Most Hated Fictional Characters Ever

When it comes to fictional characters, a lot characters are beloved. There's a sense of familiarity that comes with cool characters. They're the sort of people we get the hang of being around. Like old friends. Sometimes, we watch shows or read books or play games just to get more of a certain one or two characters we love.

Even if that means dealing with characters we hate.

In a lot of popular shows, books, and games, fans put up with a lot of awful, hated characters who no one likes because they're awful. Either they commit acts of cruelty so heinous that they drive people to a blind rage, are incredibly annoying, or can solve all problems because said character is "the best-est one." The most hated fictional characters inspire fandoms to collectively throw up their hands, and shout "Why don't you just go and die?"

Scrappy-Doo

On the website TVTropes, the name for a hated fictional character by fans of a franchise is "The Scrappy." It's named after this annoying pup. No one will ever argue that Scooby-Doo is a work of high art. But, for many children, it served as a constant source of entertainment. Mysteries, hijinks, and colorful characters, the show has proven to be one of the mainstays of pop culture.

However, during the 70s and 80s, Hanna Barbara thought the formula for the series had gone stale. They tried a few things to spice the show up over the years, from bringing in episodes featuring celebrities (from the Harlem Globetrotters to Batman) to bringing in real monsters (The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, for example) to making everyone kids (A Pup Named Scooby-Doo).

Giving Scooby a nephew named Scrappy-Doo was one of their worse ideas.

Scrappy is a tiny little idiot who would run into dangerous situations while everyone else ran. In theory, he served as a foil to Scooby. This isn't a bad idea in theory, other than the fact that Scrappy, rather than be his own character like Shaggy or Velma, existed purely as Scooby's foil.

It's that he never did anything. The reason fans hate Scrappy is because he would charge into battle, throwing himself into danger, and never accomplish anything. If this character did cool things while running into battle, that's one thing. But all he did was slow down the momentum of any encounter, as Scooby would have to save him.

Rather than spice up the formula of the show, it dragged it out, adding a new complication that took time and energy to "get past." Scrappy didn't add anything new. He just dragged out what already existed even more.

But then he was shoehorned into everything for a few years. You couldn't escape the little turd.

But there are worse. Far... far worse.

Joffrey Baratheon

Game of Thrones may be one of the best television shows of all time. It also introduced audiences to a character who fans of George R.R. Martin's literary saga A Song of Ice and Fire had known for years was a little piece of shit and one of the most hated fictional characters: Joffrey Baratheon.

For what reason is Joffrey hated? While many Game of Thrones villains are loathsome, there usually is a sense of either competence, glory, or intrigue about them. Cersei Lannister, Joffrey's mom, is evil, but she is also a fully fleshed out character. She does possess humanity. And, even so, she is so clever at scheming and plotting that it makes her a fascinating character – and, on top of that, she has motivation. A goal. An end game.

In fact, many of the characters have a goal they are working for. Peace in the realm, for Tywin Lannister. A chance to beat skulls in, for the Mountain. Hell, even the utterly loathsome Ramsey Bolton has objectives, and, while he is a hated villain, he doesn't illicit that same hatred people feel for Game of Thrones's King of the Iron Throne.

No, what makes Joffrey loathsome is that he lacks a goal. He has no objective other than to do whatever he wants. He is a spoiled child who loves bloodshed. He incites conflict. He ruins the lives of characters the audience loves.

By far his worst action was his killing Ned Stark, adding conflict to a situation that had already been resolved. Hell, even Cersei saw the best decision would be not to kill him but to send him to the Wall, where he could've spent the rest of the series hunting giants and White Walkers with Jon Snow.

But more than that, he's also just incompetent. He shouts how, because he's king, he can do whatever, and whines like a petulant child the whole while. There is no grace, no glory to him... and, because of his status as king, surrounded by far more competent, cool villains, we have to suffer watching him go untouched for three seasons of the show!

True story: I was in college when the Purple Wedding episode aired. The moment that Joffrey died, cheering could be heard across the entire campus. That's how much people hate Joffrey.

Which is why Joffrey is one of the best villains in Game of Thrones. You want to see this bastard get it. Because he's the bad guy.

Wesley Crusher

From one annoying kid to another, we have Star Trek: The Next Generation's Wesley Crusher. Westley is no Joffrey. He never did anything that evil or awful in the series. He isn't a monster who you can't wait to see get killed. And Wil Wheaton is a pretty entertaining fixture in nerd culture.

Which makes it odd that Wesley is such a pain in the ass.

Wesley's problem is that he's the lamest character in a cast of awesome people. You have the diplomatic and graceful Picard, the suave and impressive Ryker, the fascinating Data... and then there's Wesley. He's the nurse's kid. And, somehow, he solves tons of the problems for everyone.

The first two seasons of Next Generations are weakened by Wesley's presence. This is because Wesley serves the role as, to quote TVTropes, the "Creator's Pet." This is a character who the creator of a series (Gene Roddenberry) loves, perhaps because they see themselves in said character, and, because of this, forces the narrative to feature the character prominently. People may hate the character, be annoyed to tears by the character, but that doesn't matter.

Now, in later seasons of The Next Generation, every character brings something to the table. In the early episodes, Wesley solved the problems. Highly trained, competent warriors like Worf? Wesley. Intellectual strategies suited for Picard's skill set? Let Wesley take a look at that. Technological matters that Data can solve? Wait, where's Wesley going ot fit in?

It gets to the point where the entire cast is eclipsed by Wesley. Wesley would have been an alright character if not for this. He's a kid in a space ship. He could have been a good audience surrogate, especially for younger characters. And, in good episodes, he is. The problem is that his development came at the expense of far more fascinating characters.

Wesley's presence diminished over time, until, eventually, in season four (what's it with hated fictional characters leaving in a show's fourth season?) he left. And the fandom rejoiced.

The hate for Wesley has died down over time, but that doesn't change the fact that, during the 90s, you couldn't find a more hated fictional character.

...until...

Jar-Jar Binks

Hatred for the Star Wars prequel trilogy is a little exaggerated. The films on the whole are not very good, primarily due to George Lucas forgetting how to depict human emotion on film. The issues to plot I can deal with. Boring or dull characters are harder to deal with.

Lucas must've noticed this, since he created a character to be the comic relief. People found C-3PO's complaining a bit irritating in the original trilogy. Fans cringed watching Ewoks. But nothing – nothing – could prepare them for the worst character in Star Wars history, a hated fictional character that fans would re-edit the movie just to remove him.

Jar-Jar Binks.

Oh God. Jar-Jar.

Jar-Jar is a bastardization of computer generated horse vomit. He's a racially-coded character who, like Wesley Crusher, serves as the Creator's Pet, forced into any given situation, and, in turn, somehow able to solve every issue thrown at him.

In a world of cold political talks, stoic Jedi, and monotone acting, you would think fans would love to see a character bring life to the table. But not this. Fans hate this.

But there has to be more to it than that. What is the reason Jar-Jar?

Here's a theory. The reason fans hate Jar-Jar isn't just because he's annoying. He is, but that's not the core reason. It's not that many argue he's a racist caricature of a Jamaican man. That's a reason, but not the reason. And it's not that the computer graphics that rendered him are dated.

It's that his sheer presence insults the audience's intelligence. Jar-Jar is the equivalent of Lucas shaking keys in front of us to keep us from being bored. He knew his script was so dull that he wanted to distract us from it. After years of loving a franchise, after years of fans speculating and elevating the work from a B-movie with spaceships to a work of art, this is George Lucas disrespecting the fans with poop jokes and loud noises. It's a director condescending to his fans by implying that he'd think we'd find this entertaining.

Jar-Jar Binks is such a hated fictional character that George Lucas, the man who refuses to listen to feedback, changed his plans for Jar-Jar after hearing the feedback. Think about that.

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen

I put these two together because they are both hated fictional characters for fairly similar reasons. Now, unlike most people, I will give Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series a little bit of credit: it is a story with lots of potential. Supporting characters have interesting histories. Some have personalities.

You have a family of vampires raised by a vampiric doctor who takes these lost souls along with him to care for them and raise their spirits. You have a sheriff living in a town full of werewolves and vampires, watching his daughter get seduced by a member of the undead.

It would be fascinating, really, if they focused on anyone other than Bella and Edward.

That's the problem with Twilight. The story would be an alright vampire story if the main characters weren't lifeless husks of carbon.

Now, there are two main reasons these two are hated, and it's the same for both characters.

The most popular reason is just that they're dull. Bella was written to be the every-girl, while Edward is written as Meyer's idealized male love interest. The problem with this is that, when you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. Bella Swan's defining characteristic is that she's clumsy (or played by Kristen Stewart), while Edward's is that he's a vampire (or played by Robert Pattinson).

The characters have no goals, objectives, dreams, or desires to grab onto, which makes them dull. Hell, even Joffrey from Game of Thrones had ambitions. Jar-Jar Binks had personality. They sucked, but at least they had them. Edward and Bella only want to be together, and nothing else in their lives matter. Not their family. Not their outside life. Nothing.

Now, this could be an interesting character development in a work of fiction, where two characters become dangerously obsessed with one another, and how it slowly takes control of their life. You see that in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, where the characters become so obsessed with drugs that it ruins their existence. Twilight could have been an interesting horror story like that. Instead it's a dull pain.

The other reason people hate these two is that both of them are clearly abusive partners. And yes – both of them.

Edward is the more obvious of the two. He sneaks into watch Bella while she sleeps, gets clingy when she's around other boys, and often mentions that he fantasizes about ripping open her throat to drink of her blood. But then apologizes by taking her somewhere cool or staring at her for long periods of time until she stops being mad. This is the cycle of abuse in a nutshell.

But what people don't always notice is that Bella is just as abusive in a different way. She threatens self-harm throughout all of New Moon in order to get Edward back, all the while cheating on Edward with the far more interesting Jacob (who himself loses all sympathy when he ends up falling in love with a three month old baby). And then apologizes by being physically affectionate. Again, the cycle of abuse.

Works of fiction have a strong impact on impressionable people, and Twilight is a work of idealized romance aimed for little girls who have never had a real boyfriend before. That means that many girls were told in their most vulnerable moments that it was perfectly fine for their future boyfriends to be abusive, and that many girls were told that self harm is a fine solution to relationship problems, since it will guilt your partner into staying with you.

See why people hate this work of fiction yet?

Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Umbridge is to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga as Joffrey Baratheon is to Game of Thrones. Now, granted, Umbridge is a fully grown (frog-like) witch, so she lacks that quality that makes a petulant little child given the keys to a kingdom as loathsome. However, like Joffrey, she too is a wretched person who unfairly gains a position of power which she uses to lord over and torment all of our favorite characters.

In other words, she's a great villain and one of the most hated fictional characters.

But unlike villains like Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange, or even Voldemort himself (or the ever-awesome Fenrir Greyback, who, need I remind you, is a child-eating werewolf in a book series aimed for children), no body likes Umbridge. There's none of that "love to hate" thing going on, either. Everyone just hates her.

Perhaps it's how fake her whole exterior is. She puts on a transparent display of dignity, with her bow, constant clearing of the throat, obsession with the color pink, and her insistence on restoring moral order. Of course, in actuality, she's a sadist who looks like she gets off on watching children bleed all over her desk. And she's a horrible racist.

So, basically, she's kind of like a United States senator who during speeches talks about family values and restoring moral order, but on the weekends attends Klan rallies while beating it off to Red Rooms.

And don't think that my vulgar references there are just for shock value. Dolores Umbridge manages to conjure up a Patronis in the seventh book in a room full of Dementors by condemning Muggles, Muggle-borns, and half-blood witches and wizards to Azkaban, a prison that will literally suck your soul dry. In order to conjure up a Patronis, you need to be truly happy.

Which means she's happiest when she's condemning people to a fate worse than death.

It's telling that many fans feel Dolores got off easy when the centaurs dragged her off to do God knows what with her in the woods. Partially because she retained her position of power in the Ministry after turning Hogwarts into her own personal domain. Fans will always hate this character, even after that old toad croaks.

The Duck Hunt Dog

There are few dogs in fiction that anyone can say they wish they could kill... but the Duck Hunt Dog may be the exception. Every video game character gets that fan-fiction or flash animation depicting the death of some disliked character, but the Duck Hunt Dog has such a massive volume of work devoted to fantasizing the death of this dog that you'd assume the dog murdered their family or took their health care away. Like senators.

The points is that Duck Hunt is not a complicated game. You take your Nintendo light gun, aim at the screen, and shoot the birds that fly around. It's one of the best selling games on the original NES console. A beloved game. Not a subject of fan hatred at all. It often got packaged with the original Super Mario Bros.

But when you missed a bird...

Your hunting dog came out of the grass to laugh at you.

First time, you just shrug it off. But after an hour of playing the game, you start to feel offended. For a lot of kids, this was one of their first games, and this dog was mocking them for messing up?

So you have a gun. So aim...

But no! You can't shoot the dog. In a game about killing animals, you can't kill that stupid dog making fun of you. The impotence at the face of that laughter made you hate this character. Hatred blossomed. Burned. Games are an interactive medium, but here was a wall – a divide – keeping you from interacting with the game.

So many fans took out their rage in fan-made material, in order to channel their loathing for the creature.

Nintendo must've realized this, since, in the most recent Super Smash Bros game, the Duck Hunt Dog is a playable character. So now you can kill him with any other more interesting character. You can burn him with Mario's fire ball, chop him up with a Master Sword, or even gang up on him with seven other friends to shoot him up, beat him with bats, or just stomp him with a giant shoe comprised of human hair. Or, if you want, you can just punch him. A lot.

Shou Tucker

Anime fans hate a lot of characters. Some are hated for fair reasons, while others... aren't. But because the anime fandom is so large, many of the hated fictional characters have defenders. A lot of fans of the anime Naruto love Sasuke and Sakura, who are often regarded as some of the most loathed characters in animation by people who watch good cartoons. The point is that, for every ten people who hate an anime character, there are another ten willing to defend that character from criticism.

Except for Shou Tucker. Everyone hates Shou Tucker.

While many people have seen the prior entries on this list, it may be hard to imagine an anime character ranking along the likes of Joffrey or Jar-Jar Binks... but I would make the argument that Tucker is actually the most loathsome person here. Let me explain.

Now Shou Tucker is a relatively minor character in Fullmetal Alchemist, regarded by some to be the greatest anime of all time. He appears early on as a state alchemist renknown for creating a chimera – a living mix-up of genes that retains some sentience. Sure, the thing only managed to say "I want to die," before dying, but the government thought this was impressive enough to give him a state title.

You know, like that one scientist who did weird things and got a government title. Mengele.

So our heroes stay with Shou Tucker and his adorable daughter Nina and dog Alexander for a little while to learn about human transmutation – the process of using alchemy on a person. And it's here where the story diverges a little. In the original manga and the Brotherhood adaptation, they spend a little time with Tucker, but in the 2003 anime, things are drawn out. You get to know Nina and Shou a little better, and you start to really like them. I mean, this happens in the other versions, too, but it's done in a shorter span of time.

But the result's the same.

Turns out Tucker's original chimera was made out of his wife. And now that the state is pressuring him to do something cool again (or else he'll lose his government qualifications), he decides to do it again.

Using his daughter and his dog.

There are a lot of anime characters hated for doing certain, irredeemable things. Sasuke Uchiha from Naturo is hated for being an angsty teen who betrays everyone, leading to death and chaos. Shinji Ikari from Evangelion is hated for being a whiny teen who masturbated over a comatose fourteen-year-old girl with severe depression. And Misa Amane from Death Note is hated because she gets in the way of gay sex. But even they have their fans. The characters have high and low moments that make them endearing to some people, even relatable.

No one relates to killing your daughter and dog for a science project.

The well-deserved beating Ed gives Shou Tucker is one of the most satisfying things in the series. It's telling that other characters – characters that kill fan favorites – are more liked in Fullmetal Alchemist than Shou Tucker, who basically only appeared for a little bit. He inspires the same hatred and revulsion in fans that characters like Joffrey and Umbridge inspire.

Though it should be said that, in the 2003 anime ends up keeping Tucker alive a little longer, making him an integral part of the plot. Which means fans with PTSD from his prior episodes had to experience flashbacks when he returned.

So yeah. Fuck this character. Fuck all these characters. They're hated for good reason.