Despite how players might have felt about Fable 3, it's hard to deny that the Fable games are a cult classic. Whether it's down to each game's incredible cast of characters, the way they force players to make tough decisions and choose their own ending, or the sheer nostalgia of the franchise, the series has gathered a following of fans that adore the game even after almost 15 years of the latest game's release.
Something that makes the game so great is the way its creators were able to create villains so incredibly evil yet strangely lovable, from corrupt kings to heroes gone bad. In fact, the very antagonists of the franchise have become fan-favorite characters with players begging for their return in the recently announced Fable 4!
10 Maze (Fable)
Maze is the secondary antagonist of the original Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters. Before his defeat, he was a powerful wizard that specialized in Will. When the player is first introduced to him, he is the leader of the Heroes' Guild, the place which trained the main character to become the Hero of Oakvale.
Once the player fights him later in the game, it is revealed that he had actually been serving Jack of Blades the entire time. Maze was the one who led the very bandit raid on Oakvale that left the hero orphaned. Maze knew that Jack wouldn't need him forever and would eventually end up dead, so he raised a hero to one day defeat Jack in hopes his own life would be spared. Maze appears to be a fan favorite among players, perhaps because his betrayal was such a shock. Who doesn't love a plot twist?
9 Ernest Faraday (Fable 3: Traitor's Keep)
Professor Ernest Faraday is an antagonist in Fable 3's DLC Traitor's Keep. During a riot at Ravenscar Keep, he was able to escape his cell and return to Clockwork Island: an amusement park he once ran filled with his inventions. During the DLC, players discover that Faraday had been unfairly imprisoned after he refused to build an army of robots for Logan.
Faraday's backstory is tragic, with once having everything he could have dreamed of being taken away in one selfish decision by Logan. He also proves a worthy battle—both he and his creations are a challenge to beat.
8 Mary Godwin (Fable 3: Traitor's Keep)
Mary Godwin, also known as "Witchcraft Mary" is another antagonist in Traitor's Keep. After the riot, Mary was able to escape back to her home in the Godwin Estate, and it is here the player must defeat her. What makes this villain so special is that she specializes in necromancy and is able to train creatures to fight for her. This power allowed her to create enemies different from what players were used to, including Hollow Men that are immune to damage unless exposed to light and colorful Hobbes that would duplicate upon death.
Mary's aim is to become more than human and in her battle with the player, she transforms from creature to creature until she reaches her ultimate form: a White Balverine. All in all, Mary is a fascinating character, unique to any other in the franchise as well as a fun, yet challenging, villain to fight.
7 Logan (Fable 3)
Logan is the brother of the hero, the king of Albion, and the secondary antagonist Fable 3. He is a tyrant and his decisions seem to only ever hurt his people, whether that be through the high taxes he set that led to hundreds living on the streets or the order of child labor in Bowerstone Industrial.
However, the player will later discover that Logan's actions were a result of the darkness he discovered was coming. The choices he made were to ultimately benefit Albion, making sacrifices to their resources in attempts to later save their lives. Some fans argue that Logan was willing to cause harm for the greater good but after all the damage he did, as well as the unjustifiable murders of Swift, his sibling's lover, and a group of innocent protesters, he is still very much a villain—and a good one too.
6 Commander Milton (Fable 3: Traitor's Keep)
Perhaps one of the most interesting characters in the Fable series, Commander Milton is the warden of Ravenscar Keep and the main antagonist of the DLC. This villain offers one of the most unique, yet challenging, boss fights in the entirety of the franchise.
At first, Milton poses as the player's ally. However, it is revealed that his true intentions are to kill the hero. He had been closely observing their fighting style the entire time in order to replicate it, thus standing a chance. He restrains the hero in a machine taken from the Godwin Estate and uses it to transform into the player's doppelganger; in other words, the player must defeat themselves.
5 The Crawler (Fable 3)
The Crawler, also known as the "Nightcrawler", is the main antagonist of Fable 3. There is no doubt that The Crawler is absolutely terrifying. The player doesn't see his physical form often, but his voice can often be heard taunting the hero every time they encounter the darkness and his "Children", The Crawler's servants, are just as unsettling.
This villain is responsible for attacking Aurora, decimating the population as well as blinding Walter, eventually possessing and killing him.
4 Reaver (Fable 2, 3)
Reaver is the Hero of Skill and Mayor Bloodstone. Contrary to his hero title in Fable 2, Reaver is arguably the most selfish and evil character in the entirety of the franchise. He sold the population of Oakvale to the Shadow Court in return for eternal youth and in Fable 3, becomes the owner of Reaver Industries, a business that promotes child labor and brutal working conditions.
As immoral as this character is, fans love him which is perhaps a result of how incredibly voice actor, Stephen Fry, portrayed him. He is a fan favorite: charming, devious, and hilariously witty.
3 Lucien Fairfax (Fable 2)
Lucien is the main antagonist in Fable 2, turning bad after the death of both his wife and child. Originally, Lucien's plan was to resurrect his family; he discovered that the Tattered Spire could grant him any one wish. However, over time he realized that it was more beneficial to remake the world in his image: he could make it so no one ever died again.
Whilst his new desire wasn't necessarily evil, his execution was. Lucien murders the hero's sister at the beginning of the game and enslaves hundreds of innocent people within the Spire in order to fulfill his wish. Lucien is a villain Fable fans adore, with players agreeing that his story arc is fascinating.
2 Theresa (Fable 1, 2, 3, Fable: The Journey)
Whilst Theresa isn't exclusively made the antagonist in any game, it is clear that she is the true villain of the entire franchise. After all, every bad thing that happens after Fable seemingly circles back to her.
She is the reason that The Crawler emerges from the void after she selfishly rebuilds the very Spire that was destroyed to seal the portal in the first place. She also planned the death of Rose, a child, so that she could manipulate Sparrow into stopping Lucien, and cleaning up the mess she made. Theresa also turns the player against their own brother in Fable 3, despite knowing the only reason he turned evil was because of her influence.
In summary, she uses people as her pawn to fix the mistakes she herself has made and is a character that fans of the game love to hate.
1 Jack Of Blades (Fable)
From his design, to his mannerisms, to the general chaotic nature of the character; most fans would agree that Jack of Blades is their favorite villain in the Fable games. He is by far the most devious villain within the series, with seemingly no real reason behind his actions.
Jack is the reason Theresa loses her sight, he kills the hero's mother, is behind the raid that leaves the hero orphaned, controls those that the hero thought they could trust, and forces the player to make inhumane decisions—and that's just half of it.