Opinions: Who is your favorite Redwall villain? Who is the worst in the series?
(Winter of the Frosted Tears)

NOTE: In the question, "worst villain" was originally meant to mean the more poorly written Redwall villains, but some used it in the context of most evil. Both are perfectly okay, and I didn't take off points for it, but I just thought I'd let you readers know! It was an admittedly bad choice of vocabulary on my part.
Member Opinions
Celtica Nightshadow
Snowstripe the Strong
Lucious
Linkk
Fyrewind Barkstripe
Flybreeze Treejumper
Tara Ebhilin
IceEdge the Hunter
Treeleaf Fleetfoot
Allistair McCorwin
Celtica Nightshadow - 04/01/02
My favorite Redwallian villain is Silth, High Queen of Marlfoxes from the book Marlfox. She is quirky and interesting, not the typical "I lead a horde and I'm going to kick everybeast's tail by myself if I have to" villain. She's got an entire brood to do her dirty work for her, and even though they can be mutinous, she has basic control over them. She also has a sense of dignity, and she is regal (until she goes insane, that is). Also, she is a highly interesting character to watch as she develops. Though she is not the only one to go "crazy" she is the only one of the Redwall villains to lose her mind because of her own trusted advisor. The others go power crazy. Silth believes in ghosts.

Another fabulous villain is Ublaz from Pearls of Lutra. He is different and fearsome, regal and royal and deadly. That little hypnotist trick with his eyes is not exactly something to ignore, either. He may be called "Mad Eyes" by his underlings, but it's not because he is crazy. Rather, the name comes from their fear of his total control. He is about as unique as the Redwall villains come. Storywise, it also helps that he's not leading a horde to try and conquer Redwall Abbey, which after a while gets downright dull. Instead, he is fighting against a rebellion on his own land, and the only reason he cares two whiskers for the Abbey is that they have the pearls he wants.

The worst of the Redwall villains is a hard choice. Many of them are so similar, it is difficult to tell them apart. An example is Gabool from Mariel. He is the typical sea-vermin, with nothing in particular about him that's special; he's just the "bad guy" and that's it. There seems to be a lack of creativity, not only in Gabool, but in several other villains as well. Some examples are Damug Warfang from Long Patrol and General Ironbeak from Mattimeo. Let's face it, a lot of the Redwall books go as follows: Horde with big bad ugly leader decides to take over Redwall Abbey: they try, they fail, they try again, they fail again; the Redwall Warrior pops up from whatever quest he's been on in the nick of time and saves the day; the horde is vanquished, there's a victory feast. My point is, of the "bad guys" it's difficult to pick the worst.
Snowstripe the Strong - 04/01/01
My favorite Redwallian villain is Swartt Sixclaw. This is because of the cunning way he would execute his rivals: giving them some of his own wine, but putting a deadly poison on the rim of THEIR cup. I also vote him as my favorite villain because of the way he tricked Balefur the fox into thinking that Nightshade, Swartt's fox seer, was on his side and how Balefur was led to the snake-filled quarry and his death.

I think that the worst villain was Reynard Chopsnout, the former captain of the ship Greenhawk. I felt this way because he had no control over his crew until he abandoned them. After he left his crew, they would soon come whimpering back on their knees, begging for him to come back. It also gave me a bad idea of how he looked when he was described as having a fake nose which repeatedly feel off his muzzle. (Aye, that is a weird mental image!)
Lucious - 05/01/02
In my opinion, Emperor Ublaz is the worst Redwallian villain ever! His evilness is surpassed by none. He has a tendency to kill anyone who doesn't like him. He also has his super evil minions go around the world and search for lost treasures that will make him powerful! And if anybody is in possession of those treasures, he'll have them killed no matter who they are! Not only that, he sent a whole army of flesh-eating lizards to Redwall and kidnapped their abbot! So obviously Ublaz from The Pearls of Lutra is the worst Redwallian villain ever!
Linkk - 05/01/02
My favorite Redwall villain is Vallug Bowbeast. He is in Taggerung. He is my favorite because he is a bowbeast. He is not a real leader. But I think you can qualify him as a villain. Even though he slayed Deyna's father and speeded the death of Cregga Badgermum, I still think that he is my favorite villain. Another reason that he is my favorite is because he is smart. He is smart because he didn't stay with Gruven and call him chief. Another reason being that he didn't get killed by Eefera. What makes him evil is that he slayed Deyna's father, Rillflag, and helped kill Cregga. Also making him more evil is that he was favored by Sawney Rath.

Who is the worst. Hmmmm. In my mind that would be Cluny the Scourge. I think that he is the worst because Redwall was the first book I read so he was the first villain that I read about. He is probably the worst because, well, he was just plain evil. Killing his own men and doing everything else.
Fyrewind Barkstripe - 06/01/02
My favorite Redwall villain would have to be Ferahgo the weasel assassin. Not only being a weasel, (an animal that I personally love and a species of character in roleplaying I commonly use.) he showed all the cunning, ferocity and force of a true vermin commander. He commanded scores upon endless scores of troops and he always abided by his goal- to rule Salamandastron and obtain its many badger treasures. I also like Ferahgo because of the interaction between he and his son. Not only comic, it gave me an especially good idea of how a true commander would react to his brat child.

Although, Ferahgo wasn't the most powerful villain (He did get quite a whooping from Urthstripe.), in the novel Salamandastron it was interesting to read how he acted in pain and confusion; I believe he made Salamandastron all the more enjoyable.

I believe that Badrang the stoat was one of the worse villains. He was thoroughly described to my liking, but he seemed much too cynical. I prefer roving warlords opposed to vermin commanders who own a large fortification. Also, having Martin the Warrior and his companions in the spotlight. His appearances were brief in the novel, and when he was appearing, I didn't like it. His death, on top of it all, was quite lame--With he killing Rose and being quickly finished off with one fell stab from Martins sword. Those are my opinions on my favourite Redwallian villains and least favourite.
Flybreeze Treejumper - 07/01/02
Ok, I think Cluny the Scourge is the most evil. Not only does the name sound EVIL, but he looks it too! I mean, one eye and a barbed tail is enough to send nearly anyone runnin' at the mere sight. He is so evil; all those devious ways to kill the Redwallers... I mean, tying Warbeak in the path of Asmodeus! (I'm not sure if that was in the TV version only --well it wasn't in the book, that's for sure...) He killed the Father Abbot of Redwall, too. I was quite fond of old Abbot Mortimer (wierd name, ey: Mort= Latin for "death" so Deathimer... wierd). Cluny comes first, then it's Mokkan, then Warfang, then Swartt and Tsarmina. Mokkan because of all the treacheries he committed, Warfang because of his killing methods, Swartt is like Warfang, and Tsarmina is another of those treacherous types. (This underwent some major edits, like puncuation added and run-on sentences cut down)
Tara Ebhilin - 08/01/02
I'd have to say my favourite villain is... Ungatt Trunn! I dunno why--'tis hard to say in matters like that--and I know some people think he's really corny, but I kind of like the male wildcat warlord. Tsarmina's really great, but Trunn--well, you get the idea. He's tough (okay, so he's no great general) and he knows the power of fear. And he's awfully wicked in a strange, calm sort of way. Urgh!

The worst...? That'd be Gabool. I got tired of him quickly, and was simply waiting for him to die. Very little interest for me. Just a crazy vermin rat... somehow he never caught my fancy. Okay, I've blabbed enough.

You can agree, disagree or whatever. ^_~
IceEdge the Hunter - 08/01/02
My favourite Redwall villain is without a doubt Vallug Bowbeast. He is just so evil he makes me mad at him, and he is just words in a book. What really makes him good is how he isn't a coward, he is not crazy, and he is accurate and deadly. He thinks up plans and uses them, with the help of Eefera. I don't like the fact that Fwirl beat him up, but I suppose it had to be done.

The worst Redwall villain, I think, is Gabool the Wild because he never kills anyone in honorable combat, and he is completely insane. He attacks a bell, talks with it, doesn't sleep, and sees faces everywhere. Sure, he gave us all a good laugh, but I think a villain should be evil and powerful, and should kill all but the most powerful beasts who come to face him. Gabool kills his own troops and then runs away and tries to lay traps. He didn't even get killed by a good guy. He was killed by his own pet!
Treeleaf Fleetfoot - 09/01/02
I've always been intrigued by the villains in any book, and the Redwallian villains are the best. Brian Jacques portrays them with skill and wit. They all seem so evil- their personalities, their views on life, their actions, their thoughts and speech, and even their physical characteristics fit perfectly. For example, Cluny the Scourge from Redwall acts rough and talks big- his rugged and tough looks are exactly right for him. Vilu Daskar, from The Legend of Luke, speaks elegantly but evilly, acts aristocratic but corrupt, and looks just the way he should- tall and lank, dressing plainly, but fairly nicely for a vermin. In fact, I'd have to say that my favorite villain from the Redwall books is Vilu Daskar. He seems to be the only villain who really has a brain, though obviously he was not smart enough to outthink Luke. He can act brutal, but does it with a certain grace that almost makes a reader admire him. He is in the control of a huge ship, so strong that even when split in two by a huge rock, one half still survives. He has the tactics, the strategies, and the brains. He is also one of the most evil villains, in my mind- he ruthlessly slays any adversary. However, if I were to choose a second favorite, it would be Lantur, from Marlfox, or Mokkan from the same. Lantur cleverly slayed her mother and took control of Castle Marl. She was not, however, clever enough to escape her own brother, Mokkan, who, in his turn, slayed her and gained control of the castle. It is the villains with brains whom I like the best. Vilu Daskar, Mokkan, and Lantur are all the worst villains because they thought their strategies out carefully and did not just rush into battle thoughtlessly. However, in the end good will prevail- such is the way with villains. It is impossible for them to be your favorite for long because soon they'll be dead at the hands of some other creature- usually a goodbeast. (Sad but true... :D)
Allistair McCorwin - 11/01/02
I would have to say Cluny is my absolute favorite! No contest!

What makes him so evil? Well, firstly, he's the only villan (other than Ferahgo, but I don't think his counts...) who attempts to use seige tactics, AND is the only one to successfully conquer the Abbey, even IF only for a short time! Also, he reminds me a little of Ysanne Isard from the Rogue Squadron books...ruthless, willing to kill a minion at the slightest screw-up...

Who's the worst? CLUNY THE SCOURGE!