The Villain: Part 2

There are however some stories that do well with their villain. Though these are fewer in number they are generally some of the best. There are a couple different approaches that can give you a good villain, and they vary widely between the two. interestingly, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a bridge between different extremes. Perhaps the issue of time is more important to a good characterization then anything else.

I have found that more than anything these "success stories" could be grouped up into four categories, although there are other villains that work without being  any of these categories, most of the ones that do work are part of one of these four groups.

The Sympathetic/Admirable Villain: (ex: Magneto)
Perhaps the least memorable of the villain types, if only because in your mind they're not really villains. The sympathetic villain will be found opposing your main character, but not generally because they have some evil scheme in mind, generally their motives are benign enough, it is  most often their methods that put them into conflict with the hero. Sometimes the villain's goal is selfish, but nevertheless one that we sympathize with. (the best example for this being Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean. Tell me you didn't feel bad for him when the apple rolled out of his sleeve.)

The Unknowable Villain: (ex: Sauron)
The opposite of the sympathetic villain, the Unknowable villain is very much evil. They're just not in the picture. Their perspective is removed and relatively unimportant to the actual meat of the story. Often the characters will not directly interact with this kind of villain, they will encounter the villain's minions, or otherwise feel the villain's influence, but will be unlikely to actually meet the villain face to face. (WARNING: this type of villain only works if he remains removed for the entirety of the story. many villains of this category lose steam once they enter into the actual workings of the plot, as they turn out to be generic evil people.)

The Eccentric Villain: (ex: Cruella De Vil)
A little bit of a strange choice, but some of the best villains are completely crazy. This only works if the villain is overdone and really rather haywire. this kind of villain will not even attempt to be normal and is apt tor get sidetracked at least once during their villainous monologue (oh but that's a story for another time) and is really pretty bonkers. It's hard to have a villain like this in a serious story, but they work quite effectively as comedic villains, and can be if nothing else, Memorable, which is a key trait for determining where they stand.

The Intriguing Villain: (ex: Darth Vader)
Lastly, the Intriguing villain is the most basic, but perhaps the most difficult villain to create. Yes, your villain is evil. Yes they are evil without real reasons. Yes they will treat all their allies like crap and Yes they are never happy.
But they sure are fun. If your villain has enough personality and general "coolness" that they can be a general jerk to everyone, and people will love it. Most Star Wars villains fall (or attempt to fall) into this category, as do the villains of Avatar: the last Airbender or BBC's Sherlock.

The villain is one of the most important parts of a story, and too often they are just another egomaniacal world conqueror. but if you can get it right, your story will often be greatly improved. (although you may get "the villain is more fun than the hero" syndrome, so shape up your main character too.) A Hero is defined by their Villain. and when a villain is special, the whole story benefits for it. a last parting bit of advice, if your ever find your villain saying:

"after I get ABCD, I will be UNSTOPPABLE! HA! HA! HA!" to a hero who may or may not actually be in danger.

You've missed your mark.

NEXT TIME: I actually don't know how long it'll be until I do another one of these posts, I leave for college tomorrow, and have really no idea how much free time I will or won't have. Also topic-wise nothing is currently jumping at me. I will continue to upload comics however (to the whole five people who read them.) so stay tuned!