Villian Origin Story Novels

[MakBow]

I notice that I've never really seen a villain origin story novel unless I just suck at exploration.

I know there are things like Overlord, where the MC transmigrated into the villain role and they adapt to that role, but I've never seen an actual MC start off decent, neutral, or good but slowly descend into the role of a villain where they either return to being neutral or they stay as the villain.

This is one thing I intend to do with my MC, to start as good, but slowly descend into the villain role as I torture him.

My Novel: Cursed Hand: With Simple Curses, I Annihilated Everything Using the [Cursed Hand] | Scribble Hub

If you know any novels that follow this premise, link it.

 

[LiteraryWho]

Star Wars prequel novelizations?

 

[MakBow]

Star Wars prequel novelizations?

I have no idea what that is.

 

[Sylver]

I don't know any, but my future book 2 is going this route if you're interested cx

 

[Avarice_Of_The_Seven]

I know so many stories that fit your description that I don't even know which one to recommend.

Also, the concept of villain is based on perception.

For example;

A swordsmen drove away the wolf that had been hunting the sheep.
He may be a hero from the sheep's point of view but he will be a 'Villain' from the wolf's point of view.(if you don't know why... then you are a lost cause.)

 

[MakBow]

I know so many stories that fit your description that I don't even know which one to recommend.

Also, the concept of villain is based on perception.

For example;

A swordsmen drove away the wolf that had been hunting the sheep.
He may be a hero from the sheep's point of view but he will be a 'Villain' from the wolf's point of view.(if you don't know why... then you are a lost cause.)

And I am fine that. my MC is going to do things that will make some people see him as the hero, but others will see him as the villain. The problem is that there is usually no moral ambiguity or no questioning.

Example:
An MC nukes an entire city for world domination per the way of his country. He is seen as a hero by his people, but nuked, see him as the villain. The ambiguity is that if this was really the right choice.
Yes, they were the enemies but was nuking them necessary to make a statement or could he have made a statement a far less brutal way.
THAT'S what I want.

 

[LiteraryWho]

I have no idea what that is.

 

[Nekyo]

In my story Voidlight the one of the two main characters is a demon that devoured countless people, Volume 4 or 5 will talk about the backstory of them and how he became the strongest most feared demon and how she became the warrior strong enough to stop him! I'm just about wrapping up Volume 2 still so it might take me a bit before getting there, but hopefully this year!

 

[Eldoria]

The main antagonist in my fiction is the incarnation of the collective trauma of world history. She isn't simply evil for evil's sake; she's evil because the world makes her evil.

She is a representation of what will happen if a rotten world continues to hurt its victims? And well, the world gave birth to a monster from its own womb.

"If the world calls me a monster, then the world created me first.” - Black Mist Princess

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Usually villain origin stories are either very short (like a single issue of a comic book), or are "reimaginings" that generally make an established villain a bit more human and less villainous (Wicked for one example of this, and the sequel; there was also one about the Sheriff of Nottingham that I never saw the book and the movie was either delayed for a LONG time or scrapped - it essentially made everyone a bad guy but Prince John the worst and Robin worse than the Sheriff but not by much from what I've heard). The longest villain origin story is John Norman's Gor series which had the MC a hero for the first five or six books before he went from "ineffective solution" to "part of the problem" to "guy in control of the problem (and loving it)."
They're rare because they're usually not popular frequently not very well done, just kind of fun but not much more than that.
I have seen some good ones - but they usually feature "less dark" villains. I, Strahd by P. N. Elrod and the two-part origin of the lich Azalin for the Ravenloft setting for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons come to mind, as do any of the stories about Victor Von Doom from Mavel Comics (except the movies), But that's about it.

 

[FRWriter]

I notice that I've never really seen a villain origin story novel unless I just suck at exploration.

I know there are things like Overlord, where the MC transmigrated into the villain role and they adapt to that role, but I've never seen an actual MC start off decent, neutral, or good but slowly descend into the role of a villain where they either return to being neutral or they stay as the villain.

This is one thing I intend to do with my MC, to start as good, but slowly descend into the villain role as I torture him.

My Novel: Cursed Hand: With Simple Curses, I Annihilated Everything Using the [Cursed Hand] | Scribble Hub

If you know any novels that follow this premise, link it.

Add the correct tags or brace for instant 1 star reviews.

 

[MakBow]

Add the correct tags or brace for instant 1 star reviews.

What are you talking about? Those are the correct tags. You may not see them now, but they will appear.

 

[FRWriter]

What are you talking about? Those are the correct tags. You may not see them now, but they will appear.

... this isn't how it works. They need to be present at the start!

You can't say: "This is an antihero story," only for it to change after 20 chapters when it's clear that the MC is an outright villain.

Tags are not "changing"; tags that get updated and added after a certain point in the story. They are there for people to know what they are getting into.

 

[MakBow]

... this isn't how it works. They need to be present at the start!

You can't say: "This is an antihero story," only for it to change after 20 chapters when it's clear that the MC is an outright villain.

Tags are not "changing"; tags that get updated and added after a certain point in the story. They are there for people to know what they are getting into.

The tags are never going to change at a certain point. They stay there as they are. In Shadow Slave, romance isn't present for a LONG time, but it does pop up eventually.

It's the same thing here. Certain aspects will appear rather early or later and at the beginning.

And he's not a villain at the start. I never said that. He's starting as a good person but slowly becoming the villain. There isn't a tag for that.

 

[FRWriter]

The tags are never going to change at a certain point. They stay there as they are. In Shadow Slave, romance isn't present for a LONG time, but it does pop up eventually.

It's the same thing here. Certain aspects will appear rather early or later and at the beginning.

And he's not a villain at the start. I never said that. He's starting as a good person but slowly becoming the villain. There isn't a tag for that.

Good luck with that. Also takes big balls to compare your own story to Shadow Slave.

Of course, a story can change in scope after hundreds and hundreds of chapters, so adding a tag if that happens is normal and perfectly acceptable. It's most likely the case because the Author didn't anticipate the scope and the length of his own work.
But you already have a very firm understanding of where you want your story to go. It feels like deception to the reader if you do not clarify that in the summary and in the tags.

You will have to pay the consequences for that should your story ever have a few readers and manage to actually reach the point in the story where he changes like that. Readers want to know what they're getting into, and there is an "Evil Protagonist" tag. Some readers, albeit a minority, will react very loudly to things like that, while a large part will simply drop it and rate it as a 1/5.

 

[MakBow]

Good luck with that. Also takes big balls to compare your own story to Shadow Slave.

Of course, a story can change in scope after hundreds and hundreds of chapters, so adding a tag if that happens is normal and perfectly acceptable. It's most likely the case because the Author didn't anticipate the scope and the length of his own work.
But you already have a very firm understanding of where you want your story to go. It feels like deception to the reader if you do not clarify that in the summary and in the tags.

You will have to pay the consequences for that should your story ever have a few readers and manage to actually reach the point in the story where he changes like that. Readers want to know what they're getting into, and there is an "Evil Protagonist" tag. Some readers, albeit a minority, will react very loudly to things like that, while a large part will simply drop it and rate it as a 1/5.

I'm not comparing my story to shadow slave, but rather the idea that the tag shows up much after. Don't add words to something I didn't say.
And no, I do make it clear in the title, although it is vague as well mentioned ideas of revenge and misfortune.

 

[L1aei]

The six comments above me? Yeah, that's how you write a villain origin story in real life.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The tags are never going to change at a certain point. They stay there as they are. In Shadow Slave, romance isn't present for a LONG time, but it does pop up eventually.

It's the same thing here. Certain aspects will appear rather early or later and at the beginning.

And he's not a villain at the start. I never said that. He's starting as a good person but slowly becoming the villain. There isn't a tag for that.

It sounds like you're following John Norman's lead with the Gor novels. I know one person who read (and loved - but also warned others away from!) the entire series - and about eight who only made it through three or four books, ditching when Tarl Cabot started showing signs of "breaking bad."
Villains do seem to be more popular of late (though usually somewhat redeemed, c.f. Maleficent, or 60% of the plotlines of Once Upon a Time), So maybe you're putting this out at a good time for it. Just be prepared for your early fans to get quite upset with you when your MC starts his "heel turn." It may not happen - they may love the setting and writing enough to enjoy having to now hate a character they once empathized with. If so, good on you. Just, be prepared for the worst and, if it doesn't happen, success will be even sweeter.