Neil Gaiman, the creator of such incredible stories as The Sandman and Good Omens, is a great writer. But his wonderful characters like Dream of the Endless and Coraline are made all the better when played next to the villains they come up against. One of the greatest things about Gaiman's villains is that, oftentimes, readers can find them captivating -- even sympathetic.
In addition, he crafts ordinary-seeming characters who turn out to be monstrous. But he also takes characters from fairytales and myths and humanizes them or has them wielding a bloodied hammer. Let’s break down the best Neil Gaiman villains starting with the standards.
10 Gabriel (Good Omens)
There are some who might say that Gabriel can only and distinctly be a “good guy”. He’s literally an archangel fighting for Heaven and God. But, life is just not that simple is it? While Gabriel fights demons such as Beelzebub and even Crowley, he’s not a good person to his fellow angels. He belittles Aziraphale at every turn, bosses people around, and generally just acts like a pompous, callous jerk.
Though not present in the original novel, the TV adaptation introduced him via actor Jon Hamm who will be returning for Good Omens season 2.
9 John Dee/Doctor Destiny (The Sandman)
Perhaps one of the saddest villains in Gaiman's collection, John Dee used to be a mortal man. His mother gave him Dream's ruby after Roderick Burgess stole it with Dream imprisoned. The ruby, not meant to be wielded by mortals, drove John to madness. He lusted for money, power, eternal life; however, John descended into homicidal sociopathy and used fellow humans as demented science projects.
When Dream freed him from the ruby's hold, John was able to dream again -- something else the ruby had robbed him of. With the ability to dream, John reclaimed some of his humanity. But all is not well as his role in DC comics continues to be that of a villain.
8 Cogliostro (Spawn)
Though Gaiman’s time spent writing for Spawn was limited, he created some truly remarkable characters. One of them, Cogliostro, goes on to become a series supervillain by the name of Sinn. The hellspawn originally came into the world as Cain – the first murderer. Now, he wants to rule Hell and eventually take on Heaven.
Todd McFarlane, long active in the comic world, contested Gaiman’s rights to the characters despite agreeing to 50/50 ownership rights initially. Gaiman successfully won his suit against McFarlane and Cogliostro can be seen in Spawn comics, in the 1997 film, and video game Spawn: In the Demon’s Hand.
7 Despair (The Sandman)
Twin sister of Desire, Despair actually was killed in her original form. The current Despair is an aspect, but just as sinister in her predilections and ambitions. In fact, some fans go so far as to say that Despair is one of the cruelest characters Gaiman has ever created.
She wears a sharp, hooked ring on her hand to tear at her skin whenever she so desires. It is heavily implied that Despair garners immense pleasure out of great pain. Fans are anxious to see her more in Netflix’s Sandman adaptation.
6 The Gods (American Gods)
That’s right – they’re all kinds of evil, let’s be honest. Low Key/Loki, though painted as a true antagonist, is not the only God with less-than-pure intentions. Odin is a swindler, Bilquis (Queen of Sheba) eats men, Czernobog was literally going to smash Shadow Moon’s head over a board game…the list goes on.
Getting to the New Gods makes it even worse. Technical Boy is every racist, homophobic, and sexist League of Legends player rolled into a sleek, petulant package. Media embodies narcissism and vanity. So even though Shadow Moon is not a singularly “good” character, his behavior doesn’t come close to the actions of the Gods.
5 The Beldam (Coraline)
Some might think of the Beldam as the next iteration on a classic “witch” in fairytales. She isn’t obsessed with staying young or even with obtaining tons of power. The Beldam wants to survive and to do that, she needs to collect souls to maintain her powers and realm. She lures in unsuspecting victims with visions and promises of what they desire most.
Though limited in the real world, the Beldam completely controls the Other World right down to the weather. She can create doppelgangers of real-world people and may even possess some clairvoyance. Of all Gaiman’s villains, she is truly fearsome once she sheds her promises and disguises.
4 The Four Horsemen/Horsepersons (Good Omens)
Another classic villain option, the Four Horsemen represent the four downfalls of humanity: pestilence/pollution, famine, war, and death. It isn’t difficult to see why these four made the list of Neil Gaiman’s best villains at all. But his reimagining of them is really what takes them up a notch.
After all, having Famine be a dieting guru in the modern world is the stuff of legends. Pestilence/pollution worked at both Chernobyl and Three Mile Island ahead of their respective meltdowns. The only curious thing is that Death cannot be extinguished like the other three. He will always exist and is almost a neutral party in the matter of the apocalypse. He is just doing his job
3 Miss Ursula (An Ocean at the End of the Lane)
This novel details a somewhat Lovecraftian story amid some unnamed countryside. Ursula has much in common with the Beldam from Coraline, but she can actually influence the outside world. In fact, she only enters it after shapeshifting into a worm and hitching a ride on the narrator character’s foot back into the real world.
Ursula is capable of manipulation, shapeshifting, seduction, some telepathy, and more. She represents something so much more palpable in today’s realm than the fairy-tale Beldam. Ursula encourages capitalistic tendencies while also destroying the narrator’s family and sense of self. Ultimately, she’s a villain that may strike fear into many people for a variety of reasons.
2 The Corinthian (The Sandman)
Created to be the personification of humanity’s primal fears, the Corinthian delivers on all fronts. But beyond that, he represents what people fear most about serial killers. He is charismatic, attractive, disarming – everything that can suck you in and turn you into a murder victim.
Dream created him as a mirror for humanity which is why he lacks eyes. “Eyes are the portal to the soul…The Corinthian eats eyes. With his eyes.” A little on the nose Dream, but never doubt your instincts, eh?
1 Lucifer Morningstar (The Sandman & Lucifer)
Gaiman handles the character of Lucifer quite a bit among his works. But the most memorable versions are the ones seen in The Sandman comics and in DC’s Lucifer. Both can also be seen in TV adaptions thanks to Netflix and Fox. But DC’s Lucifer acts as a sort of procedural detective.
The Sandman’s Lucifer is much more compelling in their grandiosity. Portrayed by actress Gwendoline Christie, the saccharine sweet smile quickly spits out sharp words and ominous tidings. This interpretation of Lucifer captures the character’s deepest frustrations about not conquering Heaven.