Darth Vader has been voted the Greatest Film Villain of All Time by film fans.

The legendary masked Star Wars baddie has topped a poll by Empire magazine’s website www.empireonline.com.

On the Dark Lord, Empire’s Chris Hewitt writes: “Everything about Vader is designed for maximum malevolence. The mask, the voice, the rasping rattle, guaranteed to keep kids awake at night.

That feeling that he’s in complete control of every situation. That feeling that if you even so much as look at him funny, it’s brown britches time. This is what pure evil looks and sounds like. “

In second place is Heath Ledger’s unforgettable portrayal of The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and in third is Tom Hiddlestone’s Marvel God of Mischief, Loki.

In fourth is master robber Hans Gruber portrayed in Die Hard by the much-loved Alan Rickman

and rounding off the top five is everyone’s favourite cannibal, Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter.

Elsewhere in the list, Harry Potter’s nemesis Voldemort can be found at nine, the cold-hearted Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is at thirteen and horror icon Freddy Krueger, star of the popular Nightmare on Elm Street series, is at eighteen.

Commenting on the results, Empire’s editor-in-chief, Terri White said: “Bad guys are a huge part of what makes movies so damn good. But who’s the baddest? Empire readers voted in their droves and named Darth Vader their number one villain of all time. The pull of the dark side is still strong it would seem…”

The Top 20 Greatest Villains of All Time:

1. Darth Vader
2. The Joker (The Dark Knight)
3. Loki
4. Hans Gruber
5. Hannibal Lecter
6. Hans Landa
7. Kylo Ren
8. Anton Chigurgh
9. Voldemort
10. The Alien
11. Gollum
12. Sauron
13. Nurse Ratched
14. The Sheriff of Nottingham
15. Palpatine
16. Norman Bates
17. Agent Smith
18. Freddy Krueger
19. The T-1000
20. Michael Myers

This month’s Empire magazine, featuring the Greatest Villains Ever, is on sale now.

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