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A is an " Evil " character in a story, whether an Historical narrative or, especially, a work of Fiction . The villain is the '''bad guy''', the characters who fight against the Hero . A female villain is sometimes called a '''villainess'''.
A villain's disposition towards evil distinguishes them from an , a character who violates the law or the prevailing social standards, but who nevertheless has the audience's sympathy (and may be or become good-hearted), and is therefore the real hero of the story. Sometimes, a villain may even appear as the protagonist of a story, while the hero who opposes them may be the antagonist.
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 . Villains are also often criticized as being Melodrama tic.
, one of the most iconic villains in film history. makes his entrance in ''''.]]
Those who stand on the side of righteousness and good seldom have much choice but to respond and little choice of how. For villains, all paths are wide open. Many believe that '' by Roger Ebert .
Villains can be Genius es, (for example, the highly intelligent Hannibal Lecter ), Insane ( The Joker ), power-mad Megalomaniac s ( Decepticon leader Megatron ), noble ( Count Dooku ), or all of the above ( Sir Crocodile ). They may be driven by any number of forces, like greed ( Mr. Potter in '' It's A Wonderful Life ''), Criminal , or revenge ( Magneto and his vendetta with humanity or Khan and his hatred of Kirk ). They can also have a noble goal twisted by nefarious forces or tragedy ( Darth Vader sought power to save his wife, but used the ends to justify the means and indirectly killed her instead). Villains can also start out as Idealists who forsake their good intentions when they are corrupted by wealth and/or power ( Macbeth , Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane and Willie Stark from All The King's Men ).
However, not all villains are as awe-inspiring as the tall, black-clad Vader or as twisted as the cackling Joker. The character of Man in Bambi was noted as one of the top 100 villains of movie history,http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/handv.aspx an impressive feat considering he himself was not completely seen on-screen.
- – Not necessarily a villain, an anti-hero is a character with villainous or generally negative behaviour and often advances selfish or ignoble goals but most often fights alongside the "good guys" or is considered a protagonist. Sometimes, they may be heroes with noble goals but have villain-like or uncouth personal qualities. Often considered "grey" characters due to their moral ambiguity. Examples include Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid , Jack Bauer of the 24 TV series, Shadow The Hedgehog and Venom from the Spider-Man comics. Also, an anti-hero is someone who although is the protagonist of the story, shows traits which are in contrast to those of the traditional hero, such as cowardice. Examples include Shinji Ikari from Evangelion and Wario from the Mario series.
- – Basically the opposite of an anti-hero. While the anti-hero often fights on the protagonist's team, but with selfish motives, the anti-villain plays a villain's game, but for what's at least in his eyes a noble cause. They may be personally more noble or heroic than an anti-hero but the means to achieve their ends are often considered immoral, unjust, even evil. Sometimes they may simply be a villain with gentlemanly qualities or a code of honor or some sense of justice. Often considered "grey" characters due to their moral ambiguity. Examples include Magneto from the X-Men comics.
- – the main and greatest foe of the hero. Examples include Lord Voldemort of the Harry Potter series.
- – An animal or monster that is on a neutral standpoint but is antagonistic in the sense of mauling and devouring people, creating massive panic and chaos or causing unyielding destruction. Beasts include King Kong , Godzilla and Jaws .
- - an Idealist who starts out trying to reform his society, but he forsakes his good intentions, his principles, and his ethics when he is corrupted by wealth and/or power, and he soon becomes as bad as the establishment that he atempts to reform. Such examples include MacBeth , Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane , and Willie Stark from All The King's Men .
- or ''' Evil Overlord ''' – a villain of near-omnipotence in his realm, who seeks to utterly dominate the world; he is often depicted as a diabolical force, and may, indeed, be more a force than a personality, and often personifies evil itself. The effects of his rule often assert malign effects on the land as well as his subjects. Besides his usual magical abilities, he often controls great armies. Most Dark Lords are male, except in parody.John Grant and John Clute, ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', "Dark Lord", p 250 ISBN 0-312-19869-8, though the White Witch could be seen as an exception. Classic example of the Dark Lord are Emperor Palpatine , from Star Wars, Sauron , from Lord Of The Rings and Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter
- – a Film Term for the third villain in a group, often with minimal or no lines of dialog. The term comes from B-movie Westerns : if the lead villain (or "brain heavy") is the one who leads the group and shoots the sheriff, and the next most villainous kills the deputy, the "dog heavy" is the one who kicks the dog.''Plots and Characters: A Screenwriter On Screenwriting'' by Millard Kaufman (ISBN 1-893329-03-8), or ''Dog Heavies'' by L. J. Washburn (ISBN 0-312-93160-3)
- – A dark being who either is or is at the level of a god. These villains are immortal and are never truly defeated, only hindered. Such villains are Chernabog from Fantasia and Satan .
- – a variant on the femme fatale, the Evil Diva is a flamboyant and usually outrageously dressed villainess. She is often very self-referential and fashion-obsessed. Famous Evil Divas include Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians or Esme Sqaulor from A Series Of Unfortunate Events . The character "Diva" from Starmites can be thought of as a parody of this type, although she is not truly villainous.
- – a character of great intelligence who chooses to use their knowledge for antisocial/immoral ends. For example, Count Fosco in Wilkie Collins ' '' The Woman In White ''.
- – a character which is identical or almost identical to the hero, but is evil instead of good.
- – a beautiful, seductive but ultimately villainous woman who uses the malign power of her sexuality in order to ensnare the hapless hero into danger. Servalan from Blake's 7 is an example of this.
- – the villain in a match of professional wrestling
- – a scientist-villain or villain-scientist. Can easily be confused with ''Evil Genius''. An example of it is Doctor Octopus from Spiderman.
- – a villain who displays special powers, skills or equipment powerful enough to be a typically serious challenge to a Superhero .
- – a villain whose identity as such is not known until the end of the history. They are often portrayed as characters that the audience would not suspect as villains. Agatha Christie often employs these type of villains in her novels. Such villains include Ansem in Kingdom Hearts and Stinky Pete from Toy Story 2 .
- – often not very evil or even competent. Typically more ridiculous or annoying than fearsome or deadly and often serve as Comic Relief . Often cowardly when their schemes fail. Sometimes they reform and become probationary heroes or sidekicks. Frequently seen as villains in children's adventure stories where children often (to the point of implausibility) outsmart adults. Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost In Space is an example. In Japanese anime, those characters are almost always blasted away into the sky at the end of each episode.
- – is a villain who is constantly trying to expose the hero's secret to the public for his own personal gain, but always with unsuccessful results. Such examples inculde Denzel Crocker from The Fairly OddParents and Hans Rotwood from American Dragon Jake Long .
- – is a villain who really does not intend to be a "villain" and perhaps believes they are honestly doing good. They are perhaps misled or not entirely in control of their feelings and/or actions. Darth Vader is one such character.
- is a common fairy-tale villain. She may act as the witch or ogre who directly endangers or deprives her stepchildren, or she may drive them out into danger in the world.
- – a minor villain who takes orders from the "brain heavy." Examples include Tiny Tiger from the Crash Bandicoot Series and Fat Bastard from Austin Powers
- Zawacki's humorous look at the concept of a villain:
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