Creating a super villain

As kids we loved heroes, as adults we understood villains too. This blog will guide you through the basic idea behind creating a nasty villain, whether it be a human or something else. So, let’s dive into the article to discover everything we can.

He’s unpredictable

A villain is usually not an open book, unless the film is meant to be funny, like Megamind.

The character of a villain is developed in such a way that it is hard to predict what his reaction would be to any given situation after all the cruelty he has been through.

In the 2013 film, Man of Steel, the character, General Zod was devoted to his home planet, Krypton. All he wanted was to recreate it after its destruction, and was going to do so at the cost of not just the life of Superman, but the existence of the entire Earth.

In 2023 film, The Flash, he has been shown showing sympathy towards Supergirl about her brother’s death. But at the same time, he was ready to kill her too. Reason- she was there to stop him from overtaking the world.

He’s madly ambitious

When it comes to thinking of an ambitious villain, the one who first comes to our mind is – The Mad Titan.

Yes, Thanos.

In the film, Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos had this notion, that in the universe, resources were less, but people were plenty. So, being one of the strongest in the universe, he considered this onus to be on himself to make in the entire universe ‘perfectly balanced as everything should be.’ For this, he got down to collecting the six infinity stones, with which, he would be able to wipe out half of the universe, or even whole!

A villain does what he wants and to achieve what he wants he stops at nothing. He considers what he does is right, even if it is wrong, and that’s what makes him dangerous…

He’s scary

Let’s admit it. We were scared witless seeing this creepy smile of Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin in the 2002 film- Spiderman. When Osborn’s another personality used to take over him, he used to turn rather scary, like a demon. That is why the name is ‘Goblin.’

He had acquired such psychological condition because of the experiment he did on himself to surpass the limits of human strength. As a result, the side effect showed itself as this abnormality taking over this brilliant scientist, turning him into an unbeatable villain and the enemy of Spiderman.

He’s formidable

Deathstroke, from Titans. Which has also appeared in other films, series and comics of DC. In the series Titans, when the heroes knew that this man was alive and active in San Francisco, there was a reason behind it that they were terribly shaken, just as a kid is suspicious of the monsters under his bed.

And apart from all other reasons for this, one of the reasons was his personality. He had that kind of trait, just like we’re scared of that one very strict teacher in our school in the childhood days.

Not a lot this trait would suit on a hero, but on a villain, it’s perfect to improve his character.

He’s a monster

To be honest, I was a Marvel fan before I switched to DC. And when I saw this Kryptonian monster, I was amazed to see that MCU had never shown such a creature in its films. A monster, as soon as he’s born, the only thing he is able to do is to cause destruction, and knows nothing else. As if, he has no brain at all. He is unkillable, and is considered to bring the end of the world, and so is he called by the name – Doomsday.

Even during its last breath, he did what worse he could do and so, took the life of the hero by brutally digging a cavity in his chest.

His dialogues are savage

Even if the character used to be feeble kind of personality, once he or she turns into a villain, whether out of circumstances or due to some impact on his mind, he is then a totally different person on the outside. And so are his dialogues — threatening.

Now with this point of the relation between bad situations and villain which we have touched, we move on to the next trait associated with almost every villain.

He has a lethal backstory

Joker, one of the darkest villains, not just of DC comics, but also of all time. Year 2019 film, Joker portrayed the character, Arthur Fleck and his life, showing how the society turned him into a monster, forcing him, without even realizing and making him choose to live a life of ‘crime and chaos.’

People are never born bad. Hatred is either taught or induced into them. Writers utilize this sad reality element to develop a peculiar story plot.

Not just the hero, but character traits of the villain is what makes a story more admirable. In fact, it’s mostly the villain that makes a story deeper and darker slowly and gradually. Like Voldemort in Harry Potter, White Witch in Chronicles of Narnia, Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Megatron in Transformers, and the list goes on.

Who is your favorite villain? Do tell us in the comment section.

Thank you for reading. Have a good week ahead.