Villains

There is an old debate "Do supervillains exist because of superheroes or vice-versa?" It is much like the "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" In comics, many of the stories are good versus evil. We need a hero to love and a villain to hate. These emotions develop a connection to that character(s). We become emotionally invested in them, and we want to see them succeed or fail. 

Some types of villains:

• Anti-hero - a neutral character. A character that is neither good or evil, but will work with either side depending on the situation. 
• Archenemy - The main antagonist of a hero. The reason they become the archenemy is often revenge. They seek to get even with the person that foiled their diabolical plans. Archenemies come with a variety of origins, and reasons for their actions.
• Supervillain - a person with superpowers that choose to use them for nefarious reasons. They may also control the technology or specific skills to cause harm to others. And find pleasure inflicting pain, death, and destruction to others.
• Evil Genius - Someone possessing superior intelligence, but devotes their brain-power in committing acts of evil.
• Mad scientist - a stock character of a scientist described as "mad" [insane]. Their experiments are often taboo and used to satisfy their selfish ambitions.
• Tragic villain - someone that doesn't want to do bad things, but is driven to do so. Often they are in a situation that forces them to do evil things.
• Frenemies - is a character that can be a friend or foe to the hero depending on the circumstances.

“Anyone who gets in my way will be taken out of the way, permanently.” Villain’s Motto

Every villain has a motivation for doing the things they do. The root of the villain's evil acts, is often hubris, avarice, vengeance, and lust. 

The villain often seeks to kill the hero. Making us want to cheer the hero on. We want to see the villain defeated.

But some villains have become quite popular and have gained a loyal fanbase. Some include the Joker, Mysterio, Galactus, Dr. Doom, Magneto, etc. We can at times sympathize and maybe even empathize with the villain. The bad guy isn't always bad. Sometimes, mental illness or trauma drives them to do bad things. We can understand why they are doing what they do, but sometimes the hero lacks this understanding. This can be uncomfortable for the reader. If a poor man steals to feed his starving family, how evil is he? At times we find ourselves rooting for the villain. 

“Sometimes, bad things have to happen before good things can.” - Unknown

What are some of your favorite villains, and why? Love to hear from you below.

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