Empathetic Villains

This is a little indicative of something I plan to bring up in my review tomorrow, but bear with me here.

You know what makes a great villain? The idea that s/he didn't have to be a villain. Their backstory (the same thing that makes a great hero). Being able to empathize with them on some level.

Something about Harley Quinn's sometimes-terrified devotion to the Joker makes me feel bad for her (though it kind of depends on which canon you're working from, I guess). In fact, I would argue that the Joker himself is pretty empathetic because he makes us laugh, and we tend to like people who make us laugh. Mystique makes some really horrible decisions but you can absolutely see why. And Snape... well, find me a Potterhead who doesn't immediately go misty-eyed at the word "Always."

But there are less fleshed-out villains, too. Cruella Deville's motivation for puppy genocide is that she wants a coat with spots on it. Snidely Whiplash doesn't seem to have a good reason for the way he is, as far as I can remember. And Bowser - despite having become a playable character in many games - is not empathetic in the classic games, or even in some of the more current ones. He kidnapped Peach... why? (Don't give me that "they're having an affair and/or Mario's delusional" theory. It's unoriginal and you can do better.) Sorry... these are not great villains.

My point is, a great villain is a little bit lovable. Do you have any idea how many people love Draco Malfoy? The concept of a relatable villain is the entire driving point behind stories like Despicable Me and Megamind. Personally, one of my favorite villains is GLaDOS, but I can't tell you why, because, like, major spoilers. But trust me, she's insanely empathetic.

Yep, Joffrey. Everyone hates this guy. Some of us love to hate him, some just flat-out hate him. But he's an excellent villain. I'm not trying to claim that he's particularly empathetic himself, but we're privy to his background: his unorthodox parentage, how everyone spoiled him rotten knowing he was heir to the throne, and the myriad conniving backstabbers he's related to and raised by, all vying for his favor in order to advance their own agendas. You can see why he is the way he is, and while it's not an excuse, it's a perfectly legitimate explanation, and that's all we really need in a character sometimes.

Favorite Villains

We thought that, in honor of Halloween, discussing our favorite villains would be appropriate.

It's really hard for me to pick a favorite villain, because I so often find myself liking the villain more than I like the protagonist. I know why, though: Protagonists - especially in YA fiction - are supposed to be placeholders. You're supposed to be able to easily pull Harry Potter or Bella Swan or Eragon out of their books and drop yourself in and live the adventure through them. That's how those books work. This means that the authors have more leeway to create villains than they do with protagonists. Villains can have intricate backstory and strong personality traits and intense characteristics that the good guy isn't supposed to have, because it would make him less of an "everyman."

A lot of the villains I really like aren't true "villains" either. I like gray area. The best villains aren't pure evil, cackling maniacally and/or giving an overwrought speech about his evil deeds or plans while the "good guy" is hanging on for dear life. They make a bad decision that turns out worse than they expected, and they have to figure out how to deal with the consequences. Or they are former "bad guys" who are rehabilitated and have to contend with what that means for them. Or they are given a rare opportunity and do the less-than-noble thing, which most of us wouldn't want to admit to, but would probably do in the same situation.

With all that long-winded explanation, I can finally tell you... I really like Doctor Dee / Doctor Destiny / John Dee from Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. (Cue the groaning by everyone who knows that Neil Gaiman wrote that, and is sick of me talking about him and his work.)

Dee is pretty evil. You don't expect a nice person to say things like "I think I'll dismember the world and then I'll dance in the wreckage." (You also don't expect sane people to say things like that, and Dee was being held in Arkham Asylum, so you can take his dialogue with a grain of salt.)

I don't want to give anything away, because every panel (it's a graphic novel, remember) is a gem. But the best part of his story arc is when he holds hostages in a diner for 24 hours. It's great writing and great artistry and it's just wonderful in a terrible way.

He's a DC Comics villain, but I'm not familiar with anything he's done in any other comics, so I can't speak to those.

 

On the left: Doctor Destiny as you may know him from the Justice League. On the right: Dee as he appears in Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes.

My favorite villain is from Disney (cue the collective groans) but it's from back in the day when Disney knew how to do it right.  I love Maleficent.  I think she's great and conniving and excellent.  She's the classic example of a woman scorned.  She really has no scruples.  Think about how long she held a grudge.  She waited sixteen years for her revenge.  I mean, that takes some patience.  All because she didn't get invited to a christening.

And she did some intricate planning, too.  Briar Rose had to prick her finger on a spindle, where she fell asleep and her prince had to hack his way through a thorn filled rose patch to get to her and wake her with a kiss.  That is, after he fought Maleficent who turned into a large and fearsome dragon.   

Disney's Sleeping Beauty isn't the first place that Maleficent shows up.  We first see her as a wicked fairy godmother in Perrault's original Sleeping Beauty (which, if you get the chance, you should read.  It's very naughty and dirty and not at all fit for children.)  She then showed up again in Tchaikovsky's ballet Sleeping Beauty, but her name was Carabosse.  The story for all of these fairy tales is the same; Maleficent curses Briar Rose, the prince has to rescue her and Maleficent has to fight him.

Inevitably, she always loses, but she's one of the most powerful witches, one of the most alluring and one of the most vicious fairy tale characters.