probably isn’t as important as they’ve always told him. Then, he’s manipulated by someone else into questioning the cult, ultimately ending with him being so conflicted that he loses all control.
Maybe that’s an oversimplification, but really, Anakin isn’t to blame. He’s manipulated repeatedly by Jedi and Sith alike, and all of the worst things he ever did were done at the behest of his masters. While that isn’t a defense, he was also born into slavery and then brainwashed at a young age, so his compliance shouldn’t be overly surprising.
When you look at things from a certain point of view, Anakin is actually the biggest victim in the Star Wars universe. That is, other than all those innocents on Alderaan. And the younglings he murdered.