As voters, we must be able to rely on those responsible. They must be beacons of hope for morality, free from corruption and greed. Of course they just aren't. For every Bill Pullman who saves the world independence Daythere's a dick in it Frost/Nixon. While Harrison Ford's action-ready president told terrorists to get off his plane Air Force OneJohn Hurt ruled a futuristic Britain with an iron fist V for Vendetta.
Through film, these sometimes cartoonish real-life characters can be stretched and pushed to breaking point in their own dastardly schemes. Below we rank some of the ones we think are the most nefarious, idiotic, and memorable.
9 President Camacho - idiocy
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Former wrestler Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho is now the commander in chief of a world of idiots and heaps of trash in Idiocracy. With the world collapsing around them, Camacho is a singing, dancing machine gun president of the people who are silencing. In fairness, he's doing his best. Without any irony, this is somehow arguably the best and worst president devoted to celluloid.
Following on from real life, creator Mike Judge would reprise the character alongside a very game Terry Crews to parody Donald Trump's election campaign.
8 Tracy Flick - Election
Again, maybe not bad, but definitely morally gray, Tracy Flick is the perfect brown noser, who will do anything to become Student President. Driven and selfish, Tracy isn't necessarily bad, but not necessarily good either, knowing that if she continues at this rate, she can get anything she wants. She is opportunism personified.
History teacher Jim (Mathew Broderick) devises a plan to overthrow the girl and urges a sympathetic jock to run against her in the election. But the real struggle comes from Tracy and Jim, who are willing to do anything to get what they need. Electionremains a fantastic satire of high school and American politics.
7 Harriet Jones & The Slitheen - Doctor Who
The Slitheen, spherical green aliens with baby faces and long arms, disguised as those in power, use human skin as suits to hide in plain sight. The Slitheen become favorite new villains for the David Tennant era Doctor whoand more than resembles the current UK government under an equally vicious Tory stranglehold.
Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton, who fans may remember as Shaun of the dead's mother), who would help save the day against the Slitheen, would eventually work her way up to Prime Minister herself in a later series. When the Sycorax raided London at Christmas, she showed her true character and would have their ship destroyed as they retreated as a show of force.
6 Mayor West - Family Guy
Voiced by the late great Adam West, "zany" doesn't cover half of Mayor West's reign over the city. Crazy and flamboyant (and 95% helium), he would date Meg for a while, or flip-flop in radioactive waste in an attempt to gain superpowers (he got cancer). He has also been seen killing civilians of Quahog on multiple occasions.
Following on from West's one-episode guest spot on Johnny Bravo (of which Family man creator Seth McFarlane was a writer), played the same kind of lofty caricature of himself, a permanent place Family man made an odd amount of sense. After West's passing, for some reason he would be replaced on the show by Sam Elliot - who alone hasn't been able to fill the gap left by the great actor who played Batman.
5 Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby - The Simpsons
Corrupt and constantly bumbling, Quimby has been a staple of The Simpsons from the beginning. Quimby is more than happy to be an adulterer and willing to take a bribe. In the crossover episode with Family manQuohog's Mayor West and Springfield's Mayor Quimby leave the courtroom to smoke weed.
During the UK's Covid 19 lockdowns, the then Prime Minister of Britain (and former Mayor of London), Boris Johnson, was one of many accused of traveling abroad for a short period of time. This mirrored Quimby's own airborne press conference about Springfield's own deadly virus live from the Bahamas.
4 Richard Nixon - Futurama
The disembodied head of Richard Nixon is re-elected in the future (winning by a single vote) and is portrayed as an outright villain in Futurama. With the prospect of winning the election, he vows to "sell children's organs to zoos for meat and go into people's houses and trash the place."
With the right hand in a decapitated Spiro Agnew and a giant deadly robot for a torso, Nixon is a frequent adversary of the Planet Express gang, while regularly being relied upon in many episodes to be the de facto "man in charge" . , despite committing treason and physically destroying the White House.
3 Oswald Cobblepott / The Penguin - Batman returns
There's such a wonderful thing that someone as mean and downright evil as The Penguin, who eats raw fish and has black blood, seems like the ideal candidate to rule Gotham City. The disturbing thing is that there's no real problem, only when a band reveals that Cobblepott (Danny DeVito) is only too happy to sell his citizens down the river for his own ends.
Outed, Penguin hatches a ridiculous plan to steal all of Gotham's children, pretending to be abandoned as a child.
2 Mayor Vaughn - Jaws
Consistently dismissing Chief Brody's warnings, the mayor of Amity Jaws is determined to keep the beaches open for summer and tourism. And he has to, right? A small beach town like Amity needs all the business it can get! Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), seen in consistently bad suits, is a skeptic, a no-hoper who stubbornly ignores the signs in front of him because of seeing tourist dollars. While the shark is the menace of the film, it is Vaughn who is the villain of the story.
A topical meme currently doing the rounds is the importance of showing up in elections. Despite the fact that several people have died Jawsis the mayor still in power through the sequel, where he's arguably an even worse person.
1 Emperor Palpatine - Star Wars
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A living embodiment of power corruption, Palpatine's white, flabby skin and yellow eyes rule the galaxy with the undeniable power of the Galactic Empire. As he works his way through the ranks by shmoozing and manipulating those he wanted close to him and killing the rest, Palpatine is well detailed in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and a disturbing overlord in the originals.
Setting himself apart from everyone else on the list, with his own lightsaber skills, blue lightning from his fingertips, and unstoppable henchman in one Darth Vader, Palpatine remains the Star Wars universe's Big Bad (despite the fact that his most recent appearance came across as indulgent fan service).
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