Thread "Levels of Villainy" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 11:01PM, Jan. 6, 2023

What levels does your villain falls under?

MIRROR VILLAIN: a villain who is the direct opposite of your hero. (ex: Joker to Batman)

LOOMING THREAT: a villain who is left to your audience's imagination. A force of nature, a dangerous, mysterious entity. (ex: John Doe from Se7en)

VILLAIN PROTAGONIST a villain who is the protagonist of the story, but does villainous deeds. (ex: Daniel Plainview from There will be Blood)

Posted at 11:01AM, Jan. 7, 2023

I guess my villain for Molly Lusc's Spark in the Deep story arc (concluded), a psychotic rabbit hybrid mutant in a suit named Nullard Blanc (His name hasn't been mentioned yet in the comic, but that is his full, legal name) would fall into the LOOMING THREAT category.

At first you only see him looming in the background, not knowing yet who the villain is going to be or what's going to happen. You then see his villanous actions, his sinister plan to set the main protagonist Molly up for murder at a hotel. A situation she manages to defuse.

And then later he appears with a gun and his identity and the truth about his plan and his motives is revealed in a typical mystery/crime drama sort of fashion.

Posted at 5:01PM, Jan. 7, 2023

Andreas_Helixfinger wrote:
I guess my villain for Molly Lusc's Spark in the Deep story arc (concluded), a psychotic rabbit hybrid mutant in a suit named Nullard Blanc (His name hasn't been mentioned yet in the comic, but that is his full, legal name) would fall into the LOOMING THREAT category.

At first you only see him looming in the background, not knowing yet who the villain is going to be or what's going to happen. You then see his villanous actions, his sinister plan to set the main protagonist Molly up for murder at a hotel. A situation she manages to defuse.

And then later he appears with a gun and his identity and the truth about his plan and his motives is revealed in a typical mystery/crime drama sort of fashion.

This person seems extremely dangerous.

Posted at 11:01PM, Jan. 7, 2023

Hm, i don't write outright "villains" all that much. Or let's say i never set out with the intention to write one… Sometimes they develop on their own as the story develops. My conflicts tends to stem from circumstance rather than one specific individual. Societal inequality, natural disasters, crashlanding on alien planets and struggling to survive against its flora & fauna, that sorta thing…

I think in the rare cases i do write a genuine villain, it's more of an uncaring one. Not the "I'm gonna getcha!" type of villain, who's only goal in life is to destroy the MC. But rather one with own goals, who simply does not care whether the MC gets hurt in the process.

I do also love a good villain protagonist though. Writing someone with a broken moral compass can be very cathartic. "Eh i don't care about saving the world today, i'd rather see it burn."

Posted at 2:01AM, Jan. 8, 2023

My readers tell me I do good villains. In fact, I tried doing one without a clear cut villain and they insist I add one.

Villains aren't about mustache twirling and "I'll get you Penelope Pitstop(insert maniacal laughter) " I tend to write antagonists. Another character who's goals are at cross purposes to the protagonist.
Bob the Grey Guy, Darth Theda and Fy-Zorla were all about making their inventions a reality whether Robofemoids or blood beasts.
Da-tu was about tissue harvesting and her own sort of revenge on humans. Lon is about Lon and "it's what Grey guys do" They're all reasonably self-absorbed and selfish and just want what they want and the rest of the universe is just something they use to get it.
At one point or another most of them have said that they're not good or bad just indifferent. They have their goals and you're a resource to be used to attain them. Often literally. After all bodies are a valuable resource, intelligence and personality is so much ephemera. You're not doing much with your body, I have a higher goal so just let me use it once I dispose of whatever bit of your mind that makes you you. (Insert maniacal laughter here or not)