Written by Stephen Turner | 01 February 2011

Villainy! It's a great thing. Why? Well, not only are villains the biggest employers of henchmen and minions but they also provide protagonists with the chance to prove their value to their significant others.

Villains can also make a story. A good villain will get you on the edge of your seat wondering how the hero will overcome. A great villain will have you secretly hoping the baddies will win this time. The most magnificent will be dark, seductive and leave you wondering who the real villain is, let alone why anyone would want to oppose them.

Villains tend to have a certain prestige. Just think of any of the great Disney villains, from Captain Hook to Cruella de Ville to Jafar, each is mad, bad, wonderfully wicked and each can claim their own fan club. Two of Shakespeare's most acclaimed plays, Macbeth and Richard III, are dedicated to the villain who, incidentally, get all the best lines as well as encouraging scene stealing by the actors. Some villains have become so iconic that they are as familiar as the heroes they oppose. Just think of the likes of Ming the Merciless, the Joker or Doctor Doom as an example of that.

The best villains can make a story and may even have the reader/viewer supporting them at some level. A bad one makes you wonder why anyone is bothering. Personally, I have a low tolerance for incompetent villains outside of kiddie shows, and even then I have serious reservations. If the villain is essentially self-defeating what is the point of the hero? No, the villain should be a challenge, defeat should be a possibility, and the hero must prove their worth.

Quite often the difference between a good villain and a bad one is motivation and back story. Why do villains do what they do? How did they get started? Where did they come from? Why do they want to close down the orphanage, blow up city hall, release the ancient evil from its tomb, conquer the world and laugh maniacally while doing it?

Good, basic motivators for villains include revenge, love, envy and greed, pride and fear.

Revenge where the villain looks for payback for some real or imagined slight, revenge against a world that rejected them, revenge against those damned meddling kids or revenge on those that betrayed them are just some examples. In the James Bond Moonraker novel the villain Hugo Drax plans to avenge the Nazis by blowing up London.

Villainy in the name of love is not just trying to get the girl by hook or by crook, there is zealous patriotism that sees race or nation rise over all, whether right or wrong or even just providing for the family. The Batman villain, Mr Freeze, commits his crimes in order to finance the research that he hopes will cure his wife.

Greed for power, wealth or whatever else it is you desire are commonly accepted motivators for villains. It is simple and easy to understand, and who hasn't wanted to have what others have? Keeping up with the Joneses can be hard, dirty work. There is a Biblical commandment against envy of what others have. It comes from a belief that there are checks and balances in this world that sees one rise as another falls. Basically, if one person is to grow richer the wealth has to come from somewhere and that means that others will grow poorer, so be content with what you have. All Robbie Rotten of Lazytown wants is a quiet, lazy life to indulge in sloth. He is not after fame or power, he just wants things back the way things were before the kids got active and noisy.

Lucifer fell from pride. Once the highest in heaven he baulked at the creation of humans and refused to accept these small, limited, wilful things as his equal. He feared being supplanted. Lex Luthor is super genius, a ruthless businessman and egomaniac who believes humanity has a grand destiny that cannot be left in the hands of the foolish and the narrow-minded. But he also has an abiding fear that humans will become reliant on beings like Superman to save them rather than looking for their own solutions (or turning to Luthor).

Such things help build the villain's back story, make their actions seem more credible, and may even allow for a little sympathy as the reader sees where they are coming from. It can also add an interesting layer of tragedy if you find the villain began as a hero but became so obsessed with the means of achieving an end that they have forgotten the higher reasons that once inspired them.

Though fallen heroes do make for good villains, such as the Plutonian, a Superman level superhero who, overwhelmed by continually seeing, via his super senses, the worst in humanity, and being unable to handle his own failures, savagely turns on the world and his former friends. Or the familiar story of Anakin Skywalker, who fell from his drive to accumulate the power needed to protect Padme.

Finding the whys and wherefores of the villain, learning who they are and where they come from can be half the adventure for the protagonist, but may also give them the means to defeat the villain in the end. Or, if not defeat the baddie outright, maybe open their eyes to what they are doing. Or maybe there is someone the villain has reason to fear - the enemy of my enemy might be a useful asset after all. Or, if that doesn't work, don't underestimate the value of blackmail. Maybe not very heroic but if it saves the orphanage does it really matter?

When the story comes to an end there is a general tendency for the villain of a given piece to get their just desserts. This can be death, incarceration, loss of their ill-gotten gains, banishment, social isolation, shame, failure, community service or crying vengeance on the world and starting over.

Of course, there is always the chance your hero may lead the villain to the realisation of the error of their wicked ways and set their feet upon the path to redemption. This turning of the leaf can lead to death, incarceration, ruin, exile, isolation, community service, apologising to the world, changing sides and so on for the former antagonist, but they are redemptive acts chosen by the repentant villain rather than just punishment inflicted on them by a vengeful society.

Redemption can be tricky to do. One of the issues I have with the Star Wars saga is the supposed redemption of Darth Vader. He is shown as a figure who acts out of selfish love, wanting to preserve the things he cares about. Although he turned against the Emperor, something he intended to do someday anyway, it was to save his son and heir. This act could be seen as no less selfish than those that drove him to fall in the first place. After all his treachery, the slaughter of so many innocents, and enemies as well, was Vader really saved by saving his son? The Sith are focused on selfish, possessive acts after all, would not a more powerful act have been to selflessly sacrifice all for some anonymous extra after growing bouts of doubt and introspection?

Currently the closest thing to a villain's version of the Hero's Journey is the Evil Overlord list. If you have not read this yet, I suggest you make the effort. Not only does the list offer thoughtful insight for the prospective villain, it is a font of inspiration for any writer wanting to make the Hero's Journey that little bit more interesting.

So until next I venture upon the Hero's Journey may your villains be dastardly and your heroes bright.