Former child prodigy of Konoha Village and one of the Legendary Senin (genius ninja)
Sense of betrayal due to being overlooked for prestigious title of Hokage- defects from village
Employs network of spies to infiltrate Konoha Village
In a refreshing break from the formulaic, he is not Naruto's arch enemy, rather has ambitions of bringing Naruto's superior teammate Sasuke under his wing, nation building, killing the Third Hokage (which he does), and throwing entire political structure of Konoha village into ruin (which he does)
Summons giant snakes
Wears the skins of dead enemys as means of disguise
The Devil himself tried to rip Orochimaru's soul out if his body- and FAILED!!!! (How's that for bad ass?)