The plethora of Tom Clancy games that have been released over the years are often most admired for their action-packed gameplay and captivating stories, but they've also featured their fair share of compelling villains too. While Ubisoft has begun steering more into the open world genre with its Tom Clancy series, such as with The Division series and Ghost Recon Wildlands, this hasn't stopped them from including some engaging antagonists to keep the narrative exciting throughout the experience.

Of course, this has also been the case with their older titles, which tended to be a lot more linear and straight-forward in their plot and narrative, allowing the villains to play a bigger party in the events of the story at hand. The Tom Clancy games are therefore packed full of memorable villains, but these ones listed below managed to steal every scene they showed up in thanks to their intimidating aura and ruthless personality.

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7 Flycatcher

Flycatcher May Seem Innocent, But He's Actually A Deadly Tech-Expert With A Knack For Drones

Flycatcher and two soldiers and drones
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
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Shooter
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Released
October 4, 2019
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Paris
Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One, Stadia, PlayStation 4
Genre(s)
Shooter

Unlike the other fearsome Wolves members, Flycatcher comes across as a much more docile and reserved individual, almost possessing a child-like innocence which initially makes him seem like he could be an ally. However, underneath this exterior, Flycatcher is actually a merciless soldier who loves nothing more than blowing up his opponents with the help of his drones, which he can be seen tinkering with and building at multiple points throughout Ghost Recon: Breakpoint's story .

He's an incredibly intriguing antagonist since, while he's constantly mocked by his teammates for not being "tough" enough, it ultimately makes Flycatcher all the more dangerous as he seeks to proof himself to his comrades, and most of all, to Cole. His boss fight is also a stand-out from the game, and his influence even lingers on well into the later stages of the story through his teammates who try to avenge his untimely death.

6 El Sueno

El Sueno Steals Every Scene He's In Thanks To His Intimidating Aura And Personality

El Sueno holding up a woman's head
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands (dupe)
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Tactical
Shooter
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Released
March 7, 2017
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Milan
Platform(s)
PC, PS4, Xbox One
Genre(s)
Tactical, Shooter

Out of all the Santa Blanca Cartel members, El Sueno is by far the most intimidating and ruthless of them all. He became a cartel hitman at the young age of twelve, and ever since, he's dreamed of expanding Santa Blanca to eventually become a king, forcing any civilians he comes across to participate in his gang activities and further his goal. While his plan gradually starts to crumble around him, El Sueno takes none of the blame, and instead, points the finger at his weak underbosses, who he sees as nothing more than tools and pawns in his game.

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What really makes El Sueno so captivating though is his endless charisma and self-confidence. He's shown to be an excellent speaker, easily turning people to his side by telling them about his upbringing and grand vision for the new world, and because he claims to never lie, he admits that he's willingly killed hundreds of people throughout his life, demonstrating that he's not someone to be messed with.

5 Deimos

Deimos Has Managed To Cause Turmoil Within The Rainbow Unit With Just A Single Bullet

Deimos
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
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Released
December 1, 2015
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Montreal
Genre(s)
Shooter

Admittedly, there isn't actually a lot known about Deimos since he only showed up fairly recently in the Rainbow Six Siege story, but he certainly made quite the impression on fans when he murdered Harry, the leader of Rainbow, in cold blood. It's clear that his mission is to de-stabilize Rainbow from the inside, something he's actually partly succeeded in doing by setting up the conflict between the Rainbow operators and Nighthaven, which is still a heated feud that remains a bog part of the game's narrative to this day.

What has been revealed since his appearance is that Deimos was once an operator of Rainbow himself, though it seems as though he's grown disillusioned with the unit, and for mysterious reasons, now seeks to tear it down entirely. The unpredictability of Deimos, mixed with his mysterious aura, makes him the most compelling villain seen in Siege thus far, and hopefully, Ubisoft reveal a little more about him in future seasons.

4 Suhadi Sadono

The Cigar-Chomping Militia Leader Known As Suhadi Sadono Is One Of Sam Fisher's Trickiest Targets

Suhadi Sadono
  • Platform: Xbox One, PS2, PS3, PC, GameCube
  • Release Date: March 23, 2004
  • Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
  • Genre: Stealth

Sadono is a smart, savvy, and incredibly dangerous villain who always seems to be one step ahead of everyone else, even Sam Fisher himself. As a merciless leader of an Indonesian militia, Sadono became the prime target of the US military, but he managed to keep them at bay by creating a smallpox virus that he threatened to unleash onto the population if they ever tried to apprehend him.

While he's been shown to be a skilled combatant, it's clear that Sadono also knows a thing or two about outsmarting his enemies, even managing to evade being captured on multiple occasions throughout Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. He also has a very memorable design, with his small black beret and thick cigar that never leaves his mouth adding a lot to his fearsome persona, making him look like a truly dangerous leader who isn't afraid to gun down anyone who steps up to him.

3 Kombayn Nikoladze

Kombayn Nikoladze's Unpredictable And Extreme Antics Presented Him As A Truly Terrifying Villain

Kombayn Nikoladze
  • Platform: Xbox, PS2, GameCube, PS3
  • Release Date: November 18, 2022
  • Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
  • Genre: Stealth

In an attempt to become the President of Georgia, Nikoladze goes to some extreme lengths. He arranged the assassination of the previous president so that he could divert attention away from a giant military that he was in the middle of building, which he intended to use to wage a war against the US, and to help uphold his position of power. That's not all though, as he would eventually threaten to execute the US hostages that he had captured on live television, and even managed to get his hands on nuclear materials that his men seized from a power plant.

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There's no denying that Nikoladze is an incredibly evil villain, committing some truly despicable acts just for his own selfish greed and reputation, and that's what makes him so terrifying as an antagonist. Not only was he able to rally the entire country behind him through manipulation alone, but the amount of undercover work that he carried out also makes him very unpredictable, and ultimately, extremely dangerous.

2 Aaron Keener

Aaron Keener's Obsession With Control And Power Turned Him Into A Merciless Killer

Aaron Keener and other allies around him
Tom Clancy’s The Division
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Third-Person Shooter
Open-World
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Released
March 8, 2016
Developer(s)
Massive Entertainment
Platform(s)
PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Genre(s)
Third-Person Shooter, Open-World

After turning rogue and turning his back on the Division, Aaron Keener began building up his own special unit, while executing any agents who refused to join his cause. Ultimately, Keener seeks to gain control, whether that be over Manhattan, the Division, or even the entire world through the use of his hand-crafted biological virus weapon. He's a very manipulative individual who really feels like a big deal the few times he shows up in the two games.

While he's portrayed as being an incredibly intelligent and cunning villain in the first Division game who is able to constantly avoid the player's grasp, in the second game, he comes across as a little more maniacal and psychotic, potentially due to his paranoia of being caught. Despite lurking behind the scenes for much of the games he's featured in, Keener still manages to invoke fear any time that he's mentioned, and that's a testament to just how well written he is as a villain.

1 Cole Walker

Cole Walker's Complex Beliefs And Ideology Make Him A Fascinating Villain To Watch In Action

Cole Walker
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
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Released
October 4, 2019
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Paris
Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One, Stadia, PlayStation 4
Genre(s)
Shooter

Played by the incredibly talented Jon Bernthal, Cole Walker is a character who passionately believes that the ends justify the means, even if that involves killing hundreds of people in the process. Walker's ultimate plan is to incite global chaos so that he and his organization are able to take control and create their version of a "Utopia", which is a dream that comes from his own personal belief that war will never end since its part of human nature. Therefore, he feels that someone needs to forcibly take control of the world to keep it in order, and actually believes that he's the one who is capable of taking on that duty.

He's an incredibly complex villain who's inspired plenty of in-depth discussions online, and Jon Bernthal's passionate performance goes a long way in making Cole seem believable, real, and fascinating to watch in action. Despite all this though, he's still shown to be an incredibly violent individual, as showcased in a flashback where he casually kills his own men after finding them relaxing with some of the locals in Auroa, or when he executes Weaver without a second thought after cornering him.