Are the Reapers the best Sci-Fi villains?

I'm more curious, because I was trying to figure out why I love them so damn much, and I really think this is it. They're insurmountable, they're terrifying, they can warp your mind, and (screw Starchild cause I don't believe it) we really don't know anything about them (how they got started, how they work, why they harvest people, etc).

I seriously think they might be the, or at least one of the, best science fiction villains at least of my generation. I can't think of anything that tops them.

I thought they we're totally badass until the ending and they become nothing more but tools for the Starchild to enact his flawed circular logic.

What was so likable about them was the unknown factor. Through the majority of the games you can only infer what their motives are based on empirical observation and they themselves never go "Mwahaha, you've made it this far Shepard, this is my evil plan....". That combined with the sheer awe factor of their size and raw power make them even more horrifying.

I also personally think it plays into the whole "Never show the monster in a horror film" rule. Yes we see their physical forms but so much is unknowable about them that you can help but feel terror at their very existence.

I don't remember that happening. What are you talking about? </sarcasm>

I agree with this entirely. I loved that we didn't know about them. Up until, you know, the infamous glowy kid.

What's truly scary, is that given the sheer size and scale of the universe, the Reapers could very literally be "bugs" to something else.

I just got Lovecraft'd.

I'mma go hide from the Great Old Ones in the corner now.

Cthulhu, so easy on the eyes and so easy to spell.

But yes, the Reapers certainly were "good bad guys" until they started to get mistreated, the poor things.

Cthulhu cookies, anyone?

Now I'm having flashbacks to a certain scene in Dragon Age: Origins.

Yeah, loved how it could play out with different characters, that scene. Saved just before on second play-through so I could bring 'em all!

My girlfriend gave me a card once with a Cthulhu made of felt on it lol...

I must say though, reapers are pretty badass. My brain has died so I can't think of any other good ones. A lot of 'bad guys' have got a point of view that you can relate to. Sith for example. Reapers are indomitable and pure awesome, very much bad bad guys, but it doesn't feel cheesy which is why it works. Instead of "These guys are evil" "Why?" "Because they are, accept it." they're more "These guys are evil" "Why" "None of your damned business why..."

That's exactly what I thought. The Sith you can get it, it's a power thing. The Reapers are just ... they're not insane villains, they're not diabolical villains, they're just doing their business and being all smug about it. Their villainy is driven by our terror.


Also, I ALWAYS take Sten there for that scene only. He leaves once I get Wynne.

As is said above, the overwhelming 'beauty' of the Reapers is that they are not evil, they just simply exist.

Their logic is cold and at least in the first two games you're not given any edge-way on their motivations. To me they were great as intimidating and mysterious adversaries.

The horror of it all is compounded by their manipulation of the races in the game; the idea that they can simply take over the Geth or indoctrinate any organic is a horrible thought. Betrayal at every corner is really quite a dark plot device!

And then they fucked it up with Starchild.

I think the "good bad guys" concept really applies when you look at the ending Drew Karpyshyn was going to use for ME3 before he left Bioware. I thought the whole idea of the Reapers trying to stop the spread of dark energy throughout the universe was brilliant and gives them a pretty grand motivation that almost belittles the existence of all the species fighting against them. Talk about you're necessary evil.

Seriously. Better than the "yo dawg" argument.

There have been some great good bad guys - Alien - awesome bad guy - its purpose - kill everything and mulitply. Nature at its finest.

Diablo - that game on so many levels - to date - only a couple games has made me jump and scared the hell out of me as much as that game. The butcher - when you walk into his room - that voice......awwww fresh meat - creeps me the hell out still - it scared the crap out of me when I first played it - of course it was 2 am and everything was dark in my room LOL.

The reason why Reapers ranks up there is there reasons are unknown - Chris pointed out what Drew wanted to do - that's a hell of a twist.....

That's like the twist from Diablo to going to Diablo II - your character from Diablo becomes Diablo in Diablo II - that's just fooked up in all kinds of awesomeness

Yes we kill everything - to save the universe from dark matter - there were some that didn't like it and thought it was cheesy - it is but I think it would of been pulled off in a good way LOL.....

Those that haven't seen it - Watch Hobo with a Shotgun - its awesome - the hero is a hero that's wrapped up in a shell of an antihero.......because the rest of the town is that fooked up - he becomes the hero

Speaking of Diablo, me and my brother played that game. When that spider woman was chasing us, we ran into the next room thinking that she couldn't follow (Mechanic wise she shouldn't have) and we screamed when she did enter that room. Good times.

That actually would have been hella better then Starchild.

The Reapers could have been awesome villains, and they were until the ending. Then they were just pointless.

Alien was mentioned above, and how appropriate with Lance Henriksen voicing Hackett. The Alien was a perfect "villain" in that it wasn't actually evil. Driven by two motives: Multiply, kill if necessary.

The Reapers could have ranked right on up there with many others, but that ending drops them very low. Especially with Harbinger's presence amounting to nothing at all.

Hence why I didn't mention the ending. And yeah, as my avatar likely suggests, lack of Harbinger =
Alien's good too, yeah. Very simply the same motivations of evolved creatures. Multiply, survive.
Mainly, I wanted to reply to you because YOUR SIGNATURE ANIOAELAFALKFHAEIOFHALFJFAHGOI.

I've always had a soft spot for The Borg (before voyager ruined them, thankyou very much Brannon Braga) but they work for very similar reasons to the reapers. I'd imagine that Bioware took at least a little inspiration from the borg when they created the husk concept.

It was never the mystery of the Reapers that made them so intimidating to me. I like solving mysteries, although I could live without knowing in the end. For me it was the fact that, no matter what their motivations were, they were simply not going to stop. They couldn't be reasoned with, bargained with, intimidated, or placated. But I got the feeling that they could, in fact, be pissed off beyond belief. Smart, fast, implacable, and nearly invincible.

Certain lines of dialogue delivered with a sense of absolute certainty in their cause. We all know Sovereign's infamous "You exist because we allow it. You will end because we demand it."
When I heard Harbinger say "Prepare these humans for ascension" for the first time, I remember realizing that they actually seemed to think they were doing us a favor somehow.

So yeah, I think that if it weren't for the ending, they could be one of the best sci-fi villains.