The only requirement to qualify for this list is that the feud had to be taken from some sort of work of fiction. Past that I didn't try to focus on any one area more than another. I worked on a rough draft in my head for about a month, took a field of about 25 possibilities and narrowed it down to the list you'll find below. I'm sure with many of these lists I'll be tempted to give some honorable mentions that just missed the cut, but I think that would cheapen the list itself. This project is the Top 10s of 2011, not the Top 10s of 2011 (and a Few Picks that Just Missed). So enjoy the Top 10, and only 10, Heroes & Villains of all-time.
10. Rachel Felps/the Cleveland Indians (Major League)
I'm going to start off with my one pick that is cheating a little bit. I generally wanted to keep this list to one on one rivals. And I could easily just change this pick to Jack Taylor or Lou Brown instead of the entire team of the Indians. But really that would be doing the movie a disservice as the dynamic of the entire team is what makes Major League one of the best underdog movies of all time. And make no mistake about Rachel Felps, she well deserves her side of this hero/villain match up and the honor of being the only woman on the list.
9. Hulk Hogan/Andre The Giant (WWF)
I've got to be honest, while it was probably the first thing I can remember about pro wrestling, I don't remember many of the details of the Hogan/Andre feud. And with Andre practically immobile at this point in his career I'm not all that tempted to go back and revisit it. But just for the iconography of this feud it easily earns its spot on the list. That image of Hogan staring Andre down, ready to go toe to toe, and then eventually slamming him, these are moments that are ingrained into the pop culture of my generation to the point that it's almost mythology. Pro wrestling at its best is when it can it become larger than life, and there was no feud larger than the Real American VS the Eighth Wonder of the World.
8. Jack Burton/David Lo Pan (Big Trouble In Little China)
Was there any doubt that a John Carpenter film would create one of the best hero and villain combinations of all time? No, no there was not. If anything it's easy to under rate Big Trouble in Little China on this list, because Kurt Russell's Jack Burton is so freaking bad ass that it's easy to forget just how big of a dick James Hong was as Lo Pan. I don't know what little kid could see this movie and not be freaked out when he is in his old man makeup. The thing that's so great about Jack and Lo Pan as rivals is Lo Pan is so supremely powerful and Jack really has nothing going for him. His sidekick is a way better fighter than he is and he's totally out of his element with all the mystical Asian shenanigans afoot. But it doesn't make a difference to old Jack Burton. He looks that big old storm right in the eye and says "Give me your best shot. I can take it."
7. Marty McFly/Biff Tannen (Back To The Future)
A rivalry so epic it spreads over the span of centuries, Marty VS Biff is the driving force of one of the greatest trilogies of all time. Often remembered by virtue of Biff being the ultimate villain, let us not forget Marty McFly as one of the great plucky babyfaced heroes. This ranking is heavy and I wish I could place them higher but the feeling of life and death struggle between Marty and Biff isn't on the level of those ahead of them on the list. Still these two easily earn their spot in the top 10 and without a doubt comprise one of the greatest hero/villain dichotomies in history.
6. Sting/Big Van Vader (WCW)
Placing another pro wrestling feud so much higher than Hogan/Andre may seem like blasphemy, but while that feud holds its place more due to nostalgia than anything, Sting VS Big Van Vader is a feud I revisit to this day because it's just so damn good. While some of it is embarrassingly lame (the White Castle of Fear promo), it's pro wrestling and that is part of its charm. And you can leave all that at the door when it came to the actual matches, which are brutally violent. Much like Hogan slamming Andre felt superhuman, there were times in these matches where Sting manhandled Vader as if he was a small child and not a 450 lb sociopath. By far my favorite feud in the history of wrestling, which is saying a lot, there are few hero/villain relationships that can top it on the list.
5. Rocky Balboa/Ivan Drago (Rocky IV)
While not one of my favorite Rocky movies, Rocky IV by far features the most menacing villain. Much like in Dragonball Z when they would bring back a previous big bad and have them quickly killed off to show shit was getting real (Frieza), shit got real real quick in Rocky IV when Drago murdered Apollo Creed in the ring. Literally. While I don't think any remotely intelligent viewer ever doubted the end of the Rocky/Drago fight, it was shot in such a way that it really felt like an insurmountable task to defeat the roided Russian machine. But Rocky is Rocky, needless to say his place in the all time great protagonist list is well secured. Creed, Clubber Lang, Mason Dixon, and hell even Tommy Gunn are better developed characters than Drago, but those films are more about Rocky VS himself. Rocky IV is all about Rocky VS Drago, and the battle was so epic that Rocky ended communism in the process. USA! USA! USA!
4. Seth Bullock/Al Swearengen (Deadwood)
One of the keys to a great hero/villain relationship is that the two characters should complete each other in some fundamental way. That's exactly what I think of when I watch the two sides of the same coin that are Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen in Deadwood. One of the greatest shows of all time, Deadwood was chock full of compelling characters, but it was Swearengen and Bullock's relationship that the rest of their universe rotated around. Bullock's quick-to-violence moral highground was the perfect foil to Swearengen's brutal ruthless ambition. While these are one of the few pairs on the list that eventually end up allies, there is always the simmering tension between the two that at any moment they may throw each other off a balcony.
3. Mario/Bowser (Super Mario Bros)
Here we have the story of a short, fat Italian plumber, a giant fire breathing turtle demon, and the woman they both loved. The war between Mario and Bowser is so expansive that it's covered more games than I could possibly count without referencing Wikipedia, and it's just now reached some of its best moments in the Galaxy series. While there wasn't much to the story when the rivalry began, Bowser's affection for Princess Peach was established early enough that he developed into one of the great tragic villains of our generation. There are other video game rivalries that deserve consideration, but they wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Mario and Bowser, and really nobody is in their league. The fact that such a preposterous combination of characters and circumstances has lead to the most endearing feud in video game history is evidence of all that's right in video games, and all that's right about good VS evil.
2. Goku/Vegeta (Dragonball Z)
What, did you think I was going to mention Dragonball Z and not have Goku/Vegeta on the list? If anything my mention of Frieza was a red herring to make you predict the wrong rivalry. Yes Vegeta becomes a hero in many ways over the course of the show, but nothing will change the fact that DBZ started with the burning hatred Vegeta had for Kakarot. And just like that tension is always simmering between Bullock and Swearengen, we always know Vegeta is willing to sacrifice the good of the universe for one last chance to prove he is superior to Goku. Vegeta's pride and lust for power are perfectly balanced by Goku's innocent altruism and superior ability. If it wasn't for the fact that Goku can only hold a grudge against someone for as long as they're trying to blow up a planet, they might have a shot at #1 on the list. But Goku comes to love Vegeta like a brother, and despite his lapses, we do know Vegeta is more than willing to put himself on the line when a greater threat arrives. Such a truce between our number one entrants on the other hand, would be inconceivable...
1. Batman/The Joker (Batman: the Animated Series)
There was never really any doubt when I started this list in my head that these two would hold the top spot. And their never ending battle is so ubiquitous that you could cite any number of mediums to justify this spot. Certainly the comics deserve the most consideration because it's where it all began and there is so much material to draw from. Thanks to the performances of greats like Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson the live action movies provide a very strong argument as well. In video games, the recent Arkham Asylum and upcoming Arkham City are as definitive as any portrayal of the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime. But the video games are direct extensions of the portrayals Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill created and perfected of these characters in Batman: the Animated Series. I would consider Mask of the Phantasm and maybe even Arkham Asylum (also written by Paul Dini) to be included in this version. They are the definitive Batman and Joker, and never have any two characters represented the opposite sides of the coin that is heroism and villainy to such perfection. Batman and the Joker were fighting before I was born and will battle each other long after I'm dead and gone and rightfully so. They are the epitome of good VS evil and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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