Villains...when I hear this I think of evil scientist and insane dictators, but what makes villains so evil? Surely the villain is also the main antagonist in the story, but is there a reason that a villain is so evil because surely not all villains were simply born that way...In most stories, not just books, the antagonist is bitter for something that happened to them in the past. For example in X-men Erik (aka Magneto) worked with Charles Xavier for the good of all mutants. However, because Magneto believed that mutants were superior, he left the X-men and started the brotherhood. In some stories, however, such as The Lion King, Scar was Mufasa's brother but was bitter towards Mufasa because he believed that the crown was supposed to be his and his rage eventually led to Scar killing Mufasa. So, even family relations can create a villain, especially when one does not get what they want. Many villains believe that someone has wronged them and want to take their revenge out on anyone and anything that gets in their way.
Some antagonists become mad towards the world because they have suffered great loss such as the death of a spouse, and begin to believe that it was someone’s fault. In fact now that I think about it all Villains are bitter because they believe that someone has wronged them in some, what they interpret as, a terrible way. However we must examine the fact that all villains were good before a specific event in their lives turns them bad. After all no one is born evil. To say that when an antagonist realizes the truth that they would turn good is a perfectly reasonable statement, I have seen this many times a great example of this is in lion king two when Kovu feels remorse for betraying Simba. BTW Great examples of all of these things I’ve talked about are in the Percy Jackson series if you have not read I STRONGLY recommend it. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. PLEASE guys leave me some feedback and perhaps even a story idea and a big thanks to my first follower Delta Altair, please tell your friends about me!!!! THANK YOU
Again I agree with everything you have said.
ReplyDeleteI would like to bring up the point of what exactly labels one as a villain. Is it what they believe in or merely how they accomplish things? In the Dark Knight (Batman) Bruce Wayne is (Spoiler Alert) labeled as a villain of Gotham in the end because he kills Harvey Dent/Two-Face but if he didn't then Harvey would have killed Jim Gordon. And during the movie the city is split between whether or not he should be supported or condemned because of the way he eliminates crime in the city. Another example would be in the anime series Gundam 00.
In Gundam 00 the main character, Setsune F. Seiei, works for a military group known as "Celestial Being". The purpose or main goal of Celestial Being is to eliminate violence through violence. Celestial Being's pilots attack the three leading nations in the story having themselves labeled as "terrorists". But in the end the world does actually gain a light-peace after the three nations ally themselves against Celestial Being.
Now in the Lion King, Scar kills Mufasa for power over the pride. At first this may not seem as a villainous thing but rather than a grasp for "political power", so to speak. But after he does so and the results he creates it is reasonable and justified to say that he is a villain.
In Percy Jackson the villains (with Greek Mythology) are the Titans. They are made out to be evil and tyrannical. From my point of view it seems that their whole experience was because of Cronos, the leader of the Titans, but not because he was "evil" but because he was afraid. He was afraid because Gaia and Uranus had told him that one of his children would defeat him and rule over him. Instead of taking the "sensible" path Cronos eats his children, thus leading to his wife hiding Zeus, Gaia and some others raising him, then him overtaking his father.
So, once again, is a person labeled a villain because of their goals or the way they obtain it?
Thanks for the comment I appreciate it, and we have to remember that batman was more a vigilante than anything which means he does good things in a not so great way but still what he does is for the good of everyone. While most villains are self serving or want to bring up a certain group of people in status.
ReplyDeleteIn Percy Jackson I was referring to Luke not the titans, because Luke was e very thing a villain was, he was manipulative, lying, felt like someone wronged him, hated those who opposed him, but in the end accepts the truth and parishes. Luke also was ruthless and completely dedicated to the downfall of Olympus, so much so he sacrificed his body to Kronos. He did all these things because he was just mad at Hermes.
As for Scar he was a villain because he not only killed his brother but also didn’t care about anything he did. All scar wanted was a little recognition but he was always in Mufasa’s shadow which to me sad and tragic. Sadly Scar did not realize his errors and dies in the end which makes him a little more villainous because he lying and deceitful up until the very end. So in my opinion a villain is defined by what they do, as well as what their intention was. I greatly appreciate your input and I’m sorry because my villain’s article was a last moment thing and I didn’t really think it through very well so your feedback is wonderful. THANK YOU.