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Villain Clichés to Avoid

Elinor · 2009-11-27T02:11:55Z

Who would Batman be without the Joker, or Harry Potter without Lord Voldemort? There would be no conflict for Batman or Harry Potter to overcome, and thus no interesting tale. This is because the core of every strong story lies in its antagonists. If the opposing force that the protagonist has to fight isn’t strong enough, then we don’t feel threatened or scared. It’s easy to create a great and memorable antagonist, as long as your character doesn’t fall into the pit holes of some of the most irritating villain clichés of all time. 1. “The Emperor of Evil” The Emperor of Evil; this cliché is quite possibly the most annoying out of everything. These villains usually appear in fantasy stories. They are generally older males, torturing their henchmen just for the sake of it. They often call themselves evil, ruling large empires, which, more often than not, were formally republics. They hunt down the protagonist just for the sake of it, and their main motive usually is taking over the world. Why this is a cliché: To quote George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, “No one who is evil thinks of themselves as evil.” Over time, I have generally found this to be true. John Wilkes Booth, the man who shot Abraham Lincoln, believed he was doing America a favor. He expected, much like his idol, Brutus, to be saluted as a hero. In Episode III of Star Wars, Darth Vader believed he was slaughtering the Jedi and the Separatist Leaders for two reasons – 1) To save his beloved wife and 2) to bring peace to the Republic. Generally, someone who actually calls themselves evil is just annoying and unrealistic. How to avoid this cliché: There is not much I can say about this section. A villain can still be typical, yet terrifying, such as the Joker. Just find a way to keep the villain interesting by adding memorable quirks, scenes, or motives. In the case of the Joker, it’s just the terror that you feel when he’s around. His motives are kept a secret, and that keeps everything juicy and interesting. 2. “But I’m A Hero” Ah yes, this old cliché. Those who fit this cliché can take any form; female or male, rich or poor, young or old. They may try to be nice to the protagonist, or genuinely like him or her. The main motive of the “But I’m A Hero” villain is usually to cleanse or make the world better, but the way they go about achieving it involves some other sort of catastrophe. Why this is a Cliché: They are interesting types of villains, except they are written about way too often. As with everything, too much of something is bad. In addition, the more this cliché happens, the less realistic the whole thing seems. I mean, it’s pretty hard to swallow the fact that tons and tons of antagonists believe that wiping out cities or dropping atomic bombs will make the world a better place. They often target “bad” towns (Ra’s Al Guhl from Batman Begins ) but fail to realize that they will be killing millions of people. It’s even more annoying when the protagonist confronts the antagonist about it, to which the antagonist simply replies, “Their sacrifices are needed.” How to avoid this cliché: If you truly want your antagonist to have these primary motives, you could always have them second guess things. For example, say that they are a 0serial killer. They’ve just been employed to take out their little brother, who has recently been arrested for drug trafficking. Your antagonist believes that he is a threat to society, but at the same time, the antagonist is very close to him. Just don’t make it so your antagonist is so blind and ignorant to the consequences of their actions. 3. “I Hate the World” Whenever I see a villain who fits this cliché, it makes me want to throw the book across the room. Those who fit this cliché can take on all shapes or forms. They may be in disguise, and more often than not is looking for the protagonist’s pity. These villains usually have dark and tragic pasts, and have often lost love ones in their lives. As such, they seek revenge, deciding to kill off everyone in the world. At first, they may appear to be a protagonist. Why this is a cliché: It’s unrealistic and annoying. Since most of these antagonists are grown men and women, it just seems a little silly that they don’t understand their dead partner would most likely hate them if they knew what was going on. How to avoid this cliché: I suppose the major factor is expanding upon motives. This can include anything, but as always, make sure to keep things juicy and interesting. In a bag, those are the three most irritating clichés that you should stay away from at all costs. If you do that, you follow authors like Bob Kane and J.K Rowling by creating believable antagonists such as Lord Voldemort and the Joker. After all, didn't both Nicholson and Ledger steal the show?

DauntlessDagger

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Sat Dec 02, 2017 7:04 pm

DauntlessDagger says... · Sat Dec 02, 2017 7:04 pm

A quote you should put in your stories:

Hero: "Do you expect me to talk?"

Villain: "Do you expect me to give you an answer that isn't totally cliche?"

Dauntless Dagger

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"Be yourself" is not advice. It's an existential crisis waiting to happen.
— Hank Green

Villain Clichés to Avoid

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