TOPIC OF THE WEEK – Who is the best villain in any book/movie of all time?

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Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 49 total)
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  • #82605
    Linyang Zhang
    @devastate-lasting
      • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
      • Total Posts: 1700

      @kathleenramm I really love villains but as soon as you asked this question I forgot about all of them :P.

      Though I guess generally I like secondary villains more…and since I haven’t really read/watched anything with villains in them I can’t really say…

      But a lot of anime I like have very good villains! Like Lelouch from Code Geass, the Homunculi from FMAB, and the Akatsuki from Naruto. I think that generally, though, what makes a good villain (or any character, really) is if they have a paradoxial complexity to them and their motivations.

      Lately, it's been on my brain
      Would you mind letting me know
      If hours don't turn into days

      #82636
      Erin G
      @erinramm
        • Rank: Charismatic Rebel
        • Total Posts: 24

        @overcomer

        Yeah. I thought Moriarty was cool because of the image I got in my head whenever the author described him in the books. From what I remember, he compared Moriarty to a spider weaving webs and pulling strings and all that. So cool. 🙂

        Ernesto is from Pixar/Disney’s Coco.

        #82644
        Kathleen
        @kathleenramm
          • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
          • Total Posts: 635

          @devastate-lasting

          I definitely agree that the best characters, including the villains, are the ones that have internal conflict and compelling motivations.

          I also like villains and antagonists that scarily resemble the protagonist at his worst. The villain being a reminder to the protagonist that he easily become just like the villain himself if he went down the wrong path.

          It makes the villain more sympathetic, but also more scary because he’s just the protagonist gone wrong.

           

          #82649
          Linyang Zhang
          @devastate-lasting
            • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
            • Total Posts: 1700

            @kathleenramm Oh yeah! They say one way to craft a really good villain is to take your main character but twist him wrong. Though, I must say, this wouldn’t work if you have multiple villains.

            Personally when writing I like writing from my villain’s POV most. It makes him seem more human to me.

            Lately, it's been on my brain
            Would you mind letting me know
            If hours don't turn into days

            #82653
            Kathleen
            @kathleenramm
              • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
              • Total Posts: 635

              @devastate-lasting

              Yeah you wouldn’t be able to do it with all the villains in your story if you had multiple, but you could do it with one of them.

              Kinda like in the LOTR how Sauron and Saruman were nothing like Frodo, but Gollum was eerily like him. Gollum was the exact thing that would happen to Frodo if he let the ring corrupt him, which was what was slowly happening to Frodo throughout the trilogy.

              It’s really interesting that you like writing from the villain’s POV.

              Do you like reading the villain’s POV in other books? I actually haven’t read any books were having the villain’s POV was implemented well. From the books I’ve read that had the villain’s POV, it was always boring because 1) you weren’t cheering them on and 2) I didn’t like that character, and I didn’t  like being in their head.

              How do you write your villain’s POV so that it isn’t boring or annoying?

              I haven’t quite figured out how to do that yet. But I think that if you can pull it off, it can add lots of depth and suspense to your novel.

              #82654
              Linyang Zhang
              @devastate-lasting
                • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                • Total Posts: 1700

                @kathleenramm I really like villains in general, but they have to have some sort of element to them that I like. For example, I really disliked Count Olaf, but he was a really great villain.

                So my saga has a wide cast of characters, all of whom appear in some way or another. A character may be a hero in one book but a villain in another, depending on whose point of view it is. Also, I write a lot of tragedies, so usually the main character himself is the villain.

                Lately, it's been on my brain
                Would you mind letting me know
                If hours don't turn into days

                #82675
                Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                @william-starkey
                  • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                  • Total Posts: 634

                  @devastate-lasting

                  [quote quote=82654]A character may be a hero in one book but a villain in another, depending on whose point of view it is.[/quote]

                  I LOVE THOSE KINDS OF BOOKS!

                  Have you read the Murder of Roger Ackroyd? Or Endless Night? Both by Agatha Christie.


                  @kathleenramm
                  I just thought I’d add two more villains to my list; Bane from The Dark Night Rises, and Moriarty from the RDJ Sherlock Holmes.

                  Reason One: Both Bane and the Joker are great villains for their parts in inflicting mass terror in the city of Gotham. The Joker specialized in mental terror, while Bane worked mainly more in physical terror. Plus, both villains were really good at forcing the hand of Bruce Wayne. Not to mention that The Dark Night Rises was a great movie. Has anyone here watched it?

                  Reason Two: Moriarty was such a great villain in those movies because of his character type in relation to Sherlock Holmes. In many ways they were Parallel Characters; this made Moriarty practically an evil Sherlock Holmes. Though Holmes was quite different and unique in his own ways.


                  @overcomer
                  I haven’t read the books (though I own them), but I do definitely want to read them sometime.

                  #82679
                  Linyang Zhang
                  @devastate-lasting
                    • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                    • Total Posts: 1700

                    @leon-fleming I’m afraid I’ve only read And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express. I should read more of her, though. I love her writing.

                    I guess mainly I want to portray “messed up people doing messed up things in a messed of world”, because honestly, that really is what life is like, right? Just different degrees of “messed up”.

                    Lately, it's been on my brain
                    Would you mind letting me know
                    If hours don't turn into days

                    #82688
                    Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                    @william-starkey
                      • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                      • Total Posts: 634

                      @devastate-lasting Ohhhh, both those are great ones! Yeah, her writing style is stupendous; reading her books gave me several ideas for mystery novels, too. But, of course, I don’t really have time. I definitely plan on writing them, though! I think one of them will turn out quite well.

                      I’m getting itchy; itchy to write prose. I mean, REALLY ITCHY. I want to work on my mystery project entitled Letters, but I also want to work on my fantasy novel. ooooooooooo…I just don’t know.

                      I get what you mean; all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and none can enter the kingdom of heaven besides those whom He has saved, and that of Himself. But there is a light amid the darkness and no darkness can pierce it nor comprehend it. Which is quite wonderful.

                      Endless Night is one of my favourites. But it’s also one of AC’s that I really don’t like! I can’t stand it, but it’s on my favourites list. A very well crafted book. Another one of my favourites of her’s is The Secret of Chimneys. Great novel, that.

                      #82690
                      Linyang Zhang
                      @devastate-lasting
                        • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                        • Total Posts: 1700

                        @leon-fleming Your words ring very true. Thank you for the reminder.

                        Thanks for the recommendations! I’ll be sure to check them out once libraries open again.

                        Lately, it's been on my brain
                        Would you mind letting me know
                        If hours don't turn into days

                        #82691
                        Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                        @william-starkey
                          • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                          • Total Posts: 634

                          @devastate-lasting Truth from another source, indeed; you’re welcome! 🙂

                          You’re welcome again! (XD) Yeah, that’s too bad about the libraries, though…

                          #82697
                          Michelle Black
                          @michelle
                            • Rank: Wise Jester
                            • Total Posts: 87

                            I just saw this and wanted to join lol I know lots of good villains so it is hard to pick one. How about Ursula from the little mermaid:)

                            #82702
                            Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                            @william-starkey
                              • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                              • Total Posts: 634

                              @michelle Yes, she is quite villainous! Have you read the original fairy tale that the story was based off?

                              #82705
                              Michelle Black
                              @michelle
                                • Rank: Wise Jester
                                • Total Posts: 87

                                @leon-fleming  *claps* OH YEAH I love reading the original fairy tales and books Disney movies are based on, sometimes I even like them better. How about you?

                                P.S. There are even videos floating around on the internet about how Ursula wasn’t really the villain of the movie. XD Gotta love the internet

                                #82706
                                Alien and Sojourner in a Foreign Land
                                @william-starkey
                                  • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                                  • Total Posts: 634

                                  @michelle Cool! I read fairy tales and the like all the time. Yeah, sometimes they are better, but I like them both usually anyways. XD

                                  Really? Well, it could have been Ariel, but that’s just me. XD

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