The Art of Villainy

[Cyriel]

Just from reading various books, watching loads of television, and spending personal funds on movies...I've always wondered what separates the good from the bad. What would you say makes the perfect villain? What makes an antagonist what he/she is? What defines their motives as bad or evil?

Villainy is a skill. Whether the author/director provides a much hated character, or perhaps makes them actually loved by the audience, it is not something easily done. So what do you think makes a perfect villain? Who do you consider a much accomplished "bad guy?"

[Spikora]

The perfect bad guy thinks that evil is simply *fun*. They can destroy an entire town, kill off an entire family, and do it all while laughing his/her head off.

It's also makes it interesting if you have a villain with some very "human" like qualities. If your bad guy is just 100% evil, then he becomes boring in a heartbeat. However, you can do tons of stuff to a villain to make him/her more interesting: have them be in love, or care about some kid, have a sense of humor, etc.

And personally, I prefer villains that you don't really hate.

[Godelsensei]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]The perfect villain is deceptive, intelligent, and works (for the most part, at least) only in ways that will benefite her/him.

S/he practices good diplomacy and conflict-resolution skills, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties/injuries, whether they be inflicted on her (I'll just stick with her for now...) or her minions.
She will not go through spasms of anger or guilt, as she knows that this would be pointless.
She will treat her minions/pet monsters/friends/allies with respect, so as to not create unnecessary enemies.
She will not execute her own minions, unless they prove to be an utter and affirmed threat.
She will not be entirely cold-hearted. By this I mean that she will have the ability to posess feelings of love for another being, whether it be an animal or houseplant, lover or best friend.
She will be in contact with her own shortcomings and limits.
She will reside in a pleasant townhouse, in the middle of a metropolis, where the shopping is good and the food is even better (if you know where to go), be friends with as many of her neighbors as possible, and maybe even have a part-time job. After all, villainy is not a carreer--it is a [i]hobby[/i], and should be treated as such.

u_u[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Miki]

Villainy is a hobby? I had no idea o_O, although I guess that makes sense...sort of.

[QUOTE]She will not be entirely cold-hearted. By this I mean that she will have the ability to posess feelings of love for another being, whether it be an animal or houseplant, lover or best friend.[/QUOTE]

I was under the impression that this makes villains weak. How can they do evil deeds if they have their own consciences to deal with? I guess I'm not getting it entirely... -_-;;

But I'd say that one of the most perfect villains that I've encountered would be...Sojirou, from Rurouni Kenshin. That kid's got it all, and he's one of my favorite characters. Not only highly skilled, but good features, and a likeable, if not highly troubled character. I'd say that's one of the most excellent villains ever crafted, although in the end, I'm not really sure if he can really be counted as a bad guy. I've noticed that with most thought-out antagonists, the line between good and bad isn't really clear...more kind of hazy. Because instead of just plotting evil for the world, they actually have their own lives and personalities, in which their characters develop their own purposes in life.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

A villain has to evoke some sort of emotion to be a good one. Either you have to think he/she is totally cool and secretly root for him/her at times (like with Storm Shadow from GIJoe or something), or you have to HATE him (like the Joker). So whatever it takes to make a villain like that is what a villain needs, and that differs from story to story. But the worst things a villain can be is boring or lame. Those are worthless and always ruin the story. Like in Hellboy -- the Rasputin guy was so undeveloped and uninteresting that I didn't care in the least about what happened to him.

Villains don't have to be "human" or anything like that. They can be completely cold-hearted. They COULD kill their subordinates on a whim, or hate all life, etc. (I refer you to Darkseid, one of the coolest villains ever). The point is they have to make you CARE.

[Zen]

[color=green][size=1]

Perfect example of a great villain, or atleast anti-hero, is Agent Sands (Johnny Depp) from "Once Upon A Time In Mexico". A renegade CIA Agent who was smooth, calculating, using everyone around him as a tool to his little game. He's the kinda man that would were a bad disguise just so someone would notice and he'd get to kill them without question. He was ruthless, showed no mercy, and brandished amazingly hilarious one-liner ("With holding vital information from a federal officer is a high offense, especially when that federal officer, wouldn't think twice about lifting up that little eyepatch of your's, and skull f---ing you to death.") said in a very calm mannerism.

But then comes the releqaushing aspects, such as the little bubblegum selling kid. First he tells the little kid to "F--- Off" and then when the little boy finds him blind, they help eachother out and when in the face of danger, Depp shows caring for the boy's life as he tells him to run far away when theirs about to be a gun fight. Another being the fact that he isn't completely untouchable and that he can also be double crossed and plotted on. That is a great villain. Some one that is so evil, that it is funny, and just when you think this guy is so unforgivable, he goes and does something that is actually good and rightous, honorable if you will. Thats a great villain.[/color][/size]

[BlueGender]

[COLOR=Navy]A true villian in my opinion has to have some human qualities he can not be 100% evil. Also I think they must have deep eyes and a sinister grin. It is good if they are the complete opposite of the "hero" and can do something which envokes emotion in the audience they must make you hate them and want to kill them yourself. [/COLOR]

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]The worst (or 'best', in this case) type of villain to face is the one who is clearly doing evil, but who honestly and truely believes that they are doing the right thing. This villain can kill you in some cases, or try to convert you in others.

One of my favorite villains was Hank Scorpio from [i]The Simpsons[/i]. Sure, he was evil, but he ws a very likable person. I think that you can get one of two really effective vibes from a villian: either they're so alien and inhuman to you that it's a bit disturbing, or they're so human and relatable that you can see their point of view, or see yourself in their position. Depending on how it's presented, that can be equally disturbing.

Great villians from fiction include Megatron from [i]Beast Wars[/i], the original HobGoblin from [i]Spider-Man[/i], Uriah Heep from [i]David Copperfield[/i], Mayor Wilkens from [i]Buffy the Vampire Slayer[/i], Millions Knies from [i]Trigun[/i], the Borg from [i]Star Trek: The Next Generation[/i], and Krang, from the original [i]Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[/i].[/color][/font][/size]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1][color=darkred]A villain must have style, personal grace and an air of superiority. They lord it over others. The thing about the villain is that he always believes he is invincible. He must always gloat over his victim, leaving time for the victim to escape. The villain wants to be noticed, wants to be loved. A villain craves adoration and attention. They want the hero to know why they're doing what they are, so that the hero may realise their genius. A villain wants to have their ego pumped.

A villain can be many things...but they want attention.[/color][/size]

[Icemaiden]

[COLOR=Blue]Villians are generally defined by their actions not their mentality... You can be simply insane like knives in TRIGUN where he has come to the conclusion that all mankind is a plague no matter where it goes.... Hmm that reminds me of the Matrix where the Agents are the villians. Villians are truly strong when they go out of their way to take free will from someone else... sometimes i find myself supporting or cheerring for the bad guy because of their past i.e Kurei from flame of recca... In the end no matter for what reason they are still the villian.... Opposition all things.
[/COLOR]

[Sara]

[size=1]There's actually a great little book called [i]How to Be a Villain[/i]. (By Neil Zawacki, illustrated by James Dignan.)

It rather focuses on one kind of villain--the fun, remorseless, evil kind--but gives little step-by-step plans and checklists. It's quite a fun book, if anyone's interested.[/size]
[list]
[i]Evil deeds don't need to be catastrophic to be rewarding. Indeed, plenty of minor acts can be satisfyingly unpleasant. Start small and work your way up to more infamous exploits. Here are a few ideas:[/i][b]

[*]Realign the moon's orbit (you can always do Earth later)
[*]Turn a popular landmark into a gelatinous ooze
[*]Release a demonic hoard on a peaceful township
[*]Learn to play the pipe organ and volunteer at church functions
[*]Broadcast your evil plans on publicv access television[/b]

[i]Remember, most of the mightily evil people you admire today probably failed once or twice along the way. Part of being evil is having the courage to keep on trying, even if you sinister shenanigans don't always inspire trror and strife.[/i][/list]

[size=1]The whole book's written like that. It's a great read.[/size]

[Boba Fett]

[color=green]Villainy is quite an interesting concept, one that seems to appeal to a surprisingly large amount of people. In stories, there are many character types each of which plays a role

It seems that the [I]good[/I] good guy, someone who is completely ethical and ?fights? evil for the good of everyone else, has nearly vanished. These guys fight evil because it?s the right thing to do, and almost exclusively fight it non-violently. The [I]Phantom[/I], a superhero from King Syndicate?s comics, is the only example that comes to mind. I tend to find these characters boring myself?

More recently, movies and novels have centered around [I]bad[/I] good guys, people you ?know?, through the story?s events, are good people but do ?bad? things. Jack Sparrow of [u]Pirates of the Caribbean[/u], Lando Calrissian of [u]Star Wars[/u] and Artemis Fowl of the series by the same name are all great examples of this character type. These characters tend to be more interesting and relatable than others.

Moving back to the topic, villainy, there are also multiple types of bad guys.

The [I]good[/I] bad guy is someone who isn?t evil, but rather does ?bad? things for reasons that a movie viewer or a novel reader can understand or relate to. Boba Fett from [u]Star Wars[/u] is my favorite [I]good[/I] bad guy.

Finally, we come to the [I]bad[/I] bad guy. These people may or may not be likeable, but one thing is certain; they?re unquestionably bad or evil. They do what they do for personal enjoyment, as a result of boredom or just to be evil. Death, carnage and destruction of property don?t make [I]bad[/I] bad guys blink. Emperor Palpitine from [u]Star Wars[/u], most historical dictators and a majority of superhero nemesis?s fit into this category.

From the stories that I?ve seen and read, it?s the [I]bad[/I] bad guys who are the masters of villainy. Their schemes may not always work out, in fact they almost never do, but the intent is there.

Why people are drawn to villainy is something I really don?t understand, but I must say that I enjoy the part of the villain far more than that of the hero. Villainy is more fun, for starters. Ease is also another factor, I guess.

That?s my take on villainy.

Long live the Empire![/color]

[Arkad]

[FONT=Tahoma][SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray]Perfect Villian. Dark, Pure Evil, No Emotion, Cold, Sensless, No Fear, Powerful, Elite, Superior, Loner, Conservative, Cunning, Proud, Keeps His Cool, Immortal. Hates everything and everyone. Has a dark power revealed only when enraged, never ending power.
Villian Created: Alucard
If thats not a perfect villian I dont know what is.[/COLOR][/SIZE].[/FONT]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='DeathBug][color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]One of my favorite villains was Hank Scorpio from [i]The Simpsons[/i]. Sure, he was evil, but he ws a very likable person.[/color][/font'][/size][/quote]

I don't really have a viewpoint on what makes a great villain, since I'm of the opinion that a great villain could have just about any makeup and can't really be defined by one set of rules, but I will say that Hank Scorpio was awesome. Definitely one of the better Bond villain parodies I've ever seen lol. That whole Simpsons episode was hilarious.

[50 cent]

[COLOR=Blue][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial]Well personally I think there is no perfect villian. I think villians that actually have emotions are the best, yet not perfect. A good villian needs emotions or it won't have fun while doing evil deeds. If a villian that has no emotions would most likely kill him/herself.

A good villian needs emotions, they need to love someone, care for somebody. If they have that and that person gets killed they good go insane and make them more evil while trying to get back at the world, because he/she thinks that will solve that problem.

Personally every villian needs a weekness, if it has no weekness then what is the point of them existing at all. So really a villian without emotions really isn't a villian at all, because they will never be happy so they won't have fun with doing evil deeds.
50 out[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Rhiannon]

The perfect villian is one who is so real that you literally love to hate him, but at the same time you can feel sorry for him. That's my opinion anyway....heck, they don't even have to be 'evil' at all....they're all the much more evil when they think what they're doing is right....don't you think.

[Shiguru]

I think some of the best villans are ones that are insane, but cool. Emotional ties with a villan help but pure rational or a sense of humor or disgust help. Lets look at some of the best villans america has made: Comic villans:


Ra's Al Ghul (batman, Justice League villan): The 600 year old immortal eco terrorist is so damn cool. He thinks the world is polluted by man and the only way to save it is to "restart" and kill everyone but a select few. His sense of honor and style are cool and his daughter is super hot and loves Bruce Wayne. He is too cool for words!

The Joker: Insane, funny, and sick rolled into one. You don't feel for him or hate him you just love the guy until he does something like kill robin, paralyze Batgirl, Kill Gordon's wife etc. Not to mention doing it all with a sick smile.

[Darius_Stomu]

Hmmm....villain villain villain...Well, a villain's first goal should be to detroy what stands in his or her way. Hince why the hero is usually attacked alot. Second (Usually ends up being first cause they can't kill the hero) is the actual plan. Steal this, conquer that, kill him, rape her, ect. And the way they do it usually has to be destructive unless it's like those old men type people. Then they just sit at a computer while controlling humanoid androids or demons or such to do their evil deed. It's not unusual for the villain to fall in love. The only type of villains I havn't seen fall in love are the female ones...except on this one show I saw where she was evil LOOKING but not really evil in heart.

Anyways, there is also the fact that if they are extremly powerful, the power comes from some sort of source, ecpecially in animes. "Secret of the Necronomicon" is a fine example of this fact. [Spoiler]The villain in this anime drew his power from the souls of the people he sacrificed. Once they where put to rest, *makes thud sound*, They're gone.[/Spoiler]

Come to think of it.....I fit the discription of a villain perfectally...

[Zen]

[color=green][size=1]

Isn't "Secret of the Necronomicon" as hentai anime? Just saying. I don't think you should post something and a person goes out to get it expecting a really cool action/horror anime and in turn get a 20 minute sex scene which then reverts to monsters sacraficing people for power in brutal and disgusting ways. Just saying.[/color][/size]

[Cyriel]

You know, thinking about it, in real life is there a true villain? I mean, I know that there are figures in history that are called evil and inhuman, such as Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Hitler... However, if you think about it, are they just following their beliefs? So if you were them, would you consider yourself a villain? After all, they're just following what they believe in, right? I mean, I suppose that their ideas are a bit more violent than all of ours, but do you ever wonder what it looks like from their point of view? And do you know of true villains in real life? Why do you consider them villains? Is it their minds, or their actions?

Oh, and Sara, I think I'm going to try to find that book. It sounds awesome.

[DeathBug]

[quote name='Cyriel']I know that there are figures in history that are called evil and inhuman, such as Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Hitler... However, if you think about it, are they just following their beliefs? [/quote]

[color=indigo][size=1][font=comic sans ms]The way I see it, there are two types of 'villainous' people in the world, to apply the term loosely.

First, there are the people who know what they're doing is wrong. you petty criminals, murders, shoplifters...while they might rationalize their actions, they know they're breaking the law. They know they're wrong.

The second, and infinatly more dangerous type, is the person who believes that the actions they commit are right. Your Hitlers, your Bin Ladens, they are the most dangerous type of person.

Anyway, Id' rather keep this conversation to fictional villains, because brining real life people into it will only turn this into another political debate.(I don't mind political debates, but I enjoy this thread for what it is.) [/color][/size][/font]

[Cyriel]

[QUOTE]Second (Usually ends up being first cause they can't kill the hero) is the actual plan.[/QUOTE]

Going off on that tangent, has there ever been a villain that you've liked (or hated) well enough, that you wished they actually succeeded? Personally, I don't really remember a time where the antagonist actually won, or the good guy died. The only thing I can think of is [spoiler]Braveheart[/spoiler]... Any others? And, why did you like them? What made them so successful in your eyes?

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Well I really like Apocalypse, and hate it when the X-Men defeat him. I really wish he'd just give them a good whipping once and for all. He's my favorite Marvel villain by far, just because he looks so cool and has ridiculous powers.

I enjoy it when Darkseid beats up on Superman, also. He is the ultimate despot; no Silver Surfer villains could match him in sheer coolness and cold-heartedness, no matter how much they've tried. Darkseid has it all -- super powers beyond most anything imaginable, a really deep voice, lots of minions, an unwavering resolve to dominate the universe, etc.

I also want Sephiroth to slice Cloud in half and be done with it.

There are times when I hate the main character so much I wish he/she would die, so I guess that means I want the villain to win. That happens pretty rarely, but it happens. I really wished Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus would all get killed by a rabid rat sometime midway through Matrix Reloaded. For a while I wasn't the biggest Wolverine fan, and was happy when Cyber broke his claws off. Things like that.