5 Best Villain Tropes in Storytelling (Writing Advice)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- Learn about the best villain tropes in storytelling. Examples from The Dark Knight, Star Wars, Training Day, Indiana Jones, and more!
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Villains who actually care about their own teammates adds a level of respect. It's a nice contrast to the tired cliche of villains who treat their minions as disposable. What henchman would want to work for a boss like that!?
Yes!
Zaheer and the Red Lotus from The Legend of Korra are excellent examples of this
It makes a story more interesting when the villain appears to have better morals than the hero.
Adam Warren, author and artist behind the comic series Empowered, has turned this trope around. one of the supporting characters has a past of being part of a gang which would team up with a supervillain, and at some point they would turn their boss in and loot everything from their treasure trove, and escape. they disbanded and escaped eventually when a supervillain couldn't be defeated and swore vengeance on them...
Speaking of disposable minions, I like the anticlimactic minion realization trope. It's not really a plot point and more of comic relief, but how it works is at some point in the story, the person in charge of the 'minion' is in mortal danger and actually becomes desperately reliant on the minion. The minion realizes that for the first time, the person in charge is at their mercy. They usually vent their realization out loud, saying something along the lines of 'You never cared about me!' but just as the person in charge is about to die, they yell at the minion to save them, and just because of how oppressed the minion was throughout the story, they end up saving the person in charge just out of muscle memory/being so used to taking orders from them.
A favorite Villain trope of mine is the Fallen Hero. A character that used to be good but gave in to their demons and ultimately turned to the side of evil. These villains tend to be even scarier than those who are inherently evil because it shows how even those with the most pure hearts can be corrupted
Sephiroth from Compilation of FFVII is my favorite villain of this kind, alongside Darth Vader himself.
Arthas from Warcraft.
Griffith say hi!
Walter White, yes I know he’s a common example
@@basiobfz1246: Gus Fring could also be one. We don't know his backstory in Chile, but what we do know is his honest love for his friend, whom Eladio had killed.
There's another element to why Vader's offer works: following his father's legacy was what Luke wanted from the start, so it wasn't a new decision, but reframing a decision he'd already made to show what it would cost.
Great point.
Surprised you didn't talk about a villain's twisted honour code - Joker saying Gotham deserves a higher class of criminal who doesn't care about money is on point - the most charismatic villains often have lines they won't cross which can even seem perversely idealistic, but they are radically different to social acceptability so they are still unabashed villains (no crying about bad childhoods etc)
Another great trope! Honor codes almost always make villains (and heroes) more intriguing
Absolutely. Anton Chigurh comes immediately to mind, and is one of my favorite villains.
Another example could of the honourable villains is when they only fight in equal conditions. For example, when they have an army on their side but still go just for one specific character in a 1vs1 fight and come victorius. It makes them feel rightfuly powerful.
I also like the exact oposite, with character like Lord Shen, who know that their oponent is dangerous and won't have a problem in playing dirty just to live to fight another day
I love ‘Pure Evil’ Villains. Specifically, villains that don’t believe they’re actions are just and know they are evil but are having fun committing heinous acts of evil.
I also feel the same every time I see Starscream on TV. 😂
@@m.p.2534 he’s a great one! He’s had so many versions so he’s been both pure evil and sympathetic.
Sundowner
@@NathanDavis508kids are cruel, Jack
@@teddyrichard1488" -and I love minors- "
I like the villain with something really mundane about them, something everyday that they do while being evil. Calmly threatening someone while doing something as ordinary as just eating a sandwich can be chilling - it humanises them and makes them relatable.
I'm reminded of CinemaSins pointing out all the times the villain is eating an apple "to look like more of an asshole."
Kira from JoJo?
"I want to live a very quiet life."
Yes! Like Alan Arkin's "Roat, Jr." in "Wait Until Dark," or Edward Fox's unnamed assassin in "Day of the Jackal?"
Calling your mob hits as you casually push your kid on a swing
I like the "unseen villain" even more than the masked one. Red John from the Mentalist is a good example. We know he exists, we dread his deeds, we sometimes see his hands or hear his voice, but nothing else. He can be anyone, any face the hero crosses in the street could be his. It gives the villain an ominous presence, almost supernatural. The hero and the audience can never rest, as he could be hiding in any scene behind the most benign character
IIRC, Professor Moriarty actually physically appears in only ONE of Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories, though he's mentioned as a shadowy, 'behind the scenes' figure in like half a dozen others.
@@AskAScreenwriter Yes absolutely ! And it is well reflected in the first season of the BBC series, where he is talked about but never seen, and the 2009 movie, where he is basically a talking shadow. I guess Blofeld kind of fits into the category also, on the first movies where he is just a pair of hands with a cat, which made him far more menacing than any face he would wear afterwards
Same with the original 2d animated Lorax and the show Inspector Gadget.
@@reaganmonkey8 ha ha nice to meet a person of culture !
"Next time, Gadget !"
Blofeld from Bond movies was by far the best in movies in which we didn't see his face.
A great villain trope is joke villains or comic relief who gradually become more and more of a threat as the movie goes along. See Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Wheatly from Portal 2 and the Spot from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Kinda like Tobi/Obito from Naruto. He was a great comic relief character, yet the same man who started a huge ass war
Kefka Palazzo came to mind. He started as a joke character. Later, he obtained godly power, defeated the heroes, successfully destroyed the world, and driven the survivors to extreme despair. And overcoming the despair he created became the driving force for the most important character development of the heroes.
“Nobody panics when things go according to plan even if the plan is horrifying” is such a great line from Joker in the Dark Knight that also sheds light on his character and his motives.
I would like to see Brandon talk about good vs bad internal conflicts if he made any
I'll add this to my request list. I've got a bunch of Bad vs Good videos planned, but I didn't think of this topic. Thanks!
@WriterBrandonMcNulty Can you make a video on theme (i.e. Hope/Hopelessness in Shawshank Redemption, corruption in Scarface, vigilantialism/heroism in The Batman)? It's all to neglected in most modern fiction, despite being the difference between a story you'll cherish and a soulless piece of fiction.
Seconded! Killer idea!
Personally, I hope he includes No Country For Old Men in that theme video. The movie could be described as mediocre, but that is what makes it so brilliant. The themes of chance, greed, and the main antagonist, Anton Chigurh, are often the most mentioned aspects of the movie. I highly recommend the movie, and the novel of the same name.
Yes!
The villain cornering the hero can be messed up heavily if the hero doesn’t have any struggle, and gets out of it easily. That’s usually a big letdown…
Indeed. If the hero can be eliminated at that point we can focus more on the villain and his struggle. The hero is a foil for the villain to show the efforts required to change the world for the worse, but many directors simply do not understand this and often let the hero escape their ordained death.
@@GnosticAtheist Could you explain this further? I'm interested
@@jopiluis3382 Its partly a joke, but it is rooted in my interest in the villain story, even the worst ones. If the story is deep enough, you get to feel the hatred that has been left to fester and that hatred is spoiled by an arbitrary heroic save, when true wisdom could be found in the empty glory in some weird plot that in most cases would leave the villain in shatters. Exploring the human condition is best done in adversity and madness.
That’ll be useful information. Thank you.
@@GnosticAtheistcompletely agree. One of the very few people I've ever met that sees the potential of a villain-led story as well as I do. It's really a shame there are not much of those. Such stories tend to develop in very unique ways and allow for a fascitang approach on the human mind
I think an underrated type of vilain is the pure evil vilain.
Nowadays way too many vilains have depths, which is faaaaaar away from a bad thing but it would be cool to see a ruthless, murderous, cold vilain.
One of my favorite villain tropes is when the main villain is treated like some sort of boogeyman, as if even saying their name is bad luck. However, if youre going to use this trope, be damn sure that the villain delivers on the hype. There's nothing more irritating than a weak villain showing up after people treat them like they're literally Satan
Netflix’s Daredevil did this perfectly for Wilson Fisk I’d say, you don’t even see him for the first 3.9 episodes but he’s built up as this figure who men would rather kill themselves than facing his wrath, and indeed every scene with him after his intro is captivating
Don't know if it's a villain trope per se, but I'm a sucker for when a hero or heroes are forced to team up with a villainous character (usually a magnificent bastard of some sort) either for the sake of survival or out of a need to face a far worse threat.
There are so many great examples of this and it's awesome every time
Same. It's always funny when that happens.
I was just about to say this also because I love this in stories. It also sets up tension throughout the story, because the audience doesn't know if or when the villain/anti-hero will turn on the hero once it becomes most convenient to do so. It gives the hero a chance to show their character, by putting them in situations where they have to put their negative feelings towards the former villain aside and help them at times, despite maybe even hating them for what they did prior to the current story. This also gives the villain an opportunity to either A) make a sweet betrayal, or b) show that they've changed when they make a positive moral choice. But even with the moral choice, it makes us wonder if there's more to it than that, like if they're just playing the long and setting up an even bigger betrayal later when they Really are given the chance to take what matters most to them
Yes, the unreliable mentor. I have one in both of my novels.
The finale of the first Transformers Prime season comes to my mind here.
I don't know if this is a trope but I like when the villains are shown being influential and charismatic with thier followers and partners, even if it's fake, rehearsed, etc. It adds realism. So often, I see villains acting out and I wonder, who would work for this person?
You're right. I like when action movies show bad guys being kind and brotherly to those who follow their orders. I don't know if remember that, but rambo-type tough guy Keamy, from Lost, would treat his men with what seemed to be utter military, battle-earned respect.
If the pay is good enough, I’m sure villains could get a good amount of henchmen, but still.
My favorite villain trope is “the conflicted villain”. We often see heroes being heroic despite their fears because they think it’s for the greater good but what about villains with the exact same motivation but backing the wrong cause? I think it’s super intriguing to see how fear can move people to change but not everyone changes for the better.
i like villains that 1. care about their team/group 2. are not arrogant and 3. are not super overpowered but are still extremely dangerous. An example of a villain who is like this is Grand Admiral Thrawn.
I'm rather fond of villain protagonists done well, and _especially_ when the story covers their descent into villainy. It creates an interesting dynamic that challenges the audience on whether they agree with the actions, and different people can easily come up with different answers.
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, The Sopranos.
Arcane did this fantastically ... because you don't even know she's going to be evil to start.
The Walking Dead, when Rick basically becomes Shane, if not, worse.
Another beautiful example would be Eren Yeager from Shingeki no Kyojin. The guy begins as your everyday typical shonen teenager protagonist, which makes us even more thorn apart by what he does in the final act of the series. It still breaks my heart because, at first, I liked the character... And now I hate him with all of my heart. 😢
Jorg Ancrath from the Broken Empire. Although he starts as straight-cut villain, but slowly ascends to being an anti-villain as the story progresses.
I love when the hilarious comedy relief turns out to be evil because when you laugh with a character you let your guard down. I think the best example is D'Hoffryn from Buffy, we know he is an evil demon that has done horrible things but they were all off screen so we just knew him mostly as the comedy relief. When he inevitably did horrible things you hate him because it's unexpected and hurts more. This trope can be really bad though just look at the MCU villains that try to be funny but when done right I love it
Or Skip in Angel. Spends 2 or 3 seasons acting like a lovable buffoon, until the big bad of season 4 starts making their move, at which point he reveals it was all an act and was manipulating everything to get to that point.
I love villains that we know are evil but are still comic relief in their own way. Sometimes, throughout the entire middle part of the story you forget they're evil, usually because these villains are only evil when they need to be and will spend plenty of time joking around and having fun if it doesn't conflict with their goals. Then, when they're in a position to accomplish what they set out to do and start sending death threats at the hero, you quickly remember that yes, they are indeed evil.
Reminds me of The Spot from Across The Spiderverse. Love how he started off as a joke of a character, but as the movie goes along, he kinda becomes a little scary.
like obito from naruto
@@SmileyySmiley A little scary? The guy turned into a deity out of the writings of H.P. Lovecraft
The other thing that makes Vader’s “join me” proposal unusually effective is that it seems plausible that he actually would work with Luke to overthrow the Emperor and seize control of the Empire. Even before the revelation in the prequels of the Sith Rule of Two that inevitably leads either the Master or the Apprentice to betray the other sooner or later, it seems obvious that a villain as powerful and dominant as Darth Vader wouldn’t be content to settle for second in command, and also that the one person he might *not* betray but allow to hold real influence in his regime and eventually succeed him as ruler would be his son. If Luke had been just a little bit less committed to the Light, you could see him rationalizing that helping Vader overthrow the Emperor might be the best way to mitigate the Empire’s evil and protect the people he cares about.
May be a bit basic but I love the "Greater Scope Villain", where they're the root cause for all conflict in a given story, best examples being Sauron and Palpatine. Villains who set the story in motion, pull the strings from behind the curtain, and leave a scar on the hero from which they won't be the same afterwards.
Thats why I like the character known as Father in the anime Fullmetal Achemist Brotherhood. Running the entire country from behind the scenes creating wars on every border spreading violence, horror, pain and death to gain more power.
One of my more recently discovered favorite tropes is when the villain still influences the world even after they're actually killed. JoJo's Bizarre Adventures does this fantastically: each subsequent part of the main continuity (Parts 1 - 6) is directly affected by Dio (he basically causes Parts 1 and 3), or is in some way closely related to him (Part 2 and the Stone Mask, Parts 4 and 5 and the Stand Arrows, and Part 6 with Enrico Pucci, DIO's journal, and Jotaro's memory of said journal).
Fr
Also the entirety of the SAW franchise once you manage to put everything back into chronological order, lol. Jigsaw dies quite early
Shane not only influenced Rick, but the rest of the group after his death.
I didn't expect to see a jojo related comment. a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one
Probably a far more niche example but as a kid I remember being mesmerised by this trope in a series of video games called Sly Cooper. The main nemesis of the clan that the main character is from dies in the very first game but the effects of his actions and his looming presence never really go away throughout the entire series. Dude has basically engrained himself into the past and future of the character so thoroughly that everything can be traced back to him. Resident Evil also kind of does this, first with Umbrella and Oswald Spencer and a little bit with Wesker too.
One of my favorite villain tropes is whenever a story has several villains, having one of them be strictly evil for the sake of evil is honestly pretty fun.
My favorite example sundowner from metal gear rising. Throughout the game every other boss has some sort of code or reasoning for why they’re fighting, but not him. He just really likes war and is 100% honest about it. It’s just refreshing every now and then to have a goofy villain who knows they’re evil and just has fun with it.
I think Volgin from MGS3 is a better example, he’s a sadistic, violent, psychotic pig who wants total destruction and war and he stands among more noble villains like Ocelot and The Boss. He Brutally tortures multiple important characters, some even to death, and has fun doing it. he is chaotic evil at its core.
YES. MGR:R is a masterpiece and I love all the characters, but I made the mistake of underrating Sundowner for a long time until a friend pointed out that’s what is so fun about him.
One of my favorite examples of the wise villain speech is the Tears In Rain monologue at the end of Blade Runner
Is Roy even still a villain at that point?
My favourite is Master from first Fallout game. His speech is so great that you might start to belive that his motives are not mad.
Top Dollar's speech in "The Crow" is another good one. "Greed is for amateurs. Disorder, chaos, anarchy, now that's fun."
@@blshouse: Good point!
I would agree, is Roy even the antagonist at that point as he just saved Deckards life in an act of mercy and compassion.
My favorite trope is where the Villain (without becoming a giod guy or changing his ideals) has a moment where he ends up being in asset to the hero, often to stop a worse villain.
Another interesting trope is lethal, methodical, and a “Smart Villain” like:
Hans Gruber: Die Hard
The aliens: Alien
Michael Corleone: Godfather
Michael Corleone is difficult to measure against others, because he doesn't oppose a hero. He's more of an antihero.
I was about to bring up Hans Gruber, myself. I love that scene where he's talking about how he used to love building models as a kid. It's a short scene that perfectly sets up Hans as someone who can make the perfect plan.
Actually, I'd like to see an entire video just dedicated to this one character.
Also the smart but deranged Alan Raimy in "52 Pick-Up" and Leo in "Thief."
Yeah I always liked slasher type villains like the predator and alien a lot more than Jason, Myers etc. The difference is that the former can easily be killed but are more intelligent than most of the portagonists whereas the latter are just braindead killing machines who teleport and are basically unkillable. It also makes it believable when the alien/predator dies since it was established that they have weaknesses, again unlike most slasher villains who just decide to deactivate their plot armour at the end of the movie.
The Governor from TWD.
Not ironically, I opened TH-cam to search for writing music for my book's antagonist and this pop up on my notifications. This might be a sign 😆
Hahaha nice! I'd recommend checking out the channel Greenred Productions for writing music. They have some great focus music that helps me get in a zone
www.youtube.com/@GreenredProductions
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Awesome! Thanks a lot for the tip, cheers!
I like the villain who’s origin story and/or personality is very similar to the hero. It makes use realize that anyone could slip up and go bad
I think my favorite type of villain is the one who has a close bond with the hero at first, but then they become enemies when their worldviews and motivations change. Examples include Rameses in "The Prince of Egypt", John Silver in Disney's "Treasure Planet", and Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"
A specific trope that's closely related and that I enjoy is "Enemy Mine", where the hero and villain briefly set their differences aside to accomplish a common goal, but where it's still clear that they're not friends and the villain is still bad. When done well, I also enjoy the villain reforming and becoming an ally
Oh yeah, i fucking adore when villains ally with the heroes but still do the their way, it always add a new dynamic to the story that make stuff either interesting, funny or even makes you dread whats coming. Mk1 just did it with shang tsung and it was funny as hell watching him solve the problems by being just the bad guy.
Geto and Gojo are also close enough for this.
The dynamic between Doctor Who and the Master is this. Their motives are quite different - one wants to see the universe, one wants to rule it - but it is clear that they have been close friends for a long time, and have a mutual respect despite being at each other's throats. When they work together, it can also make the audience question their alignments: maybe our hero isn't so heroic after all, and/or maybe our villain is a better person than he'd like to admit.
I know it's a little strange, but I LOVE the mustache twirling type. Someone who perfers brains to brawn. It feels like every villain these days has to be big, scary and menacing, but it is so fun when the heroes are constantly getting outsmarted instead of outmuscled.
Favorite Villain Trope is when a villain is willing to work with the hero TEMPORARILY to defeat an even greater evil. Not a complete face turn for the villain, but they even share a single common goal with the hero to not let something worse happen, even if it’s something as petty as not wanting to be outshined by the greater evil.
Tuco Ramirez
Literally The Flood during Halo 3. The Flood knew they share a common goal with the protagonist and agreed to help them in reaching the prophet and when the prophet was killed, The Flood instantly turned against the protagonists.
"Enemy of my enemy"
This works especially well if the villain doesn't try to betray the hero at the end, but honorably end their pact. Plays into the villain with an honor code.
Return of the Jedi gets another nod, I think, for when Darth Vader, trying to provoke Luke into combat, uncovers the fact that there’s another Skywalker out there, and then lays the cards out on the table for Luke: either fight for your life now, or die knowing Leia will be a target. This forces Luke into combat not just to defend Leia, but truly to save his own life, too. The result, as it turns out, is more than Darth Vader is ready to handle.
I think that a far better example of "femme fatale", in particular reference to the "potential redemption", is Vesper Lynd from "Casino Royale": in fact, she's a borderline villain since she does what she does to save her fiancé's life, and at the end she seems sincerely in love with Bond, or at least she seems to care for him. But stil she betrays him, and it's a devastating revelation both for Bond and the audience, and it's probably at the origin of Bond's refusal to ever be engaging in a sentimental relationship again.
Are you talking about Daniel Craig Bond? If yes, then you re wrong about Vesver... Shes not betrayed Bond, she do it, give the money to bad guy to safe Bond.
@@bbudimanalqodri Well, she did betray him: she never told him the she worked for Mr. White, she took the money without him knowing it, and she was going to work as an agent for White anyway. SHe just tried to protect him in some way, but she wasn't really going or siding with Bond.
@@Laurelin70 its not betraying if she did it in the first place... She didnt change side in the middle of their relationship.
She never in Bond side before the kidnapping scene, and knowing that Bond really cares about her. In the end, she have no choice then lying to him so he can live. Mr White can kills Bond when he saw Bond after bring Vesper body up. In a way, Mr whote respect his agrement with Vesper to spare Bond life. So, Vesper did safe Bond's life.
I always enjoyed the genteel, polite villains, like Max von Sydow's assassin Joubert in Three Days of the Condor (1975). Chilling. Polite, cultured, even caring. But VERY chilling!
I also like villains who, while they may be out to get the protagonist, are protective, supportive, even heroes of their own 'team' (as opposed to those who regularly discard, abuse, or kill even their own supporters, just so the author can show how 'evil' they are). Dr. Victor von Doom from Marvel comics is usually like this. To most of the world, he's a super-villain dictator. To his own nation and its people, he will protect and provide for them with his very last breath, if that's what it takes.
Ah yes, like Hannibal Lecter.
In the movie “‘V’ for Vendetta”, the secondary hero character is masked the whole movie, so we never see his face or know his name. He just goes by “V”. Interestingly, he is played by big name Hugo Weaving.
Because V was an idea who was reborn in fire, and Evie being reborn in water going to live on.
Ozymandias from Watchmen was great because he had many of these tropes
I love that he does the stereotypical 'villain explains dastardly plan' speech, only to reveal that he's already carried out the plan
There's no way they named a tv show character after the King of Kings
I’ve got a couple I’d like to share. One villain trope I love is when the villain is not meant to be sympathized with. He/she is just a big threat that needs to be dealt with and their motives don’t make you feel sorry for them. One example of this is Gunmar from Trollhunters. He’s a monster sized sentinel rock statue that is out to dominate the world for his own personal gain. During this time we know almost nothing about his past so we can’t find a reason to feel the least bit sorry for him.
Another favorite villain trope of mine is the opposite of that. The tragic villain whose motive actually does make you feel sorry for them or at least provides a reason so you can understand their heel turn. One example of this comes from The Flash season 1 with the villain Multiplex. He wanted revenge on Simon Stagg not just because he stole his research, but also because it costed him his wife who was it was gonna save. Stagg got rich while Multiplex had to bury his best friend. That is a big reason why that villain is one of my favorites.
TBF, most villains in kids series like trollhunters usually follow this trope. They're just bad people who want to dominate the world.
This can especially be seen that they're not meant to have any redemption when the protagonist tries to save them. Usually they either let the protagonist save them and then betray the hero, or they're too prideful and would rather die than be saved by their enemy.
To add onto this: one of my favorite versions of this is when the Villain *thinks* they have an understandable reason for their actions, but they dont't. I can't think of any specific examples off the top of my head (I'm quite tired right now), but think like someone who just killed thousands explaining what he thinks is a tragic backstory about how his dog died when he was a kid.
The fact that this means he sees "dog dies" as justification for "cold-blooded mass murder" - that he sees them as equal under Rex Talonis - only serves to hammer in how unhinged and fargone he is.
@@daforkgaming3320 yeah that is true. Even the episode of the Flash the villain they did that last thing you said. Multiplex let himself die despite Barry trying to save him.
In all honesty I just don’t think every villain needs to be redeemable or relatable.
The anime/manga villain Donquixote Dolflamingo's speech on justice in the Marineford War during the Marineford arc is a great example of a villains speech
Some of my favorite villains are the ones with a sense of honor or respect for the hero. A villain who has a code or who even acknowledges the accomplishments and strengths of his enemy can be very interesting. It makes him more human, it can make us respect him a bit more, and it can also make him more dangerous because we know he won't underestimate the hero, we know he'll go the extra mile in his attempts at victory because he recognizes the hero's strengths and truly admires them for it.
I like when villains are revealed gradually. First they seem likable. Then they show a moral flaw we wouldn't immediately pardon. Then they're obnoxious jerks. Then they're clear antagonists. Finally, we see that there's no reaching peace with them.
Some were rotten all along. Others would have retained decency in our eyes if only they didn't come up against the heroes.
The conflicted villain will always be one of my favorites. Especially when despite their doubts they still follow their path ruthlessly.
The ultimate example of the "villain wins" trope: John Doe in Se7en
Thought this would be his example in the video. I immediately thought of seven.
He gets punished, but it was what he foresaw and actually wanted to happen which makes the movie that much weirder.
Old boy
I've often thought that an accidental femme fatale would be an interesting twist. Where the love interest in a story breaks the main character by accident rather than design.
I always felt it was a mistake for Kylo Ren to cast off his helmet. As you say, the masked villain is so much more compelling than a guy with a long face and boy band hair who emotes too much, which is what Ren ended up becoming
The magnificent bastard: the guy that is obviously evil but so elegant and charismatic that you can't help but loving him
The first femme fatale antagonist that came to mind for me is Makima, from Chainsaw Man. People may love to hate her, but she’s a personal favorite of mine because of how interesting she is.
I mean, I think she’s a femme fatale, right?😅
My favorite villain trope is the “turned” villain (Bucky isn’t a terrible example). The ally who rebels against the hero. My favorite example is Angel becoming Angelus. More literary is Jesse turning against Walt. Ozymandius (Watchmen), Harvey Dent, and Boromir also work.
ozymendius has multiple villian tropes which made him much more likeable i mean his great motivation of bringing world peace no matter what the cost even if it means that he has to kill millions and his wise speech at the finale and the fact that he actually won and his plan worked is amazing
You're right in the trope, but Jesse was the hero. If anything, it was Walt who turned evil (although arguably he was just evil all along).
@@trianglemoebius Walt is the protagonist- the story is his hero’s journey, even if he doesn’t fit the standard definition of “hero.”
Redemption & Corruption arcs have always been of great interest to me, seeing a characters beliefs challenged over a period of time until they decide to defect to an opposing faction
When it’s done right, absolutely. I think a redemption arc should happen gradually rather than just be a quick turn around.
I'm a particularly big fan of the "Hoist by His Own Petard" trope. It's so satisfying when villains are taken down by the same weapons they used to inflict harm on others.
I've always liked the "villain had a personal connection to the hero" trope.
My favorite villain speech is Ozymandias from The Watchmen where he explains his plan, then tells them it has already been done.
One of my favorite "villain" tropes (though calling them villain may be slightly inaccurate in some circumstances) is either "blue and orange morality" villains, or "force of nature" villains. Villains who's worldviews can hardly be described as evil, just...utterly weird. Or villains that aren't necessarily evil, but are a huge threat nonetheless. Examples include the Xenomorph from the Alien series, where you _could_ perhaps call it evil, because it is intelligent enough to be cruel, but mainly it's just undergoing its life cycle by using humans as involuntary incubators. It's just a force of nature, doing its thing. And speaking of thing, The Thing is another great example.
For the "blue and orange" morality, Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men is a good example. Sure, his actions are evil, but his worldview is...rather indeterminate. Why he does what he does seems almost chaotic, with lives being determined by a flip of the coin. And in literature, pretty much the entire Lovecraftian pantheon fits into this category. They are on some other level where our perception of good, bad, right, wrong, and everything else doesn't even have meaning. Comprehending their motives is worse than an exercise in futility, it is truly a risk to one's sanity.
My favorite is, when different villains with different goals team up, or the opposite - start a rivalry.
For me, it makes them look more natural and shows, that just like hero needs to seek for allies and interact with people as their equals, or even superiors, villain has to do the same, in his own way
I think I’d have to say a good redemption arc. Don’t know if that’s a hero trope or a villain trope, but they’re usually very satisfying for me to watch if they’re done right.
My favorite villain trope is kind of a riff on #2. I call it the Erudite Psycho. The EP is a villain who is worldly, well-spoken, keenly intelligent, impeccably dressed, and utterly ruthless. He/she often serves as a dramatic foil to a salt-of-the-earth, plain-spoken hero. The epitome of the EP, of course, is Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
I like it when there's dangerous enemy #1, then the hero tangles with dangerous enemy #2 and when all hope is lost, dangerous enemy #1 steps in at the last minute to fight enemy #2 while the hero escapes. I've seen this in movies like Jurassic Park, King Kong, Pulp Fiction, etc. It's your basic "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation. I love it.
I like that Brandon uses examples for me I’m a visual learner and I understand better with examples. I love his videos with good examples vs bad examples.
I’m quite fond of the “villain that’s always ten steps ahead of the hero” trope as to me, it creates a feeling of suspense and tension as the hero desperately tries to navigate the intricate and extremely calculated web of obstacles preventing them from achieving their goal.
Bonus points if such cunning tactics manage to throw the hero off balance and intensify their struggle even more. A great example of this is President Snow from Hunger Games.
Throughout the movies, he pull out every stop to put an end to Katniss Everdeen’s spark of rebellion, going as far as to corrupt the man she loved into a living weapon designed to kill her, a plan which very nearly succeeded, because it was unexpected. Or perhaps when he arranged to have Cinna brutally beaten and dragged off, right as Katniss was about to enter the games, with her being powerless to stop it, because he assumed it would throw her off focus long enough for another tribute to kill her.
I got into your videos because I'm trying to write my first book. They've been super helpful with helping me to refine my characters. I just wanted to say thanks
I'd still like to see a HR department for the evil organisation that kills their own minions. Seems quite funny to me.
6: the friend turned foe. Great example of this is Alec Trevelyan from Goldeneye. They know what the hero is gonna do, which makes then even more dangerous than other villains. And another great example of villain winning at the end is Silva from Skyfall. His only purpose was to kill M after toying with her and he perfectly succeed in it.
Thank you for this video!
My favorite trope is when the villain has history and a personal connection to the hero. Trevelyan from GoldenEye and Sephiroth from FF7 come to mind.
Cornering The Hero is my all-time favorite trope to use.
In the beginning chapters of my book, I spend the first three chapters hyping up the protagonist and the supporting cast by setting up a plot line where they’re going to join the kingdom’s army and save the day… until the villain attacks their town, murders the entire rest of the cast (while also taking some damage himself to show that he does not in fact have plot armor) and literally “kills” the protagonist by goring and mutilating him and leaving him for dead with shattered limbs, a missing horn, and an open chest in a burning building.
The ONLY reason the character survives is because of his cursed sword which the villain realizes he is in possession of in their next encounter. In every encounter until their last one (two others before), the villain always beats his ass, but the protagonist is saved by the rest of the supporting cast (who also barely make it out alive each time).
Each and every time he’s almost killed, he gets stronger and learns from his mistakes, and equals and kills the villain in their final battle.
I always love a good "it was me all along" scene.
Agatha Harkness core (literally has a song called “Agatha All Along”)
The “Villain wins” trope has always fascinated me so much, ngl. Besides the obvious recent example of Thanos, another great instance of a villain winning is Lee Woo-jin from Oldboy.
Guys fun fact about me I like to sit with my own thoughts imagining a highly action show that has lots of episodes. I do it in school, at home, on a walk, in a road trip, sleeping, anywhere when I have the chance to. And I’m confident it could be a good one I just need to learn how to literally top notch animation
Definitely start writing out your overall story and the episodes. You can worry about animation later--story always comes first. Best of luck!
Yes, definitely write it down. I wish I had written down all the ideas I had when I was younger. Don't make the same mistake I did.
Yeah Ill get some paper if I can and start writing
Another good example of the hero being trapped is when Negan forces Rick to cut off his sons hand. It’s such a well acted scene although I hate the ex machina at the end of it
One of my favorite villains is Sterling from the show Leverage. He's a bad man, but on the right side of the law, while our hero is a good man on the wrong side of the law.
Also, the writers had a rule that Sterling never actually loses. The heroes win, of course, every time, but Sterling never actually loses when they win. Made him a really good foil for the heroes.
I like the "even evil has standards" trope and how it can fit well with villains who aren't just trigger-happy psychopaths. It's always interesting when a villain believes themself to be a good person and small actions that show they're only a "villain" for the purposes of the larger scale story add really well to that.
One of my favorite villains in recent time that I saw was the one from the 2000s Speed Racer movie. Wheeldon Industries' CEO was such a fantastic villain in that you felt he always had control of every piece of the story's chessboard. He's not even an imposing or physically strong villain, he's extremely business-savvy and manipulative. He had deals being made, he owned every driver except Speed and Racer X, he rigged the races to determine who wins them, sent everyone he had against Speed and Racer X, and was able to enact dubious legal action against Speed Racer's family in order to prevent them from racing again.
He came across as rather nice, hence his "mask", but then reveals himself to Speed when they meet and talk about getting Speed into the professional racing industry, which is where he reveals everything about the rigged races and how the sport really works.
He then backs Speed into a corner by forcing him to join his company or he'd take legal action against his family for unsafe equipment used in a professional race.
He sends his racers to take out Speed, Racer X, and the son of the other CEO in the cross-country race, and to boot he ends up working out a deal with the other CEO that makes almost all of Speed's efforts up to that point null and void.
And he finally resorts to cheating once Speed actually gets a one-up on him as the other CEO's daughter gives him an invitation to the big final race, including paying EVERY racer on the track to kill Speed if need be.
You really get this feeling that he's always in control no matter what happens, until of course an outside and unexpected source gives the heroes a small crack in his armor to break it all apart in one fell swoop. And that's my favorite villain trope, coming across as impossible to beat, until that one miracle happens to give the heroes a chance at long last.
I really enjoy your videos! They are short and to the point
Brandon, your videos are amazing and they inspire me to keep on writing. Thanks, my dude!
I think Jojo's Bizarre Adventure has one of the best examples of the villain winning. At the end of part 1 it gets you thinking "how will Jonathan get out of this one" only for him to end up dead, which made for a really emotional ending
Far as a villain who wins or depending on how you perceive them, a protagonist, is Ozymandias from The Watchmen. Giving his speech after having "won" with the "hero" dying at the hands of the other "hero". Which itself gets subverted with the notebook with all the plot details being delivered to a newspaper threatening all the "good" from being undone. I know many didn't like the movie, but personally I think the Ultimate Cut solves many of the issues, but the graphic novel is still top-notch.
I think a good one is when a villain is a mirror image of the hero. They can expose both the faults and virtues in the hero, and test their limits in a way that would be impossible for anyone else. One example I can think of is Javier Bardems character in Skyfall. In many ways he is similar to bond, and that exposes Bonds flaws like his recklessness, and his roguishness, but seeing how they are different also exposes his resolve and sense of loyalty to M. They also serve as a cautionary tale for the hero, because often times they started out like the hero, and the hero is forced to confront the reality that if they continue down a particular path, they are in danger of ending up like the villain. Or it can also illustrate that circumstance does not define who we are, but rather our choices. If the hero and villain have similar attributes or come from similar backgrounds, done correctly it can illustrate the virtue of the hero because rather than give in and choose a path that offers more selfish pleasure like the villain they chose to keep striving to be better despite their similar shortcomings.
My favorite example of a villain winning is
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
John Doe in the movie Se7en. The third act is so tense, with him sitting in the car with the detectives, so calm, so in control. As the viewer you just know that he's already won, that he has something horrible up his sleeve. and yet you're still devastated when you find out what it actually is. Absolutely amazing storytelling and the unhappy ending fits the dreary and cynical tone of the movie perfectly.
love your videos :)
Thank you!!
Thank you for doing so many clips on villains. I had been focusing so much on developing my protagonists that you gave me more insight into how to elevate my writing!
Thanks for making this channel man sometimes I write scripts for my theater class or just to make movies with my friends, and this is really improve my writing
Thank you for this video.
Thank you for all these awesome videos. Like many others, I’m not a writer or anywhere in this field. But from watching your videos, you’ve given me more to think about as a reader, more to expect from an industry that seems to be trying less and less, and general enjoyment overall.
Really useful analysis and summary.
Thanks--glad you liked it!
These videos are an amasing way to start thinking critically about our beloved movies. Good job Mr. McNulty, keep it up!
Fantastic. That's a well thought out reason why Vader's "join me" works so damn well.
Oh man! Your 1st subject set off a huge light bulb to an issue that i’ve been dealing with for … 3 years. I couldn’t figure it out but I’ve got it now. So many level solved. Thanks again.
Your Entry Wounds novel has interested me for some time but this just made it happen.
Great video.
As always, it is very mportant, how those tropes are handled. Especially the Femme Fatale trope can be fantastic. Or extremely cheap.
I also like, when the villain is a real threat.
Great video.
I dont know if you already covered this or not but i think a good topic for one of your next videos could be about writing sympathetic villains.
I recently read Stephen Kings It and thought it was increble. The main human villain Henry Bowers was a great example of a villain who was cruel and easy to hate while at the same time some one you could sympathize with and felt sorry for.
It made his charecter even more interesting and made the story even better.
Would love to see your take on it.
I think about a moment that I really enjoyed was when the villain, or the main antagonist of this sorta known series called 'Wayne' wins in the end. The story is the typical "Guy meets girl. Girl and guy fall in love, but her dad doesn't approve of the boyfriend." However, Wayne is different. Instead of trying to talk it out with the dad, he beats the hell out of him and bites off the tip of his nose. Serves him right tho, the dad was pretty abusive towards his daughter. So Wayne and the girl flee the scene and go on an adventure from Massachusetts to Florida, where the car Wayne is entitled to is stored by his crazy mom who stole it. Wayne and the girl eventually get to Florida where chaos ensues and Wayne ends up getting his promised car back. Wayne and the girl try to get put of Florida and return home when they get into a pretty bad car wreck. The driver of the truck that smacked into them was the girls dad. The dad takes and puts the girl back into the truck. He comes over to Wayne lying on the road, bleeding. He pulls out a switchblade and slices Wayne's nose while making a reference to the saying "An eye for an Eye." So, the antagonist drives off with his daughter, Wayne's car is totaled, and Wayne is on the ground, injured and bleeding while the police show up to the scene. Wayne ends up going to juvenile hall. Quite possibly one of the worst endings for a hero, but I love it
My favorite, is honestly, when the villain ACTUALLY wins. Maybe not immediately but when the heros give it their all but are unable to succeed, especially in situations where it'd cost them all of their lives, i love that.
Or even id they don't win, i oove the overwhelming force of a villain, something that can truely be felt to the point where even the hero at times may feel or know they can't win.
With both of those, those moments are even amplified when the villain acknowledges the heros power and things they've been through, but even then still knows it wont be enough to stop them.
I really like the wise villain speech in dystopias where they try to explain or rationalize the dyspotic perspective.
I watch no other TH-camrs that are as good as Brandon at choosing the right words to explain what he wants to convey, in a concise and precise way.
He must put very hard work at crafting his videos, if not, he's a genius.
My favorite villain trope is when the villain brutally kills a well established character and the hero feels responsible for it. Like when Hans kills Ellis is Die Hard, and John has to listen to him pleading for his life but fails to stop it.
I’m glad you brought up Elsa from “Last Crusade.” She’s the only Jones villain that’s not just threatENING. She’s an actual threat, because she’s the only one that can get at Jones’ vulnerable spots.
A great set of villain moments I recently saw was two-fold, and just so engaging. The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 7 has this guy - a returning villain from season 1 - who was a former Imperial Storm Trooper that they get released from New Republic prison to help them infiltrate an Imperial remnant base. So this "villain" has a good speech on the way over to the base about blurred lines of morality and ethics, then once there he runs into his former CO and has a discussion with him about a disastrous mission he was sent on by this CO, who is revealed as the worst of the worst via another very good villain speech that the CO gives. It caps off with 2 villains trading perspectives while the hero watches and it is so well written and acted I've probably watched it 5 times again on TH-cam since I saw it. Just Great!
I always enjoy the 'evil döppelganger' trope when it's done well
I like the more comedic variations of this, like the mirror universe characters on the various Star Treks.
I'm a screenwriter and I've been watching your videos since yesterday, hours and hours of them and they 'are' helpful, I'll admit. I don't want o fall into these tired stereotypical writing troupes, but at the same time Brandon, I don't want end up pandering to an audience too much and losing my unique voice.
The greatest ''villain'' is that person who truly believes in an ideology, giving everything s/he has to see it prevail; yet never realising that it is fundamentally evil.
Great video Brandon.
Hey, could you make a video about "changing the pacing" of your novel?
When should you increase the pace, when should you make it slower?
Thanks Brandon.
# 2 reminds me of Ozymandias's speech in Watchmen. It also reminds me of Lelouch/Zero from Code Geass who is both the main character and the villain of the series. Surprisingly Lelouch also works for #4 when he is masked as Zero. Though I do prefer either Char or Zechs/Milliardo from the Gundam franchise. Also reminds me of V from V For Vendetta for both #2 and #4.
Amazing video I love your channel
Thank you!