It happens all the frackin’ time. You’re thinking this villain is interesting, dangerous, random. And then... “Boo hoo, I’ve got a whiny sob story about why I chose to be evil instead of nice," said the villain.
Damn you! Writers.
The Case for Whiny Sob Stories.
You know, writers like to think of themselves as ‘really very clever’. The idea of having a one-dimensional evil villain as the main bad dude in their story makes their skin crawl. How will people know how ‘really very clever’ I am without layers upon layers of flashback fluff!?
It’s true, in many ways. Boring characters who are boring characters are boring characters. If some dude is evil, then there must be a reason for that evil, right? And if you don’t tell anyone that reason, then you’re just being a lazy writer. Besides, we live in a world run by villains, shaped by villains, bankrolled by villains. Deep down, they know what they are and they don’t really like it. Hence the constant need to be understood. They are the actual victims here! Not those damn heroes with their good looks and snazzy outfits. They have a ‘good’ reason for being bad! And you will accept that reason... or else. It’s an interesting story, really it is.
The Case for Self Empowered Smirking Evil.
Perhaps those sobbing villains with the whiny origin stories aren’t really evil at all. Maybe they’re just normal people who don’t have any natural persuasion for evil.
I'll tell you what I think. I think the reason they went bad is that they’re lazy. They went through a tough time, got bitter, and made the conscious choice to take it out on the rest of us. Therefore, the constant need to rationalise what they do! The heroes are the ones who take their own rough times and use it to grow. They are not lazy.
Real Evil Does Not Need a Back Story.
You might say that is boring. Who wants an evil villain who just does bad things and that’s it? Well, no-one says that evil villain has to have a personality bypass or an under-developed sense of humour. Besides, there’s something to be said for mystery. The existence of un-redeemable evil is terrifying. There’s no reason to dilute it unless your heroes suck.
Threat Level.
Do we really have to go through that thing where we believe the whining villain can be reasoned with, somehow redeemed, only for them to fail at redemption too and end up destroying themselves in a haze of self-pity? It’s not scary, or worrying, or anything other than tedious. The threat of an evil villain must be absolute. There can be no victory without its utter destruction. Writers of yore knew this. It’s only modern writers who think their villains just need a bit of therapy.
So, what do you want? A pathetic, sobby, whiny villain lashing out at a world that rejected them? Or a cunning, confident, self-empowered manoeuverer flashing a wide grin as he, she, or it, does the thing that they just really love to do... being really fracking evil!
How do you like your villains?
Medium pathetic with cabbage and a glass of sobby back story
Raw Evil in a bun + HOT sauce and a bottle of smirking grin
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