This Is The Internet's Favorite Game Villain, According To Science

People can't help but fall in love with villains. Even though many antagonists are solely created to act as a foil to the hero or display enough negative qualities to make the audience actively root against them, people still like a good villain. Sometimes these antagonists can be empathized with, and other times they're downright more compelling than the so-called "hero" of the story. However, there's always the age-old conversation over who's the best villain of them all. Well, now Ebuyer seems to have the answer — at least as far as video games are concerned.

As shared via TheGamer, electronics retailer Ebuyer conducted a 12-month analysis through social media to uncover the video game baddie players adore the most. The company's results revealed that "Borderlands" villain Handsome Jack was the most widely beloved baddie among players, identifying results by comparing the percentage of positive discussions around the character to other popular contenders. Handsome Jack blew the competition out of the water, with 40% of the conversations about him being positive ones. 

The runner-ups, obnoxious side character Mr. Resetti from "Animal Crossing" and Sephiroth from "Final Fantasy 7," sat at 23% and 18%, respectively. Sephiroth's high ranking probably won't confuse many players, since the character was added to "Super Smash Bros Ultimate" and met with excited fan reception during the period Ebuyer was gathering results on social media. This fact, along with the positive reception to "Final Fantasy 7 Remake," may have influenced the outcome. Handsome Jack's place as the most-loved game villain wasn't the survey's only surprise, though.

Ebuyer's research also revealed which video game villains players seem to like the least. Taking the reins as the most hated gaming villain, Pyramid Head from the "Silent Hill" series stands imposingly above the rest. The character likely came up in conversations surrounding new "Silent Hill" game rumors while Ebuyer conducted its research. Seeing as how these rumors still haven't proven true, that could account for the negativity surrounding the creepy character — that, and he's just terrifying.

Coming in as the second most disliked villain is Alduin, the time-traveling dragon from "The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim." Finally, the Blue Shell from the "Mario Kart" series was rated the third-most hated video game villain. Sure, that's not exactly a character, but anyone who's played a "Mario Kart" title can attest to the indiscriminate wrath of the Blue Shell.

While Ebuyer's research has pointed out the most beloved and hated video game villains, one character claimed a spot as the most-discussed antagonist in any medium. The one and only Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime from "Batman," was discussed over five million times while Ebuyer gathered results.