Want to Create a Great Villain? Take a Look at Your Hero

Villains are pivotal characters in fiction. Without someone to battle against, a hero (or heroine) is just another character in your story. It’s no wonder, then, that so many writers struggle with creating the perfect villain. With so much riding on this one character, how do you make a villain who is suited to the tale you want to tell?

Take a moment and think about the one villain you find most memorable. For me, it’s Magneto from the various X-Men comic book series (Sir Ian McKellen brought him to life on the big screen, but I was an avid comic book reader and collector long before the first X-Men movie was released). He’s a Holocaust survivor who is committed to forging his ideal society, a world where mutants rule over ordinary humans. He doesn’t believe in racial equality and pursues his goals with icy ruthlessness. Even now, decades after I read my first X-Men comic, Magneto remains my favorite villain.

I never understood why I found Magneto so compelling a character until I watched the first X-Men movie. Seeing Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart play off each other so well gave me my reason: Magneto is Charles Xavier’s opposite, the shadow to his light.

Opposites Attract

The best villains are the ones who oppose their heroes like the opposite side of a coin. If the hero is merciful, the villain is merciless. If the hero is brave, the villain is a coward. If the hero is selfless, the villain is selfish, and so on. This creates a strong force of attraction between them, like the opposing poles of a magnet, drawing them together into an inevitable final conflict where the hero finally triumphs.

How to Make Your Villain

If the villain is the hero’s shadow side, how do you find it? It may seem difficult, but it’s simply a matter of making a basic list. Make four columns on a sheet of paper (or a computer document, if you’re more comfortable writing at the computer) with the headers “QUALITY,” “ACTION,” “OPPOSITE,” and “ACTION.”

In the first column, write down the traits that make your hero a heroic character. Is it bravery? Strength? Compassion? Whatever they are, write them down. In the second column, give some examples of how the hero can demonstrate these qualities. In the third column, write the opposite traits to the ones you listed for your hero. If you mentioned bravery in the first column, write ‘cowardice’ here. Work through your list until you have a set of opposite qualities. Finally, in the final column, describe some ways these negative traits can be demonstrated in your story.

Once you’ve finished your list, look it over. It has the basic blueprint for the type of villain that will best match your hero.

More Work to Do

While using this process will help you get a strong sense of the villain your hero needs, it’s just the beginning. You’ll still have to create the character to best embody these dark qualities and the plot that will put your hero and villain in each other’s way. But that’s the joy of fiction writing.

You have the players, now build their stage and write the play they’ll act out on it.

Happy Writing!

RESOURCES
Carolyn Kaufman: http://www.archetypewriting.com/articles/articles_ck/resources_fiction_articles_archetypes2_shadow.htm