The 11 Greatest Computer Supervillains In Film

The 11 Greatest Computer Supervillains In Film


When you think of evil movie computers, 2001: A Space Odyssey comes immediately to mind. But HAL is just a naughty schoolboy compared to some of its colleagues. Here are the most diabolical machines to ever grace the silver screen.

And you thought the BSOD was bad.

Colossus, the huge US defence computer in The Forbin Project (1970) takes control over every nuclear missile on Earth after deciding that humankind is inferior to machines.


Picture: Universal


The omnipotent main computer in Logan’s Run (1976) controls the 23rd-century city where the remnants of human civilisation live. No one is allowed to live past 30 to help keep overpopulation in check.


Picture: MGM


The Master Control Program, the main antagonist of Tron (1982). MCP ruled the world inside ENCOM’s mainframe computer system and had the evil ambition to dominate the whole world.


Picture: Buena Vista


War Operations Plan Response — aka WOPR — aka Joshua — in Wargames (1983), the NORAD nuclear war simulation computer. Good at Global Thermonuclear War, bad at not-trying-to-destroy-the-world.


Picture: MGM/UA


Skynet, the fictional world-AI of The Terminator and its sequels (1984, 1991, 2003, 2009). Skynet has only one goal: kill all humans. Or at least Sarah Connor.


Picture: Orion


The Matrix, the Machines, the Source, Deux Ex Machina, the merciless antagonists of humanity in the Matrix trilogy (1999) whatever you want. Too bad it turned out their greatest weapon is boring you to death.


Picture: Warner Bros


V.I.K.I. (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence) from I, Robot (2004) sends her robot army against humanity in spite of the First Law of Robotics.


Picture: 20th Century Fox


In the 2005 movie Stealth, the F/A-37 Talon (a fictional fighter jet) and its onboard computer cause serious problems, up to and including a near-nuclear war.


Picture: Mate 3rd Class Tyler J. Clements/US Navy


The main computer of the Icarus II spaceship from Sunshine (2007) almost prevents the crew to save the Earth.


Picture: Fox Searchlight


She is the Red Queen, the AI from the Resident Evil series, who wages spiteful war against the human race, using various bioweapons in order to destroy us all.


Picture: Constantin Film


Say what you will about Superman III, but there’s no arguing the effectiveness of a computer that’s smart, strong and armed with a kryptonite laser.


Picture: Warner Bros via Santa Banta


Did we miss any important superevil supercomputer, AI, robotic brain? Tell us in the comments!