If Looks Could Kill

The Dead or Alive series is full of scantily-clad ladies, but there’s something about Christie’s thigh-high leather boots that just screams “bad girl.” This silver-haired babe is a hired assassin with a killer body and a personality to match. In Dead or Alive 3 Christie disguised herself as a servant to Helena before it was revealed that she was actually hired to kill her. It was then discovered that Christie was also the assassin responsible for the death of Helen’s mother. Christie was back on the job in Dead or Alive 4 where she helped facilitate DOATEC’s plans to create an ultimate bio-weapon. Like any femme fatale, Christie is also known for her powers of seduction. When she’s not too busy killing people, Christie is willing to entice her enemies with a pole dance, and she repeatedly puts her bare ass on display for all to see.

The main antagonist in Final Fantasy VIII, Ultimecia is a power-hungry sorceress from the future who is capable of reaching back through time in order to possess others. Her ultimate goal is to gain complete control over time and space, and she also expresses a desire to remake the universe in her image and turn its people into her slaves. Ultimecia is arguably the most dangerous woman on this list and she has impressive magical abilities at her disposal, but she also knows how to use her body to get what she wants. For instance, after possessing the body of a sorceress named Edea Kramer, she starts to wear revealing outfits instead of the conservative clothing that Edea usually wore. Just because she has the power to travel through time, doesn’t mean she ignores the powers of seduction.

Mona Sax was bad news from the very beginning. Shortly after meeting Max Payne in a gothic nightclub, she laced his drink with a sedative and left him to be found by the Mafia. Most would have taken this as a sign to stay away from her, but Max opted to help Mona out in the sequel. When Mona was seemingly framed for the assassination of a U.S. Senator, Max worked with her to find the real killers. After unravelling a vast conspiracy, Max learned that Mona was actually a hired gun who had been ordered to kill him. This act of betrayal should have guaranteed Mona a higher position on this list, but she had a change of heart. Upon realizing that she had real feelings for Max, Mona decided not to kill him. In fact, she even ended up taking a bullet for him. This act of redemption hurt Mona’s standing as a femme fatale.

Known for her extremely revealing outfits and unique whip-like snake sword, Isabella “Ivy” Valentine is one of the most popular characters in the SoulCalibur series. Ivy was convinced to become part of Nightmare’s entourage in the first SoulCalibur game, and helped gather souls for a demonic weapon known as “Soul Edge.” Upon recognizing the evil properties brought forth by the sword, Ivy switched her allegiance and, instead, vowed to destroy the weapon. Ivy eventually discovered that she was the biological daughter of the notorious pirate, Cervantes de Leon – who once had possession the Soul Edge himself. To prevent her cursed lineage from being passed on to future generations, Ivy chose a life of celibacy. Thankfully, Ivy continues to dress like an oversexed dominatrix despite her change of attitude.

Fighting games and femmes fatales often go hand in hand, and the Tekken series is no exception. Anna Williams is both dangerous and unpredictable. Her older sister Nina could also be described as a femme fatale, and would probably be the more obvious choice for this list. After all, Nina is a cold-blooded assassin and one of only a handful of characters to have appeared in every Tekken game. Ultimately, Nina’s anti-social tendencies suggest that Anna is actually a better fit for this list. Anna is every bit as deadly as her sister is, but she is a lot more charming. Anna is known for her flirtatious demeanor and seductive laugh. Unlike her sister, she actually enjoys getting attention. Flirtation and coquetry are important factors for this list. What’s the point of being a bad girl if you’re not going to have any fun doing it?

A secret agent working for the Chinese government, EVA was sent to gather information on an Illuminati-like organization called the “Philosophers.” In order to do this, EVA repeatedly used her sex appeal as a means of winning over Naked Snake and his enemies. On one occasion, she infiltrated a military base by pretending to be the lover of a kidnapped scientist. Later, she assisted Naked Snake under the guise of a KGB agent. While working with Snake, EVA began to fall in love with him. However, after retrieving a microfilm containing the information on the Philosophers, EVA promptly betrayed him and hit the road. When the two were reunited several years later, EVA was recruited into a project known as “Les Enfants Terribles,” acting as a surrogate mother for Solid Snake and his twin brother, Liquid Snake.

The cast of the Darkstalkers franchise is made up of a myriad of monsters. Vampires, zombies, mummies, and werewolves are all represented in the games, but the most popular character in the series is a succubus named Morrigan. Succubi are mythological beings who seduce men in order to steal their energy. Obviously, in order for this process to work, it’s important for succubi to be smoking hot. In Morrigan’s case, most guys probably spend so much time staring at her chest that they don’t even notice that she has bat wings. Her beauty allows her to prey on stolen dreams of sleeping men, and she can completely drain energy from her victims with a simple kiss. Even Capcom themselves were enamored with Morrigan’s appearance. So much so that they left her sprite virtually unchanged throughout the entire Darkstalkers series.

Sylvia Christel is mysterious, flirtatious, and downright sadistic. A Japanese Ukrainian agent for the United Assassins Association, Sylvia sets up ranked fights between the world’s best killers. Eventually, the UAA is revealed to be an elaborate way to con people out of their money, as Sylvia collects ridiculously high entry fees from the contestants along the way. There are several characters in the No More Heroes universe that could qualify for this list. Throughout the course of the game, the central protagonist faces off against a Swedish model with a machine gun for a leg, a perverse murderer who pummels people with a baseball bat while wearing a Lolita outfit, and his own sociopathic ex-girlfriend/half-sister. Ultimately, Sylvia is being mentioned here because she is the mastermind that set everything in motion.

She always looked the part, but Ada Wong certainly didn’t act like a typical femme fatale when we first met her in Resident Evil 2. Rather, she presented herself as an innocent bystander who was searching for her lost boyfriend. After she spent the entire game playing Leon Kennedy like a fiddle, it was eventually revealed that Ada was secretly working as a spy and was sent to obtain a sample of the G-Virus. Despite this act of betrayal, there seemed to be a real connection between Ada and Leon. Ada would be seen again in Resident Evil 4, where she saved Leon’s life on multiple occasions and assisted him in his mission to rescue the President’s daughter. Once again, Ada had ulterior motives. This time, she was revealed to be an operative for an unknown company who was sent to retrieve a Las Plagas sample.

It can’t be easy to pull off the come-hither look when you have guns strapped to your ankles, but this shape-shifting witch finds a way. Bayonetta really seems to straddle the line between dangerous and sexy. One moment, she’ll be attacking her enemies with a sword: The next, she’ll be playfully sucking on a lollipop. Bayonetta’s sexuality is hyper-exaggerated, and she’s certainly not adverse to using her feminine charms as a weapon. She’s constantly gyrating her hips in a seductive manner, and she even strips her clothes off in the middle of battle. Bayonetta enjoys dishing out punishment, but she also likes to tease her enemies. Whether she’s slamming her rivals into an iron maiden or simply emasculating them with her words, Bayonetta obviously enjoys herself. This is an essential characteristic for any femme fatale to have.