Billy Mitchell, from “King of Kong: A Fistfull of Quarters”



Most other villains on this list are not single persons but huge conglomerates that have in some way or another harmed the public. However, my number one most evil villain for this list is just one person, a person hwith a would-be innocent background: Billy Mitchell was famous for setting the all-time high scores for a number of classic arcade games, most notably Donkey Kong. However, when his score is challenged by Steve Wiebe, a nobody from Washington who crushes Mitchell's all-time high score from his garage, Mitchell releases a fury of vengeance. Wiebe's Donkey Kong console is sabotaged by affiliates of Mitchell, and Mitchell uses influence on the official tracker of gaming high scores, Twin Galaxies, to completely defame Wiebe. Perhaps it's because Steve Wiebe is such a tragic hero – an ex-Boeing employee who is now a humble science teacher, a star pitcher who fell short of fame due to an injury, a defeated soul who still has the drive to do anything he sets his mind to; or perhaps it is because Billy Mitchell is such a familiar antagonist – the bully who is too big and powerful for you to do anything when he carelessly sweeps you aside and shames you in front of everyone, but Billy Mitchell is certainly a villain, and in the context of documentaries, the most effective one in my books.