Warning: This article contains references to murder and other violent crimes.
Since its premiere in 2003,NCIShas become famous for featuring some of television’s scariest villains. As a military police procedural,NCISmainly shows cases related to naval and Marine Corps personnel, but among the Major Case Response Team’s suspects and villains, the show also features gruesome murders and shocking twists. Many ofNCIS' best episodesinclude some kind of villain twist, often showing that even some of the most unexpected people can commit the worst crimes.
Even withNCISseason 23on the way,NCIShas remained an exciting crime drama that has been able to prevent itself. BecauseeachNCISepisode features a crime, but not necessarily a villain, the villains that do appear are highlighted all the more. These cases not only feel difficult, but they also showcase the MCRT’s brilliant skills in investigation. Even so, only a few villains out of the show’s multi-decade history stand out as being the most terrifying.
8Rachel Barnes
NCIS' Youngest Villain Appeared In Season 12
One of the most terrifying villains in the history of theNCISuniverseis Rachel Barnes, namely because she is also the youngest. At approximately 10 years old,Rachel killed her motherin cold blood. She even worked hard at creating an alibi and giving the correct answers during interrogations with theNCISteam to trick them into looking away from her. Rachel’s cold demeanor was the most terrifying aspect of all.
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Rachel, played by Millie Bobby Brown, only appeared inNCISseason 12, episode 6, “Parental Guidance Suggested,” but the circumstances around her case are so chilling that they remain memorable even years later. WhileRachel was eventually caught by the MCRT at the end of the episode and institutionalized,Millie Bobby Brown’sNCIScharacteris still one ofNCIS' scariest villains, especially given her circumstances as a young girl.
7Sergei Mishnev
Appeared Throughout NCIS Season 12
Sergei Mishnev, played by Alex Veadov, was one of the show’s most terrifying villains because of how consistent he was. WhenSergei learned about the death of his half-brother, Ari, at the hands of the MCRT, he began to seek his revenge slowly and meticulously. While Ziva was the one who killed Ari, it was Gibbs who took the blame for it, thus making him the main target of Sergei’s anger.
Sergei was horrifying ashe stopped at nothing to avenge his brother, but he was a great villain to watch. Since he appeared in season 12, exactly nine seasons after the death of Ari, his appearance was so unexpected that it became an exciting twist in the show. Watching the MCRT fight him brought out some ofNCIS' best traits. Sergei may have been a terrifying villain, but he was also entertaining.
6Kyle Boone
Appeared Once In NCIS Season 3
Christopher Shyer’s Kyle Boone may have only appeared inNCISseason 3, episode 3, “Mind Games,” but his episode is so creepy that he remains one ofNCIS' scariest villains.Kyle’s appearance references an old case of Gibbs’when Kyle was arrested for the murders of several women in the 1990s. Despite being caught and sentenced to execution, Kyle relished the fact that the burial places of the women he killed remained unknown.
Kyle was a terrifyingly brutal misogynist with no remorse for his actions.
Kyle was a terrifyingly brutal misogynist with no remorse for his actions. All serial killers are frightening, but Kyle’s choice to keep trophies of his killings added a level of disturbance in the already chilling cases. Almost twenty years later,Kyle Boone remains one of theNCIS' eeriest villains.
5Karen Bright
Appeared Once In NCIS Season 4
Karen Bright’s case was particularly disturbing because it had a personal touch to it. While investigating her husband’s murder,the MCRT discovers a slew of murdered women who look just like Karen. Her husband almost takes the blame for the killings, but the MCRT discovers Karen’s facade is not all that it seems just in time.
Karen showed absolutely no remorse for her actions and almost managed to emotionally manipulate Fornell and Gibbs into believing her.Everything pointed at her husband being a serial killer, and, for a while, it even seemed like Karen killed her husband to protect herself from him. Fortunately, Gibbs realized that that could not be further from the truth.
4Trent Kort
A Recurring Guest Star In NCIS Seasons 4-13
Trent Kort is easily one ofNCIS' best villainsbecause of his long character arc.Trent first appeared inNCISin season 4, but it was not until season 13 that he became a full-fledged villain. The interesting part about Trent is that he is one of the onlyNCISvillains to have a slow build. He is also one of a few characters that start as a CIA operative.
Trent Kort also appears inNCIS: Los Angelesseason 1, episode 24, “Callen, G.”
Trent was a confusing character to the teambecause he was as helpful as he was disingenuous. While it was not until season 13 that Trent completely changed sides, he did cause significant trouble for the team as early as season 5 when he tricked Shepard into failing her polygraph for his own benefit. He also attempted to kill several members of the MCRT, including Ziva and Tony, and killed Shepard’s father years ago.
3Harper Dearing
Appeared Throughout NCIS Seasons 9 And 10
Richard Schiff’s Harper Dearing is not just one ofNCIS' scariest villains; he is also one of the more emotionally-complex ones. After losing his son in a tragic but preventable accident, Harper became a terrorist.Fueled by anger and grief, Harper began attacking Navy shipswith explosives to highlight the issues with the ships' wiring, which was what ultimately killed his son.
A serial killer whose weapon of choice is explosives is terrifying enough, but Harper’s passion for his cause and disregard for future victims took his crimes to another level. The irony is that Harper did not care about exposing the faulty wiring for the safety of others becausehe was doing it out of anger. He knew that no amount of deaths would bring back his son, but he wanted to make himself heard.
2Jonas Cobb
Major Antagonist Of NCIS Season 8
Even though he only appeared in season 8, Jonas Cobb remains one of the most notoriousNCISvillains.He was a major antagonist for several episodes,which culminated in the deaths of multipleNCISspecial agents and the famous Mike Franks. Jonas' killings were especially brutal because he gained the well-deserved nickname “Port-to-Port killer” as he would stop at nothing to commit multiple murders.
Jonas' storyline inNCISremains one of the best plots in the show, even decades later. Jonas' murders, as brutal as they were, were a result of what had been done to him.He became a killer after becoming a rejected CIA experiment, highlighting the dark side of intelligence operations and the toll they have on human life.
1Ari Haswari
NCIS' First Major Antagonist
Without a doubt,NCIS' most terrifying and best villain is Ari Haswari, who first appeared inNCISseason 1.Ari was a Mossad agent and terrorist, and he was Ziva’s and Sergei’s half-brother. His connections to these other iconic characters contributed to hisNCISlegacy, even though he only appeared as a guest star in the first few seasons. His role onNCISwas significant as he was not onlyNCIS' first villain, but he also significantly altered the course of the show when he killedKate Todd in theNCISseason 1 finale.
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Kate’s death proved toNCISthat Ari would stop at nothing to provoke Gibbs and pursue his own interests. Ari’s appearances inNCISmay have been brief, but they had a lasting impact on the show as his crimes set the stage forNCIS' tone as well as the team’s interactions with recurring criminals. It is hard to imagineNCISwithout Ari because of how impactful his character’s arc was on the other characters.
