#bad character

[cacw]

[mk-wizard]

Top 10 Reasons Sam "Spike" Witwicky would make a great villain

Now, before people get angry at me, I am well aware that Sam is a beloved character as a good guy and I totally respect, but Starscream is a beloved character as a villain yet the Armada version of him where he is good and honorable was a huge hit. And as it stands right now in Skybound, Elita-One is kind of villain even though she's usually a hero and I prefer that way.

Seeing potential in Sam Witwicky as a villain is not me hating on him or even spiteful writing. If anything, I think it is a great way to make him genuinely interesting in the story and actually contribute to it even if only as the cautionary tale. I also admit that this is a follow up to my last article which was a big hit about the top ten reasons Mikaela Banes should have been the human MC.

Please, read this list with an open mind.

1- He relies on others and his connections to get ahead. - Beyond Sam's skills as a salesman (sort of) and being a handyman (sort of), a lot of his success is attributed to who he is chummy-chummy with. Not with what he has done himself. I wouldn't even be surprised if he only got his job because his dad helped him get in and later on, only became an ambassador because of his wife Carly. In the films especially, he flaunts his friendship with Bumblebee like its a trophy rather than like it is genuine and he was like that in G1 too. To me this opportunistic and sleazy behavior which definitely has the potential to get dirtier.

2- He actively seeks fame, fortune and status. - Possibly the greatest hint at there being a... darkness in him. Throughout the series, Sam/Spike actively seeks glory and the shallow kind. He seeks to be respected, rich, have the great car and be the cool guy who gets all the girls. Beyond that, he doesn't seem to have any other ambitions to the point where his good deeds come across as stuff that he did along the way or because his conscience gnawed at him the way Angelica Pickles from Rugrats does. And while this can come across as a teenage phase, he never evolves out of it not even in the Bayverse even at the age when he really should be seeking a job and real life goals. Plus, when he does get big, he gets a big fat head and becomes kind of a jerk. To top it off, he's quick to forget who helped him get there (more on that later).

3- He treats women like toys (this is going to be long). - And as a woman myself, I can confirm that men who treat people terribly by way of their gender, treat any person badly for a reason that doesn't make any sense. And yes, Sam/Spike is totally a skirt chaser who sees women as trophies and toys combined since G1. Even after he got a catch like Carly, he CONTINUED to flirt with and see other women. And he was total sleaze during the episode where he was transported to the past and pursued a woman knowing she meant to be with someone else. Plus, he had the audacity to pout when he failed to win her over. Yeah, he was like that. Even though he had a girlfriend already. Though, he's a special kind of sleazy in the Bayverse because he wound up on the rocks with Mikaela due to him not being 100% committed to the relationship or was thinking about the future of it. And in the third one, after everything they went through, he dumped her which within itself doesn't make him a bad, but he did not even do it amicably. He just dumped her like garbage, labelled her as the bad guy and immediately switched over to another girl. I should also that before that, he almost cheated on Mikaela with the Decepticon Alice. To top it all off, Spike/Sam is even WORSE in the comics. Yeah... He's not even bad with women in a comic relief kind of way because if he was, he would get his karma for it and he never ever grows out of it.

4- He's a TERRIBLE father. - In my adult life especially now that I'm a parent, I've come to feel really, really bad for poor Daniel and the reason he acts so spoiled is because his father is never around. And when he is, his parenting style is to give Daniel whatever he wants and let him do anything he wants instead of guiding him, disciplining him and most importantly, actually spending time with him. He dumps the poor boy on the Autobots at their base most of the time which is actually bad on Sam's part because the Autobots are at WAR!! And we saw in the movie, the base got attacked and Daniel could have been killed or worse. A good father would have at least made sure Daniel was in the best and safest care away from violence and danger. Instead, he put his son in the middle of it. Heck, he even allows Daniel, a child, to participate in the war! Sam clearly doesn't care about his son at all at least not the way a father should and that's pretty depressing considering what an awesome dad (Sparkplug) he had.

5- He can be corrupted. - One of the things I always found scary about Spike/Sam is that when the Devil knocks on his door, he has a tendency to answer and even listen. And worse yet, accept what is being sold. The first time we see this is when he becomes Autobot X where I am well aware that he was not in his right mind and eventually came around when his dad was going to get hurt, but what about his friends? Why was he willing to be violent with them? Why did he join Megatron so easily? Moreover, he made using the parts of Autobots, yet his mind rejected the Autobot code which compels them to be good (most of the time). In fact, I often suspected that it is because at Spike/Sam's core, he is not an "Autobot" at all in the sense that deep down, he's not good. And like I said before, when Spike/Sam is winning, he becomes a jerk and easily forgets who his real friends are. Maybe being Autobot X just magnified that.

6- He's a lousy hero. - He really is. He is either the reason many things go wrong or he needs to constantly have his tail saved. Plus, even just being a good person tends to be a challenge for this guy when you look at all his bad habits. He can't commit to one woman, he rides on the tails of success of others, he is fixated on being a big shot, he will join the dark side if he can gets something out of it while convincing himself its not so bad... And when he tries to do good, he only succeeds because he's lucky or someone was there to save his butt, or he fails. Sam/Spike is not hero material as he has yet to learn how to be a good person and has a lot of growing up to do. Sadly, I don't think he wants to do either in most realities.

7- He's a bad son. - While he may love his father, I don't think he truly appreciates him nor does he take the time to truly learn anything from him or spend time with him unless it is to hang out with the Autobots. When not doing Autobot work, Spike/Sam never spends time with his father privately and in his adult life after he's married, he has ghosted him pretty much. We never see Sparkplug ever again not even to visit the family or be visited. I suspect that like all people Spike/Sam uses, his dad got discarded through a really bad fight which is sad because Sparkplug was an awesome dad to him. People who treat their parents this way after they were so good to them are clearly ingrates and if they don't appreciate their parents to the point where they can discard them, you can be sure that they have it in them to do it to anyone. Plus, he's not any better in the movies. He acts entitled and spoiled around them.

8- He gets most motivated to do good for self-benefit most of the time. - It's especially bad in the movies as he is ONLY motivated to do his studies and get good grades if he gets a car for it. Yes, I admit that most kids do get motivated through rewards, but he takes it to another level especially with how he gets his As. Plus, he's like this in G1 too. He does the right thing with the sense of entitlement that he deserves to be rewarded and when he doesn't get what he wants how he wants it, he pouts like a big baby. This trait is... troublesome.

9- He's careless. - Spike/Sam has a tendency to not stop and think about his actions. Ever. How they affect people, whether they are a good idea and because of this, he gets in a lot of trouble. For crying out loud, in his debut in G1 in the first few episodes, he brings Soundwave in alt mode to the Autobot Base even while the Decepticon symbol was right there staring at him in the face. And this would be the first of many times he would do stupid and dangerous things all because he has no common sense. And (please don't hate me for saying this) I know he's not supposed to be smart, but some of his decisions go beyond stupidity. He honestly just doesn't care.

10- He never grows as a character. - If there's one reoccuring theme I've been stressing this whole time about Sam/Spike it is that he is consistently stagnant as a good guy or character in general. He may get older, he may get a higher standard of living, and may get a new girlfriend/wife, but on the inside... Sam/Spike remains that immature selfish teenager who seeks status, fame and female attention. In fact, the only time this guy seems to develop at all is in the opposite direction. As he went down the road, he became more and more hateable and despicable.

With all that said... I think Sam Witwicky can in fact make a great bad guy as he clearly can go down that road if written right. Yes, I am aware that some versions of the guy are good and genuinely heroic, but the definitive version of Sam/Spike is kind of a selfish jerk who can't stay out of trouble.

What do you all think? Am I right? Wrong? Are there other "villainous" traits you see in Sam/Spike? Let me know.

[cortezcorteztk]

[palatinewolfsblog]

"When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatize those who let people die not those who struggle to live." - Sarah Kendzior

[coffeeangelinabox]

Power Behind the Throne

Story: [Power Behind the Throne] (original work) Prompt: #FFF [351] [Behind the Lights] @flashfictionfridayofficial Word count: 533

Power Behind the Throne

Wraith takes up his usual position in the lecture theatre: exact centre row, somewhat to the left.

He arrives early - but not first.

By the time Professor Hardcastle arrives, he is bent diligently over his notebook, pen laden with ink, poised and ready. From his position on the dais, the Professor can likely only see the top of his head, the sweep of his widow's peak.

Wrait notes the way the Professor's eyes sweep over the room, counting them at best, most likely just seeing if the amount of students looks right; watches his eyes land on beautiful Envy in the front row and Artemis sprawled in the seat nearest the door; listens to him answer a few worried questions from the cluster of eager try-hards who always start classes with such things.

And he is unnoticed.

Lunch hour is the same. Not alone enough to be noticeable, he doesn't skip meals or isolate himself, to do such is to invite the school doctor to descend upon him, to take notes, to send letters home.

Instead, he sits at the far corner of a table full of classmates squabbling about Applied linguistics and Para-Psychology and Mathmatical Principals and Chimera Husbandry. He contributes a few words, but no passionate discussion.

He keeps his marks perfectly average. Nothing outstanding and worth accolades, and nothing so dire it merits remediation or scruity.

And at night, ah, at night, he opes a completely different notebook. When he had first conceived the idea, he had thought of something in midnight blue leather with moonstone embellishments and great wrought iron bindings…but no. He is a mastermind, he doesn't need to be pretentious with it.

Instead he uses a plain black notebook, the kind that can be picked up anywhere. He writes in enchanted ink, as do they all. He spells the book closed, locked, unreadable. He hides it, moving it regularly. And they are roomed according to class level. His roommate is just as average as he poports to be.

Better still, Briar - being in such close proximity - is his favourite test subject, so he is certain there is nothing beyond the usual purile farce of disinterest to mask diligence behind those slate eyes. Nonetheless, Wraith spells him to sleep deeply, not wake as he burns the midnight oil, and regularly does a mindwash to boot. It probably costs Briar a few percent now and then, but what is that to him.

Para-psychology.

Astrology.

Telekinetic potential.

His classmates don't even think nearly big enough.

Wraith is almost sure he has cracked (nearly, almost, any day now) a process for complete, psychic transferance. He's managed it for short periods: looked out from behind Briar's eyes, left his own body to sleep and gone about the day as someone else.

Once he's perfected it…oh, he'll have everything. He could be anyone.

Better still, he can be anyone for just a few, short, critical hours. Make a few decisions, tweak a few school rules and then laws, arrange a few meetings, start - or stop - a few wars. Anything he wants - anyone he wants - will be his for the taking.

All without being any more than average.

[cuppafoxtea]

Begging people to understand the difference between a bad character, a bad person and a bad guy in media.

Bad character refers to the quality of how they were written.

Bad person refers to the morality of a character.

Bad guy refers to the function of the character in the plot; on the side of the heroes or villains.

You can be a bad character but still a good person (13th doctor). You can be a good person but a bad guy (Entrapta for part of she ra). You can be a great character and a bad person and bad guy (most interesting villains)

[khr-gilded-cage]

I don't undertand why people use beauty and strenght to define if a character if good or not

"But she is ugly and weak." And? Even if she was, she still a better person, a better written character

You can dislike the character, maybe because of their actions or the way they are written, but calling a character 'flat chested' to insult her just...no dude