Villain is a strong word. He was a corrupt man with bad intentions who decided to defy the biggest rule the Valar gave him leading to the deaths of almost all the Numenorians and the destruction of Numenor itself. So yeah, I'd say in the end that is pretty villainous. Sauron only stirred up what was already in Pharazons heart, Sauron didn't plant it there.

I agree what others have said. It's like of like the "super serum" from Marvel (I know, different fandom) because it enhances who you are. If you have bad intentions to begin with the serum would amplify that. So, I think that, because he was already an evil man, it wasn't super hard for Melkor to corrupt him and amplify (for lack of a better word) the evil intentions that were already there. Melkor didn't have to put those thoughts and ideas there. So, he was a villainous character made into a villain by the small "shove" that Melkor's influence gave.

I must say that it depends on how you mean with the word villain. It can be used in many terms, but if you mean that if he really was evil at heart, I would say that he is neither strongly good or bad. He desired much, and that gave Sauron a possibility to put evil thoughts in his mind that would lead to Númenor´s end. It can still be thought, that he already had an evil heart, but I think that Sauron made that thought come up to the outside, and finally it drove him in some way to madness. By madness, I do not mean going crazy, I mean that his desire took him and finally he was corrupted by that one simple but evil thought that once was hidden deep inside him.

Being corrupted doesn't prevent you from being villain. A villain is in the eye of the beholder.

Was Saruman a villain? If so, then Ar-Pharazôn was definitely a villain.

Certainly. Before he met Mr. Sauron he certainly intended to take over and rule all of Middle-Earth as his own. Ever see any nice people try to rule the entire world using the largest army on the planet?

You don't even need to go that far... he was a villain based on how he took the throne of Numenor.

I don't know that part. I haven't even read the Silmarillion so...

You don't have to read it... there are lots of good places on Youtube where people summarize it. Of course, if you want to, it is mostly a bunch of short stories, so you can take your time.

Hahahaha I don't watch youtube either. I just read this wiki.

Read more.