A friend recently sent me a list of the worst Star Wars villains from IGN. After seeing the list and being a big fan boy, I was naturally disappointed and came up with my own list in response.

OK, at first I was confused by this list. When they said "worst villains" and saw Jar Jar as the first I thought they were going to be naming the dumbest villains of the SW universe but then I saw Exar Kun, who is cool. At that point I realized they were actually ranking villains for their badassery, cunning, and accomplishments.

However, this list is bullshit. So here is the REAL list from a true fan, that does not include the prequels (all the villains there can lick my balls). It also doesn't include the Yuuzhan Vong invasion because it's like 30 years in the future, is not "official" canon and nearly wiped out the whole galaxy - so would otherwise take the cake and make this list pointless.

10. Moff Tarkin - While seemingly a crusty old guy with erectile dysfunction, Tarkin has to make the list just because the dude ice cold blew up an entire planet for no good reason. The only guy who actually got to use a Death Star against a real planet. Not even the Emperor can say that.

9. Boba Fett - No list of Star Wars villains is complete without Boba Fett. Although having no Force powers or Jedi abilities, Boba Fett was the most feared bounty hunter in the entire galaxy. With his fighting prowess, cunning, and technology he could fight against Jedi fairly well - as a testament to this, even Darth Vader respected him. Although Return of the Jedi shows him plummeting in to the mouth of the Sarlaac, canon beyond the movie has indicated he killed the Sarlaac and continued to own throughout the galaxy.

8. Darth Vader - You might think he'd be higher on the list. You'd be wrong. Although an imposing figure in the first two Star Wars movies, he proved to be nothing more than a pawn of the Emperor and a big blustery pussy at heart. And I'm not even holding obnoxious prequel-era Anakin Skywalker against him. Still, Vader gets credit for acts of genocide, choking lots of people, and general ruthlessness.

7. The Ssi-ruuk - Although I was trying to avoid whole races, the Ssi-ruuk qualify as being awesome enough as a race without having too many notables within them to promote one over the rest. The main thing you need to know about them is that they harvest souls. Seriously - they collect your soul through a process called "entechment" and use it to power their consumer electronics. It also took the combined might of the Empire and Alliance to fight them off.

6. Nil Spaar - The leader of the Yevetha during the Black Fleet Crisis, Nil Spaar was a pretty ruthless guy. He murdered at will, worked to undermine the government of the New Republic. Like a modern day Hitler, Spaar and his forces swept through the Koornacht Cluster, enslaving or eliminating non-Yevethans. His genocide credentials aside, the man also ran a harem where he got his pick of all the top-shelf Yevethan hotties. It's good to be viceroy.

5. Exar Kun - Started the brutal Great Sith War? Check. Enslaved the Massassi and made them build temples to his greatness? Check. Lived on as a spirit for thousands of years and convinced impressionable youngsters to commit genocide? Check.

4. Admiral Thrawn - One of the most cunning masterminds of all time, the guy is a Chiss badass who rose to be Grand Admiral in the Empire, which hates non-humans. So you know he's legit. His superior strategy was nearly unstoppable in battle and when he wasn't stomping ass in the sky he took time out to appreciate art - usually shortly before destroying the planet from which it came.

3. Joruus C'baoth - The insane mother fucking clone of Jorus C'baoth, this guy was a crazy dark jedi who guarded the Emperor's stash on Wayland. His battle meditation skills proved useful to Admiral Thrawn during his campaign and he regularly shot lightning at villagers on Jomark for no good reason. Crazy, evil, and powerful are alway a good combination.

2. Naga Sadow - One of the most awesome ancient Sith lords of all time, who experimented on the Massassi and instigated the Great Hyperspace War which sounds awesome on its own.

1. Emperor Palpatine - A lot of guys aspired to control the Galaxy, but this guy actually did it. Not only that, take any event you can think of and the Emperor has already "foreseen it" no matter what it is. He also had his hand in a lot of plots - virtually everything in most of the novels ties back to Palpatine. He was talking to aliens, making clones, preparing contingency plans. He even resurrected himself after his death and had to be put down again Resident Evil-style. As if that weren't enough, his wrinkles make him extremely water resistant.