Villains Unveiled
The Shape of Evil
From Captain Hook to Hannibal Lecter, devious villains capture our imaginations - and invade our nightmares. Explore the origins of the fictional scoundrels you only think you know in this episodic history series. Discover the truth about the notorious crimes, the dark legacies, and the real life inspirations based on these fiendish foes - and find out who is the baddest of them all. Just keep telling yourself it’s all make believe… Isn’t it?
(Spoilers ahead. This free-forming femme fatale has been out of commission for years, but stil, resist the temptation to give anything away for anyone who hasn’t encountered her yet.)
The final frontier has seen its fair share of intergalactic enemies, but the Alpha Quadrant was not prepared for a foe that took spycraft to dangerous new levels. The shapeshifting overseers of the villainous organization called the Dominion ravaged the United Federation of Planets for years, all under the warmongering rule of their leader simply known as the Female Changeling. Under her cold and calculating command, Starfleet’s future was in peril.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine first aired in 1993 and lasted seven seasons, ending in 1999. A syndicated spinoff of Star Trek: The Next Generation, DS9 offered a different view of the galaxy - instead of seeking out new life and civilizations in a starship, the series primarily focused on the activity of a space station that once belonged to a contentious race of aliens known as the Cardassians. Commander Benjamin Sisko was assigned to lead Starfleet’s presence aboard the starbase, co-operated by the Bajoran military - the people of Bajor had long suffered under the oppressive rule of Cardassia’s occupying forces. Adding to the unique mix of the command crew, numerous aliens populated the base, all with drastically different appearances and outlooks. Transients, business owners, and several other workers lived aboard the floating melting pot in space. A nearby wormhole opened a world of new mysterious possibilities for the star-spanning characters - along with new, unforeseen threats.
Even though a starship, the Defiant, was introduced in season three, the station formerly known as Terok Nor experienced strange phenomena, faced moral quandaries, and encountered exotic lifeforms on a regular basis - all without needing to go to warp speed. While the base itself attracted chaotic elements, it was the stable wormhole that brought the most enigmatic of entities. Hailing from the faraway Gamma Quadrant, the elusive changelings infiltrated DS9’s sector and nothing was ever the same.
Most curious about these metamorphic invaders was Constable Odo, a shapeshifter who had been serving aboard Deep Space Nine for years. Over time, Odo and his friends discovered that this would not be a harmonious reunion with his species, but rather the catalyst for a years-long interstellar conflict that cost the lives of thousands of Alpha Quadrant denizens. The liquid-based changelings viewed themselves as superior to all other creatures, who they referred to as solids. These gelatinous genocidal beings called themselves the Founders, and took little time to amass an empirical opposition to the Federation and its allies.
The Founders oversaw the collective corps of villains called the Dominion. A race of clones called the Vorta (individually referred to as Weyoun) served as administrators of the militant forces. These devout facilitators were bio-engineered to worship the Founders as gods which led to their unwavering loyalty. A separate genetically modified race of warriors known as the Jem’Hadar acted as infantry for the hostile Dominion. The unified antagonists and their deadly alliances throughout the galaxy launched a war that attacked the Federation on all fronts. Changelings impersonated key officials and other trusted colleagues in order to create dissidence and other acts of terror. The intergalactic battles were fought in the name of the insidious ideals of the Founders’ leader, the cruel being who was simply referred to as the Female Changeling.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this sinister shapeshifter was that the Female Changeling decided to form a physical resemblance to Odo. In their natural state, changelings exist as viscous, blob-like, liquid-based beings. They can assume the shapes of inanimate objects and other naturally-occurring formations, as well as mimic humanoid life to an astonishing level of detail. When Odo learned more about his people, they were just as eager to know more about him. Odo’s familiar countenance consisted of a likeness he could more easily produce on a daily basis, though not quite identical to any other intelligent species. The constable had not lived among his own kind, therefore he did not possess a complete understanding of his shapeshifting abilities. Other changelings adopted Odo’s visage as a way to demonstrate friendship and acceptance. Over the course of the Dominion War, the mocking face, especially that of the Female Changeling, was nothing more than a grim reminder of their betrayal.
Portrayed by Salome Jens, the Female Changeling was the chosen representative of the Great Link, the massive, intermixing ocean of changelings occupying their homeworld. Like others of her race, the Female Changeling had no need or desire to assume a humanoid shape or even have an individual name. She chose her arbitrary body when interacting with solids, whom the Founders openly declared to be lowly, inferior creatures. The tragic origins of the Founders’ hatred of solids stems from a distant past in an area of space far, far away. Long ago, ancestral solids of a mysterious race mercilessly hunted the exploratory changelings. The shapeshifters vowed to never be persecuted again.
The hive-minded changelings would later send a batch of their own kind to explore the galaxy with the intent of their eventual return to inform the Great Link of what other races were like. Odo had been among the hundred shapeshifting infants, having no way of knowing what his destiny would bring to the galaxy. The dispatching of their kind, however, did little to dissuade the Founders’ intolerant xenophobia. Despite the particular humanoid aggressors being long gone, the Female Changeling carried with her the memory of her people’s treatment at the hands of the solids. This bitter history contributed to her pursuit of subjugating whom she deemed unworthy.
A rogue arm of Starfleet, the shadowy group known as Section 31, developed a disease that could wipe out the changelings, tipping the scales of war. This eventually paved the way for the Founders to begrudgingly surrender, leading to the incarnation of the Female Changeling.
The Female Changeling ordered several atrocities during the course of the Dominion War, but she would, on occasion, personally enter the fray. Having served with Major Kira Nerys on DS9 for many years, Odo developed romantic feelings toward the Bajoran commander. The Female Changeling knew of Odo’s deep secrets after they previously linked - the bonding of changelings by physically melding together in a gelatinous state. Unbeknownst to Odo, the Female Changeling posed as Kira, feigning being trapped in a growing rock formation while away on a mission. Odo, thinking “Kira” would die soon from an expanding stone entity slowly enveloping her, professed his love for the Major. Eventually, Kira was revealed to be the Female Changeling in disguise, successfully playing head games and manipulating Odo. The leader of the Founders aimed to bring Odo back into the fold, but the constable ultimately proved his allegiance to his friends in the Federation and their allied forces against the Dominion.
Here on Earth, reality has been skewed by impostors and other con artists. Robert Hendy-Freegard was a British convicted impersonator who posed as an MI5 agent, among other false identities. Masquerading as an undercover agent, Hendy-Freegard used mental tricks to coerce victims to give into his demands. Grifting money from unsuspecting marks, this “shapeshifter” didn’t stop at simple extortion or robbery - he maliciously made his targets undergo loyalty tests to prove their allegiance to him. Seduction, manipulation, and dishonesty were Henderson-Freegard’s weapons of choice, and he managed to get some of his followers to sever ties with their loved ones. Cultivating devotees, bending the truth, and using a special ops cover to orchestrate an extraordinary - and malevolent - lifestyle echoes the Dominion’s dastardly deeds.
The Female Changeling embodied the dangerous superiority complex of an entire species, and although Starfleet was able to emerge victorious in the war, the Dominion left a mark on Star Trek for generations to come.
Villain Ranking: RUTHLESS
What made the Founders such a lethal threat was their very nature - an ambiguous, amorphous race of highly intelligent beings that had been scorned by solids. The Female Changeling’s prejudices spiraled far from reason and delved into a genocidal mission that could only lead to violence and death. It’s her unrelenting hatred of other humanoids that makes her such a devastating opponent. Had it not been for a morally questionable plague inflicted upon her and her kind, it is unclear if the likes of Sisko or even Picard would’ve been able to put an end to her reign of villainy - not without digging deeper into the depths of darkness, removing them from their own humanity…
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