The mark of a truly well-written and iconic villain in any story is that their motivations low-key make a lot of sense. In short—they’re relatable. Someone who twirls their mustache and is evil for the sake of being evil is boring. Meanwhile, a flawed character, in whom we can see a part of ourselves reflected back at us, might just become a huge hit in the entertainment industry. Sometimes, they even overshadow the heroes.
Inspired by user u/Sparkjoy4ever, the members of the sprawling r/AskReddit online group spilled the tea about which villains they personally rooted for over the protagonists. Scroll down to check out their opinions, and upvote the ones you agree with.
Bored Panda reached out to the person who sparked the entire discussion, u/Sparkjoy4ever, and they were happy to share their thoughts on well-written villains. Check out our full interview with them, including which villains and heroes they personally love the most!
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The author of the thread, u/Sparkjoy4ever, opened up to Bored Panda that they’re a huge fan of books and movies alike. “I've always found villains more interesting than heroes. They seem to have more depth as characters,” they told us.
They were surprised that their question got as much attention as it did online, but they were glad that the “fun and interactive” topic managed to strike a chord with everyone. In their opinion, the thread brought “together people who share the same views on villains in stories.”
We were very interested in getting the author’s take on writing villains well. For them, making relatable villains requires giving them depth. “Show their motivations and struggles, making them human. Even if their actions are wrong, understanding their perspective fosters empathy. A compelling villain challenges the audience's morals, blurring the line between right and wrong, making them intriguing and worthy of empathy,” they shared their perspective with Bored Panda.
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“For me, personally, the narrative provides me, as the audience, with a chance to think, ‘Wait, if I were him/her, would I do the same thing?’ and I realized, ‘Yeah, maybe I would.’ If I was in the same position as the villain, I would understand and empathize with them. The villains are quite relatable, but other times, they’re just straight-up crazy, and I find that just as enjoyable,” u/Sparkjoy4ever said.
Bored Panda was curious to hear who the author’s favorite villain of all time is. They told us that their top spot belongs to Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz from the popular cartoon Phineas and Ferb.
“He [Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz] had such a jagged childhood. His parents didn’t deem it necessary to appear at his OWN birth. But even now, in the show, he managed to grow up to be a great, loving, and awesome scientist and dad to his daughter Vanessa who simply wants to take over the city,” u/Sparkjoy4ever said that Doofenshmirtz is a wholesome Disney Channel villain.
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On the flip side, the author’s favorite protagonist might just be Thomas from The Maze Runner series. “He is a resilient and resourceful young man, and he also embodies leadership qualities. I love his character arc throughout the books,” they said.
“Overall, I admire a majority of the Dreamworks protagonists, such as Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon, Sinbad from Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Moses from The Prince of Egypt, and Puss In Boots from The Last Wish,” they shared some more of their favorite heroes.
If you want your audience to be immersed and to suspend its disbelief, then you need to get the details right. In short, that means putting in a lot of effort to build up your world and your characters. Everything has to more or less make sense in the context of the world we’re being shown on the silver screen or on the pages of a book. Nobody’s asking for ‘perfection,’ but the basic logic, at least, has to be consistent.
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“Superheroes, aliens, and magic are the price of admission. That's what I'm paying for with the movie. After that, everything else should be relatable,” writer and math teacher Christopher Burke told Bored Panda earlier.
“There can be a dragon. The dragon can swear, smoke cigars, and drink whiskey if it wants to. But if it starts talking about cigars and whiskey and gets basic facts (which are easily found) wrong, someone's going to notice, and that will pull them out of the moment. The audience will willingly accept the big stuff or they wouldn't watch the movie. It's the small stuff that's distracting, and sometimes you wonder if they could've avoided it."
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Cardboard cutout mustache-twirling villains and heroic, well, heroes do have a place in entertainment, sure. But if you’re aiming for a deeper story rather than an action-focused narrative, you’ll want to spend time fleshing out each character to make them multi-dimensional.
The very best characters in movies, video games, and books have depth. No matter the story you’re writing, ideally, you want all of your characters to have an authentic personality, grounded motivations, and a backstory that draws the audience in. You also want to sprinkle in some genuine flaws to balance out their strengths.
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Some of the most memorable villains are also going to be relatable to the audience. At least on some level. Look, you don’t have to be in the bad guy’s corner, supporting everything they do, but let’s not be naive—the villains sometimes have a point. Their goals, means, or motivations can really resonate with us if we’ve had a similar upbringing or suffered the same setbacks.
It’s a weird feeling when some of your values align with someone you’re ‘supposed to’ be betting against. But, again, these sorts of villains are the best ones. In a similar vein, quality protagonists are those who have clear weaknesses and flaws. ‘Perfection’ is boring and simple. Insecurities, fears, and anxieties, however, make for good growth opportunities and great character arcs.
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Heinz Doofenshmirtz - He had a rough childhood. His parents didn't even bother showing up for his own birth but he managed to grow up to be a loving father who simply wants to take over the tri-state area. If it weren't for that pesky platypus.
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I remember hearing a theory that Perry was actually meant more to be kind of an emotional support animal. OWCA knew Doof wasn't actually *evil* and that he was actually a genius. But due to his own upbringing and bad life and such he was effectively in a bad spot mentally. So they assigned him Perry to keep Doof from going truely evil while, at the same time, letting him work it all out so he could finally reform into becoming an actual force for good.
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Let’s not forget that most people in real life believe they’re the heroes of their own stories. Similarly, most villains (if they were real) would probably think that they’re the protagonists and the masters of their own destinies. From their perspective, it’s the heroes who are the antagonists, trying to thwart their plans.
If you have a subjective view of morality, then you might agree that what we consider ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depends on who wins at the end of the story. However, if you subscribe to the idea that certain behaviors are good and evil on an objective—cosmic—scale, a villain’s story can be even more tragic. They might have honorable intentions, but the means that they use to reach their goals go against ethics and morality. Or they always try to act in the right way, but this has unintended negative consequences for everyone.
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In the end, some members of the audience will usually end up cheering for well-written characters, whoever they are. But they, their aspirations, and their mindset have to be believable for them to be relatable.
Who are your favorite villains of all time and why, dear Pandas? On the flip side, what movie, game, or book heroes do you like the most? We can't wait to hear your thoughts on this! Tell us all about it in the comments.
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