Top Ten Villains of FiM, Version 4 · 4:49pm Oct 27th, 2016
This list is going to be a little tricky since I can't include Gilda, Trixie, Discord, Sunset Shimmer, or Starlight Glimmer since all of them are reformed now and they really can't even make the honorable mentions (except maybe for Starlight, the Season 6 finale cemented Trixie and Discord's reformations and changes to the side of good, Starlight is still up for debate). But anyway, here's the previous version. Time to find out who moved up, who moved down, who got knocked off, and who was added.
10. Spoiled 'Milk' Rich (Episodes appeared in: Crusaders Of The Lost Mark, Applejack's "Day" Off, Where The Apple Lies)
Why she moved down: Spoiled actually got speaking appearances this season while her daughter got none and her husband only got one. But all they really did was show that Spoiled hasn't learned her lesson and that, if anything, she became even nastier after marry Filthy Rich. It also begs the question of who names their kid something like Spoiled Milk or Filthy Rich? If that's not a sign that your parents hate you, I don't know what is.
9. Suri Polomare (Episodes appeared in: Rarity Takes Manehattan)
Why she moved up: Suri only really moves up because Spoiled moved down considerably. Pretty much everything I said about Suri before rings true, compared to villains like Spoiled Rich (at least not counting "Where The Apple Lies" as that was a more believeable potrayal of someone as nasty as her) , Svengallop, and Zestsy Gormound, she is much more down to earth and the kind of villain you're likely to see in real life. And as I mentioned before, she is voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, which further cements her as the anti-Rarity.
8. Lightning Dust (Episodes appeared in: Wonderbolt Academy)
Why she moved up: Like with Suri, Lightning Dust only moves up because Spoiled Rich moved down. It seems that rumor about her and Wind Ryder possibly forming the Anti-Wonderbolts was just that, a rumor. But time will tell whether or not that idea will actually ever come into play now that Rainbow Dash is an actual Wonderbolt. It's worth mentioning that some people thought they saw a picture of Lightning Dust in "Top Bolt" at The Wonderbolts compound, and that the baby female pegasus foal shown in Sky Stinger's family in the flashback was Lightning Dust (but it wasn't although having Lightning Dust for a sister might explain why Sky Stinger became what he is). At least one comic also had Wind Ryder as Lightning Dust's grandfather, a headcanon I could easily see being true.
7. The Mane-iac (Episodes appeared in: Power Ponies)
Why she moved up: Again, she only moves up because Spoiled Rich moved down. The IDW Comics in their 2014 annual had her teaming up with enemies of The Power Ponies only to once again be defeated and outsmarted by Hum-Drum, so there's still not much about her beyond being a generic comic book super villain. I would include The Squwizard, but he was only present briefly in both real life role playing sessions and had little time to leave a lasting impression. If they ever returned to the world of Ogres and Obuliettes, perhaps he could appear on this list in The Mane-iac's place.
6. Lord Tirek (Episodes appeared in: Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2, The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2)
Why he stayed the same: Still pretty much a "villain sue" Tirek remains perhaps the most physical powerful of all the major threats to Equestria. He did get to play two roles though, being both a physical weak but mentally strong behind the scenes manipulator like Palpetine from the Star Wars franchise, and a hulking brute and seemingly unstoppable force. But like I said last time, he was largely lucky that Celestia's plan involved sending Discord off alone without any way of making sure he could be trusted. Yes, Discord was a wild card and it made sense why he was sent to hunt down Tirek, but even with the most fool proof of plans it never hurts to have a back up plan in case something goes wrong.
5. Nightmare Moon (Episodes appeared in: Friendship is Magic Parts 1 and 2, Princess Twilight Sparkle Parts 1 and 2, The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2)
Why she moved down: Though she currently is tied with Queen Chrysalis for the most overall appearances from an unreformed major antagonist (assuming you don't consider her part of Princess Luna), Nightmare Moon's appeal has largely dried up by now as even the IDW Comics have done a lot to expand upon what was a rather limited and generic villain. I would include Midnight Sparkle from "Friendship Games" and "Legend of Everfree" but in the former she was only a threat for a few minutes before being quickly dispatched by Daydream Shimmer, and in the latter she was largely just there as a concern for Sci-Twi as she underwent her redemption process. I also can't include Nightmare Rarity since while she boasted a really cool design and concept, she is sadly confined to just one comic arc and likely will never appear in the show proper. And even then it was the Nightmare Forces who were the big threat, Nightmare Rarity was just their means to an end like with Nightmare Moon.
4. The Dazzlings: Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk (Movies appeared in: Rainbow Rocks)
Why they moved up: The Dazzlings still have a lot of untapped potential if Equestria Girls ever gets that spin-off series it clearly wants and deserves. Gaia Everfree was a pretty well designed villain, and she got a really good villain song in the form of "We Stand For Evefree" (including some very clever word play) but as I mentioned in my review of "Legend of Everfree" her actions don't make sense when we learn why Gloriosa Daisy becomes Gaia Everfree, and this could've been easily solved if they had cut out human Filthy Rich and just said the camp was falling behind on its payments and was going to close down. The Dazzlings knew what they wanted, how they were going to achieve it, and their actions made sense, they targeted everyone and anyone that could stand in their way and any element they couldn't control or manipulate they removed. The only mistake they made was somehow not noticing human Vinyl Scratch never taking off her headphones and thus being immune to The Dazzlings' influences. As I mentioned before though, the focus on them is uneven. Sonata Dusk is mostly comedic relief (which at times makes her look like an idiot and keep in mind that she was willingly going along with with Adagio and Aria so she knew what she was doing) and Aria Blaze got only that throw away line about a power struggle. Maybe that line could crop up again if The Dazzlings ever make a return appearance (maybe ally themselves with Principal Cinch)?
3. Queen Chrysalis (Episodes appeared in: A Canterlot Wedding Parts 1 and 2, The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2, To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2)
Why she moved up: While I question why her echoy voice filter was once again absent (this time it's especially jarring since Trixie also appears in this episode and without the filter Chrysalis sounds like a more villainous Trixie), "To Where And Back Again" shows that Chrysalis is a pretty strong planner, being able to successfully slip past Equestria's defenses to now have the bragging rights of capturing all of the princesses (though I still think the finale could've just had her capture Princess Twilight and her friends minus Spike, and have her send a batch of changeling to The Crystal Empire to create a distraction for the remaining members of the royal family). She just needs to work on her acting for herself and her soldiers. She also has a lot of potential to becoming a reoccurring threat since she rejected Starlight's offer of redemption. Whether or not she ever does return is a question only time can answer.
2. Gladmane (Episodes appeared in: Via Las Pegasus)
Why he was added: Now Gladmane is the kind of villain I can appreciate. The kind of villain who has a good motivation, his actions make sense, and while he's not as morally grey as some of the more popular lesser antagonists you can still see that he's smart and you can rightfully hate him while still admiring how he finds a way to end up on top. He's also a good step in the right direction for the "What I'm doing is wrong. I know it's wrong. But I'm doing it/gonna do it anyway." motivation that rightfully belongs to antagonists (and possibly villain protagonists and protagonists decaying into antagonists). And he also comes close to being the kind of villain who doesn't see himself as one, and just thinks he's doing what anyone else would do in his situation. He comes close because he admits what he's doing is mean, but his justification is "If it ain't broke don't fix it". I just find it a little too convinent how Applejack and Fluttershy found out what he was doing to everyone in his establishment. It would've been more believeable if he divided Flim and Flam, then had them both see part of what he was doing and count on them being against each other so they wouldn't figure out the secret to his success and take over. Then Flim and Flam could've filled Applejack and Fluttershy in once they were brought back together (with Fluttershy having learned of Gladmane's deceptions through seperate meetings with the two brothers while trying to get them back together).
(Alright quick recap before we get to number 1. 10. Spoiled 'Milk' Rich, 9. Suri Polomare, 8. Lightning Dust, 7. The Mane-iac, 6. Lord Tirek, 5. Nightmare Moon, 4. The Dazzlings, 3. Queen Chrysalis, and 2. Gladmane)
1. King Sombra (Episodes appeared in: Crystal Empire Parts 1 and 2, The Cutie Re-Mark Part 1)
Why he moved up: Sombra remains the furthest departure from a generic villain now that much of his competition has been disqualified. While he may be killed off for good in the show and the IDW comics may have horribly butchered him in a redemption arc that we're not going to talk about, there's still the possibility he could become relevant again in some way, shape, or form. At least one fanfic writer has teased the idea of Sombra's ghost coming to aid Chrysalis by filling her with dark magic but making her obedient to him in the process. This could be the basis for a villain team-up (maybe having a powered up Chrysalis bust Lord Tirek out of Tartarus too, Chrysalis and Tirek now share the theme of betrayal as does arguably King Sombra). But who knows what will happen in Season 7, maybe we'll get another villain like Starlight Glimmer before her redemption, or maybe the next Equestria Girls installment will bring about a villain that finally dethrones The Dazzlings?
And there you have it. Come back tomorrow when we take a look at the top twenty songs of the show. There's a couple of songs from Season 6 that deserve to be included.
For me, the best villain is, was, and always shall be: pre-reformation Starlight.
And the big reason is that, to this day, she was the smartest and most cunning villain.
Chrysalis moved into second due to To Where and Back Again.
4273621 Yeah, I honestly think Starlight worked better as a villain and the writers kind of messed up on selling us on her as a hero. I kind of liked the idea a few people proposed of Twilight adopting the younger Starlight from the past, and that counting for the reformation. It would've made more sense and probably would've helped justify Starlight's actions in "No Second Prances" and "Every Little Thing She Does".
Chrysalis is best!
4273627 Honestly, though, I actually think that Starlight's character became even better when she became a hero.
As for the idea of Twilight adopting the younger Starlight, it seems nice in theory, but then it would lead to a bunch of paradoxes that I don't think the show would be able to reasonably explain away (and I don't say that lightly).
In fact, I actually consider Starlight's reformation as-is to be the second best reformation of the series (number 1 being Diamond Tiara's), since:
a. It didn't involve any magic.
b. If you stop and think about it, it's actually one of the longer ones. Because I'd argue that her reformation starts as soon as she sees the wasteland future for herself.
And I think Starlight's actions in "No Second Prances" and "Every Little Thing She Does" were justified well enough as-is.