How do you write a believable villain

[ThrillingHuman]

Continuing the current forum fad of asking how to write believable males/females/humans/protagonists/nuffians/shuffians/living trees and dead animals, I wish to ask how to write a believable villain.

 

[NotaNuffian]

The villain is the protag of another story.

 

[TASTYLEADPAINT]

a villain is usually the antithesis of the hero. so if your hero has high morals, compassion and a sense of justice (basically superman) your villain should be the opposite, so they have little to no morals, are apathetic and has no sense of justice. ie (Lex luthor).

 

[Syringe]

A believable villain is one where while they'd certainly bad, we can actually understand where they're coming from. Like wanting to get revenge on a nation for cruelty/injustices they faced. But they revenge they aspire will condemn countless and is MUCH worse than what happened to themselves.

Basically, we need to understand the motivations of the villain, the trigger of the motivations, and how it all relates to their end goal/end game, rather than having someone who hates all life 'just because'.

Another good kind of villain is a sympathetic one, where they have good intentions but it is laced with evil. There is saying for this as well: The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and you can dial this up to 10, and even have said villain understand this but also express that there is no other way - creating an additional layer of conflict between the protagonist and the villain.

 

[Underload]

Don't make the villains evil for the sake of being evil. Give it/them a backstory... not a sob story for god's sake... but a story, something that defines them.

That's what I think.

 

[Holder-of-the-metal-bat]

Sometimes an evil villain is just fine. Make it an evil demon that wants to enslave all of humanity and there you have your Dai Mao.

That way you don't have to ask yourself if the main character should spare them because you never know, it's not really a bad guy ... If they are evil, then you can go all out against them.

However to make it believable, you have to build your world around this ennemy, define their power, limits and how you can go against them. The progression of the characters is what should be believable.

 

[Merrikk]

Evil for the sake of evil can only get you so far, it's fun, it's mindless, and it'll serves its purpose if you know what you are doing.

But in the end, a villain is like the protagonist, they have a background and past that shapes them to what they are now, to why they do what they do. It's just that a villain, concluded something in the wrong way for either the eyes of society, an individual, or even us!

Remember, villainy and heroism are a matter of perspective.

NOW CAN YOU FUCKIN STOP SKEWERING MY PERSPECTIVE MORIARTY, GOD!!!!! AND I KNOW, I FUCKIN KNOW WE ARE COMMTING GENOCIDE, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!!!!!!!

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Dai Mao

 

[Shard]

Think from their perspective. They are likely the hero in their own story, simply misunderstood by the masses. Perhaps they were raised with a different moral system, or see their path as one that has to be done by someone, and no one else is doing it, etc. Or perhaps they are just having hard times and found that path to make their life significantly easier, with or without intention to change when they can.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Do you think most villains of the real world today care about morals/ethics?
No, they will do anything as long as they get what they desire