The best movie henchmen (2024)

Universal

At this point, nobody henches like the Minions. They frankly overshadow Gru, and have since “Despicable Me.” The Minions are ubiquitous. Almost anybody can identify them. Now, they don’t seem to be all that good at providing assistance, but they have definitely made a splash and become pop-culture icons.

MGM

No, not the shark. He plays second fiddle to nobody. We’re talking about the James Bond baddie played by Richard Kiel. Jaws gets his name from his metal teeth. He’s the rare henchman in a Bond movie that got to appear more than once.

MGM

It’s not fair to play as him in “Goldeneye” for Nintendo 64, but Oddjob is a top-notch henchman. He has one of the indelible weapons in movie history. Oddjob famously throws a hat with a razor-sharp brim in “Goldfinger.”

New Line Cinema

Farbissina is something of an homage to Rosa Klebb in “From Russia With Love,” but Dr. Evil’s henchwoman has overshadowed Rosa by this point. Mindy Sterling’s indecipherable accent and random yelling, not to mention her spit curl, turned the Frau into a key piece of “Austin Powers” lore.

20th Century Fox

We couldn’t pick a favorite from the men working for Gruber in “Die Hard.” That’s partially because none of them gets too much backstory, but also for the fact a few of them we really enjoy. There’s the big blonde German guy who wants revenge for his brother. There’s the guy who really wants a candy bar. And, of course, there’s the smarmy computer guy who you want to see punched. And then Argyle does it.

Paramount

Even if you don’t recognize his name, you may know him as “The Nazi who melts” in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” That is one of the most famous images in all of film history, and an early nightmare inducer for generations of kids. Before he melts, though, Toht is truly a menacing, scary henchman.

Warner Bros.

Bob, you… are… my… number… one… guy! So says the Joker as played by Jack Nicholson. When “Batman” begins, Jack Napier is a henchman himself. Then, Jack becomes Joker, and Bob the Goon steps up a spot in the rotation. Do we mostly remember him because of Joker’s one line? We’ll never tell.

Sony

William Atherton was a great ‘80s villain, but in “Real Genius” he had an equally noxious lackey in Kent. Kent doesn’t want to be one-upped by Chris and Mitch in the eyes of his mentor Professor Hathaway. He has a great ‘80s look, and is also surprisingly chill about being buried in popcorn.

Columbia

Now, the Keymaster and Gatekeeper don’t provide a lot of fun when they aren’t possessing the bodies of Dana and Louis. Fortunately, we get to watch Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis embody the baddies in "Ghostbusters." In particular, Moranis is great as the Keymaster-as-Louis. Yes, have some.

Miramax

Bill has a few assassins at his disposal. Among the group going after The Bride in the “Kill Bill” saga, the best of the bunch is Elle Driver. Elle seems like the most formidable of the assassins, and she has the best look too.

Disney

Henchmen don’t have to be henchmen forever. When we first meet Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she is serving under her adopted(?) father Thanos. In time, though, Nebula would turn from her evil ways and end up helping the Avengers, even traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Disney

Disney movies are laden with henchmen, though many of them are animals. Among the best of the bunch is Iago. Iago in “Aladdin” is the funniest of the henchmen across the Disney landscape. His voice also definitely stands out, thanks to the work of the late Gilbert Gottfried.

Warner Bros.

You know a henchman is really worth their salt when they, not the head villain, gets the climactic fight. “Lethal Weapon” ends with Gary Busey’s Mr. Joshua fighting Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs in the muddy, wet grass outside Roger Murtaugh’s (Danny Glover) home. They knew Mr. Joshua was the bad guy people wanted to see get the greatest comeuppance.

Sony

Smee is in all the versions of “Peter Pan,” at least the ones we are familiar with. In terms of Smee, Captain Hook’s second in command, the version that stands out the most is from “Hook.” Maybe that’s because he’s played by Bob Hoskins. That doesn’t hurt.

Warner Bros.

In the “Harry Potter” books, the Death Eaters are literally called Voldemort’s “henchmen.” Given that, we kind of had to include them. After all, the “Harry Potter” series is one of the most successful in film history.

20th Century Fox

In a way, Darth Vader is the henchman of Emperor Palpatine. However, he’s way too central to the “Star Wars” story to think of him as a mere henchman. Darth Maul is a different story. He’s the one thing from the first of the “Star Wars” prequels a lot of people liked. Or, at least, they liked his two-sided lightsaber.

Gramercy

Uli doesn’t believe in anything, he’s a nihilist. He apparently doesn’t believe in having good backup either. In “The Big Lebowski,” Uli and his nihilist pals try to scrounge up some money after Bunny Lebowski disappears. Their plan fails, but along the way Uli and his two pals get a lot of laughs. Also, one of them is played by Flea.

20th Century Fox

Magneto has a few mutants by his side, including Mystique. She’s certainly the most distinct of the mutants out there. Sure, some of the time she is flawlessly replicating somebody else. In her own form, though, she’s a fully disrobed lady with blue scales. That sticks out more than, say, Wolverine’s sideburns.

MGM

Rugen is the right-hand man, and main muscle, for Prince Humperdinck in “The Princess Bride.” He’s also the one who killed Inigo Motoya’s father. Needless to say, he had to prepare to die.

Universal

You know Igor, Dr. Frankenstein’s sidekick? He doesn’t exist in the novel. That character was created for the films, and in the first film he isn’t known as Igor. No, he’s Fritz. The character of Fritz in 1931’s “Frankenstein” basically created the idea of the mad scientist’s borderline-feral assistant.

New Line Cinema

Sauron has a lot of folks at his disposal, which isn’t so bad for a giant eye in the sky. There are the orcs and the Uruk-Hai, of course. However, there’s also Saruman. Christopher Lee’s character in the films is a sorcerer of tremendous power, the foil to Gandalf. He’s certainly got more personality than any old orc.

MGM

A witch is scary enough as is, at least if she’s wicked. Now, imagine she has a bunch of flying monkeys at her disposal. For many a kid, the Wicked Witch’s monkeys were the freakiest, scariest thing in “The Wizard of Oz.” Plus, blue flying monkeys are pretty distinct.

Disney

Judge Doom isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty in 1988's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." Just ask that poor shoe who got dipped. The judge has some distinct sidekicks, though: cartoon weasels who help enforce his law. Of course, as cartoons, they have some weaknesses, which Eddie Valiant is able to exploit eventually.

Warner Bros.

With all due respect to Lex Luthor, the most distinct villains in the “Superman” movies are General Zod and his two sidekicks Ursa and Non. After escaping the Phantom Zone, the trio wreak havoc on Earth. Ursa does more of the talking, as Non is mostly just big and imposing. Of course, with his extra power from the yellow Sun he didn’t really need it.

TWC

Now, within “Inglourious Basterds,” Landa is the primary antagonist. However, he is ultimately a henchman of the Nazi party of Germany. His superiors are in the film, but Quentin Tarantino focuses on Landa. He’s an indelible film villain, and Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for playing him.