“If you only knew the power of the Dark Side.” — Darth Vader<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I have a lot of thoughts on villains. \u00a0I’ve been contemplating\u00a0villains and villainy for as long as I’ve been writing. \u00a0Some villains leap off the page or screen, and some fall flat.<\/p>\n
People have different preferences when it comes to villains. \u00a0Bear in mind that as I lay out my thoughts, I’m going to be talking about my preferences. \u00a0This may be one of those subjects where there is no single\u00a0answer to getting villainy correct.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Villains and\u00a0monsters aren’t necessarily the same thing<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s possible for a villain to be a monster. \u00a0I’m thinking of Hannibal Lecter<\/a>. \u00a0When he’s committing horrible acts of cruelty or barbarism, he is clearly a monster. \u00a0When he’s seducing Clarice into his confidences, he’s a villain. \u00a0In my opinion, it’s when he’s speaking smoothly and intelligently that he seems the most sinister.<\/p>\n The difference between a monster and a villain is\u00a0the level of their humanity. \u00a0Dracula illustrates this, by the different ways that his story is told. \u00a0Sometimes Dracula is painted as a sympathetic, lonely soul. \u00a0And then there’s Bram Stoker<\/a>, who wrote him as a soulless creature, a true terror of the night. \u00a0The shapshifting, shameless bloodsucker is a monster.<\/p>\n Other monsters: Spider-man’s foe, Venom<\/a>. \u00a0Godzilla<\/a>. \u00a0And Emperor Palpatine<\/a>. \u00a0The Joker<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A good villain is motivated<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the ways you can tell the difference between a villain and a monster is to simply look at their motivations. \u00a0Is the character doing terrible things for a purpose? \u00a0If the answer seems to be No, then they’re a monster.<\/p>\n I like monsters just fine, but I prefer villains. \u00a0I love villains.<\/p>\n Macbeth<\/a>\u00a0is one of my favorite villains. \u00a0It is argued<\/a> that he is a tragic hero, and not a villain. \u00a0I say he’s both. \u00a0He meets the definition of a tragic hero<\/a>, but he also meets the definition of a villain<\/a>. \u00a0I don’t want to get too much into semantics. \u00a0I want to focus on what can be learned from Macbeth for constructing a good villain (whether he is one or not).<\/p>\n Macbeth was tempted, and he was motivated. \u00a0Wealth and power is put before him, and he resists until the love of his life pressures him. \u00a0His motivations early on are clear, and his struggles are understandable and human. \u00a0Then, once he’s compromised his integrity, it becomes easier for him to commit greater and greater atrocities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A good villain is relatable<\/strong><\/p>\n I’m drawn to characters that I can relate to. \u00a0Roy Batty<\/a>\u00a0from Bladerunner, though not human, demonstrates the most basic of human motivations: to live. \u00a0Magneto<\/a>, ruthless in his pursuits, ultimately desires something noble: freedom and equality for people of his kind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A good villain is a good character<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a much bigger idea than the others, because a lot goes into making a character good. \u00a0The character should be memorable. \u00a0The character should have depth. \u00a0The character should be important to the story.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I wanted to give some examples of villains that didn’t do it for me, but one of the problems with poorly crafted villains is that they are so forgettable. \u00a0Most characters that do evil just for the sake of doing evil? \u00a0Characters that have only style, and no substance? \u00a0Mustache twirling, cloak swirling, cackling, megalomaniacs that just want to tie women to railroad tracks? \u00a0Those are not my favorite.<\/p>\n A good villain, to me, is one that could have been the hero, if circumstances were different. \u00a0In fact, if a story has a good, compelling villain, it doesn’t need as strong a hero.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “If you only knew the power of the Dark Side.” — Darth Vader I have a lot of thoughts on villains. \u00a0I’ve been contemplating\u00a0villains and villainy for as long as I’ve been writing. \u00a0Some villains leap off the page or screen, and some fall flat. People have different preferences when it comes to villains. 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