VILLAINS

I was making a list of the villains I think are up there in the all-time most evil/scary category, trying to come up with the attributes that make up a good villain. As a writer, the villain is almost as important (and sometimes more important than) as the hero. If your villain falls flat, so does your hero. If there’s nothing to overcome, then what your hero accomplishes ends up not being all that special.

In a way, your villain has to be braver than your hero. Remember, the villain always acts first. The hero rises up in response... necessity drives him. The villain, on the other hand, is driven by something else: greed, lust, anger, revenge, etc. Something within him drives him to act, some moral code is shattered, and voila! a villain is born. The hero comes along later.

What are some traits that make a great villain? Here are a few that are common throughout my long list of best villains.

Intelligence. Nothing is worse than an idiotic villain (or an extremely brilliant villain who surrounds himself with idiotic henchmen). A villain has to be smart, quick-thinking, in a dark-genius sort of way. He doesn’t have to be a genius, but he does have to be intelligent.

Dominating presence. A good villain commands the attention of the room. His presence alone is terrifying or creepy.

Cunning. This is different from intelligence, but only slightly. A good villain has to have a goal, and a method by which to procure or attain that goal. This may involve the ability to manipulate people, a guile, a talent for twisting the truth, or just the ability to get people to do what he wants them to do.

Ruthlessness. All the best villains are capable of absolute ruthlessness. This doesn’t mean torture scenes (which I really hate for the most part), but it does mean that the villain leaves no doubt in your mind that he will kill or maim anything that stands in his way (including his own men, if they aren’t careful).

Dark wit. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but the very best villains can pull off a dark sense of humor without coming across as cheesy.

Secondary evil character. This isn't always necessary either, but sometimes the MAIN bad guy of a story is not the BEST bad guy of the story. For example: Darth Vader (because he's my #1 favorite villain). He's not the ultimate evil in the Star Wars story. He reports to the Emperor. But it's not the Emperor who gives us delicious chills when he comes on the screen, or who makes us chuckle nervously when he says, "I find your lack of faith disturbing..." it's Vader. We know the Emperor is seriously evil... not because we see him do anything important (or ... at all... until movie #3), but because Vader reports to him. And if he can command the loyalty of Vader... well then, he must be pretty powerful... or something!

So who are a few villains who exemplify these attributes?

Darth Vader (I've already mentioned him... but he tops my list)

Thrawn (Timothy Zahn's awesome version of a Vader... except Thrawn is actually in the main villain seat...)

The Joker (from the Batman universe)

Bellatrix LeStrange (again, it's not really Voldemort I'm scared of... it's this lady)

Moriarty (not much needs to be said here... Sherlock's ultimate challenge)

Iago (from the Shakespeare play Othello... not the parrot)

Lex Luthor (when played correctly, this character is difficult to get "right"... with sloppy scripting/directing Lex can very easily swing from darkly evil to downright ridiculous)

How about you? Who is your favorite villain? What about them makes you just love to hate them?