Oh, I wish I hadn’t already covered Long John Silver from Muppet Treasure Island. Of the theatrically released Muppet movies, Muppets from Space is the most nothing burger movie. It’s not bad but that almost feels worse for a Muppet movie. It’s the definition of “It’s fine”.
And that also goes for the villain in the movie, he’s just so forgettable. We’re in the middle of the Muppet movies here when looking at the theatrically released movies. There eight Muppet movies that were released in theaters. And this guy falls in the middle but he’s part of a dry sandwich with ingredients that have expired. Let’s take a look at the villains that came before him. Doc Hopper while personally not my favorite villain from this franchise is a memorable foe for Kermit in terms of paralleling how Kermit’s dream is selfless whereas Hopper’s is selfish.
Nicky Holiday is an over the top human ham that plays so well against the zaniness of the Muppets in Caper and he is probably the most comedic Muppet villain.
Long John Silver, it’s Tim Curry. Do I really need to say anything else? Okay being fair, just saying Tim Curry is underselling this character. Because while Curry is the most human to ever Muppet, he doesn’t just play the character as over the top. There’s also a nice balance of pathos with him. You come to understand that he cares for Jim but his obsession over finding the treasure drives a wedge between him and Jim. Jim at the end of the movie knows who his true family is but I don’t think he ever stopped caring about Silver. Nicky may be my favorite Muppets villain but Curry’s take on Silver imo is the most complex Muppet villain.
Heck, if we even look at the two reboot villains from the 2011 movie and Most Wanted, you have better villains. Tex Richman is yes another evil businessman like Hopper but he’s different enough. Although I do wish they hadn’t cut the part about the Muppets performing at his birthday party and him not being able to laugh out of the movie.
And while Constantine is a jewel thief like Nicky, there are a few things that set him apart. Constantine is the type of character that thinks he’s smarter than he actually is. And oh yeah, he’s a Muppet. The novelty of having a Muppet as a villain in one of these movies was something we hand’t seen before.
Whereas here with K. Edgar Singer I dunno. I’ve really got nothing to work with based on what we see in this movie. Also this movie came at a weird time where they tried to say Gonzo was an alien but that never really stuck around. Also trying to give a character like Gonzo pathos is an odd idea as he’s a more comedic relief character.
Wondering who you are and where you belong can be done extremely well with more hyperactive characters. The Tigger Movie came out one year after this movie and Tigger was essentially asking the same questions as Gonzo wondering where his family is and how does he fit in. The difference is n the execution as Tigger’s movie reflected the somber and thoughtful tones of his questions.
An argument can be made that the same can be done with Gonzo. In the very first movie , he sings I’m Going to Go Back There Someday which is one of the most somber songs in the Muppets discography.
Or if we look at a later special that came out after this, Muppets Haunted Mansion had Gonzo facing his own immortality and what would become of him if he was alone after his friends had passed away. You know what that special didn’t need to do, retcon Gonzo to be an alien. It used his daredevil nature to ask these questions.
I know this introduction is longer than usual but there’s nothing to say about this villain. He’s not funny, he’s not interesting. He’s not even a real threat. David Arquette had an extended cameo as an evil scientist torturing the lab rats Rizzo ends up with and he was a better villain in his short amount of screen time.
I kinda wish he was the main villain because t least I’d have someone to root against.
Anyways, let’s get this over with.
First Appearance/Personality/Grand Desire
We first see him at the secret C.OV.N.E.T. Headquarters. (I don’t remember more care what it stands for. The only thing that really matters is it’s set up to capture aliens. As you’ll notice I combined the first three usual categories. This isn’t because I want to get this over with, I do but they go hand in hand.
Singer is the head of this government agency and its job nay obsession to prove that aliens exist. This is the only thing that drives him. He’s such a flat character otherwise. Being obsessed with aliens is fine but there should be more to him than that. Look at Nicky who had an infatuation with Piggy besides his jewel thievery ways or Hopper who was presented as a serious threat. This guy here has nothing but his alien obsession. He’s not even that interesting of a villain when it comes to his desire because once he captures Gonzo, most other people under him do all the work. Also they could’ve played up the obsession angle a bit more, this guy just comes off as so dry and lifeless.
Lackey
Rentro
I like Bobo fine enough and he’s good at playing the bumbling type ho has to keep his boss in check. That’s not really much else to say about him.
Most Evil Deed
I dunno! Maybe at the end of the movie when he tries to shoot Gonzo with that big gun but that’s undermined by the battery dying. And we see him getting angry and lashing out. Which he does a bit but not enough to comment on.
Fate
For a villain as lame as him, I can’t believe he was the only Muppet villain to be redeemed (Scrooge isn’t a villain) after Gonzo’s alien family said they were laughing with him and not at him and made him an ambassador of earth for their planet and he got to go live with them. Sure, whatever
Is K. Edgar Singer a Good Villain?
Do I even need to answer that question? I think you know what I’m going to say. I’ve looked at worse villains in my years covering villains but at least I had something to say. Him though, he’s a nothing character. Next time we will be looking at
Tex Richman
About Author
He is easily the most forgettable out of the Muppet villains.
He really is
You’re pretty much right here. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Muppets from Space (I recently rewatched Muppets Haunted Mansion, The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted, though), so I nearly forgot about Singer until I saw his name listed under Muppet villains in the Villains wiki. He’s pretty forgettable – there really isn’t anything about him that leaves a lasting impression, unlike just about every other Muppet film villain who’s in the movie for more than just one scene.
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And even the one-scene wonders were more memorable than Singer. An excellent example of this would be Professor Krassman, the crazy mind control mad doctor played by Mel Brooks in The Muppet Movie.
Yeah, there is nothing to this character or this movie really. He’s easily the most forgettable Muppets villain I’ve covered this far.