Most antagonists in movies are completely inept, simply being cannon fodder so the protagonists look more heroic when they beat them. But there are other villains who are so iconic for a reason. All of these characters have their distinctive skills and attitudes, and that would make a battle royale between all of them so entertaining.
They all have their own unique ways of settling feuds and attacking their enemies, and some even sit back and while others do their work for them. Between soulless gangsters, savage cannibals, and genocidal space dictators, this Hunger Games would be that most sadistic and disturbing of them all.
Michael Corleone
In the first Godfather movie, Michael Corleone started out as a hero. But in The Godfather Part II, Michael had turned even more vindictive and calculated than Vito. Anybody who wronged Michael was instantly put on his hit list, immediate family notwithstanding. And his lack of empathy or any emotion whatsoever is a great attitude to have in the Hunger Games.
What sets Michael apart from the rest of the Godfather characters is that he’s the only one to do his own dirty work himself, instead of getting one of the assassins on the payroll to get it done. However, compared to the other villains in the arena, Michael doesn’t have any super powers and isn’t trained in any kind of combat. The only thing he knows how to do is point a gun.
Cruella De Vil
If all of her other contestants were dogs, she’d wipe the floor clean with her furry coats, but the reality is that Cruella wouldn’t stand a chance in the Hunger Games.
However, though in the Disney classic she was constantly rattled and all over the place, the newly released Cruella has added so many new dimensions to the character. In the movie, she’s actually pretty combative and takes down several guys much bigger than her. Cruella is so manipulative and sneaky too, which is a great skill to have in the arena.
Hans Gruber
Though Hans Gruber is nothing more than a common thief, just with a bigger vision than most, he’s great at planning, as he has a plan A, plan B, plan C, and if all those plans fail, he’s quick to think on his feet.
And, hilariously enough, the biggest skill that Hans has is the ability to put on accents, as he’s German pretending to be American when he first meets John McClane. So when it comes to his performance in the Hunger Games, it’d be a case of Hans simply trying to survive as long as he can as opposed to killing, as he’s more of a scavenger than a hunter. Sadly, everyone know how it’ll end for Gruber, as his death is the most rewatchable scene in Die Hard.
Jack Torrance
“Here’s Johnny” is one of the most referenced scenes in movie history, and if any of the villains come in to close-range of Jack when he’s wielding an axe, chances are they aren’t going to last long.
However, while Jack’s erratic behavior might serve him well early in the game (like when he lost his mind in The Overlook Hotel), it takes a lot more than being a psychopath to make it in the Hunger Games. In fact, to make it the arena, contestants have to be more levelheaded and ingenious than anything. And Jack was literally outsmarted by a child in the minotaur maze in The Shining.
The T-800
Though the T-800 became the hero in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the lionhearted terminator was a programmed killer in the first movie. He was a stoic murderer and nothing would get in his way.
With murder being his only motivation and being completely devoid of feelings, without that heart that he earned in Judgement Day, there’s little that would stop the T-800. But the machine wasn’t completely without its flaws, as that natural human behavior is exactly what set the T-800 back in the first movie, because it couldn’t predict exactly what Sarah Connor was going to do next.
Tyler Durden
Technically, Tyler Durden might not even be a real person, but whether as the narrator or a completely separate entity, the shredded villain would fair well in the games, regardless of technicalities. He literally influenced a whole terrorist movement, intentionally scarred himself with acid, and forced the narrator to crash a vehicle with them inside it.
Tyler has seen so much, and there have been so many scenarios that have carved him into the macho ballsy anarchist that he is. And where Jack Torrance and Tyler might be equally psychotic, there’s clearly a method to Tyler’s madness. Better contenders might even be too scared to take Tyler on simply because of how fearless he is.
Keyser Soze
In a similar way to Hans Gruber, Keyser Soze’s biggest power is being able to lie, but with much more determination. Keyser Soze is essentially invisible, as not one member of The Usual Suspects knew that Soze was in the group the whole time.
What’s even more fascinating is that the Keyser Soze that audiences see at the end of the movie might not even be the real Keyser Soze, as there’s no knowing how deep the lies go (and even while filming the movie, none of the actors knew who the real Keyser Soze was). If the story about the character killing his whole family just to prove a point is true, then it’s likely that his opponents will want to stay out of his way for as long as possible.
Hannibal Lecter
If Hannibal can escape a guarded cage undetected and then even make his way to the Bahamas in The Silence of the Lambs, chances are he would kill it, quite literally, in the Hunger Games arena.
The character literally disguised himself by cutting off a guard’s face and using it as a mask, and that’s an extreme length that not even Jack Torrance or Keyser Soze would go to. And when it comes to general survival tactics, it’s obvious that Hannibal would outlast most other villains given that he’s not just willing, but happy to eat human meat.
Darth Vader
Darth Vader should arguably have never been redeemed, as he was a genocidal maniac who killed millions of people at a time. He even murdered children in Revenge of the Sith. But it’s that exact mindset that should be brought in to the Hunger Games arena.
Even decades after he was redeemed, fans still saw him being arguably more sadistic than he had ever been depicted before. The character went on a savage rampage in Rogue One, splitting rebels in two with his blood-red lightsaber. On top of that, almost no other contender can compete with the force choke, and realistically, the Hunger Game would be over before it even begins.
The Alien
One of the scariest moments in Alien is close to the end when Ripley enters the room the alien is in. The alien is in plain sight on-screen, but is camouflaged with the ship. And when audiences’ eyes adjust and finally see the alien, it’s one of the most disturbing and heart-sinking moments in movie history.
That’s exactly why the alien would reign victorious over even Darth Vader, as the Hunger Games terrain makes for some perfect areas to hide, and that’s something it can take advantage of more than any other opponent.