There is a saying that storytellers are tired of hearing, that goes something like this: Your hero is only as good as its villain. After all, how can a hero even be defined without an antagonistic force to overcome or protect people from? Without a good villain that challenges the hero, the story becomes stale, and the stakes are not high. This creates boring stories that the audience doesn’t care about since it is always too easy to predict what will happen. However, some hero-villain duos are so perfect for each other and, most of the time, represent the complete opposite of one another, that they’re practically impossible to stop watching.

Some character pairings bring viewers time and time again to the movie theater. Actors become known for playing them as well as directors for their new take on such iconic characters. They are so complex that there is always a new turn to take or a new emphasis to give, never boring the audience, even if they have watched them hundreds of times before.

Here are some iconic hero-villains pairings that have stood the test of time.

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8 Peter Pan and Captain Hook

     Walt Disney Pictures

While there are some villain-hero pairings that are more on the subtle side, this is very different. Peter Pan is a children’s story that also touches the heart of adults who don’t want to grow up. This pairing is so interesting because one directly opposes the other, and it is who they are in their core that goes into the conflict. In the book, this dynamic goes further, since Hook is obsessed with his looks and good form, while Peter Pan doesn’t have to worry about any of that.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

7 Jean Valjean and Javert

     Universal Pictures

This pairing goes back to the 19th century and the great novel Les Miserables. They are the creations of an author who is considered one of the most influential realist writers of that century, Victor Hugo. Nevertheless, Jean Valjean and the ruthless Javert have been revisited hundreds of times since. They fight for most of their lives according to their own sense of justice. Javert represents harsh justice, while Valjean tries to give hope to the audience. Once the worlds collide is impossible to stop watching, and as any good French story written in this time period, it ends in tragedy.

6 Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter

     Orion Pictures

Hannibal Lecter has become one of the most beloved (even if that’s a bit weird) villains in recent cinema. His dynamic with the FBI rookie Clarice Starling (especially in Silence of the Lambs) is bewitching to watch. The changes in power and the utter fact that they deeply need one another make them so remarkable. Also, how different they are physically and the type of persona they impose enhances the feeling of a caged animal and a delicate prey.

5 Sherlock Holmes and Jim Moriarty

     BBC

This duo also goes back to the 19th century. Sherlock Holmes is undoubtedly the most well-known fictitious detective in the world. To beat the world’s most cunning detective, Moriarty had to be just as intelligent and resourceful as him. Watching these two geniuses fight and try to outsmart each other is truly thrilling, especially in the somewhat recent Sherlock version of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories. There have been many other detectives and criminals duos, but nothing quite comes close to these two.

4 Neo and Agent Smith

     Warner Bros.

The Matrix franchise is set in a complex world and has had some iconic characters that influenced sci-fi stories that came later, including the duo Neo and Agent Smith. However, the antagonism between them regards their goals: Agent Smith wants to get out of the Matrix, and Neo is determined to achieve the complete opposite. They have a symbiotic relationship, combined with great duels filled with action and innovative CGI. The nature of their relationship, not being able to escape one another, is what creates the high tension that enhances the stakes of this story.

3 Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort

The boy who lived and he-who-must-not-be-named changed the fantasy genre forever in literature and cinema. Every encounter they had over eight Harry Potter movies made the audience hold their breath. Seeing Harry growing old and Voldemort becoming stronger, creates a deadly cat-and-mouse dynamic that is as strong as Harry’s wish to be reunited with the family Voldermort took away. This pairing is deeply fascinating because of the dark emotional bond they will always share, and the fact that Harry was Voldermort’s unintentional Horcrux — carrying a part of his enemy inextricably with him.

2 Batman and the Joker

     Warner Bros. Pictures

There are various iconic duos with superheroes and their villains however, Batman and the Joker stand apart from the others. The Joker’s first appearance in a Batman comic book happened in 1940. Since then, this duo has had numerous encounters, from the 1960s TV series to The Dark Knight and more, usually ending in blood. Maybe it is the sheer lunacy the Joker brings to the table against Batman’s strong sense of justice or the fact that they were some of the best-adapted duos from comic books to the big screen. Either way, there are very few that get close to their amazing battles.

1 Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader

     20th Century Fox

There are very few movie franchises as iconic as Star Wars. Now, the galaxy far, far away has numerous movies and even a park at Disney. There have been multiple forces of the dark side fighting Jedis, but the first one will always be the one people associate with these stories: Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Their battles were already emblematic, but once the audience found out one of the biggest plot twists in modern cinema: Luke’s nemesis was actually his father. This emotional and mind-blowing element solidified as one of the best duos ever made.