When the villain could just as easily have been the hero if their backstory had panned out differently, when the story shows us that people aren't just born evil and actually give them good reason to do what they do, making the hero and the readers question themselves, and are not evil just for the sake of being the villain. It just hits different
1 year ago (edited) | 238
I generally like it when the actual villain of a story turns out to be someone else, someone who the protagonist wouldn’t have expected it to be, maybe even someone they were very close to bc that kind of betrayal gives room for a lot of angst lol
1 year ago | 42
I love villains as characters, but also as concepts/phenomenons. Some favorite characters would be professor Moriarty, Frankenstein (who is seen as the villain by our main character, even if a reader may disagree), Hannibal Lecter, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, Napoleon (from Animal Farm), and a couple of others. As for books such as Beartown, where the town itself is basically the root of all problems, or 1984, where “Big Brother” is basically the system that keeps all oppressed, or The Picture of Dorian Gray, where vanity corrupts weak minds, I think the concept of “villains/antiheroes/antagonists” is treated in a super interesting and more nuanced way.
1 year ago | 6
I love villains who constantly SHOW you how smart and terrifying they are rather than have other characters mention it over and over again. Like Azula. From the moment she shows up on screen, every word she says and every single thing she does just further cements how much of a threat she is to not just Aang, but also to Zuko and specifically to his journey. I also love her because she WINS. And it's believable!!! She outsmarts gaang more than once, even to the point where literally all hope is lost because she straight up fucking kills Aang. Also she really just has some of the most iconic villain lines truly.
1 year ago | 27
I can't think of a particular villain right now, but my favourite trope is when it turns out a villain has a believeable history why they are the way they are. A story that makes you realize that in circumstances like that you might as well become a villain, and it messes with your perception of yourself as a good person. I know it's tropey trope but it's my favourite, because you start rooting for a villain more than a hero.
1 year ago | 22
I love Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. He’s kinda a horrible person but you can’t help but feel at least a shred of empathy. His romance/obsession with Cathy is so incredibly toxic and yet I was still secretly rooting for them
1 year ago | 114
I personally love when villains/anti-heroes are the protagonists, my favourite case in point is Jean Baptiste Grenouille in "The Perfume", by Süskind. That case is particular, because the protagonist is definitely not the only controverse figure of a novel where the nicest characters are at least opportunistic hahah. But all in all, containing a fantastic element in his story (the protagonist having an outstandingly developed sense of smell, but not having a recognisable smell himself), it reminded me of The Picture of Dorian Grey, in a way. As in, where could our innermost luxurious, lavish and aesthetic desire of pleasure bring us, if pursued until the bitter end? Plus, I find that the trope of giving the "bad guy" a background, as to why he/she does what he/she does, is very interesting, and The Perfume, but more in general also other works of the same author, provides us with an all in all relatable character, in the measure of him being singled out and marginalised in many occasions during his teenage years, and beyond.
1 year ago | 34
My most recent favourite villain is the wolf from puss in boots 2. I love it when villains are truly menacing and bring out the hero's worst fear. His presence is felt throughout the film even though he is not on screen most of the time. If the hero wants to defeat the villain, they have to defeat the worst or most flawed part of themselves first. I just love that.
1 year ago | 20
To quote Marry Shelley, "No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks". My favorites villains are the ones with complex motives, they are the main character from their own point of view. I really like Cersei from Game of Thrones in this sense, as she would do about anything to protect her family (and ends up destroying the only thing she cared about in her madness).
1 year ago | 48
The first that came to mind was Eli and Victor. I love the book Vicious because you can't really tell who the real "villain" is and also it's just super fun to read haha.
1 year ago | 61
Best villains are those that aren't bad by nature but have a story that explains why they are that way. Also I love when their plans aren't even objectively evil but in a sort of grey zone that makes us question wheter its not actually a right idea. Plus I love when villains have "good" characteristics. If they are funny, polite and charismatic. If they die while realizing they were wrong or have a redemtion arc, I am happy. Also enemies to lovers!
1 year ago (edited) | 144
I love it when the focus constantly shifts about who or what the villain actually is, like where we start of thinking the villain is one person, then it changes to a group, but it takes a while to figure out how the evil came to be because there is no one villain doing horrible things
1 year ago | 2
My favourite villain is every villain in Arcane league of legends. Seeing a character turn morally grey before my eyes for reasons that are heartbreaking, agonizing is just perfection. This is one of the best stories out there
1 year ago | 8
I reread the lunar chronicle series recently and I forgot how much I liked queen levana as a villain. Even though she’s bad she’s savage and relentless and I like that the author gave her a back story that made sense as to why she turned out the way she did. I like when authors do that because even though it doesn’t justify the villains’ actions, it humanizes them and makes you understand where they’re coming from even if it’s wrong
1 year ago | 6
Definitely one of my favorite tropes is when the villain is like a mirror of the protagonist. You can see the positive but especially the negative aspects of the hero reflected in them, brought to an extreme. And when as a reader, you keep thinking that one wrong choice could have made the protagonist turn out the same way. But another one, possibly combinable, is when the villain has a good goal, something the reader can agree with. But the way they go about achieving it or the things they are willing to do for it make them the villain.
1 year ago | 3
Heathcliff! he’s such an intense and anguished person who’s so interesting to read about😌 he loved catherine obsessively and its this intensity that makes the book what it is ✨ i cant help rooting for him because even though they were toxic together he truly loved her like oxyge
1 year ago (edited) | 1
President Snow is one of my favorites because in the end he is a perfect mirror for Katniss: he's not an evil mastermind who's solely responsible for all the problems, but the symbol of a system. I love the moment she realizes that just getting rid of him wouldn't solve anything.
1 year ago | 125
Strange the Dreamers Erin-Fane is one of my favorite dynamic villians, he committed atrocities that he has to live with, that you see him grapple with through the entire book, but the reasoning behind his acts are so understandable and the discussion surrounding good and evil acts, on morally grey characters and the fall out from fear based desicion making is so so profound, I have never read a book that is able to explore and articulate the themes that are present in Strange the Dreamer in such a profound way. One of the best books/duologies out there, the characters are incredibly dynamic and flawed and the exploration of the human soul and the choices we make forever resonates with me, there was who I was before I read this duology and who I am after, Laini Taylor is a genius
1 year ago | 6
Cersei from ASOIAF. Absolutely unhinged, massive narcissist, who hurts everything and everyone around her and has zero remorse.But she’s one of the most fascinating and enjoyable POV’s to read. Her inner monologue as things start to fall apart because she’s not as cunning as she thinks she is, is just *chefs kiss*.
1 year ago (edited) | 6
The redemption trope is so rare but so precious ! A villain who is so bad and with time become just broken. Otherwise I'm in love with the hero who becomes the villain. We don't have enough story like that. Im begging for more
1 year ago | 4
The Book Leo
Talk to me about your favourite villains!!
Hi everyone! I'm soon making a video about villains: the worst, the best, the tropes, etc. I need your help! Please comment with your thoughts on villains. Your favourite ones and why? Things you hate in villains? Villain tropes you like and dislike?
Your answers may be featured in an upcoming video :)
1 year ago | [YT] | 1,426