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A villain is an " Evil " character in a story, whether an Historical narrative or, especially, a work of Fiction . The villains are the '''bad guys''', the characters who strive against the Hero . Female villains are sometimes called '''villainesses'''. It is the unmitigated evil nature which distinguishes the villain from a mere Antagonist , like Javert in '' Les Miserables '' — a character who opposes the hero, but by such means or reasons as not to become entirely odious, and who may be even repent, be redeemed, or become a "good guy" in the end. The villain is also distinguished from an Anti-hero — a character who violates the law or the prevailing social standards, but who nevertheless has the audience's sympathy, and is therefore the real hero of the story. In spite of being the target of the audience's hatred, the villain is an almost inevitable Plot Device and often — perhaps more than the hero — the central theme of the Plot . WORD ORIGIN The Etymology of the word is probably Middle English '' Villein '' from Old French ''vilain'', in turn from Late Latin ''villanus'', meaning Serf or Peasant , someone who is bound to the soil of a ''villa'', which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a Plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul.1 Consequently, it meant a person of less than knightly status, and so came to mean a person who was not Chivalrous . PHYSICAL STEREOTYPES The physical attributes of the villain vary according to the culture and epoch, and are often a fairly straightforward reflection of that culture's current prejudices — racial, political, religious, or otherwise. Just as a hero is often a paragon of the prevailing beauty ideal, a villain often has some physical deformity — perhaps to suggest an equally deformed mind (as in the case of Freddy Kruger ), or a rough and violent background (as in the case of Peter Pan 's Captain Hook or Treasure Island 's Long John Silver ). Sometimes even mere violations of the prevailing dress code are enough to label the villain of the story. In fact, the villain is often impeccably dressed, but in a style that deviates somehow from the norm, perhaps only for being ''too'' impeccable — like the Mafioso in a very expensive suit, or the Knight in an overdecorated Armor . A typical cartoon villain of the 1970s in American culture is pictured at the top of this article. Note the formal black clothes, exquisitely neat Facial Hair , sharp facial features, and Maniac al demeanour. This cliché was also very common in silent Motion Pictures , when villains had to ''look'' sinister for easy recognition. The Rocky And Bullwinkle characters Boris Badenov , Natasha Fatale , and Snidely Whiplash , as well as the Hanna-Barbera character Dick Dastardly , are well known parodies of this cliché. Sound movies later added to their villain cliché the " Evil Laugh ter" and a snooty or smarmy voice. In Opera and Musical Theater , the villain/villainess is played usually by a Baritone / Contralto . PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES While the stereotypical physical attributes may help ''identify'' the villain, it is the psychological and moral attributes who ''make'' that role. Even harming the hero, or killing his/her beloved ones, will not make a character into a villain — unless it is clear that the act had "evil" motives. A common psychological feature of the movie villain is a haughty overconfidence that leads to the Unnecessary Explanation of one's sinister plans — which is sometimes just a cheap Plot Device used by the author to explain to the audience details which he/she could not express by more natural narrative means. Another preeminent feature of the villain's evil character is a tendency to abuse his own Accomplice s, blame them for his/her own failure, and punish them harshly even for trivial faults. THE NECESSARY VILLAIN Are villains inherently more interesting than the heroes who oppose them? They are at least as indispensable to the stories they appear in, probably more so. Those who stand on the side of righteousness and goodness seldom have much choice but to respond, and little choice in how; for villains, all paths are wide open. Many believe that by Roger Ebert . From Wikiquote SPECIAL TYPES OF VILLAIN
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