Are villains always evil? (2023)

Can villains turn good?

Many villains walk a thin line between good and evil; indeed, many villains have been redeemed into remorse, sympathy or even empathy, and once arrogant villains ascend further into the path of good, often protecting or fighting alongside people they once fought against, they begin to turn away from their old ways.

Many fans believe that supervillains have been evil since their inception, but that's just not true. While there are actually some villains that are born with inherent evil within them (we are looking at you Ultron), most supervillains were actually forces of good before succumbing to a life of crime.

Short answer: yes, a protagonist can be evil. Villain protagonists are nowhere near as common as heroes, but can be done well if you do the necessary character-building, which we'll go into shortly. Sometimes the villain protagonist will start evil and become a better person at the end.

Like traditional villains, anti-villains stand in the way of the hero's goal. But unlike a traditional “bad guy,” the anti-villain isn't necessarily evil. Erik Killmonger from Black Panther: a villain? Anti-villains (or AVs, for brevity's sake) make for interesting characters because they don't fall into the good vs.

They can't completely overpower the main character. They just have to be strong enough so the main character has to fight with everything they have, if not more. The antagonist has to use their power to get in the protagonist's way, so they can't move forward easily. That makes them both frightening and hated.

Some findings suggest that the reasoning behind our attraction is it allows us to explore our personality's darker side without betraying our moral beliefs and convictions. Interestingly, the study showed that we favor characters whose traits are similar to ours.

We don't tend to think of villains as moral individuals, but they usually are. They just live according to a different set of values than the rest of society. Morals have to do with our beliefs about right and wrong. To make your villain truly ominous, give her a reason for doing the things she does.

Sometimes, the villain may not be the primary antagonistic force. They might play a smallish role, but the main struggle the character faces is against something else. There may also be a villain and a greater, more evil villain (in which case the less-evil villain can potentially step into an anti-hero role).

Often, power is a core character motivation. Villains often gain power over others because: Other characters have misplaced trust in them (Othello's mistaken trust in Iago in Shakespeare's play, for example)

What do you call a villain that turns good?

For example, an anti-villain may have noble goals, but their means to attain that goal are evil. This character may even make selfish decisions, but they are a good person who would team up with the hero under the right circumstances.

The villain's structural purpose is to serve as the opposition of the hero character and their motives or evil actions drive a plot along.

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Even Evil Can Be Loved: A villain is humanized by the fact good characters still care about them and thus is more likely to have sympathetic qualities and/or be redeemable. Even Evil Has Loved Ones: A villain is sympathetic for their care for their family, friends, etc.

Vader's tyrannical brutality is top-tier, showing no mercy whatsoever. While many believe that his tragic origin story is what qualifies him as an anti-hero rather than a villain, Vader seems to walk the line between villain and anti-hero.

Venom is an anti-hero in the Spider-Man franchise. He is one of Spider-Man's archenemies later turned rival. The name has belonged to several different hosts over the years, which means that Venom is indeed the identity of this particular alien Symbiote.

A villain is defined as an evil or wicked character that enacts evil action and/or harms others. A villain may have a justification for their actions that is in line with their own principles, but their actions inflict harm and create ruin in the process.

When it comes to fears, your antagonist should be no different from your main character —even the most nefarious of villains must be afraid of something to be believable. Their fears could be simple and linked to the plot—fear of losing power, for example, or fear of failure.

A Pure Evil Villain must have no redeeming qualities. This type of villain cannot show empathy, compassion, regrets, remorse, or love for anyone. In addition, any actions out of genuine concern or for altruistic reasons are disqualifying factors and the villain cannot count as Pure Evil.

Who is Disney's #1 villain?

1. Cruella De Vil. Cruella De Vil, 101 Dalmatians' glamorous, sociopathic, and elitist villain, is on top of our list.

Most villains share a desire to obtain power. Some villains only want to have power over your main character. Others want to take over the world and achieve ultimate power. When crafting your big bad, you should analyze your evil villain's relationship to power.

Crucially, Kjeldgaard-Christiansen argues that a wicked laugh offers one of the clearest signs that a villain harbors such evil, gaining what Arthur Schopenhauer called “open and candid enjoyment” from others' suffering–moreover, fiction writers know this intuitively, time and again using the malevolent cackle to ...

Smiling makes you look more trustworthy, so what is the first thing people do when they're trying to con you? They smile. Many villains put on these deceptive smiles when they're trying to win support.

Even evil characters (and real people) can find someone to love. Often, that love is twisted, a cause for villainy, or an act, but sometimes a work can show an evil character's love is genuine and deep.

Villain's are always made. There is always a reason for a villian to do what they do. They aren't just born and immediatly start causing chaos. There is always a cause.

Loki — The Trickster With a Good Side

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was introduced in Thor as the jealous younger brother of the titular hero, making moves to steal Asgard's throne. He made his next appearance in The Avengers as the main villain.

Is Thanos a villain or anti-hero?

Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 (cover date February 1973).

Deadpool (Wade Winston Wilson) is an antihero from the Marvel Comics Universe. When he first appeared, he acted as a villain of the New Mutants and X-Force, before becoming a more heroic figure later on.

#1 An obsession. This is perhaps the most obvious characteristic of every villain. Typically, villains are obsessed with three main things: 1) power, 2) wealth, and 3) revenge. Many times, these obsessions intersect.

Villains are able to justify and rationalize. They believe that manipulation, deception, and coercion are worth any price that may be paid. Some of the most interesting villains are inherently deceptive and manipulative.

They want to be in charge of everything and everyone. Usually the motive is just to feed their lust for power, their massive egos, and their Greed, but sometimes they've got somewhat twisted ideals that they want everyone else to adhere to and world domination is the Path to a Better Future.

A Pure Evil Villain must have no redeeming qualities. This type of villain cannot show empathy, compassion, regrets, remorse, or love for anyone. In addition, any actions out of genuine concern or for altruistic reasons are disqualifying factors and the villain cannot count as Pure Evil.

The major difference between villain and antagonist (anti hero) is that a villain is a dark or wicked character who opposes the story's hero, whereas an anti-hero is a protagonist who lacks heroic characteristics. In a book, play, film, or tale, anti-heroes, and villains are the antagonistic characters.

Most villains share a desire to obtain power. Some villains only want to have power over your main character. Others want to take over the world and achieve ultimate power. When crafting your big bad, you should analyze your evil villain's relationship to power.

Villain Characteristics Checklist:

He has many likeable qualities. He's a worthy enough opponent to make your hero look good. You (and your reader) like when he's on stage. He's clever and accomplished enough that people must lend him begrudging respect.

Is Joker pure evil or broken?

Even when his characteristics are downplayed for laughs (his favorite) or we're given a semblance of understanding to his psyche like in the Joker film, there's still no denying that the Clown Prince of Crime is just pure, irredeemable evil.

Under this definition, I pose that there are only three types of villains found in stories: the evil villain, the flawed villain, and the impetus villain.

Cruella De Vil, '101 Dalmatians'

Cruella de Vil's crimes are centered around animal cruelty to benefit her personal style. And even though she gives off some Meryl Streep vibes from the Devil Wears Prada, we are officially naming her the evilest Disney villain of all.

Venom is an anti-hero in the Spider-Man franchise. He is one of Spider-Man's archenemies later turned rival. The name has belonged to several different hosts over the years, which means that Venom is indeed the identity of this particular alien Symbiote.