Hullo all! Balloonacy here, with a Wednesday Wondering: Ask a Language Arts Class.
This week's question was, “What do you look for in a good villain?”
Some responses we got…
“A good villain, in my opinion, is one that doesn’t give up too easily and doesn’t have obvious flaws in their plans that the heroes always find way after the reader does. They also have to have a great back story and maybe even have a little melodrama once and a while to keep it comical.” –LinktheCat
“Someone mean, manipulative, and arrogant.” –Katelyn
“Something I look for in a good villain is evilness, I mean, if you’re not evil, then you’re not a very good villain! They have to be wicked and take no mercy, but still have a soft side, a secret love, a weakness, something! The villain can’t just be an evil villain, they have to have to have pain, something that hurts them. Something that makes them human, even if they’re not. Something real and sincere has to drive them.” –ArwenPond
“Someone very hated upon. They should be funny… in a ‘villainy’ sort of way. Someone who’s actions are very bad and annoying.” –Camille
“I look for someone who’s scary, and funny, but evil.”-Ben
“They have a snotty attitude and a scary name.” –Nick
“Generally a good villain has some sort of underlying likable quality. Some examples would be attractiveness, or has a sense of humor.” –London
“I search for a good (or bad =)) villain by looking at their motives and whether they are in depth and/or strong or not. Their nature. Do their actions make sense for their motives?” -Garrett
“Meanness, catchy name, ATTRACTIVENESS, funny, short background story.” -Elmolover101
“A compelling backstory, evil laugh. And occasionally a grey morality. On the other hand, a villain who is ‘evil because its fun’ is entertaining.” -Lianna
“Big, scary, bad, deep voice 8) and a good evil laugh. Hahaha.” -Dylan
So, what do you think? What makes a good villain?
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I completely agree with Garret and ArwenPond! A good villain needs to have motivation! If there is no motive, you just have someone who is evil for evil's sake.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I love in a good villain is a healthy rivalry between him/her and the protagonist. If there is a back-and-forth element to the conflict and conflict resolution it makes a compelling story. A good villain is a foil to the main character, and by that I mean they play against main characters' weaknesses and eventually bring out their strengths.
An example I'm thinking of is Darth Vader:
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-DeI3ohVbY )
He is an obvious foil to Obi Wan/Yoda. They are both training Luke one way or the other each with different motives. The fight scene I linked to also shows the banter between he and Luke - great stuff!
If you don't have that motive, banter, or rivalry all you end up with is Darth Maul.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzQBB4YICwM )
A flashy, mute battle and no driving force behind it.
Keep up the great work guys!
-Mr. Steile