Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Watchmen (2009)

In Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, Adrian Veidt a.k.a. Ozymandias declares that he’s “not a comic book villain”, and while the film is based on the acclaimed Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel, the character — as played by Matthew Goode — isn’t entirely wrong. Although many super-villains appear to be motivated purely by self-interest, Ozymandias’ plot has actually been designed with the long-term future of the human race in mind. Of course, that means the sacrifice of millions of lives in the process, but according to The World’s Smartest Man, the only other alternative would likely have been the apocalyptic threat of nuclear war. In this way, Ozymandias simultaneously represents both a standard example of your typical comic book baddie and an anomaly of what fans expect. His methods may be extreme, but it’s hard to argue with his assertion that mankind needs dramatic events to stay united against its inevitable destiny to tear itself apart.

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