Home Gaming The Worst Emperors in Pop Culture, From Gladiator to Star Wars

The Worst Emperors in Pop Culture, From Gladiator to Star Wars

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Set roughly 20 years after the occasions of the Oscar-winning first movie, Gladiator II tells a brand new story in regards to the Roman Empire and those that dared to defy it. Ridley Scott’s unique movie featured two Roman emperors, one good (Marcus Aurelius) and one very dangerous (Commodus); likewise, Gladiator II additionally encompasses a pair of real-life emperors, solely this time each match most clearly into the villain class. As performed by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, respectively, Geta and Caracalla are twin brothers whose reign as co-emperors is marked by cruelty, corruption, and chaos.

“Their bloodthirsty whims and equally unpredictable temper swings make this nightmarish pair of little freak boys worthy successors to Joaquin Phoenix’s supremely simpering Commodus. Their antics border on slapstick, however Quinn and Hechinger are every so temperamental and off-putting that they by no means allow you to neglect the hazard Geta and Caracalla pose to Rome’s future,” wrote IGN’s Tom Jorgensen in his Gladiator II evaluation.

Geta and Caracalla, nonetheless, are simply the most recent in an extended line of depraved emperors to grace the display. Indeed, evil emperors – some actual, some fictional – have lengthy been the villains that the forces of freedom should overcome in films, video video games, TV, literature, and comics.

Here are the ten greatest worst emperors that popular culture has yielded to date, beginning with …

Caligula

<B>Caligula:</B> This 1979 Italian cult classic stars Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) as the titular young Roman who assumes control of an empire in decline and, by the film’s end, has grown mad in his quest to destroy and humiliate Rome’s ruling political class. Depravity and corruption abound in this erotic production from Bob Guccione, founder of Penthouse magazine, who added hardcore sex scenes in post-production. Stalwarts of the British stage and screen like Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, and John Gielgud round out an ensemble far too classy for this notoriously crass affair.

This 1979 Italian cult traditional stars Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) because the titular younger Roman who assumes management of an empire in decline and, by the movie’s finish, has grown mad in his quest to destroy and humiliate Rome’s ruling political class. Depravity and corruption abound on this erotic manufacturing from Bob Guccione, founding father of Penthouse journal, who added hardcore intercourse scenes in post-production. Stalwarts of the British stage and display like Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, and John Gielgud spherical out an ensemble far too stylish for this notoriously crass affair.

Commodus

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Another real-life Roman emperor, Commodus, the demented son of the esteemed Marcus Aurelius, was portrayed by Christopher Plummer in 1964’s The Fall of the Roman Empire and, extra famously, by Joaquin Phoenix in 2000’s Gladiator. Phoenix performs Commodus as murderously jealous of his father’s most loyal basic and surrogate son Maximus. After Commodus kills Marcus, Maximus goes on an epic journey that sees him turn into a gladiator out for revenge in opposition to now Emperor Commodus. Ridley Scott’s luxurious sword & sandal epic not solely vividly recreates Ancient Rome however, via Phoenix’s Oscar-nominated efficiency, additional seared the picture of the thumbs-down, mad emperor within the public creativeness.

Doctor Doom

Already the monarch of the fictional nation of Latveria, Marvel’s biggest supervillain is poised to get promoted subsequent yr in Marvel Comics’ crossover occasion The Rise of Emperor Doom. The synopsis for the storyline suggests a few of Earth’s heroes marvel if the world isn’t higher off underneath Doom’s management. This received’t be the primary time Doom has turn into an emperor, thoughts you. In 2015’s Secret Wars, he grew to become God Emperor Doom after stealing the Beyonders’ powers.