The 50 Greatest Video Game Villains Of All Time

Greatest Video Game Villains – #22 Frank Fontaine (Atlas)

Game(s): BioShock

Background: Frank Fontaine was the criminal mastermind and con man who started the uprising against Andrew Ryan in the first BioShock game. His actions caused the eventual downfall of the Rapture. After faking his death, Fontaine posed as “Atlas”, a charismatic fisherman who gained support from the poor through manipulation while growing an army of Splicers. In a huge plot twist, the player (Jack Ryan) finds out that Frank Fontaine had actually captured you as a child and used mental conditioning to control your actions, including killing your father. You free yourself from his mind control and meet Fontaine for the final battle of the game. Fontaine, who is now a spliced up, hulking monstrosity, has three different elemental forms the player must conquer before he is finally defeated and killed.

Why He’s One Of The Greatest Video Game Villains: Throughout the first BioShock, you are convinced that power-hungry Andrew Ryan is the real enemy. In arguably one of the greatest plot twists in gaming, you learn that Frank Fontaine has actually been pulling the strings the entire time. This reversal of circumstances truly defines the game’s story. Fontaine was not only the mastermind behind organized gene splicing, but of the downfall of Rapture all together. A criminal through and through, his hunger for power and his mastery of the art of lying made him the true villain of BioShock. He truly was in it for the long con, and successfully pulled off one of the most impressive schemes to overthrow a government in all of video gaming.

Next: 21- Alma Wade