Antagonists and villains come in many shades. You have society, nature, a nemesis, and most of the time the protagonist is their own antagonist as well.
In the following post, I will specifically talk about villains. Keep in mind, not every story has a villain, but if they do, they should be complex and interesting characters. Often, they are even more intriguing than the protagonist themselves. But how can you create a memorable villain? To achieve this, keep the following question in mind:
What is the connection between the villain and the protagonist?
Don’t get me wrong. The villain and the protagonist don’t need to have a relationship. They don’t have to be lovers or family members or friends. But as the story unfolds, a thematic connection should become clear: a single theme, ideally the story’s controlling idea, connects the protagonist to the villain. Even if the two forces never meet, their significance to the story should be connected.
Most characters in a story relate to the protagonist in a certain way. They fulfill a role that underlines certain traits of the protagonist. Just to name a few:
- The Stake Character
Personifies what’s at stake, what the protagonist stands to lose if they fail. Often a family member, friend or lover.
Examples: Prim in Hunger Games, Darin in Ember in the Ashes. - The Foil Character
The opposite of the protagonist, underlines the protagonist’s weaknesses/shortcomings.
Example: Watson in Sherlock Holmes, Peeta in Hunger Games - The Mentor
The higher morale, the “Superego”, personifies what the protagonist needs to learn.
Example: Dory and Crush in Finding Nemo
Ideally, the villain should fulfill a similar role. They don’t only stop the protagonist from reaching their goal. No, their actions force the protagonist to take a look at their own selfs. In other words, the villain’s actions affect the protagonist’s outer and inner conflict and thus challenge them to overcome their core flaw.
Here is a list of different types of villains. I might update this from time to time when I discover a new type I find interesting:
- The “ID” villain (Hello, Freud!)
Personifies the protagonist’s worst traits and therefore brings out the worst in them. Often, they are who the protagonist could have become if it weren’t for the events of Act 2 and the lessons of the superego/the mentor. It might even be the protagonist’s “dark side”.
Examples: the usual suspects: Darth Vader, Sauron and Voldemort- Notice, most epic fantasies have this type of villain. This is due to the tempting nature of the magic system involved in these stories and the Good side vs. Dark side trope
- The “this is what you made me” villain
Personifies a problem in nature or society, in which case the protagonist is actively involved in either nature or society. Examples: Joker and Bane in Batman, Bellwether in Zootopia - The “Past” villain
Connected to the protagonist’s past and often part of the protagonist’s “Ghost”, the traumatic event that caused the flaw they are struggling to overcome.
Examples: Scar in Lion King - The “Found Family” villain
This one is connected to the “Past” villain, but it’s a little more complicated. The protagonist finds a new family in the villain even though the villain might have been the reason for their family’s death. Sometimes, the protagonist is even aware of the villain’s dark past, but they just can’t help but love them because of their flaw.
Examples: Thomas in Crimson Peak, The Butcher in Gangs of New York, Frank Costello in The Departed, Gothel in Tangled - The “power-hungry Bully” villain
Points out the protagonist’s worst flaw. The Bully knows your protagonist’s weak spots, and they love to push their buttons. What they want is power over the protagonist. But once the protagonist has overcome their flaw, they often lose this power — unless they have an angry army at their back, of course.
Examples: Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones, Lord Farquaad from Shrek - The “Theme” villain
Often, these villains are one of the former types but the main theme is so strong in them, they deserve their own category. These villains can be easily spotted in speculative fiction in which the world’s main fantastical element creates a villain corrupted by this element.
Examples: Goddard in Scythe, Lucian Darnay’s father in The Binding
In the end, the type of villain your story needs depends on the type of character arc you want to portray. So, in order to create a memorable villain, take a look at your protagonist and at your Controlling Idea first. What is the core flaw your protagonist is struggling with? What is their character arc? What theme is directly linked to their development?
Example
Let’s take a look at an example to clarify this. The best way to find your villain, is to take a look at your protagonist.
So, what if your character’s core flaw is rooted in their arrogance? They think themselves the mightiest, the prettiest, the most significant person in their universe. They can do whatever they want to whomever they want, because everybody is beneath them.
What needs to happen to this character for him to realize that he has to change? In the case of Kuzco, the answer is obvious: we take everything away from them. This is a common occurrence with arrogant characters, as they rarely set out on an adventure that will change them of their own accords. The same thing happens to Thor in the first movie, where he is banished to earth and his hammer is taken away from him.
So, we need a villain who does just that: take everything away from them. Tear them from their throne and throw them down a cliff (or turn them into a llama, sure, that works, too). Now, how do we connect them thematically? The plot connection is clear enough: Somebody wants the throne or something else that the main character stood in the way off. But a thematic connection is different. In the case of Kuzco, Yzma believes she is just as amazing and great and wonderful as Kuzco himself, thus making her equally horrible and arrogant — so horrible and arrogant in fact, that her partner in crime switches sides by the end of the movie.
The connection between your protagonist and villain will vary depending on the type of story you are aiming for. In the case of “The Emperor’s New Groove”, Yzma makes for the perfect villain. The thematic connection between her and Kuzco is strong enough, but not too strong for the story to become too serious. The stronger the bond between your protagonist and villain is, the more intense the internal conflict and the story will be.
Sara Han 