Best of the worst
Learn which Warriors villains will live forever in infamy
BY THE EDITOR
The Clans train their warriors to be noble, courageous, and honorable, but not every warrior follows that path. All of that nobility and courage is put to the greatest test when faced with cruelty and greed backed by a set of vicious claws. The Clans have faced some truly evil cats in their long history, and today, we will be celebrating the best of the worst by counting down the top five villains of Warriors. With such an array of devious cats to choose from, your top picks may differ from ours, but we hope you enjoy this selection of the baddest cats to walk the forest.
Number 5 – Sol
It doesn’t always take brute strength or an army of rogues to strike a blow against the Clans. Sometimes, all it takes is a clever mind, a way with words, and a deep-seated grudge. The mysterious loner Sol swept into Clan life with a warning about a coming darkness, and in no time at all had ShadowClan’s leader Blackstar under his sway, and all of ShadowClan following his lead in turning away from the code. Even after being driven out from ShadowClan, Sol continued to be able to pit Clan cats against each other, even fooling the Three into thinking he could teach them more about their prophecy. And all of this from a failed warrior bitter about his exile from SkyClan, determined to ruin every Clan for refusing to let him be one of them.
Sol’s body count may not be as impressive as some of the other cats on this list, and he may not have ever commanded armies or had the power of nine lives at his disposal. But there is a power in words, and it is with that power alone that Sol nearly toppled entire Clans. That level of intelligence, and his talent for manipulation, has earned Sol his place on this list.
Number 4 – Mapleshade
Greed and ambition can inspire villains to truly great lows, but for some it isn’t lust for something they’ve never had that motivates them, but grief and anger over something they have lost. Mapleshade cut a bloody path through the list of cats who had wronged her in order to avenge her dead kits. Her wrath didn’t end with the death of her enemies, nor even with her own death. She remained a poisonous whisper in the ears of Appledusk’s descendents for seasons upon seasons, doing everything in her power to twist their lives into misery and loss, just like she had once suffered.
Mapleshade’s thirst for vengeance was so great that it lasted beyond one lifetime, and she was willing to take out her rage on the innocent descendents of her enemies. Even after she no longer heard the whispers of her kits begging to be avenged, she embraced her place in the Dark Forest whole-heartedly rather than try to join her kits in StarClan, because she enjoyed her bloodlust too much. The strength of her fury and her desire to make others hurt as badly as she had been hurt make Mapleshade one of the darkest villains in Clan history.
Number 3 – Darktail
Darktail has the strength and cruelty to make for a good villain, and his army of rogues certainly caused enough damage to the Clans to qualify. But Darktail has a certain something extra that gives him a lasting impact. He seems to have a desire to not just force cats under his command for the sake of the power it gives him, but to make them family, to make them want to be with him, and to suffer terribly if they betray him. He accomplished this by calling his army the Kin and forcing cats he had kidnapped and starved to swear an oath of loyalty to him. He told both Hawkwing and Violetpaw that he saw something of himself in them, and seemed particularly betrayed when they turned on him.
Darktail’s accomplishments made through physical strength are considerable―he chased SkyClan from the gorge, he swayed all of ShadowClan to follow him rather than their own leader, he kidnapped RiverClan warriors and chased the rest from their camp, and could have destroyed all of the Clans if his father hadn’t finally found the courage to put him down. But it is his subtler qualities, the manipulation and the particularly cruel way he punished certain betrayals, that make him a truly noteworthy villain.
Number 2 – Clear Sky
The founding leader of SkyClan did not remain a villain his entire life, so some may argue that he doesn’t deserve his place on this list. But it is hard to deny the impact he had in his darker days as a leader, or the role his villainy had in shaping the very founding of the Clans. He turned his cats against each other to prove loyalty to him, and he cast out loyal cats when they were no longer of use to him. He was even willing to kill former Tribemates, and attack his own kin, to get his way. It was his cruel grip over his own cats, and his relentless push into his neighbors’ land, that forced the very first battle of the forest to a head.
In the end, Clear Sky couldn’t bring himself to take his brother’s life, and the fallout of the first battle made him realize the error of his ways and work toward being a better cat. But even though Clear Sky’s story took a better turn, the sheer impact of his days as a crueler cat, as well as the motivation behind his actions being more complex than just ambition or revenge, make him worthy of a place on this list.
Number 1 – Tigerstar
Sometimes, you just can’t beat a classic. Tigerstar has had by far one of the most lasting impacts on the series as a villain. He was the main nemesis of the first protagonist, Firestar, and the prime villain of the first series. An ambitious and ruthless tom with a hunger for power, and the strength and courage to back up any threat he made, Tigerstar’s thirst for leadership was so great that he cut down his own deputy without a second glance before turning his claws on his leader. His betrayal not only shocked and horrified the Clan of his birth, but shattered Bluestar’s mind, leaving ThunderClan a scared, nearly-leaderless husk, terrified that the ambitious tabby would strike from the shadows at any moment. His violent campaign against halfClan cats, the bloody vengeance he tried to wreak on ThunderClan, and his attempted takeover of the entire forest, left a legacy of terror and hatred for seasons after his passing.
Even death wasn’t enough to stop Tigerstar from casting a shadow over the Clans. He stalked the dreams of Clan cats with potential to be fighters, building his army of Dark Forest rogues and trained warriors in order to attack the Clans who had resisted him in life. In took all of Firestar’s courage and strength to finally rid the forest of his powerful, vicious threat, and in the end, the effort of the battle claimed Firestar’s life. It is this ruthless, undying thirst for blood and power, the strength of a hatred so fierce that it lived on beyond the grave, that makes Tigerstar the best of the worst, and the greatest villain to ever terrify kits in elders’ tales.
