No one crits like Gaston, no one hits like Gaston, no one falls to their death in a pit like Gaston.
When trying to weigh up the Disney villains, deciding which one would make the best Big Bad in your Roleplaying Game, we will come across a lot of humans. Amongst the liches and dragons, non-magic, unpowered people are vying for a top spot for leader board. It will take something extraordinary for these people to outshine the spellcasters and monsters.
Last week, the villain from Atlantis came close to beating Jafar. A brute in combat and superb henchmen had him scoring high.
Gaston is one of my favourite Disney villains, but we’ll have to see if he come can flex and smirk enough to earn a top spot.
Presence – 4 out of 5
As all good villains should, Gaston fills the scene. Physically as well as with his personality. He is a mass of vain, spoilt, angry, spiteful nastiness. Even when other characters are talking, Gaston is barely aware of it, only thinking about how he can get what he wants. It’s a powerful blend of arrogance and ignorance that makes him utterly unlikeable, but in a great way.
He’s entirely fun to witness when the fight breaks out too. Still brimming with machismo and practically bursting with self-confidence, but with an extra layer of spiteful cruelty on display.
Atmosphere – 3 out of 5
Gaston doesn’t alter the world around him, but he does have control of the mood. If he’s glum, depressed and sullen, the room he occupies is quiet. When he’s raucous and swinging from the rafters, the entire town is swinging along with him.
Then, when he decides that the Beast has got to go, he creates the populace into a blood-seeking frenzy within seconds. It’s so effective that the entire vibe of the movie darkens and intensifies significantly. At least until the furniture takes the imitative and comedically ambush and murder several townspeople…
Omniscience – 2 out of 5
Gaston is unaware that the beast exists, unaware of when Belle stood next to him rolling her eyes and clearly exasperated by him, and his first reaction to a book is to physically turn it to check it’s the right way up.
There is a spark of cunning there, however. He is the one that comes up with the devious plan to force Belle to marry him, which may have succeeded if it wasn’t for her newfound affection for the Beast; if he was still just a monster and she didn’t have mirror, she would have had to choose between her father’s incarceration or marriage.
However, it’s a very unnecessarily complicated plan to ‘claim’ Belle as ‘his bride’. Not only does it not work, but simply being nice to Belle would have been much more successful.
Henchmen – 2 out of 5
Gaston isn’t lacking for people to do his bidding. There’s an entire provincial town ready to light torches and scream bloody murder. He has his hypeman LeFou and the leering Monsieur Dark. He also has those three women who swoon around him if he so much as leans in their general direction.
Quantity does not make quality. Tom, Dick and Stanley fold as soon as the living furniture springs the trap. LeFou is a great confidence booster but isn’t adding to any evil scheme, nor is he offering any fighting prowess. The owner of the asylum is only going to be helpful if BBEG’s evil scheme is accuse put the entire party of insanity.
Threat Level – 3 out of 5
On the one hand, Gaston is the beefiest of beefcakes. On the other, he’s easily overpowered when the Beast turns on the menace. However, Gaston has some real skill with those weapons; a crack-shot with a blunderbuss and he takes the Beast out with a single dagger strike. Having said that, he’s a victim of his own monologuing, and his dexterity fails him when it’s time to hang onto a rooftop.
It’s a middling result.
Finale – 2 out of 5
This is another BBEG where the spectacle around them is amazing, but not a product of their own design. The hilarious maiming of the peasantry in the entrance hall is incredible, but Gaston is deliberately absent for most of that. He brought the villager rabble, the castle brought a murdering wardrobe.
The finale fight with Gaston is grizzly and atmospheric, and he brings all the snide quips he can muster, but it’s a very low key fight scene. If Gaston was your BBEG, you could have some great fun with a sneaky, back-stabbing approach to the final fight, but he’s no adding anything particularly unique or exciting.
Final Score = 2.66
Strength and rogues don’t always go together, but it can work. Gaston swings clubs and knives with equal proficiency, he can sneak and climb with great athleticism and he’s a great marksmen. So he’s got a fair dose of rogue mixed in with the stats that make him beefy but still within human restrictions.
You could easily switch the longbow for the blunderbuss (or a modern/futuristic firearm, if your BBEG is in a different world but Gaston makes a good fit.
The most middling of all the potential BBEGs to date, and I think that tracks. Lots of muscle and bravado, but lacking powers and support that would raise him up to the big leagues.
He’d make a good supporting villain, or a great misdirect for the main, more subtle, BBEG. Or, if his support base was stronger, if his henchmen were more skilful and competent, then Gaston might actually shine. There’s lot of cunning there, along with the muscles, if only he was in a position to show it off.
| Disney Villain | Score |
| Jafar | 3.83 👑 |
| Lyle Tiberius Rourke | 3.66 |
| Gaston LeGume | 2.66 |
| Cruella de Vil | 2.00 |
| Queen of Hearts | 1.33 |
| Edgar Balthazar | 0.75 |
Thank You For Reading
The other Disney BBEG contenders are right here.
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Gamer Peak 
These are fun! Only problem is that now I’ve got that song in my head.