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The Daily Dose
Smattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General ObservationsThe Villain of the Piece
You know, we spend a lot of time with our heroes and our heroines. We watch them
battle against the universe, against circumstances, against bad guys and even
against themselves. But the real nature of a hero is only revealed when put into
direct opposition with the villain of the piece. In fact, some of the greatest
heroes were made great because of the villains they fought. The darkness they
battled against and in some cases, nearly succumbed to.
Best Villains
Arguably, my criteria for best villain are not going to be yours. To me, the
best villains are memorable and literally take on a life of their own. Some
villains are so deliciously evil and tortured that you may even find yourself
rooting for them a time or two. Some villains, you want to redeem and others
you want to smother as infants.
We root for the hero or the heroine, but we need the villain to be as powerful
and real a character in the role of their nemesis as we need the hero to be
strong and purposeful. The villain must be a darkness that the hero has to
overcome; they must push the hero to the edge and sometimes, push them off. My
nominees for best villains are:
Jilly Delaney
In Julie Garwoodβs Killjoy, Jilly Delaney is
the mother to Avery and a walking, talking, breathing sociopath in the truest
sense of the word. She manipulates, she destroys and she enjoys it. She has no
moral or ethical compass telling her it is wrong. As the story unfolds and
Jillyβs madness is made plain, the hairs on my body were standing up.
The Joker
The quintessential villain of the Batman universe, The Joker is utterly insane.
He kills and enjoys doing it. He is the chaotic madness to Batmanβs order and
justice. The Joker has taken many victims over the years including shooting
Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) in the back and leaving her paralyzed.
Voldemort
Like any true boogeyman, Voldemort is more terrifying as the βHe Who Must Not Be
Namedβ, but the more we learn about him through Harryβs eyes, the more we begin
to pity him. In the end, Voldemortβs reign of terror is brought to an end, but
the price is incredibly steep.
Iago
Iago is Othelloβs man. He is his most trusted advisor and arguably, his closest
friend. It is his absolute destruction of said friendβs faith and trust in his
wife, driving Othello to murder the woman he loves that one must wonder if Iago
was meant to be that much of a sociopath or what?
Cruella de Vil
The woman butchers puppies. Enough said.
Lex Luthor
I wasnβt going to list Lex here, but ultimately the character as portrayed on
Smallville won my heart. In the comics, Luthorβs madness was that of a
man in total control. He was the Batman of villains, brilliant and terrible all
at once. In the show, Luthor is utterly human and utterly flawed and you canβt
help but wonder, what if β¦ in so many places, would it have turned out differently?
Professor Moriarty
Moriarty was the ultimate foil to the ultimate detective. He is the forerunner
to many of the modern villains who use their minds over their muscles.
What villains are your favorites?
A lifelong writer turned author, Heather Long's first book
Remembering Ashby is
available for purchase at Sapphire Blue Publishing. Coming soon is the urban
fantasy: Prime Evil. The
Daily Dose explores books, television, writing and more -- all topics
that Heather enjoys.
Comments
12 comments posted.
Re: The Villain of the Piece
Magneto from the X-Men comics is one of my favorite villains because you feel a little sympathy for him because of his background.
(Jane Cheung 3:38am November 3, 2009)
Most villians are made because of a tragic beginning. I think that's why we feel for the villian. The real villian is the ones who create them.
(Theresa Buckholtz 1:23pm November 3, 2009)
I don't relate much to villians. They always meet such a tragic ending! Poor souls.
(Lisa Glidewell 2:42pm November 3, 2009)
My favorite villains are the ones you learn a little about. It makes them seem almost human - if you can excuse the word. However, even though I can see where the damage was done to them, they are still villains.
(Karin Tillotson 3:03pm November 3, 2009)
I don't really like villians, I'm more for heroines!
dancealert at aol dot com
(Brenda Rupp 3:26pm November 3, 2009)
I agree with magneto from x-men
(Annetta Stolpmann 4:28pm November 3, 2009)
Suzanne Brockmann's villains. All Batman villains. Voldemort. Magneto isn't always a villain, so you definitely have a love/hate relationship with him. Mariah Stewart's villains. Just to name a few!
(Kelli Jo Calvert 4:59pm November 3, 2009)
Heather Long: Thank you for your article.
I once heard this from a forensic psychologist: "When someone creates a villain, he does so out of his own experience."
I suspect this also applies to readers. When a reader can truly relate to a villain, it reflects on the real-life antagonists she has faced.
For me, as both a reader and a writer, the villains with the greatest impact are authority figures who abuse their authority, therefore harming if not destroying those with little or no power.
Such antagonists are most interesting, and harmful, when things aren't going their way. The most dangerous person, in both real life and fiction, is a control freak whose life is spinning out of control.
(Mary Anne Landers 5:33pm November 3, 2009)
My favorite villain right now is not in print but on TV. SYLAR from Heroes is a villain I love to watch. He is so incredibly dark & interesting. The twisted wry humor shines through.
(Mary Preston 6:38pm November 3, 2009)
I don't really like the villians which in stories it works because you pull for the good guy which i like it when the good guy overtakes the villian, most interesting is when the woman is the vilian.
(Lori Barnes 7:22pm November 3, 2009)
I can't think of a single villian that hasn't been named (and that I don't agree with). If I had to choose just one, though, I think it would have to be Magneto.
(Dawn Detkowski 1:24am November 4, 2009)
There are lots of good villains (that
doesn't sound right) out there. My
"favorite" is Magua from LAST OF THE
MOHICANS. He has his reasons for being
nasty, but he is cold heartedly brutal.
(Patricia Barraclough 11:58pm November 4, 2009)
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