March Badness - Fiendish 4

Any of these last four villains have an argument for ultimate baddie.  But only two will meet in the final to earn that title.

Previous rounds:
Explanation / List of contenders
Round 1
Round 2
Sour 16
Evil 8

Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars) vs The Joker (Batman, The Dark Knight)

The scope of Palpatine's evil is broader than anyone's in the tournament.  He wants to conquer the galaxy and rule over all worlds with absolute dominance.  He constructs a device with the capability to obliterate entire planets.  However, while we can assume that Palpatine has always lusted for power, the same can't be said for the purity of his evil.  It's the dark side of the force that has corrupted him, turning him truly vile.  There is no magical force acting on The Joker.  He is simply a homicidal maniac.  But it's his style and the utter joy he feels wreaking havoc that really tips it his way.  As Alfred put it, "some men just want to watch the world burn."

Winner: The Joker

Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon) vs The Governor (The Walking Dead)

Hannibal does some messed up stuff (see the clip below).  And the thing is, he does it in a civilized world.  The Governor is despicable, there's no doubt about that, but you have to wonder if he would be as bad if you take away the zombie apocalypse.  He certainly wouldn't be going around killing people.  Dr. Lecter is evil, despite being educated and not really having a reason to kill and eat people.  He just likes it, I guess.

*WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC/DISTURBING IMAGES*

Winner: Hannibal Lecter

The Bracket

The final match-up is set.  Here's what the bracket looks like heading into the championship:

* - denotes a villain's name that was removed to avoid spoilers.  To see the real name, find the matching entry in the list of match-ups above and click the *SPOILER ALERT* link (only if you've already read or seen the book/movie/show or don't mind spoilers)