What constitutes a Great Villain?
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A great 'Villain'? Tim.
A poor, lonely man in search of a princess who was captured by a great evil. Only... It's not that simple, is it?
What makes him a great villain, you ask? The fact that he's not aware he is one. Evil is almost never committed for evil's sake. No one destroys the world just because it would be particularly mean. There's always a reason behind it, generally fueled by some sort of madness.
There are two kinds of great evils. Evil stemming from pure insanity and evil stemming from warped reason. The latter is far worse to fight. Sure, the crazies that just want to let the world burn are certainly more frightening at first glance, but the power of a misguided voice dwarfs that of a single madman in the long run. After all, you can shoot a crazy man. But a misguided man will have hundreds, thousands, or even millions of followers under his flag who are all too eager to carry on his legacy. In this way, even after his swath of destruction and moral decay is technically ended, the death toll will doubtless tick on. And that's what makes misguided villains so terrifying: As long as the idea makes sense to one person, the founder of the thought is never truly dead.
Hitler was not a saturday morning cartoon villain, plotting the holocaust because it would be seen as horrible and devious. He did it because he truly thought the world would be a better place. This did stem from his hatred of jews, yes. But that was exactly what misguided him into thinking he was doing the world a service. Similarly, Adam Monroe thought that weeding out a greater portion of the population would make the world a better place. It's now how a villain acts that makes them great (though it certainly helps), but why. From a literary and theatrical point of view, that is.
A poor, lonely man in search of a princess who was captured by a great evil. Only... It's not that simple, is it?
What makes him a great villain, you ask? The fact that he's not aware he is one. Evil is almost never committed for evil's sake. No one destroys the world just because it would be particularly mean. There's always a reason behind it, generally fueled by some sort of madness.
There are two kinds of great evils. Evil stemming from pure insanity and evil stemming from warped reason. The latter is far worse to fight. Sure, the crazies that just want to let the world burn are certainly more frightening at first glance, but the power of a misguided voice dwarfs that of a single madman in the long run. After all, you can shoot a crazy man. But a misguided man will have hundreds, thousands, or even millions of followers under his flag who are all too eager to carry on his legacy. In this way, even after his swath of destruction and moral decay is technically ended, the death toll will doubtless tick on. And that's what makes misguided villains so terrifying: As long as the idea makes sense to one person, the founder of the thought is never truly dead.
Hitler was not a saturday morning cartoon villain, plotting the holocaust because it would be seen as horrible and devious. He did it because he truly thought the world would be a better place. This did stem from his hatred of jews, yes. But that was exactly what misguided him into thinking he was doing the world a service. Similarly, Adam Monroe thought that weeding out a greater portion of the population would make the world a better place. It's now how a villain acts that makes them great (though it certainly helps), but why. From a literary and theatrical point of view, that is.
But then there isn't a storyline if the villains always win. Then again, the whole 'good wins, evil loses' doesn't apply to the real world.Lucifer_Airlines said:
I agree with McCloud's statement on villainy too (except there can be particularly sane villans, there's a scary thought. Like Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre adventure... *shudders* He isn't insane and yet you KNOW he's evil from what he pulls). The 'Tales of' series symbolizes evil through warped reason greatly, at least the ones I've played.
Don't click below if you want Tales of Symphonia spoiled entirely for you.
Mithos, who apparently was a hero in the past, is actually the main villain of the game, responsible for the disasters and such that plauged both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant and also responsible for people sacrificing their lives just so that the majority can live. And what makes him a 'misguided evil' character is the fact that he does it since he thinks the world will be better for it. With the flow of mana in control, peolpe can't waste it in wars and such, thus preserving the supply... but that doesn't stop there, no, he has to go and kill people to make Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals. His theory is that, using them to turn everyone into Lifeless Beings (beings that don't need to eat, sleep, use the bathroom, anything) will eliminate the racism that is so prominent in Tethe'Alla. What's more, in the sequel, only the original members of Lloyd's party know the truth. Meaning that everyone else still thinks that Mithos is a hero when he really became some twisted kid who wanted to use some poor girl's body to get his sister back, forget her wishes, even when she FREAKING SAID SHE DIDN'T WANT TO GO THROUGH WITH IT, he still doesn't care... meaning he's freaking crazy at this point, although he still looks semi-sane... which is the scary part.
alright, rant done.
alright, rant done.
Another good villain is the Shadow Queen. Mainly because it's a Mario villain... and acts like one too. We're talking a really evil villain in a normally lighthearted series. She even consumes the audience's life force, not one of them remains, just to heal what little damage you did to her in the first stage. Heck, you can't even damage her second stage until you go through the entire cutscene. I can't say that she is a true villain for sure since you only see her in the end but... hey, she seems like the clasic evil demon you fight in the end, the one who was manipulating the people you THOUGHT were the real villains the whole time.
Also... it's not Bowser for ONCE, which is a plus. A decent villain he is but overused he has become.[/Yodaspeak]
A Good Villain is someone whom you enjoy seeing the protagonist pummel over and over.
A Great Villain is someone whom is that well matched that you wonder if the protagonist is really going to survive this time.
The Best Villains are the ones who, although you're sure they're doing Evil, you can sympathise with them, understand the motivations behind what they're doing and, in a lot of cases, are actively siding with them over the protagonist. Lex Luthor is probably the best example of this, but he's aided by his protagonist being so... boring, lifeless, dull, monotonous... that he can't help but look better by comparison.
A Great Villain is someone whom is that well matched that you wonder if the protagonist is really going to survive this time.
The Best Villains are the ones who, although you're sure they're doing Evil, you can sympathise with them, understand the motivations behind what they're doing and, in a lot of cases, are actively siding with them over the protagonist. Lex Luthor is probably the best example of this, but he's aided by his protagonist being so... boring, lifeless, dull, monotonous... that he can't help but look better by comparison.
I think a great villain has to have some sort of personal interest in the protagonist like the green goblin to spider-man, because there is the internal conflict of having to fight and potentially kill someone close to you. Insanity is also a good aspect in a villain, gotta love the crazies!
Hmmmm... someone without a motive who just decided to go apeshit this morning because "hey I can."
Kinda like old 80s cartoons lol. But of course anti heroes and evil overlords are always great to. But for any villian its best if they make you as attached to them as the hero via tactics like making you play them as a entertaining character... like paper mario when we had to play bowser XD...bad example.... more like Arch the lad playing the bad and good guys.
Kinda like old 80s cartoons lol. But of course anti heroes and evil overlords are always great to. But for any villian its best if they make you as attached to them as the hero via tactics like making you play them as a entertaining character... like paper mario when we had to play bowser XD...bad example.... more like Arch the lad playing the bad and good guys.
Facial hair, an impractical hat, piercings, and power over life and death.
I put in the impractical and piercings parts so you'd know I didn't mean Yahtzee.
Trilbies are rather much like fedoras. They share physical qualities, and both are stylish. And practical.
I put in the impractical and piercings parts so you'd know I didn't mean Yahtzee.
Trilbies are rather much like fedoras. They share physical qualities, and both are stylish. And practical.
Rhymes. A villain must talk in rhymes.
My oh my, what have we here?
Two goody-two-shoes send by a crowd to cheer.
Without permission you just walked into my lair.
Though, I must comment you, that is something not many dare.
Unfortunately, I cannot continue my evil duties with you.
So either be destroyed or get the hell out of here, shoo!
It's always nice when they can see amusement in their actions.
They don't always have to be completely evil actions.
A villain could do all this to drag humanity to utopia, pitying those that oppose him for not knowing what is good for them and considering it a challenge to accomplish his goals.
My oh my, what have we here?
Two goody-two-shoes send by a crowd to cheer.
Without permission you just walked into my lair.
Though, I must comment you, that is something not many dare.
Unfortunately, I cannot continue my evil duties with you.
So either be destroyed or get the hell out of here, shoo!
It's always nice when they can see amusement in their actions.
They don't always have to be completely evil actions.
A villain could do all this to drag humanity to utopia, pitying those that oppose him for not knowing what is good for them and considering it a challenge to accomplish his goals.
To me, a great villian is the one no one sees. He does his evil through people, not directly, and even when cornered he can escape with ease in the most subtle ways. He can manipulate, lie, cheat, and steal and get away with it without breaking a sweat.
Also, he has a british accent.
Also, he has a british accent.
But because most are not with it, for the one who still has it I like it better. My NWN villian character Kur was that way. He got away with so much, and I just loved keeping him honorable and 'honest'. He never told a lie, sure words may have been twisted, but in the end, he never truly lied. Annoyed alot of the 'hero' players. Was fun.MaxTheReaper said:
To me a Great Villian is one who operates through a veil of kindness and bevevolence but is actually plotting doom for everyone, and once he uses his charm and intelligfence to gain power becomes a total bastard, ruling everyone like a tyrant.
Why is it that a British accent is so sought after as the stereotypical villain mastermind? I'll take it as a sort of weird compliment on behalf of our islands.
A good villain has to be PLAUSIBLE, REMORSELESS, give you the feeling that THAT COULD BE YOU IF YOU EXPERIENCED THE SAME LIFE AS S/HE DID and also, for a REALLY good villain, WIN.
Sorry for the CAPS bummage, I got a bit 'cited.
A good villain has to be PLAUSIBLE, REMORSELESS, give you the feeling that THAT COULD BE YOU IF YOU EXPERIENCED THE SAME LIFE AS S/HE DID and also, for a REALLY good villain, WIN.
Sorry for the CAPS bummage, I got a bit 'cited.
