"Let's Play . . . Keeping Up With The Cardassians!" Topic

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Which fictional alien species, from film, tv, or print media, is the MOST EVIL* one of all?

- The Bajoran-displacing Cardassians?
- The host-hunting xenomorphs from Aliens?
- The PR-controlling, human-harvesting reptilians from "V"?
- Or something else? And why?

Dan
* And I know everyone defines evil differently. To me, it must involve a lot of serious planning/machination, towards a truly sick goal.

Chloe…..

She seems to be a bit too into herself, given all of her pre-nuptial demands.

I submit she rivals any Cardassian depicted on TV, in the various Sci-Fi series…..

Reavers from Firefly are not nice guys. The Sith are also evil.

Reavers?

But, John, are they truly evil? Or just poor sick (infected) people, like poor little Rager Zombies? :)

Dan

The Aliens from Alien are not really evil either, since they are simply trying to fulfil their biological niche. It just so happens that niche is inimical to humans…

Damon.

The Federation from Star Trek!
Oh sure they always claim good, peaceful and noble intentions, which is one of their greatest tricks! However, just ask any member of any old school conquering warrior race or empire what it's like to go up against these spandex clad, sickly sweet paragons of Pan-Galactic virtue and far different picture emerges. Maybe you don't want to be part of the Federation; maybe "conquest of the stars" is a literal virtue in your empire. But maybe you've never thought about how well armed those enormous "science vessels" really are and, even if you take a few out, how fast they can build more.

Ha! Your fathers flew to the stars in war ships that struck fear into the hearts of all those they met. The conquered alien worlds and built an empire. Your sons will wear spandex onesies with no flies or pockets and brag about the Prime Directive and how they don't use money any more.

And your women? Well, I've got one thing to say to you about what will happen to your women….

James T. Kirk!

Hmmm.

I guess that, if you want to be truly diabolical, you've actually got to enjoy messing with the minds and spirit of your victims, not just their persons.

Like a cat playing with its prey, making them think like they have a snowball's chance in hell, a truly evil species would have to enjoy inflicting and observing our emotional and physical pain. They would have to want to make us suffer.

Otherwise, they would just be simply be doing things necessary for their survival. And, nowadays, we can't be going around blaming people for doing that, now can we? :)

Dan
PS. Man, those aliens from "V" really look like they enjoy playing with their food:
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"Don't worry. She doesn't bite."

LOL. Man, I love that line!

Dan
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The Macrobes from That Hideous Strength & The Unman from Perelandra.
*Whether these count as fictitious depends on you religious beliefs though…

the bad guys from the vin diesel trilogy, cant remember the name right now
oh and the comet monster from fith element
and how about the black smoke/john locke body snatcher from LOST
also the bad guys from babylon5 with the spider like ships

also the bad guys from babylon5 with the spider like ships

Nah, the Vorlons were way worse than the Shadows.
-Kle.

Chloe…..

She reminds Me more of a Klingon.

The Vang

I'm not sure about being the most evil but the most distasteful, imho, are the Vorta in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Marvin the Martian…and his plot to blow up the Earth because it obstructs his view of Venus.

War of the Worlds Martians. Greedy little s want to wipe us out and steal the Earth.

Those sneaky, devious disguise-wearing reptillians sons of Bs from V are high on the list

The War of the World Martians, I agree, are way up there

I had forgotten about the Vang, but they are most certainly nasty

the Vorta are scumbags, but they know their pay grade

Mlatch raises an interesting point – thinking back to Star Trek III (The Search for Spock), there is a neat dialogue between two Klingons, Kruge and one of his officers

- They can make a planet.
- Oh, yes. New cities, homes in the country.
- Your woman at your side, children playing at your feet.
- And overhead, fluttering in the breeze, the flag of the Federation!
- Charming

As for the xenos from Aliens – not evil, just singular

"Ash: You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.
Lambert: You admire it.
Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor… unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality."

The Coneheads.

The Vang?

Is this what you guys mean?

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Dan

I have to agree with it being the Federation, which is nothing more than a socialist military dictatorship held together by military force and smarmy platitudes forced on an indoctrinated public. Starship captains are appointed judge, jury, and executioner in all situations in which they find themselves, and regularly violate their own laws when convenient for them to gain from said violations.

At least the Klingons operate with a fairly rigid code of conduct – you know what to expect from them. With the Feds, it's always a toss of the dice as to what happens (which could be really bad if you get a cranky female captain at the wrong time of the month).

The Federation?

Nah.

1) They may be an organization, composed of multiple races, but I don't think they qualify as a "fictional alien species".

2) What the Federation does may be horrific to some but, just like the Borg (and some modern political leaders and parties), they really believe they are doing others a favor and elevating them somehow. I don't think everyone understands that horrific and evil are not the same thing. The evil race knows that what they do is morally wrong (even by their own standards) and, worst of all, they truly enjoy inflicting emotional and physical pain on their victims.

Sorry. The validity of my second point here might depend on everyone's different idea on what constitutes true evil, but the first point is a hard rule for this game: it must be a "fictional alien species".

Dan

Ok, I'll be the first to say it: The little grey aliens. Their agenda is very mysterious…cattle mutilations, human abductions, the whole Roswell thing. Anal probes!? They may be subtle, but they certainly could be very evil. We…just…don't…KNOW. Think about it.

Pete

Fine. The Melniboneans from the Elric saga fit your criteria perfectly – fictional, non-human, depraved beyond our understanding, chaotic, taking pleasure in the infliction of bodily harm, and showing no remorse for any actions taken (up to and including the destruction of their own empire by their own hands).

There was a great scene from ST DS9 where Quark and Garik were sitting in the bar while the universe is going to hell outside with only the Federation holding it together.
I can't remember it word for word but it went
Quark: here drink this
Garik: spitting it out It's Vile!
Quark: it's an earther drink called root beer
Garik: it's so bubbly and crisp
Quark: like the earthers, the thing is the more you drink it the more you like it
Garik: it's insidious
Quark: Also like the earthers
Garik: tell me do you think the federation will be able to save us from our current predicament?
Quark: ooh I hope not.
This to Me sums up how most aliens viewed the Federation.

There's nothing subtle about anal probes, Sloppypainter!

I don't think grays fit either, since they are obviously intergalactic teen-agers out on mischief night. How else do you explain their, ahem, probes?

Damon.

Pete (Sloppypainter): "Ok, I'll be the first to say it: The little grey aliens. Their agenda is very mysterious…cattle mutilations, human abductions, the whole Roswell thing. Anal probes!? They may be subtle, but they certainly could be very evil. We…just…don't…KNOW. Think about it."

LOL. You may be on to something there!

They must have gotten all the scientific information they needed for research on humans a long time ago*. Come on. Don't they know by now that the anus is not part of our reproductive system? But, yet, they keep doing it. So they must be continuing simply because they enjoy it somehow.

Also . . . they must be getting enjoyment out of:

- The continued sexual experiments.
- The mental anguish of those who remember bits and pieces of the ordeal. Why don't they improve their mental block techniques?
- The constant distress of those who think they are being tracked and may be plucked away at any moment.
- And, think about it. Who, but a truly evil race, would interrupt something as sacred as sleep!

Dan
* Hmmm. Almost like today's "research" whaling expeditions. :)

My vote for most evil? The Jedi. Self-styled supreme beings by virtue of infestation by the midichlorians, the Jedi inspired fear wherever they went in Phantom Menace. The Jedi council worked to stagnate the development of the Republic and neuter the political will of the people (aka the Senate) while remaining the true, unaccountable power behind the throne.

Jedi?

Again . . . like I said about the Federation above (seven posts before this one):

1) Not a race; and
2) They really believe they are doing others a favor. Very "parental", if you ask me.

Dan

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'Nuff said.

KJdidit: "The Melniboneans from the Elric saga fit your criteria perfectly – fictional, non-human, depraved beyond our understanding, chaotic, taking pleasure in the infliction of bodily harm, and showing no remorse for any actions taken (up to and including the destruction of their own empire by their own hands)."

Well done! I think you found one that fits perfectly:

"… they lack a moral sense. Their actions are determined by tradition and by the search for pleasure and new sensations. Meerclar, Lord of the Cats, compares the Imrryrian nature to the nature of his own kind in their sophistication and their love of cruelty and pleasure. Torture of slaves and prisoners is a common amusement."
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I appreciate you introducing me to a new race too. Until now, I had never heard of the Melnibone.

Thanks.

Dan

"The Vang?

Is this what you guys mean?

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Dan"

That would be them, yes. The culture into which the Vang occasionally encroached had only one rule for dealing with the Vang…. when detected, nuke the entire planet immediately, no matter what the population, no questions asked.

Nope, nope, nope.

It has to be the Vogons.

Because they will, with deliberate malice, planned aforethought, read you… POETRY!!!

Even Sith shudder in fear at the thought.

Virtualscratchbuilder,

Hmmm. Horrific yes.

But, were they acting out of evil enjoyment of inflicting death and pain, or simply out of an overly paranoid sense of self-preservation?

Dan

Most of the Vang operated under hardwired biological imperatives, some of which were actively harmful to their overall goals – which is exactly why they don't manage to get off the planet in time in that book, their leader caste critter insists on playing nesting chicken instead of leaving while it could. They're certainly nasty and treat other species as raw material, but they don't top my list any more than the Tyranids or Alien movie xenos do.

Niven's Slavers are a decent candidate. Making every other living creature your slave and delighting in doing so is certainly evil by our standard of measurement.

The Slavers?

Sounds interesting. Were they an alien race, or just a group with that as their profession?

Dan

Yeah… the Thrint "slavers" had crossed my mind also.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrint

There was a Discworld novel that had some unpleasant Elves in it.

Daleks and the other enemies of Dr.Who.

Forgot about the Thrint, but they certainly qualify

Never thought of the Vogons as evil, just very, very unpleasant

The Midi-Chlorians!!!

Yes, the elves in "Lords and Ladies" were very nasty. I read some exerpts from it to an elf loving housemate of mine (she had a couple of Elfquest elves tattooed on her arm in full colour) and she made me up a pin with "Elfhater" on it. I agree with Pratchett's view of elves.

David S.

Actually, I'd go with the race of green tentacled aliens represented by Kang and Kodos on The Simpsons.

David S.

the alien invaders from Independence Day

Alien Invaders from Mars Attacks!

Nothing worse than Alien overlords with a sick sense of humour

Gra ka gra ka ra

How about the Stargate Goua'uld (sp??) Alien, Evil, fictional and very tasty to some.

Yes, the Goa'uld, Wraith … bad … Dark Eldar … really bad … for a number of reasons at a number of levels …