Finding that perfect villain/henchman pairing is like pairing fine wine: There are plenty that are great on their own, but do they work perfectly here, together? And how do we pick the best of the best?
We had some guidelines: Each henchman must be a unique party from the villain, but not have any substantial backstory, and they cannot seem to be the primary villain at any point, which rules out The Matrix’s Agent Smith and Darth Vader. A good henchman is also singular, not part of an indistinguishable group, ruling out Storm Troopers and the War Boys from Mad Max: Fury Road. And finally, they must also be unwaveringly devoted, never question the obvious flaws in their leader’s plans, and be there of their own free will, so no mercenaries. With those guidelines in mind, here are the top 10 movie henchmen of all time.
Fritz from Frankenstein (1931)
Fritz is one of the most memorable henchmen in movie history, and also one of the earliest! He’s scary, he’s cruel, and he follows Dr. Frankenstein’s orders as carefully as he can for years.
Of course, Fritz isn’t completely loyal—even though we can see that what Dr. Frankenstein is doing is terrible, he is hoping that his creation made of disparate corpses will be kind and good. Fritz’s unexplained hatred of the creature ensures that he tortures the creature whenever he can. Naturally, the Monster eventually gets sick of Fritz’s torture and kills him, becoming the Monster that Fritz already thought he was.
Bob the Goon from Batman (1989)
In Tim Burton’s Batman Bob the Goon was born as the Joker’s closest and most trusted friend. He was the top lieutenant of the Joker Goons and had a darkly jovial sense of humor. He was often laughing at the Joker’s morbid yet witty comments. He fought ruthlessly for the Joker and helped him kidnap Vicki Vale when the Joker became obsessed with her.
However, Bob was charged with investigating Batman for the Joker. The objective was to figure out where Batman got his toys, but Bob couldn’t deliver. When Batman escaped by using one of his amazing inventions again, the Joker shot Bob.
Major Arnold Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Major Toht was such a good henchman that he searched for the Lost Ark of the Covenant for Adolf Hitler even though he didn’t believe in the supernatural. Of course, that would be his undoing, but until then he was the perfect henchman. He was well-versed in the Aryan goal and a firm believer in Nazi doctrine. He was well-trained in combat, interrogation, and torture. He proved himself to be resourceful when up against a wall, and eventually grew to love torture for torture’s sake.
If Toht had trusted when Hitler said that the Ark was powerful, he might have lived to tell the tale of recovering it instead of being a side character in Indiana Jones’ story. This is why henchmen should always trust their villains.
Byron Hadley from The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
This henchman of Warden Norton brings a lot to the villainous table—he’s good at beating prisoners nearly to death with a club and happy to follow tough and even disturbing orders without asking a lot of questions. He doesn’t have much of a moral compass and he seems like a terrible friend to have, but he gets the job done.
Unlike many henchmen who make a mistake and are killed for it, Byron actually does his job so well that no one outside the prison even knows he’s a problem until Andy Dufresne escapes. It’s Andy who gets Hadley arrested for abuse and corruption. No one knows for sure, but he was probably killed by his fellow inmates after being incarcerated at Shawshank.
Count Tyrone Rugen from The Princess Bride (1987)
The vicious Count Tyrone Rugen serves Prince Humperdinck in all his malicious underhanded schemes. In fact, the Count has been killing people for years, including Inigo Montoya’s father. And yet, he’s somehow never prepared to die himself.
Nevertheless, we like Count Rugen because he cares about posterity and seems like he’s well-educated enough to show us how to make it through a meal with a queen without embarrassing ourselves. Plus, he was brilliant enough to create a machine that literally sucks the life out of a person. Sure he’s a bit of a coward, and definitely a creepy sadist but what villain isn’t?
Xenia Onatopp from Goldeneye (1995)
The quite literally femme fatale of Goldeneye, Xenia Onatopp is reporting to the renegade MI6 agent Alex Trevelyan. In the Soviet Air Force, she was an assassin and fighter pilot, but her signature move is a deadly thigh squeeze in which she suffocates her targets by squeezing them to death between her legs. She derives gratification from killing people this way and which drives her to more intense heights throughout the movie.
Xenia brings beauty and brains to the table, and she’s also very willing to fight James Bond for Alex Trevelyan so the turncoat can keep one step ahead of MI6.
Oddjob from Goldfinger (1964)
This strong but silent henchman served Auric Goldfinger in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Oddjob is so loyal to Goldfinger that he relinquishes his real name and allows Goldfinger to give him this condescending nickname that describes his role for the villain. In addition to all his odd jobs (we had to) for Goldinger, Oddjob is an expert with a bow and arrow as well as deadly accurate with his razor-edged Sandringham hat. He’s a personal guard, chauffeur, and manservant.
Oddjob is menacing precisely because he seems like an evil James Bond—he’s dangerous but stylish, menacing but somehow charming. He decapitates people with a jaunty hat! Most henchmen blend into the background except when they show up to simper; Oddjob knows who he is and what he’s about. We love to fear him for that.
Gogo Yubari from Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
In Kill Bill, this young assassin in a schoolgirl costume is terrifying. She is the right hand and bodyguard of O-Ren Ishii, who the Bride wants to kill for revenge. She is severely disturbed and gets a huge thrill from killing, especially for fun, as we see when she disembowels a businessman for no real reason.
Gogo brings expertise with swords and a skewed moral compass to the table. But she’s also potentially the most intelligent character in the movie—instead of fighting the Bride with swords, she chooses the Meteor Hammer and a chain, almost gaining the upper hand.
Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter (2007-2011)
The insane and powerful Bellatrix Lestrange was Voldemort’s right hand in the Harry Potter series, his most loyal supporter who chose to suffer in Azkaban instead of renouncing him. Like many members of the Black family (she’s a Lestrange by marriage), Bellatrix loved the Dark Arts from a young age, but she always needed a leader, someone else to make the plans.
She was extremely competent and absolutely terrifying. Her time in Azkaban made an already dangerous woman more disturbed, and her devotion to Voldemort was absolute. In fact, she ended up sleeping with Voldemort and gave birth to a child named Delphi sometime before she was killed by Molly Weasley during the Battle of Hogwarts.
Luca Brasi from The Godfather (1972)
Vito Corleone really found a rare gem in Luca Brasi. This personal enforcer and bodyguard of The Godfather brings so much to their partnership: Brutality, generosity, excellent dismembering skills, deep respect, smarts, and loyalty. When he’s invited to Connie Corleone’s wedding, Luca gives a huge cash gift for the bridal purse, and then he takes the enormous risk of drawing out Virgin Sollozzo, Don Corleone’s major rival mob boss. He pays the ultimate for it.
Luca ranks at the top of our list because he’s the most generous with his gifts. He strikes that perfect balance of giving and taking, of mindless obedience and resourceful moves. Al Neri could never fill Luca Brasi’s shoes.
