Mutes

Villains who cannot speak, never/rarely speak, or don't need to speak to proclaim their wrongdoings. This also means that they are incapable of speaking coherently and/or refuse to speak anyway due to their incapability of human communication, so certain humans would assume their plots and reasons incorrectly. This category is also for characters who have been said by other characters to speak, but they are not witnessed doing so by the audience/readers.

This does not apply to those who speak a made-up language.

Many of these villains make sounds, however.

They are often common in thehorror genre, as the character's intentions are often very subtle, and it can cause great shock when they finally realize what their true intentions really are. They are also common incartoons as silent cartoons are an entire genre.

Editing note: though certain characters, such as theGTA Online Protagonists,can be given speaking roles by players in online gaming, they arestill canonically mute, no matter what. In addition, some characters such asTom andJerry do have speaking roles in certain episodes (except for the screams for comedic purposes) but are still fully mute by canon.

Animals or fantastic creatures who make sounds to communicate (e.g roaring, barking, etc.) do not count. Most importantly,Master Orators cannot count as this category is for villains that donot speak.

Mute villains can end up beingPure Evil if they lack redeeming qualities, possess moral agency, and display enough personality through their actions and motives.Art the Clown is an example of a mute villain who qualifies as Pure Evil.