Favorite Villains

UPDATED!

I have taken an interest in villains lately––prompted in some sense by the blunt fact that all my own villains stink. Here's in a look at some of my favorite bad-guys and why they work.

• Rumpelstiltskin 

Once Upon a Time (tv show)

This guy is my new favorite! He's creepy, he makes cool hand motions, and he always outwits everyone, good or bad. Everything he does comes at a price. He'll go as far as helping the good guys-–so long as he gets something in return. Sometimes the trade is outrageous, other times it's seemingly not in his favor. 

You don't know what to expect from Rumpelstiltskin, except that he'll probably win, and that's why I like him.

(I'll post on third-party bad-guys like him again very soon.)

• Loki 

Thor (film)

You already heard the big sha-bang about Loki, but in case you didn't read it, I'll summarize.

You understand Loki and what makes him tick. You almost feel sorry from him! He's completely un-stereotypical, and still has awesomely mysterious powers.

• Darth Vader 

Star Wars

Pure evil, really powerful, cool looking. Need I say more?

• Long John Silver 

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Charismatic bad-guys are the creepiest! He's so unassuming with his crippled leg and his modest position as cook, and yet he's the mastermind behind it all. The main character, unfortunately, falls for it.....and perhaps the reader does, too.

• Irene Adler 

A Scandal in Bohemia (Sherlock Holmes) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I keep hearing about Moriarty and how wonderful he is. I can't dispute it––I haven't read all the Sherlock Holmes yet––but what about Irene Adler?

Irene Adler is in one little short story where she is the first criminal master-mind that is actually a criminal master-mind. Sherlock, technically, doesn't win. She completely outwits him!

The best bad-guys are the ones that can actually win.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - SPOILER ALERT!!

I suggest you read the book. Brandon Sanderson wrote it, which means it's amazing. However, I suggest you don't read this blurb on the villain as it gives away the best part of the book. So stop. Now....unless you've already read it or never will, then read on, please :)

• Yatayatayata I don't want his name to stand out, so you don't see that Vasher––no not really, Denth from Warbreaker is actually not a hero but really a villain.

What?!?!? Halfway through the book you learn that well-trained, straight-A-student Princess Vivenna has been completely duped and manipulated into doing the opposite of her intentions by the charismatic, clever, glib-tongued, super-fast swordsman Denth. Ugh, you feel so stupid! …and yet, as with all of Brandon's big-time revelation shockers, you totally should have seen it because he practically told you on several occasions. How amazing is that!? 

• Ezra

The Leven Thumps series by Obert Skye

He's amazingly evil and, let's face it, he's a toothpick! You can't get better than that! His goal in life––aside from ruling Foo as the most powerful toothpick ever, is to kill Geth! Why? Because after Geth's soul was forced into a tree and the tree was cut down and chopped into toothpicks, Geth's soul was split leaving him not quite as whole as he would like…and leaving another toothpick endowed with all the anger the previously fiery revolutionary leader possessed. Ezra hates Geth because Geth "took" all the good and left Ezra with all the anger and confusion. As his power grows so do his plans, and soon this little toothpick begins causing some seriously awesome trouble for our main characters, provoking stomach pains from the over-abundance of laughter all the while. 

• Amon

The Legend of Korra (tv show)

Religious fanatics are so creepy! Amon's (said in a deep, dark, slightly gravelly voice) "we will cleanse this nation of its impurities" is so creepy! 

When the series first began I wondered how a non-bender (non-magician) could stand against the all-powerful avatar…well, now I know better. Between chi-blocking and bending the bending away from benders––not to mention blood-bending doesn't even affect him!––Korra has more than she can handle with this revolutionary leader.

The mask is an awesome ending touch––all we ever see of Amon are his eyes peering keenly through the slits. The hard line for his mouth never moves as he proclaims the downfall of benders and steals their very bending away, his hard composure never slips for a moment through that mask. Hard defines Amon.

So what do we take from this?

Bad guys are the ones that can win. They are clever, they often outwit the characters––not necessarily the good-guy characters, but everyone. They're charismatic. They are evil, but not always inherently so. They are hard. They are determined. They are powerful. And, well, they are best if they look cool (or funny) as well :)