On Writing: 10 Villain Archetypes
I’m going to talk more about villains in the future – I could probably talk about them forever. This post just briefly looks at some common villain archetypes. If you’re struggling with the antagonistic side of your story, figuring out what type of villain/antagonist you have or want to have can help. Of course, stories can have multiple villains of multiple archetypes, and characters can overlap slightly into one or more archetype. These are just a couple of examples.
Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
Also known as the moustache twirler. Revisit any pre-90s Disney film and you’ll find this villain. These villains aren’t necessarily badly written; they’re perfect in comedy and children’s media. But this is where they should stay. If you’re writing something more mature and complex, this villain can be tricky to work with. They usually have a weak motivation for being evil, or are simply evil for evil’s sake. I mean...Maleficent sentenced a baby to death because she wasn’t invited to a birthday party.
Other examples include Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations and the Wicked Queen from Snow White
Sauron from The Lord of the Rings
This evil has been around for a long time, and now it’s awake again. The return of this evil is feared by many. They often symbolise evil itself, or something else with inherently evil connotations (take the temptation of the Ring, for example). This villain isn’t always always a super compelling character, but are a strong villain in presence and in threat. We don’t learn much about Sauron as a character in the LOTR trilogy, but it’s well-established that he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
Other examples include Dormammu from Doctor Strange and Cthulu from H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories
The great white shark from Jaws
Sometimes similar to the ancient evil, but not always as sentient and is openly referred to as not being more sentient than an animal. This can be a bit of a grey area though; Smaug is more intelligent than the average animal, but could still be classed as a beast.
Other examples include Ganon from The Legend of Zelda, Godzilla and the Basilisk from The Chamber of Secrets
4. The Dark Lord/Dictator
Voldemort and his followers from Harry Potter
They don’t necessarily want to destroy the world, but they do want to own it. Their ideology is superior, and they either want to maintain the status quo and keep it under their control, or gain control of a society they deem beneath them. These guys are powerful and unpleasant, and often the final boss of the story while their henchmen are powerful secondary villains.
Other examples include President Snow from The Hunger Games and Cersei and Joffrey Lannister from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire
The Joker from The Dark Knight, and also other Batman things
While this villain can have physical strength and power, their advantage lies more in wits and intelligence. They always have a plan, and they’re always thinking ahead. A common trope when dealing with this archetype is also to depict them as insane. Being super smart but also evil = insanity, apparently. This can be done well, though (see any version of the Joker that isn’t J**** L***). It’s popular for this villain to appear in stories with an intelligent protagonist, and so it turns into a battle of wits more than just punching each other.
Other examples include James Moriarty Sherlock Holmes and Loki from Thor
Regina George from Mean Girls
Bullies usually work best in smaller, more intimate settings. They often fall under the dictator category as well, though obviously less violent. Often, this character falls more under antagonist than villain; calling them “evil” might be overstepping the mark a little. This depends on the character, of course. They’re not pleasant to deal with, but fit more into an everyday setting than an epic battle of life and death.
Other examples include Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter and Ms Trunchbull from Matilda
(Sidenote: googling examples of bullies gave me the barracuda from Finding Nemo, but, um...I feel like eating someone’s wife and children is a step above bullying so keep that in mind I guess)
Bucky Barnes from Captain America: The Winter Soldier
This character was good once, but something happened to them. An injustice was inflicted on them and warped them into something terrible, convincing them the only way forward was through violent acts. They were overtaken by temptation and lost their sense of morality. They were turned into a villain against their will through magic or manipulation. Having a character like this is a useful way to play with the topics of redemption and forgiveness, and to examine how far someone has to go before they’ve fully become a villain.
Other examples include Jack from The Shining and Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars
Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender
Some villains act the way they do because they’ve been manipulated, or fed false information abut the cause they’re fighting for. Maybe it’s possible for them to learn and improve from their mistakes if the hero gives them a chance. This won’t work with every villain; some people are beyond redemption. People are often too quick to demand redemption for (handsome white male) villains who’ve done terrible, unforgivable things because reasons. Even for these characters, redemption can be possible. But it should be thematically relevant and not just for redemption’s sake.
Other examples include Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy and the Terminator from Terminator 2
9. Someone’s Hero, Someone’s Villain
Erik Killmonger from Black Panther
This is the villain with a more understandable motivation, you could say. To someone else, this person speaks true of their ideals and the injustices they face. This person is fighting for them. The villain’s cause isn’t necessarily something the main hero disagrees with, or something inherently evil. It’s the methods that are the problem. The ideologies of this villain force the hero to question their own beliefs and examine themselves critically. Their antagonist teaches them something new.
Other examples include Magneto from X-Men and Amon from Avatar: The Legend of Korra
Now so popular in animated films that it’s no longer a surprise, this villain is portrayed as being a good guy at the beginning. This can be effective if the character is given enough time as a good guy to really make an impact when they switch sides, especially if they have a strong relationship with the hero. A common mistake with this villain is when they go through a complete character shift after their big reveal. Yes, parts of them have been kept secret, but they should still be believable as the same person. Sometimes it’s obvious to the reader who the surprise villain is; sometimes that’s intentional. But the hero has to discover this throughout the course of the story.
Other examples include Bellwether from Zootopia and Rose from Get Out
(sidenote: this can work in reverse where the hero has been led to believe a certain character is the villain, but the twist is that they’re wrong. See Snape from The Philosopher’s Stone and the Mandarin from Iron Man 3.)
