How To: Create A good Evil Character

NOTE: THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES, NOT COOKIE CUTTER SHAPES. MAKE YOUR OWN, INSTEAD OF BASING THEM OFF OF THE EXAMPLES.

Warning: This guide has several references to villains that I insist you don't look up. Instead, ask me who they are if you don't know; I'd prefer not to have angry mods blocking this thread because someone was horrified at what they found on Google (And you most likely will be). Villains or movies that I especially implore you to not look up and just ask me will be marked with three stars. (***)



After the surprisingly positive reviews I received on my previous guide, "How to Create a Good Character," I feel obligated to present to you the second installment on my guides. I hope that I have done well and I urge you to tell me if I have made anything confusing or have been hypocritical without warning. (And don't worry; I won't be so big headed by using my own characters. This time I will use characters that are well known and recognized for being great villains.)

Unlike before, these will retain to all characters, not just Warriors. Note that I will refer to evil characters as villains occasionally. Even if they are the protagonist, a villain is a villain, and an evil character is a villain.

With that, we will continue to the guide.


Sections

~Dictionary
~The Archetype
~Understanding "Evil"
~Villain Types
~Goals
~Actions
~Sanity
~Weaknesses
~Interactions
~Looks and How Not to Go Overboard
~History and How Not to Ruin it
~Final Notes



Dictionary
We're going to go over a few terms just in case we've forgotten, as well as some new ones.

Plot Device: An object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot.

Character Development: The change in characterization of a dynamic character, which changes over the course of a narrative. In other words, how a character changes in state of mind and personality over the course of their lifetime and story.

OC: Stands for "Original Character".

Archetype: An original model of a character or idea that is copied, patterned, or emulated repeatedly.

Mary Sue: A self insertion, or an overly perfect character. (See the Mary Sue section in "How to Create a Good Character" for more details.)

Cliché: An expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful.



The Archetype

There's a fine line between credible and laughable. So many villains cross both of those lines. You all remember Sinsoul, right?

"This is my character, Sinsoul. She is insane and evil, but beautiful, and when she was a kit, she killed her entire family/found out her family was killed. Depressed, she ran away and-"

No, no, this time we're talking about her being a villain, remember?

"Oh, right. Sorry. Anyways, Sinsoul is an evil and insane she cat. She is very strong and she's 7 moons old. She leads BloodClan and has killed over 100 cats. She has constant mood swings and tends to kill cats for no reason."

...You didn't learn anything from my last guide, did you.

I mean, really. This is the average evil character I see on the forums. I know, you want to be "edgy" and "cool", but that's not the way to do it.

So let's show you what a villain really is.



Understanding "Evil"

Before one can go around making an evil character, one has to understand what separates good from evil. "Simple," you might say. "Good follows the rules and fights for what's right and evil is cruel and heartless."

Pretty good basic definition, but there is more to it than that. Remember: "To create a truly evil villain, you must first truly understand what it means to be good and evil. Anything else is wasting your time."

Evil characters never fully see themselves as evil. They see others as weak do-gooders or blind sheep, or just as victims. Villains can be likeable, but that does not excuse their actions. So justifying a character with their history will not cover it. It's wise to accept that yes, this character is a villain, and what they're doing is wrong.

So how does one go around to understanding evil? The best thing to do is study villains that made it big and see how they see things, and why they do them. Or you could just look below.



Villain Types


The psycho, the cold and heartless, the tragic, the jealous, the pawn, the truly insane. So many varieties, isn't there? We're going to focus on the main ones that I happen to see when it comes to the forums and a few that should be used more. (I apologize in advance for using so many Batman villains, but they're awesome and great examples.)


The Psycho Unit (Example: The Joker)
"Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." –Alfred Pennyworth, The Dark Knight

This villain does not give a steaming piece of dung about what's wrong and what's right, and most likely doesn't know the difference anymore. They just find joy in hurting others for absolutely no reason. Their brains are fractured emotionally, and they tend to simply not care who dies or lives in their quest for madness, including themselves or even their family and friends. Villains like these usually have a tragic accident happen to them that causes them to turn into such a cruel creature, such as a death or an illness that changed their mental state. These are not villains that would have friends, since they usually drop said friends in a vat of acid. The most dangerous type of villain, and one of the hardest to create and make well.


The Tragedy, AKA What-Could-Have-Been (Example: Mr. Freeze)
"My own needs didn't seem important. Sleep didn't matter, food didn't matter...There was only her.[...]It's all for her. Everything." –Mr. Freeze, Arkham City

This is a tragic villain, and easy to sympathize with. These villains can face a crisis of conscience in which they submit to doing evil, as well as having tragic pasts, which sometimes cause them to do their evil deeds. These villains often have confused morals believing that they are doing good when in fact they are doing evil. They tend to have troubled childhoods and an overall terrible past. Perhaps a deeply loved one died, or a mental breakdown sent them into a downward spiral. Perhaps they simply do evil so they can achieve their own ends which are rather benevolent (like stealing scientific machinery to revive and cure a dying wife). Either way, they are an example of what could have happened and what shouldn't.


The Monster (Example: Hannibal Lecter***)
"Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man." –Prison Chaplain, A Clockwork Orange***

Villains are a dark bunch, and this guy is no exception. They most likely know what they're doing is wrong, but they seem to not see it that way. They take pleasure in causing fear and have most likely slaughtered a good many people. These are the villains that would see an orphanage blow up or a hostage about to be shot, and wouldn't even blink. They are rightfully feared and will use any means to achieve their ends. What separates them and the Psycho Unit is sanity and not wishing to be slaughtered themselves, whereas the Psycho Unit simply does not care. They are usually well spoken and charming, but extremely twisted, often pretending to be good.


The Charmingly Diabolical(Example: Jafar)
"It appears you've beaten me at my own game."
"Don't flatter yourself, you were hardly a player." – Long Feng and Azula, Avatar: the Last Airbender

This villain – what can I say? They're eccentric, charming, quick witted, arrogant, and quite rightfully have a number of fans. The viewer both despises and loves this villain, and though said viewer knows it's wrong, they occasionally cheer for the Charmingly Diabolical villain. A huge favorite among movie goers and a personal favorite of my own, and with good reason – they're fun to watch and pretty funny and awesome as a character in general. The C.D. is extremely difficult for a novice, heck, for ANYONE to pull off, but with hard work and plenty of trial and error, the character will be well liked.


The Cult Leader (Example: Scourge)
"I gotta run, boys~ if he tries anything funny, KILL 'IM!" –Harley Quinn, Arkham City

This villain is brilliant and has a large group of followers, who are willing to do whatever the leader says. This type can be any sort of villain, but is mostly shown as merciless and brilliant. Their followers are scared, or want some power for themselves, or think that the villain is right. Perhaps the hero is a slave of the Cult Leader, and that is where the story's battle begins. Either way, what stands out with this villain is a large group of minions. They tend to not care about their followers in the least.

There are a great many more, far too many to be written about here.

So now that you have a basic idea of what villains cam be like, let's take a look at why a villain is a villain.



Goals

Every villain needs a final goal, no matter how grand or insignificant. Keep in mind the villain's abilities and mindset, and determine what he wants to see happen. It can be as simple as wanting to be very wealthy, wanting to kill a specific person, or wanting to seize as much power as possible. Many goals are completely unattainable, such as winning a specific person's admiration or being the most powerful warrior anywhere. The villain can still cause a lot of heartache for the heroes on the path towards that goal, though. Remember that the villain only needs to believe their goal is attainable; it is not necessary that it actually be so.

Make sure the goal is compliment to the type of villain your character is. The Psycho Unit wants nothing more than chaos and misery. The Tragedy wants revenge against all, even though it was only one person who did them wrong, and so on. It won't make sense if your villain is a Tragedy but wants to rule the world because they want more power. That sort of motive would fit a Cult Leader better.

Sinsoul up there is not a good villain for many reasons, but one of them is that she has no motive or goal for what she's doing. It's a cop out to say "Oh, because she's crazy," and have no other reason. For that, she does not count as a real villain. (Not that she did anyways)

So how does your villain achieve said goals? Well...



Actions

This is the easiest one for many people, so there's not a whole lot to talk about here, but we will anyways, for the sake of a good guide.

The best question to ask yourself when developing your character is "What steps does my character do to get towards their goal?" The best answer is to look at other, more popular villains and see what they do.

The Joker blows up hospitals and sets dangerous traps for his poor victims, and for what purpose? What the Joker is famous for: Being the embodiment of chaos. Mr. Freeze steals equipment and robs banks, in order to find the missing ingredient to save his dying wife. Lord Voldemort wipes out hundreds of wizards and Muggles (non-magic people), in order to take over the Wizarding World.

There are so many options, and you really have no limit. The only thing to remember is whether or not your character is crazy enough to go through with said actions.

Speaking of crazy.



Sanity

We won't cover much here, since an insane character guide is in the works. However, there are a few things that need to be said before we go on. This is not so much about insanity as a mindset, as much as a plot device.

"My character's insane, so that excuses their actions!"

Wrong. As I said before, insanity or a sad past do not excuse a villain's actions. It's always best to accept your character's wrongdoings as wrong and not try to defend them.

I actually encourage you to not make an insane villain; it's just cliché and uninteresting. Instead, push yourself out of your comfort zone and see what you can do when faced with limitations of a sane villain. I can guarantee you'll gather experience when you challenge yourself.



Weaknesses

What can bring your character down? Perhaps it's a weak limb, or terrible eyesight. Maybe it's a personality flaw, like arrogance and overconfidence. This is what can take your character down, and ultimately let the heroes win.

Let me stress that every believable villain, heck, every believable character has to have some form of weakness. If you insist on your character being invincible, I insist on not taking them seriously.

Some of the different weaknesses are:

Weak senses, such as terrible eyesight or sense of smell.
A debilitating phobia, like a fear of blood or fire. (Think Shere Khan's fear of fire.)
A personality flaw, such as over confidence, or terrible planning.
Insanity. Someone like the Psycho Unit wouldn't care for their own safety, which makes it easier for the heroes to kill them.
Weak muscles. Being unable to fight back a kitten is pushing it, but being wimpy or slow is a great weakness to have.
Dull intelligence.
Someone or something. By which I mean someone they care deeply for, or an object that they care about. Just because they're villains, does not mean they can't love. (Unless they're a psycho unit, then avoid the love thing)

There are a good many more, but these are the basics which I often see. It's not too bad if your character has multiple weaknesses, but, like strengths, it's best to not go overboard.



Interactions

While I usually save developing this bit for last, it's a pretty important piece. Interaction basically means how your character treats and talks to others, like enemies and minions.

This all depends on your villain's personality. A Tragedy would treat the world with resentment and hatred. A C.D. would speak down to a lot of people, like they were three year olds or complete idiots.

Let's say your character is a rather slimy fellow, who likes to suck up to the ones with a lot of power and practically kicks the weak down the stairs. He would be cruel and unmerciful with the poor and weak, but if, say, the leader were to show up, he would flatter them and practically lick their boots.

Interactions with other characters will parallel your character's personality. This goes for all characters, not just villains.



Looks and How Not to Go Overboard

This is going to be nice and quick, I promise.

As I said before in my last guide, not every character can be beautiful. I know it's tempting to make your villain so lovely mortals cannot look upon her, but that's the easy way out, and as we all know, easy does not equal right.

"We must all choose between what is right and what is easy." – Albus Dumbledore

God I love that series.

Anyways, the looks of your character, again, depend on your villain's personality. If your villain likes to fight a lot, they'd have several scars, probably some deep festering wounds.

Some people make their villains ugly, to signify that they are bad. This I also discourage. The world of villain looks is not black and white. Your villain can look very average and still be a villain.

Something I'm fond of personally is stylizing the villain to fit their genre of villainess. For example, we'll bring out the slimy character again. He could be lanky and lean, with a crafty look about his face. He could be short and weasel-like, to signify his personality. He could be constantly standing with a slight crouch, which makes him look a bit like a rat, which is often seen as untrustworthy.

This is where research on villains can really come in handy. I think with research you could come up with a look very easily.


History and How Not to Ruin It

This is the point where you, as a creator of characters, must turn away the tempting and use sensibility. It's hard, I know, but be brave.

Along my own history of character creation, I've discovered that as much as I dislike using it, a dark history really is what creates a good villain. It's the turning point of a villain, what makes them them, basically. It's encouraged one doesn't mess up here.

Your character doesn't even need to have an official past, like the Joker. This really works well for Psycho Units, who probably just come up with stories off the top of their head. If you're having a really hard time with the past, then use this – but only if it fits to your character.

A tragic past, such as multiple family deaths, can be used when in good taste. Again, if your character is a specific sort of villain, their past should pertain to their personality. After all, their past is what made them who they are.

Most of the villains I've seen on the internet don't have a particularly dark past – they just got caught up in gangs and warfare, or their mental state was severely altered. Otherwise they grew up in a good home or got married to someone wonderful.

Pasts can make it or break it for your character. Choose wisely.



Final Notes

Well, I hope I've done my job here, which is to create helpful and insightful guides to character creation. Creative and tasteful feedback is hoped for, including critiques (though if you're just being nitpicky, I'm gunna ignore you, since I've got more important things to deal with), especially if I have been hypocritical or confusing.

I would like to encourage you all to visit the Mary Sue Litmus Test and the Writer's Mary Sue Test. Both are very good tests to take to make sure your character isn't becoming a Mary Sue (and they both work for villains as well). Remember to be completely honest and read all of the instructions, as they can point out something very noteworthy.


Happy creating!