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An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis (sometimes spelled arch-enemy, arch-foe, arch-villain or arch-nemesis) is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy (compare nemesis). The reason why the particular villain
Villain

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a history narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters....
 stands out more than the rest of the protagonist's rogues gallery
Rogues gallery

A rogues gallery is a police collection of pictures or photographs of crimes and suspects kept for identification purposes. The term is also used figuratively by extension for any group of shady characters or the line-up of 'mugshot' photographs that might be displayed in the halls of a dormitory or workplace....
 varies; they may be the hero's strongest enemy (Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom is a Character , a comic book supervillain published by Marvel Comics and appearing as an enemy of the Fantastic Four. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 ....
/The Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new naturalism in the mass media....
), have strong connections with the hero's past (the Master
Master (Doctor Who)

The Master is a recurring Fictional character in the United Kingdom science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and is the archenemy of Doctor ....
/the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)

The Doctor is the central fictional character in the long-running BBC Science fiction on television series Doctor Who, and also features in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
), caused the hero a great deal of personal pain (the Joker
Joker (comics)

The Joker is a Character , a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics and appearing as an enemy of Batman. Created by Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in Batman #1 ....
/Batman
Batman

Batman is a Character , a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939....
 in most continuities), has the most personal grudge against the hero (Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is a Character , a supervillain that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character First appearance in Action Comics #23 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster....
/Superman
Superman

Superman is a Character , a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio, and sold to DC Comics in 1938, the character first appeared in Action Comics Action Comics 1 and subseque...
), or may be the most recurring enemy (Bowser/Mario
Mario

is a fictional character in video games, created by Game designer#Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot, Mario has appeared in List of Mario games by year since his creation....
).






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An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis (sometimes spelled arch-enemy, arch-foe, arch-villain or arch-nemesis) is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy (compare nemesis). The reason why the particular villain
Villain

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a history narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters....
 stands out more than the rest of the protagonist's rogues gallery
Rogues gallery

A rogues gallery is a police collection of pictures or photographs of crimes and suspects kept for identification purposes. The term is also used figuratively by extension for any group of shady characters or the line-up of 'mugshot' photographs that might be displayed in the halls of a dormitory or workplace....
 varies; they may be the hero's strongest enemy (Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom is a Character , a comic book supervillain published by Marvel Comics and appearing as an enemy of the Fantastic Four. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 ....
/The Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new naturalism in the mass media....
), have strong connections with the hero's past (the Master
Master (Doctor Who)

The Master is a recurring Fictional character in the United Kingdom science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and is the archenemy of Doctor ....
/the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)

The Doctor is the central fictional character in the long-running BBC Science fiction on television series Doctor Who, and also features in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
), caused the hero a great deal of personal pain (the Joker
Joker (comics)

The Joker is a Character , a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics and appearing as an enemy of Batman. Created by Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in Batman #1 ....
/Batman
Batman

Batman is a Character , a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939....
 in most continuities), has the most personal grudge against the hero (Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is a Character , a supervillain that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character First appearance in Action Comics #23 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster....
/Superman
Superman

Superman is a Character , a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio, and sold to DC Comics in 1938, the character first appeared in Action Comics Action Comics 1 and subseque...
), or may be the most recurring enemy (Bowser/Mario
Mario

is a fictional character in video games, created by Game designer#Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot, Mario has appeared in List of Mario games by year since his creation....
). In certain cases, it is possible for a hero to possess more than one archenemy, as in the case of Spider-Man with Green Goblin
Green Goblin

The Green Goblin is a name shared by several fictional supervillains that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko....
, Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus

Doctor Octopus is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Otto Gunther Octavius is one of the greatest enemies of Spider-Man who is portrayed as a stocky, myopic man who utilizes four powerful, mechanical appendages, and is obsessed with proving his own genius and...
, and Venom
Venom (comics)

Eddie Brock, also known as Venom , is a character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 ....
 where all three villains have established themselves, at various times, as the most recurring and the most iconic of Spider-Man's rogues gallery.

Etymology

The word archenemy or arch-enemy originated around the mid-16th century
1550

Year 1550 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar....
, from the words arch- and enemy.

See also

  • Supervillain
    Supervillain

    A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain fictional character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various mediums....
  • Rogues gallery
    Rogues gallery

    A rogues gallery is a police collection of pictures or photographs of crimes and suspects kept for identification purposes. The term is also used figuratively by extension for any group of shady characters or the line-up of 'mugshot' photographs that might be displayed in the halls of a dormitory or workplace....
  • List of fictional archenemies
    List of fictional archenemies

    This a list of archenemy-type relationships in fiction. To see the full criteria for an archenemy, see Archenemy. Also please note that this list is not full, and may never be....