Welcome to Storytelling Sundays! For ages I have dreamed of writing a novel. However, to write a good novel I need to understand the parts of a story.
Today I want to talk about villains. There are numerous types of villains, birthed from ancient epics all the way to modern YA-fantasy. Good villains have a backstory – a reason for being. The question stands – why are they such a dramatic and unforgiving force?
I came up with 5 Origins of Villainy – based on media that I have consumed. Leave a comment if you have any other ideas!
This villain is the epitome of evil. They reside within the depths of the earth or far under the surface of the ocean. They are not-of-this-earth. An ancient evil that has long been forgotten has awoke and will not rest until it finds the prey it seeks. They may be part of old folklore, or scary stories told to children to get them to behave. This villain has waited for eons to be confronted and when it is, it will not back down.
Expression of Power: They contain an unlimited depth of power. Drawing upon reserves of old lore they are as vast as the unexplored ocean.
Method of Violence: They can lay waste to cities, towns and minds with utter destruction. You cannot hide.
Known Villains: Cthulu from Call of Cthulu , Mummy from the Mummy Returns, Sauron from Lord of the Rings, The Reapers from Mass Effect.
This villain has suffered. They have lived a difficult life and have either lost family, a loved one, a job or a home. This loss drives them to believe they have been unjustly wronged and they deserve retribution. They believe they are justly pursuing their wrongdoers but tread too far. Along the way they may lose sight of their initial goal and wreak havoc to try to ease their loss, without understanding the cause for their desire for pain.
Expression of Power: They get their power from their sadness, a deep truth that no one can remove or change. They may be the most varied in their breadth of power. They may arise vast armies to bury their misery, or allow their anger and sadness to fester within themselves.
Method of Violence: Their violence comes from their core, from the hurt and betrayal they suffered. It can be explosive and brutal unless they harness their anger, at which points it can become focused and destructive.
Known Villains: Voldemort from Harry Potter, Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
This villain desires power and influence. They see themselves sitting on the grandest throne, making all the decisions and ruling with a firm hand. They believe they are the most powerful being around and therefore they deserve to subjugate the common folk. Never taking no for an answer they will take what they want with intense force. It is common they have generals ready to do their bidding, ready to rally the troops to fight in their name.
Expression of Power: They command vast armies and can influence any court or country with the spies and generals they have in place.
Method of Violence: They do not get their own hands dirty, they rule from the throne and easily wash their sins. But no violence is beneath them, a painful death awaits those that do not submit to their will.
Known Villains: The Illusive Man from Mass Effect, Corypheous from Dragon Age, Jafar from Aladdin, Firelord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
This villain believes they know best. They start off with righteous fury and the understanding that there is injustice in the world. They believe they must balance the scales, else no one else will. Heroes to the downtrodden and despondent, they bloody their own hands if necessary, if they believe it that it is against the vicious powers that hold them down. The scariest thing is that they truly believe they are correct.
Expression of Power: They will create a following, people that follow them because they too believe in their cause. With people willing to die for them, this villain holds the power of blind faith and loyalty.
Method of Violence: They gather the minds and once they do they have no issues turning these minds onto those who oppose them. Wanton violence is not their goal – but mental torture, splitting families, brainwashing, making an example of those who oppose them – that is their realm of violence.
Known Villains: Light Yagami from Death Note, Amon from Legend of Korra, Zero from Code Geass, Solas from Dragon Age, Thanos from Avengers, Long Feng from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Saint Dane from Bobby Pendragon.
This villain desires nothing more than absolute anarchy. They have no reason for action, no directive to their energy – only a passion to watch the chaos they create. They are malevolent, forceful and destructive. Having no team, they do not look to create an army, instead they act alone.
Expression of Power: They will act explosively and their disregard for all life, including their own, makes their exploits particularly dangerous. They will set one piece in motion and watch as their machinations come to fruition.
Method of Violence: Fire. Water. Guns. Rocks. Explosives. There is no weapon too simple and no technology too complicated to leverage. Nothing is off limits, may it be crazy, superfluous or unknown, even to them.
Known Villains: Joker from Batman, Loki from Norse Mythology.
It is possible for villains to bleed from one category into another through their story-arc. Villains make a story real – they combine all of the rage, sadness and chaos of the world and package it into something tangible that our hero can fight, and hopefully overcome.
So next time you consume some media keep an eye out for your villain. Think about where they came from. What’s their story? What is the origin of their villainy.
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