To have a hero, you need a villain.
Are there villains you love? Why? Is he(or she) sexy, smart, loves puppies? Do they have a background you empathize with? Are they necessary?
To me a villain should complement the hero or heroine; help them grow and reach their true goals. They should have a connection, whether it’s mental or emotional to the hero/heroine. They need to be an equal of the hero/heroine. And they need to have one characteristic we can relate to – that’s my opinion.
There are many villains with no redeeming features and those we hate and root for the hero/heroine to vanquish them, one way or the other.
As I looked over some of the movie villains I’m wondering about that one quality we can relate to. Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – all bad. Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction was scary, but did she have any redeeming characteristics. Did he encourage her? Hannibal Lector for Silence of the Lambs of the Lambs intrigues me and I think he respected Clarice. Darth Vader from Star Wars was Luke’s father.
In literature Moriarity was a perfect villain for Sherlock Holmes. Stephen King has many villains; Carrie White and Cujo for two examples. Game of Thrones has villains, as does Harry Potter; Lord Voldemort and Draco.
I think the one I “enjoyed" the most was Hannibal. I also like all the villains in the J.D. Robb series. And I like my villain in my upcoming book – Targeted.
Who are your favorite villains and why?
I just saw Unbroken and the villain was the Japanese guard.. he was scary.. supposedly he was redeemable but I couldn't see it.
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