Bad guys rarely have bad hair days. Whereas the heroes of most movies, comic books and TV shows tend to be less adventurous with their hairstyles and favor traditional cuts, the villains are the ones who get to go wild. Whether they鈥檙e shaved completely bald, dyed pitch black or cut into a razor-sharp mohawk, you can almost always tell who the bad guy is by how awesome his or her hair looks. Those crazy cuts are like the manifestations of their inner evil, right on top of their heads. It鈥檚 a symbol that they don鈥檛 fall in line or play by society鈥檚 straight-laced rules.
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But what else can a bad guy鈥檚 haircut tell us about him? A lot, actually! Certain types of villains tend to favor certain types of haircuts. How can you tell which is which? By using our helpful guide to the Wicked Styles of the Super Villains, of course!
Bad for Business
If you鈥檙e the type of villain who puts the 鈥渉ostile鈥� in hostile takeover, then you probably prefer short hair with heaping mounds of gel. You can see this do on Wall Street warriors like Gordon Gecko in 鈥淲all Street鈥� or Patrick Bateman in 鈥淎merican Psycho.鈥� The oil oozing out of these guys鈥� heads could be seen as a literal expression of the greed that rules their lives and drives them to ruin others. If you spot a character with slicked-back hair, you can almost always count on the fact that he鈥檒l be a ruthless business person, willing to conquer the financial world through any means necessary. Even supposed terrorists, like Hans Gruber in the first 鈥淒ie Hard,鈥� are given away by this cut. Gruber鈥檚 seizure of the Nakatomi Tower may have been presented as a political move, but at the end of the day, it was just a cover for him to go after a safe full of bonds. One look at his hair and it should have been obvious that he was only in it for the money.
Psycho Bob
Old-fashioned haircuts, like a simple bob, tend to signify that a character is a traditionalist 鈥� and that he or she is willing to kill to keep those traditions in tact. Bad guys like Anton Sugar from 鈥淣o Country for Old Men鈥� or Annie Wilkes from 鈥淢isery鈥� both seem to have stepped out of a time warp. Everything from the way they talk to the way they dress to their short, curved cuts looks like they belong to some bygone era from America鈥檚 past. But these past-their-date dos are really warning signs that these folks don鈥檛 belong here. Annie is so obsessed with politeness and proper language that she鈥檒l break your ankles if you ever utter a dirty word. Anton literally represents an old-fashioned view of good and evil, with no shades of grey. If you encounter him, your life literally depends on a single flip of the coin. Even when tied back into a ponytail, you can tell these cuts belong to a terrifying traditionalist. Just look at Gaston from 鈥淏eauty and the Beast.鈥� The town hero, noted for his classic good looks, was also the guy who wanted to force Belle into marriage and kill the beast with absolutely no provocation.
Crazy Mane
If you鈥檙e someone who keeps forgetting to brush your hair, it could be because you have other things on your mind 鈥� like complete and utter world domination. Villains with unkempt hair tend to be desperate for control and more than a little unhinged. You can see them vying for power in smaller situations, like Alex Forrest from 鈥淔atal Attraction.鈥� Her wild 鈥�80s blowout should have been Michael Douglass鈥� first clue that his secret lover was more than a little deranged, but it wasn鈥檛 until she was trying to kill his entire family that he really caught on. You can also see these cuts in higher-stakes situations, like Hades from 鈥淗ercules.鈥� His hair is a literal flame that burns out of control whenever his attempts to overthrow the gods on Mt. Olympus don鈥檛 go exactly to plan. This rule even extends to the animal kingdom. While most of the lions in the 鈥淟ion King鈥� had perfectly coiffed manes 鈥� even when getting trampled by a herd of wildebeests, evil uncle Scar鈥檚 mane looked like it could have used a constant combing.
Dye Job
Unnatural hair color can also be a sign of unnatural evil. Characters who dye their hair are usually presented as slightly sinister creeps, hiding more than a few secrets behind their store-bought hair color. Batman鈥檚 archnemesis The Joker is a prime example of this. In his nearly 75 years of existence, readers have learned very little about him and his past, including what his original hair color was before it turned a toxic shade of green. But you need not be a cackling supervillain for this rule to apply. Miranda Priestly, Anne Hathaway’s coldhearted boss in 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada鈥� played to icy perfection by Meryll Streep, keeps her hair an otherworldly shade of bleach white, perfect for the demanding employer who wants to keep her personal life a secret while she destroys the personal lives of her employees. Of course, sometimes a deep dye job can be keeping a bad guy鈥檚 ultimate secret 鈥� that he鈥檚 actually a good guy. In the Harry Potter movies, Alan Rickman had hair so black it could only have been achieved by dark magic. But as we all know, Severus Snape turned out to be one of the series鈥� greatest heroes, working for Dumbledore and secretly protecting Harry for seven years. It looks like you can鈥檛 always judge a villain by his hair.
