I am not sure if the soul of darkness and the attitude are the same thing, but there is something sooo hot about the attitude of some of the bad ass evil ladies. They are so cocky (wrong word I think) and it makes them hella sexy. Sarah Corvus, Faith even Demi Moore in Charlies Angels, Eliza Dusku in Soul Survivors (I dont even know if she was a bad guy, I totally dont get that movie, but still, she had "The 'Tude". If you have the attitude then you can be the magnificent female villain.

Um, Annie Wilkes and Joan Crawford are just plan scary...

I think a true villain of any sort needs depth. Why are they the way they are?

To which I'd like to suggest Elle from Heroes (As played by Kristen Bell) who this week showed off her sadistic side. Her power to shoot electricity caused her to be an outcast and eventually a loner. She'd never seen much of the outside world, never went swimming, never been on a date.

 So now she tortures Peter just because he can take the pain. The way she begged him to let her shock him, "Please, just a little one" showed a great depth for a relatively new character. She's sexy, depraved but ultimately a lost, lonely little girl that's spurned into a monster. Brilliance I say!

And I'm thinking of course about Kathryn Morris' Najara on Xena.

Mystique anyone?

 

Blue skin is essential to all good super villains.

I am big fan of villains, always have been (being one myself on certain days). And I think you touched on it without directly saying it, but I think three-dimensionality (depth, tortured soul, still has some humanity) is key to a truly great villain. The whole "moustache twirling" phenom is great, but that's more of a comedy convention than an earnest one .... that being said ...

Mystique, from X-Men
Aileen Wuornos, Charlize Theron from Monster (really scary since it's biographical)
Morgaine/M'organa Le Fey ... depending on which version you watch/read (I could write a dissertation on this ...)
Phyllis Dietrichson, from Double Indemnity (that's for you, PiRo I)
Regina Giddens, Bette Davis from Little Foxes ...
Baby Jane, Bette Davis from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane
Hedy Carlson, from Single White Female (Jennifer Jason Leigh)

MAYBE's? Scarlett O'Hara ... always seemed like more of the antagonist than the protagonist to me ....
 

...and she's called Henry and it’s a lot of explanation but don’t worry about it kids, Ok? Just tune in, turn off, drop out, drop in, switch off, switch on, and explode.

female villians = naughty girls + leather outfits + dangerous attitude

I think you hit the nail on the head by mentioning the relatibility factor. In the very black and white world of Hollywood and mainstream "good and evil," the villains are the only ones who ever seem to be complicated; their self-contradictions, personal quirks, and overall ability to be real (when portrayed effectively) are what make villains so attractive to me.

That said, I have to say that one of my favorite villains is Tamsin from My Summer of Love. Now, she may not have many of the things you mentioned as being essential to a great villain--except looks, of course--but she is so deliciously twisted and manipulative, while all the while inadvertently exposing more and more of herself, that I can't help but gasp every time I watch the movie.

As for others, who admittedly fall more on the "true villain" side of the scale, I'd have to go with Number Six (although I'd pick the version inside Gaius's head), Jessica (Niki's evil alter ego on Heroes), Mystique (from XMen, of course), and my all-time favorite villain, Harley Quinn (from Batman) for sheer crazy factor alone.

"Out of the box is where I live." -Starbuck

They usually are the ppl you love to hate, I always seem to have that "I love to hate you" feeling when it comes to villains!

I love Catherine Tramell, she's one of my favs.

Tim Burton's Batman is my favorite Batman movie, I do love Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman.

O-Ren Ishii makes it to my list too, just coz it's Lucy Liu we are talking about.

Kathy Bates and Faye Dunaway freaked me out in both of the movies u mentioned, but I guess that's what you call really good acting, they did a pretty good job :)

Does Maleficent count?

 

"i don't suffer from insanity...i enjoy every minute of it"

 

Marquise de Merteuil(Glenn Close)

Irina Derevko(Lena Olin)

 

 

I do have a fondness for Harley and Ivy from Batman, because they half suck at being villains, but are so mad cap and silly it makes up for it. They're almost like a comedy duo.

There was always something to be said about Kathryn in Cruel Intentions.

imho all great villains (especially those you listed) have a strong worldview driven primarily by self-interest. It's what makes the hero the hero- they care about EVERYONE. the Villain is more concerned about making the world "work" for themselves or match their own values. Their need is so blinding they can't see/don't care how it effects others, and to be a superbaddie- they really don't care how it effects those they work with to achieve that end.

Um so yeah I <3 Sarah Corvis. And Elle (Heroes). and the ladies on Xena. and Battlestar. but my first villainy love was MALEFICENT in Sleeping Beauty. Sure the first time I saw it I closed my eyes at the end, but in the beginning when she disappears after the gift-giving, I know she's scary evil, but I wanted to follow her--not in an evil-disciple way, more in a... oh hell I dono I really liked her voice. I've got a thing for voices and she was kinda teasing with her voice. and I wanted to know more. ok maybe it was the way she spoke, not the voice, cuz I didn't dig Cinderella's stepmom. I think it was the coat too. And the power. I think I'll leave it at that.

whats a movie/tv show without a hot villain to spice things up and for some of us with minds in the gutter create a nice sexual tension. 

~A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.

To me the thing that makes a villainess (and/or villain) truly great is that she (or he) must believe that they are in fact the hero,  Callisto wasn't out to kill Xena because she was evil - she was avenging her family similarly O-ren never actually went out of her way to kill the bride - it was just a job, nothing personal until the bride made it personal and as for Cruella, who couldn't use a new coat? she's just trying to provide a quality product to the people, rich people anyways.

At the end of the day villainesses are just heros with issues and my favourite headcases are:

Faith - when she was bad she was so much better.

Catwoman - Michelle Pfeiffer version (Meeow).

O-ren Ishii - 'cause she's so fine. 

Sarah Corvus - it's all Jamie's fault!!

Caprica Six - looking good in red while wiping out the human race should count for something.    

~kisses are a better fate than wisdom~

i most definitely loved Meryl Streep's take on Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada.

 

"Life's too short to be cool" -Shirley Manson-

I agree with you about the tortured soul.

Ultimate hot villain? Faith. Faith all the way. 

 

A long road

http://www.asearchforlove.blogspot.com/

in Living Witness. She has got all the villain qualities ! And the body language. Ah, well, what am I saying, the body. 

are the best. I always had a weakness for them. The misunderstood, lonely, evilish kinda girl.

Faith on Buffy of course, Sarah Corvus, Calisto on Xena and SO many more...

 

 

~'Thanks for nothin'...~

She may fall down on the hotness and the girl next door factor but she certainly more than makes up for that on the other categories.

Look: Her look would have you running for the nearest airlock (trekkie talk)

Soul of darkness: She dosen’t have one soul of darkness she has and controls millions of souls of darkness.

Outfit: The Borg Queen consists of two parts; her head, shoulders and spinal cord make up one part, with a full cybernetic body suit making up the second.

Weapons: Her weapon is perhaps the most formidable of any weapon, she can destroy anything or anyone with one single thought.

Immortality: When one queen is killed another takes her place so death can't even stop her, lol

The creepiest thing about Misery is that in the book.. she actually chops off his foot with an axe instead of smashing it with a sledgehammer.... :shudder:

And Catwoman (from the 2nd Batman) is one of my fave villian.  She was perfect for that role.

Well... a great antagonist to me is one with great chemistry with the protagonist and can create that certain tension when they're just invading the protagonist's personal space and you can't tell if they're about to beat the crap out of each other or have sex. LOL

Callisto Vs Xena

Faith Vs Buffy

Sarah Corvus Vs Jamie Sommers

"Every villain is a hero in his own story" -I can't remember where I read that, but it perfectly sums up my love for villains. 

Let's see -Kathleen Turner as Mattie in Body Heat- willing to do whatever is necessary, and so, so hot.

Helen Mirren as Morgana in Excalibur -so fierce she hobbled Merlin!

the bad Bond girls are usually fun, and kinda batshit, so it's always a pleasure to watch them. They're usually more interesting than the love interest, plus they have names like Fatima Blush, Onatop, and Pussy Galore.

And okay, not hot, not even humanoid, but the Alien Queen from Aliens was a superb villain.

hehehe:) oh well, as long as she carries herself complete with attitude and the smile. well there must be the mystery in it also.. but its mostly the look, and the outfit and the background story...shesh! thinking back to those movies i've seen with "hot" villainess'...man! makes the story more interesting than just the protagonists..:P and oh yeah, i agree, mystique makes one hell of a bad-ass too! ;)

I´d have to go with Sarah Michelle Gellar (I refuse to call her by her new last name) as  Katherine Merteuil in Cruel Intentions...

Talk about making someones life miserable and looking good doing it...and she gets points cause all she uses as a weapon is her "good girl" image.

and of course Faith...no explanation needed right?!