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What makes a good Villain?


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I ask this question because everyone has their favorite villain. What in your view made a villain.

 

I want your thoughts on 3 types of villains.

1) The Hero - A villain who is ruining everything  for what they perceive as "the right thing," but in reality, fucks everything.

Examples would be : Hero stops an army from finishing off X general and instead allows him to leave causing a 10 year rebellion.

2) The Fallen - A Hero (most of the time) that has a series of bad events lead them to do bad things (sometimes reluctantly.)

Example would be: A sith that sucks at being a bad guy until they purge all their good tendencies.

3) The Evil Incarnate - These guys are evil for evil's sake but tend to either be boring monsters with no motivation OR masterminds with extreme motivation.

Magneto would be an example of this. He is evil because we are not mutants and he wants to kill all non-mutants.

 

I am sure some of my examples can be altered a bit but you get the jist of it. Let's start the dialogue!

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1) This leads to a lot views on psychology and philosophy, and it usually ends up as being battle of the wits, so I very much like these kinds of villains.

2) My favorite type of villain. They tend to think as the hero, but with a dark twist. But I hate half-baked villains in this category. If you're going this route, you better make him/her legitimately evil, no reluctance, just evil. Also plus points for being like the hero.

3) Most common of these. My opinion hugely varies based on the villain itself. Most often than not, if the villain's personality is great, I'll like this type.

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1 minute ago, Arcadeotic said:

1) This leads to a lot views on psychology and philosophy, and it usually ends up as being battle of the wits, so I very much like these kinds of villains.

2) My favorite type of villain. They tend to think as the hero, but with a dark twist. But I hate half-baked villains in this category. If you're going this route, you better make him/her legitimately evil, no reluctance, just evil. Also plus points for being like the hero.

3) Most common of these. My opinion hugely varies based on the villain itself. Most often than not, if the villain's personality is great, I'll like this type.

Yeah, your explanation on 1 is interesting. Indeed, the viewer/reader is in a dilemma when catagory 1 villains do stuff because they can legitimately agree, unless they absolutely know the outcome will be terrible.

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1) I don't really agree with this "in reality" part, mainly because the point of said "hero villains" is to present an alternative "reality" and so what is right or wrong is entirely subjective to which side you end up falling on. Thus, whenever I see a villain of this type trying to achieve something, I don't have to necessarly agree they're fucking everything up, but rather they're doing their best to achieve their end goal.

As for my personal opinion on these types of villains, they're probably my favorite precisely because, if done well, they present you with a plausible alternative way to look at things.

2) This is entirely personal, but I normally don't really like these types of villains. Maybe it's because I just haven't seen one done well but most of the time I just can not understand their motivation and I feel as if they fail to understand basic logic when going rampant.

Sure trauma can deeply affect a person, but it's still very hard to me to emphatize with these types of characters.

3) I usually don't like these because they tend to just be filler in order to pass the spotlight onto the heroes. You could make an interesting mentally damaged villain, but I highly doubt they will be interesting if there's no form of background behind them.

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35 minutes ago, Palas said:

 

 

 

Nah. This is my favourite kind of villain. When a villain is evil for evil's sake, with no motivation or hope for salvation/redemption whatsoever, that's the most amazing kind of villain because it's the most terrifying.

But I'm talking about villains that can't be rationalized - not villains that do evil because they like evil, like Voldemort, or do things that aren't evil for him or her, like Lavos. I'm talking about pure evil, irrational forces. They're cool because you can't reason with them, you can't comprehend them, you can only fear them. There's no philosophy behind it, no amount of goodwill can convert it, not even defeating it will bring it to an end because true evil incarnate is the one who suffers the most, but can't go against itself. True evil is great because of its own tragedy.

Examples include

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The Devil... in some interpretations. Lucifer fell precisely because he knew God more than anyone and strived to be on God's side more than anyone. This originated evil, but now there's no turning back for him. His very nature led him to be furthest from whom he wanted to be with the most, so now there's no option but be the perfect foil to God.

Nasuniverse's Angra Mainyu. Originally a pariah, he became the recipient and then the source of all evil. He can't be purified, he can't stop suffering, he can't stop hating - and the worst of all, he forgave mankind for it. It's because of his single good act that he unleashed evil into the world. Had he not forgiven those who inscribed every possible sin in him, he'd be the only one suffering and everyone else would be forever good. This is fantastic really. Due to all this, he becomes an amazing force in Fate/Stay Night, as stated by Kotomine - he is evil above all evils, but all he wants is to be born into the world. And when it happens, he will destroy everything, not because he hates everyone, but exactly because he doesn't.

Kotomine himself. He wanted to be good, but never could be. His very nature is evil, can't be purged, and so he's evil for evil's sake - but he's aware of it and struggles, though not necessarily resists.

 

Rather you could say I like villains whose reason to be evil is beyond them, it's an irony of fate.

I hadn't thought about this possibility, but it is interesting to imagine a force that's simply pure evil.

However, in a situation like this, I would like the villain to have many advantages over the heroes, I want them to cause despair, otherwise they're once again just fodder for the heroes to kill.

These types of villains seem great for movies where the bad guys win.

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52 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:

However, in a situation like this, I would like the villain to have many advantages over the heroes, I want them to cause despair, otherwise they're once again just fodder for the heroes to kill.

These types of villains seem great for movies where the bad guys win.

I would've liked to say that Aizen fits on this category perfectly, since he did have an overwhelming advantage when it came to the Karakura Town fight. I was pretty dissapointed the way he was finished though, and the battle length. It's what pissed me the most about Bleach. Aizen, a villain that wants to defy god and his limits by becoming a god himself, who had overwhelming advantage over everyone in the series (kyokasuigetsu is by far the most OP zanpakuto), had everything planned for almost 100 years, until Ichigo trains with his zanpakuto for a couple of hours and then beats him in a 30 min fight with Urahara's help (muken). It's very unfair. That's why I should include Aizen in this category, even though he was "beaten".

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13 hours ago, Aizen-Sama said:

I would've liked to say that Aizen fits on this category perfectly, since he did have an overwhelming advantage when it came to the Karakura Town fight. I was pretty dissapointed the way he was finished though, and the battle length. It's what pissed me the most about Bleach. Aizen, a villain that wants to defy god and his limits by becoming a god himself, who had overwhelming advantage over everyone in the series (kyokasuigetsu is by far the most OP zanpakuto), had everything planned for almost 100 years, until Ichigo trains with his zanpakuto for a couple of hours and then beats him in a 30 min fight with Urahara's help (muken). It's very unfair. That's why I should include Aizen in this category, even though he was "beaten".

Freiza fought for like 16 episodes, then came back for 4 more, then a movie. LOL

Frieza, best villain ever.

Not to mention the 50 episodes of him just being evil and making vegeta cry like a bitch

 

This is a damn good thread. Everyone is so different

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I just want to add, that I personally really like villains that say "We're just like each other" and blurs the lines between the villain and the protagonist. I think those kinds of villains are some of the best! I know this isn't really a whole personality, but I think it still adds something to the villain and the story.

 I get this is usually in stories where the protagonist himself does some quite questionable actions, but I feel, like I said, it adds something to the story!

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Just now, Nebjula said:

I just want to add, that I personal really like villains that say "We're just like each other" and blurs the lines between the villain and the protagonist. I think those kinds of villains are some of the best! I know this isn't really a whole personality, but I think it still adds something to the villain and story.

 I get this is usually in stories where the protagonist himself does some quite questionable actions, but I feel, like I said, it adds something to the story!

its usually the brothers scenario.

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I think all three types of villains can work if they are well written. I usually consider the first type the most interesting, because they are often the most thought provoking since good and evil are not as clear and distinct from each other and everything is kept more in shades of grey. It reflects reality much better which is rarley just good and evil and the characters are usually more interesting.

The second type sounds like the typical revenge type. Dude lost his family or other stuff went wrong and he seeks revenge now. Often very similar to the first type, just more fallen. Also great stuff for an anti hero in revenge movies Charles Bronsen style.

The only interesting sub type of type three is usually the master mind. While a simple brute might be enough to terrorize the close neighborhood, he's hardly enough to handle anything more. If you're against everyone, this usually also means that everyone is against you. This usually means that they are either neutralized by one smarter guy or by several guys together that got fed up with him. And there are only two types to avoid this: Either hide like a typical serial killer and everyone thinks you're innocence incarnate, or you form your own evil organization of helpers around you.

In general, smart and believable villains are the best ones, regardless of what type they are. The worst ones are the evil idiots where the whole world around them has to adjust to their stupidity. The greater the conflict the higher the chance that there are other highly competent and/or scary forces involved. Usually, the villain is just as good as his opponents allow him to be and if those suck the whole conflict is boring. Regardless if a villain is truly evil, fallen or just follows a wrong agenda, only the ones that command respect for their capabilities are good villains.

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1) It would be more appropriate to just call this one an antagonist, since they can't really be called a villain, strictly speaking, lol.

2) I'm not terribly fond of this one, because it implies a black and white world view (ala Jedi) that has no practical connections with real existence.

3) Most of the worst stories have a villain of this type, because there is no need to explain his actions.  After all, he is evil, so there is no need to make him a real character, lol.

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I can like all of these, with the right setup, but I'll elaborate a bit on the one Palas mentioned since that might be my favorite.

Totally incomprehensible evil can be oddly fascinating, if done well. The best example I know of for this is any villain designed after Lovecraft - Elder Gods, Others, and so forth. When done well, this kind of horror theme can lead you down some paths you otherwise won't see. I don't think this kind of villain necessarily suffers from the problem @Clephas just mentioned in his point 3 there, because the fact that they don't have a character or an explanation are part and parcel with their nature. If you really drive it home that they are alien and Other, you can get the reader pretty pumped up about making sure that villain doesn't get its way.

That said, you need a pretty strong commitment to darkness in the story to pull this kind of villain off - if you're not willing to have this incomprehensible evil, for example, kill or rape a main character just to prove how incomprehensibly evil it is, then you're probably not going to sell it hard enough, and it's just going to come off as boring. But when the stakes are raised high enough, I at least find it to be very effective.

Deus Machina Demonbane was far from my favorite VN, but its villains fell firmly in this bucket. Some of them were kind of lame and more like the third grouping, but some of them were top-notch, especially the ones who were least comprehensible, most Other.

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1 hour ago, Clephas said:

1) It would be more appropriate to just call this one an antagonist, since they can't really be called a villain, strictly speaking, lol.

2) I'm not terribly fond of this one, because it implies a black and white world view (ala Jedi) that has no practical connections with real existence.

3) Most of the worst stories have a villain of this type, because there is no need to explain his actions.  After all, he is evil, so there is no need to make him a real character, lol.

I'm with Clephas here.  I like antagonists who are complex beings with the sorts of goals and aspirations that actual people would have.  Real "villains" in history that changed the world (like Hitler and Stalin) had complex ideologies and gave a righteous spin to everything they did that commanded the respect and admiration of their followers.  And in many ways, the reasons people followed them were even more complex.  Too many JRPGs pit you against 1-dimensional lackeys who are stripped of all character except their role as plot devices.  I find this the most boring trope of all.  If you want to portray corruption, portray corruption--not a Disney trope.

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33 minutes ago, Fred the Barber said:

Totally incomprehensible evil can be oddly fascinating, if done well. The best example I know of for this is any villain designed after Lovecraft - Elder Gods, Others, and so forth. When done well, this kind of horror theme can lead you down some paths you otherwise won't see. I don't think this kind of villain necessarily suffers from the problem @Clephas just mentioned in his point 3 there, because the fact that they don't have a character or an explanation are part and parcel with their nature. If you really drive it home that they are alien and Other, you can get the reader pretty pumped up about making sure that villain doesn't get its way.

I don't think this is the same thing like Palas said. Palas case would be evil for evil's sake without any reason. But someone who is evil for evils sake already made himself a slave of human moral values and therefore inferior to Lovecraft's beings. But what makes Lovecraft's beings so fascinating is that they are beyond morals - there might be a reason for their actions but they are so different that a mere human would not be able to understand them. Lovecraft himself once made a statement that he considers the Great Old Ones 'amoral' beings. The Great Old Ones just give a damn about humans, they are just a tool or nuisance for their real intentions which just happen to be devastating and horrifying for humans.

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Mmm... if you want a good example of a VN 'pure evil' villain... from Silverio Vendetta.

その男が生を享けたのは、カンタベリー聖教皇国の一地方。

He was born in a province of the Canterbury Theocracy.

裕福な資産階級の子弟として教養を授かり、両親の愛情を受けて成人した。

He was born into a wealthy family, was well educated, and grew to adulthood well-loved by his parents.

健康にも恵まれたため大病を患うこともなく、容姿や知能も人並以上。それもあってか友人や恋人といった交友関係にも恵まれ、社会的に孤立したことは一度もない。

He was also blessed with good health, so he never suffered from serious illness, and his appearance and intelligence were both well above the average. Given that, he was also blessed with many good friends and lovers, and he never once suffered isolation within society.

そう……だから彼には、そうなるに至った理由と呼ぶべきものが無かったと言えるだろう。

And so... there was no real reason for how he became that way.

生まれの因果も育った境遇も、真実何一つその感情へ影響を及ぼした痕跡はない。

There was no trace that his fate or birth affected that emotion in any way whatsoever.

物事には必ず原因があると信じたい者にとっては、男が後に為したさる衝動が何処から生じたのかは永遠の謎であるのに違いなかった。

For those who believe there is always a cause for everything that happens, the cause of that man's peculiar impulse will most likely be an eternal mystery.

暗闇の底ではなく、明るい太陽の下で育まれた男は、しかしある自覚症状を抱えていた。

Though he was born and raised in light rather than darkness, he nonetheless suffered from certain symptoms.

彼が他者との明白な違いを感じる、たった一点にして決定的な違和感。そしてそれは誰とも共有することが不可能で、ゆえにただ自分の中で育っていく推移を観察することしか出来ない性癖。

There was just one point where he felt completely different from everyone else. It was a fetish he couldn't admit to any other person, and so thus he could only sit back and experience it growing within him.

何せこれは、少々まずい。

It was a bit... unpleasant, after all.

親兄弟や友人にも相談など叶うはずがない類の感情だったため、持て余す他どうもできない。どうしよう?

It was an emotion that he couldn't even ask for advice on from his friends and relatives, so he was finding it unmanageable.  What should he do?

自分がその願望を感じながら日々生きているなどと、誰にも知られてはならなかった。暴かれたら間違いなく鉄格子の嵌められた部屋で一生を送ることになってしまう。

He couldn't let anyone know he was living every day with that desire.  If anyone ever discovered it, he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

そう判断できるだけの常識がある。教養がある。正気がある。理性がある。

He had the common sense, education, sanity, and rationality necessary to recognize that.

ごく普通に育ったがゆえに男はそれら倫理に対する知識も当然、持ち合わせていた。だから彼は、決して誰にもコレを言えない。

Since was raised normally, he possessed both common sense and a knowledge of morality. As such, he could never speak of it.

――特に理由もなく、人間を殺したくて堪らなくなるなどとは。

... that he, for no particular reason, wanted desperately to kill people.

ああ、神様。とてもとても言えません。

Oh my God! I couldn't possibly tell anyone!

その衝動が病気であり欠陥であるとするならば、それは間違いなく先天性。そうなるに至った理由も意味も、誓って自分の生涯には欠片も存在してはいなかった。

If one were to call that impulse a disease or a flaw, it was one that was inborn. There was nothing in his life that could have possibly made him that way.

生まれながらの殺人鬼……己がそうであることを悟った彼は、社会生活を営むためにその欲望を飼い慣らそうと試みる。

He was a born murderer... and since he realized that fact, he tried to find ways to manage his desire in order to let him live within society.

殺しても罪に問われない生き物。まず犬や猫、鳥などを代替に少しずつ衝動を解消しようと手を染める。

He began by killing creatures that would not get him imprisoned, such as dogs, cats, and birds in order to relieve his desires b proxy.

結果として、その試みは失敗に終った。男が理由なき殺意の衝動に駆られるのは、動物ではなく人間だけ。人以外の内臓や脳を見ても、何やらまったく満たされない。

The results were a failure. He was only driven beyond reason to kill humans, not animals. He didn't feel fulfilled at all seeing the exposed brains and organs of non-humans.

対して、人間とはどうも、こう……そそる形をしているのか。

In opposition, humans possessed such a... delicious shape.

仲睦まじい母子連れが通り過ぎれば、顔面をトマトのように潰したくなる。

If he saw a mother and child passing by, he wanted to smash their heads like tomatoes.

老人を見れば、枯木みたいに乾いた骨が折れる音を聴きたくて我慢ならない。

If he saw an old person, he hungered to hear the sound of old, dry bones breaking.

老若男女の別もなく、人格を有した人間であればとにかくその場で殺してしまいたくなる。

Indiscriminately, if they were an individual with a personality, he wanted to kill them right there and then.

重ねて言うが、理由はそこに何もない。

I repeat, there was no reason for it.

あえて言うなら……なんとなく?

If one were to try to explain it... just because?

したいからそうする。だからとにかく、殺したい。

He wanted to, so he did so. So he wanted, more than anything else, to kill people.

殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい殺したい────

IWANTTOKILLIWANTTOKILLIWANTTOKILL...

ひぃ、い、ああぁぁどうか神様、お願いです。一人でも多く殺人の快楽を僕に許してくださいな、と。

Oh god, please hear me! Please let me feel the pleasure of killing as many people as possible!

衝動は日々強まっていく一方だった。いずれは他人に隠し通すことが不可能になるのは間違いなく、今は辛うじて働いている自制心が決壊するのも時間の問題だと言えた。

The impulse became stronger every day. It was inevitable that it would become impossible to hide from others, and it was only a matter of time before his self-control would collapse.

そうなれば、人間社会は彼の存在を許さない。

If that happened, human society would not allow him to exist.

ここで男がもう少し内罰的な性格であったなら、自殺という幕引きを選んだことだろう。

If he were more introverted, he most likely would have committed suicide at this point.

誰にも迷惑をかけることなく、罪深い衝動ごとこの世から消え去ってしまおう。生まれてきてごめんなさい、という奴だ。

He probably would have disappeared along with his sinful desire, whispering an apology for being born.

しかし、男はその方向には向かわなかった。むしろ自殺とは正逆の思考に至ったのである。

However, he didn't head in that direction. Rather, he reached a realization that was the opposite of suicide.

つまり、こうした自分を受け入れて、明るく前向きに生きようと決意した。

In other words, he accepted himself as he was, and decided to live cheerfully and optimistically.

自分自身を肯定し能動的に生きる――ごく普通にして理想の姿である。

It is the normal human ideal to self-affirm and live actively.

それが殺人という罪業である一点を除けば、だが。

... as long as that doesn't involve committing the sin known as murder.

ならばさあ、どうしよう? 明るく生きるためには、生を愉しまなければならない。前向きに生きるためには目標が必要だった。

Now, what should I do? In order to live happily, I have to be able to enjoy life. If I want to live optimistically I had to have a goal.

よって、男はなるべく面白可笑しく趣向を凝らし、かつ一人でも多くを殺そすため、とある発想へと至る。

As such, the man came up with an idea and a plan to let him live as enjoyably as possible while killing as many people as possible.

そうだ──人気者になればいい。

That's right... I should become popular.

殺人鬼がカルトの象徴となるように、千人殺せば英雄となるように、それらしい味付けで殺していけばより長く殺人を謳歌できると考えた。

He thought that if he were to make up an interesting farce, such as when a man is named a hero for killing a thousand or a serial killer becomes a cult leader, he would be able to indulge in killing people for a longer period of time.

衆目の前で縁もゆかりもない人間を殺した後で、親友や恋人をやむなく手にかけてしまったかのように抱きしめ号泣する──

He killed strangers in public, then embraced them, crying as he spoke of how he had killed a friend or lover out of necessity...

すまない、すまない。アレを防ぐためには、仕方のない犠牲なんだ。

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You were a necessary sacrifice in order to stop that.

高利貸しや悪徳官吏を狙って殺し、弱者の恨みを晴らす正義の殺し屋であるかのような血判を残して立ち去る──

He would kill lone sharks and corrupt officials, acting as if he were a vigilante, leaving behind messages in blood...

これであなたは救われる。どうか幸せになりなさい。

Now you will be saved. Please find happiness.

かと思えば戦場という究極の殺し合いに飛び入り参加し、劣勢の側に付いて暴れながら戦の信念を説いて回る──

Then he jumped into the midst of a battlefield, joined the losing side, and preached the faith of war as he rampaged across the battlefield.

命とは輝くこと。俺が皆を守ってみせる、と。

"To shine is to live. I will protect everyone."

そして、そのどれもが上辺だけを取り繕った嘘偽りの物語。

And all of them were empty stories full of lies.

目撃者を、噂する者を、そして自分を追う官憲を煙に巻いて騙すための大仰な動機の偽装に過ぎなかった。

It was nothing more than an obfuscation to conceal his true motives from the witnesses, those spreading the rumors, and the officials chasing him.

けれど……ああ、ああ、いい、いい。これはいい。

But...aaah, aaah, good, goood. This is so good.

なんて効果的なんだろう。

This is so effective.

誰も彼もが虚飾の物語に振り回され、怒り涙し憧れさえする。勝手な妄想を押し付けて自分のことを許してくれる、あんな凄い殺人鬼ならば仕方がないぞという風に。

Everyone was led by the nose by his false stories, filled with anger, crying tears, and even admiring him.

誰もこの、とりあえず殺したいという身も蓋もない衝動を抱えているとは気づかない。だってそんなことで殺しているなど、誰も信じたくないからだ。

No one realized that he was just living with a blunt desire to kill.  The reason? Nobody wants to believe someone would kill someone else for that.

人間はなんと、他者へ神性や伝説を付属したがる生き物であるのやら。

Just how much do people want to see divinity or view others through legends?

そしてそんなことを幾度となく繰り返していけば、世に誕生するのは血塗れで同時に魅力的な、連続殺人鬼伝説である。

And after continuing that for some time, a murderous serial killer's legend was born into the world.

男の存在は闇に憧憬を抱く者たちの教祖となり、陰ながら逃亡を支える支援者さえ現れた。捕吏の手を嘲笑うように逃れ続け、国境をも越えてアドラーの帝都へと流れつく。

He became a cult leader to those who admired the darkness, and people even began to assist his escapes. He sneered at the officers of the law, crossing the border, and he eventually reached Adler's capitol.

そこで伝説を次々に更新して行き……帝国軍深謀双児に所属していたアルバート・ロデオンとの、知謀を尽くした追跡劇の末、遂に捕縛されたのだ。

And there he continued to renew his legend... and came to be captured after a long pursuit by the Imperial Army's Gemini Battalion's Albert Rodeon.

裁判の判決を受け、当然のように男の運命は潰えた。

He came to trial, was convicted, and as a matter of course his life was brought to an end.

かくして数奇な生涯は、死刑台をその終点として完結を見たのだが……

And thus his strange life was brought to an end at the gallows, but...

And here is the villain.

 

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Not exactly an individual villain, but a group. I think the Reapers from the Mass Effect trilogy are a good example of a complex villain that's evil for evil's sake. They might give an explanation for why they do what they do, but they're so much more advanced, that the organics can't even understand why they do what they do, so they're just pure evil villains to them. 

Sovereign from Mass Effect 1 is a good example. 

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Is hard to tell what makes a good villain because there are many ways to create a good villain, what I do know is what makes a bad one, being bad just for the sake of being bad, that sucks and is boring.
If you make your guy bad develop him and his character a bit, dont say "here is the mass murderer of the story, look! He enjoys watching people die... because of reasons.." it doesnt work and it's lame, I hate when writers do that like Utawarerumono, the perfect villain imo is griffith from berserk but is a bit obscure if you havent read the manga so I'm going to name a few for reference:

Kirei and caster from fs/n

Spoiler

Takuma from swan song <---  the perfect villain 

Azai gonzou from senjou no maou
Masaomi from sharin no kuni

 

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I feel like the same things that make a good hero make a good villain. Goodness for goodness sake is fine and all and it can be entertaining it can even be good. However, I feel like a charismatic personality based on real principals makes a hero great. Same for a villain. I like the joker. The joker could be considered evil for evil's sake. However, he does have reason behind what he does. He is insane so morals are not an issue for him. He has a fascination for batman so he wants to kill him but also wants him to live, human. Human villains are great and fun. The best thing about a villain though is not his motivation though. The best thing about a good villain is a good hero. They always seem to come in pairs. A villain is not a villain without a hero.

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I admit to me one of the better portrayals of an "evil for evil's sake" villain is Kotomine from Fate/Stay Night; it impressed me so much I even wrote a character analysis on him for a contest for a gaming site and it won. Sadly the site (Blistered Thumbs) is no more, but I do have the original piece on my blog here since the judges needed a link to read from.

http://gamesforadultsandeveryone.blogspot.com/2012/12/characters-with-character-kirei-kotomine.html

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Does kirei fits into the description of  "evil for evil's sake" ? I don't think so, evil for evil's sake are the villain in Disney movies (bland. dull, bad without reason, they just are, period.), kirei has a lot of depth into his character which you described really well in your review.

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