Dark Forms are villains who embody not only the powers of darkness, but simply evil in its purest of forms. They are often seen as demonic forces seeking the deaths of many or simply contenting themselves with causing trouble for a small group of heroes or people.

All Dark Forms share a common desire to ruin the universe they reside in, turning it into a hellish state or worse either for twisted amusement or some higher purpose. Many Dark Forms (but not all) can possess others and manipulate them into causing chaos on their behalf.

Unlike ordinary Villains usually motivated by greed, power or madness, most Dark Forms are motivated out of pure malice and will commit their atrocities or wrongdoings simply for the sake of all evil.

Dark Forms are often considered "devil figures" though they do not always need to be supernatural in origin and/or function. They should also not be confused with Alter-Egos, Fragmental or Dissociative villains, though as in the cases with those other categories, these can overlap at many points.

Due to their nature of embodying pure darkness, most villains of these types are without knowledge of morality and are rarely Pure Evil (e.g. Aku and Ultimate Evil). However, exceptions do exist (e. g. Dio Brando, Pennywise, Bill Cipher and Scarlet King), but it also is possible for a Dark Form to redeem themselves (e.g. Xibalba)