Thoughts on villains: masterpost

[captainhurricane]

 Because I've been thinking about my favourite and least favourite villains for a while, I want to write some entries on them. Either I will just... shove them all in this one post or make more.

What is evil for the sake of evil? Evil "just because" belongs in fairy tales, I think. Fairy tales need clear, simple evil like Maleficent, Evil Queen and so forth. Evil is simple: a bad person does bad things, that is evil. Where things get muddy is when the stories get more complicated, more mature and the characters get more human. Because humans are messy, awful, multifaceted. Every villain is a protagonist of their own story. 

Where things start to bother me is when people who like villains try to excuse them, justify them- honestly. You can like a character who is a bad person without trying to excuse them. Liking a fictional murderer doesn't make you a murderer. Proper villains, like real people, are messy and awful and chaotic. 


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Handsome Jack (Borderlands)

Jin Guangyao (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Daud (Dishonored)

Atlas/Frank Fontaine (Bioshock)

Big Boss (Metal Gear Solid)

Joseph Kavinsky (The Raven Cycle)

Ryo/Satan (Devilman)

Lotor & Honerva & Zarkon (Voltron: Legendary Defender) 

Griffith (Berserk)