My Star Trek friends, I have to ask. I being a still newish Star Trek fan (I'm about a year in) have finally finished watching Deep Space 9 from beginning to end. And so far Deep Space 9 is of right now my favorite of the series although I have yet to watch Voyager or Enterprise so we shall see. But one of the things I love about Deep Space 9 is it characters. Sisko Odo, Quark Bashir, Dax etc... But also Deep Space 9 I think has one of the best Star Trek Villains I have ever seen so far Gul Dukat. Now here is a character that starts out as a slimy egotistical Cardassian office to basically for lack of a better term (Spoilers) An Insane Emissary of Evil plus a briefly a cult leader. Not to mention his many layers such as love for his daughter love of country, megalomania, insanity etc. So I have to ask is Gul Dukat one of the greatest antagonist Star Trek ever developed, even more then KHAN!, the Borg or heck even Q (Even though he's more of a antagonist then outright villain).

I personally am more a fan of reboot!Khan, and if not him then Q (even if he isn't so much a villain as a prankster).

He is most well developed character... But I still prefer Discord Q screw it DisQord.

2010461
As a Trekkie, I am also very partial toward DS9, and I also loved Gul Dukat's role as Sysco's antagonist: whereas Sysco was the initially reluctant hero of Bajor, Dukat was the iron-fisted Cardassian viceroy of Bajor. While he wasn't violent per se, his Nazi morality and utter lack of honour were only made more insidious by his geopolitical and military savvy. Remember how, when Dukat was leading the Cardassian/Dominion fleet into trying to prevent the laying and activation of the minefield, he was reprimanded by the Changeling when he insinuated that he would ignore the non-aggression treaty between the Dominion and Bajor? Eventually, the symbologies are shed and Sysco and Dukat literally become the Savior and the Satan of Bajor, deciding things through a direct fight rather than some grand battle.
I would have imagined that an honest magic mirror would reflect Dukat's face at people as rotten as Joseph Stalin, or George W. Bush.

BTW, I would never consider Q to be a villain. He was as annoying as every in-law in existence, but he never did much more than be a pain on the neck for Picard, Sysco and Janeway.

Well, you have to look at whom you're comparing against.

To break it down, the ultimate single character villains of Star Trek have been and continue to be Khan, Q, Dukat, and perhaps the Changeling Leader. (There others obviously, but either it'd take too long to list them or...spoilers)

To pit any one of them against another is almost as futile as resisting the Borg, because they each have their own redeeming traits, personality quirks and such that each of us latch on to and find either endearing, charming or just downright awesome.

For Khan (The original, not the remake), it is his relentless personality. He is an outcast from a bygone era whom is thrust into the 24th century and left to fend for himself. He's charismatic and well spoken. He has the traits of a leader. But at the same time, he's just downright power-mad. When Kirk leaves him stranded on Ceti-Alpha 5 with the promise of a chance at survival, he takes it instead of the alternative, which would be to see his people imprisoned. Kirk had no way of knowing that Ceti-Alpha 5 would become an inhospitable barren rock.

And that's where Khan's charm comes in. We finally get to see a bit of what he was like during his golden years. The most ruthless leader of the Earth Empire during the Eugenics Wars. (Let it be noted that there were no executions during Khan's rule. He's not totally heartless. He just knows that executions serve little in the way towards progress.) So now he's on a veritable revenge quest. One with an almost legitimate backing.

Q, on the other hand, is just a trickster. A prank master. He is at its heart: chaos. Even if the Q Continuum prides itself on being the overseers of the Universe, Q has a penchant for games and tests. He's likeable because we can all see the childish naivety in him that he claims exists in the Humans. Yet at the same time, his 'games' are quite dangerous; often with severe consequences.

And then we have Gul Dukat. A leader. A warrior. A family man. These are all things that most of us can identify with, which is why we actually feel for him when things go wrong...even if he's being a real plotface about them. He tries hard to fulfill his position and title so he can continue to serve is people (and his own self-interests). He works to support his family (because if he screws up, they feel it just as bad as he does). And then...he screws up anyway by letting vengeance get the better of him. He makes that one stupid mistake we all make. Even then, you can't help but feel bad for the guy.

So back to your question about who is the ultimate Star Trek villain. Honestly? I don't think it's a question you can answer without letting favoritism get in the way, really. They're all pretty well written. From Commander Tomalak to Gul Dukat. From Khan to Q. Every one of them has their redeeming traits and beautifully written stories. The question should be: whom do you prefer specifically?

(End Wall-O-Text. )

2010461
Sorry mate, but the best ST villain always is Khan. Between his deviousness, tactical genius, likability as a character, etc. None of the others were quite as deadly or smart and Q was just doing things for fun, so I don't count him as a 'villain' so to say.

2010461
Yeah, probably the best. I would say Q, but he's more of a Chaotic Neutral, so...
And yeah. You know if a villain is well-made or not when you completely despise him/her, even if they had a bad past or whatever :P

For sheer deviousness, Gul Dukat doesn't hold a candle to Garak, the "tailor".

I'll bet he's also a tinker and a soldier, if you get my drift.

2066026

Plain, simple, Garak... is awesome.