Who are the literary villains you love to hate? Clearly oblivious to social norms and with a power that is undeniable, villains are at the heart of a good story. They make the story happen by challenging our heroes/heroines and the worse they are, the more satisfying it is when they are finally vanquished, tricked, or outplayed. Conversely, some villains are allowed enough of a backstory that we are sympathetic to their plight or empathize with their cause. Here are a few villains we’re still thinking about:
Maven Calore from Red Queen: so devious you have to admire his cunning. Complicated character: he’s evil, but you understand his motivations, and he also has moments of kindness.
The Joker from Batman series: while hard to separate the literary Joker
from the screen versions, he has scars that make him appear to always be smiling,
enhanced by grotesque clown make-up. His
backstory is sympathetic: a struggling comedian, he commits a crime to get food
for his pregnant wife and ends up in a vat of chemicals that disfigure
him. Playing on cliched stereotypes of
mental illness, the Joker’s desire for chaos can be appealing to those bogged
down by rules who are curious to see in a fantasy world what a little anarchy
might do.
Gollum from Lord of the Rings: a slimy, hunched creature who
has gone insane in his obsessive search for the ring. While he has little power himself, he stands
as a cautionary figure of what one can become when one abandons morals in a
quest for power.
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