In the current age of movies, we've seen the rise of comic book adaptation movies. Recently, Marvel and DC comics alike have taken strides to take their characters to the big screen, and for the most part, they have been a huge success. But I'm not here to talk about the heroes that we adore, that have taken center stage in the movies. I'm here to talk about the people who make the heroes who they are...the villains.
Recently, while talking with one of my best friends, the topic of villains came up because of the recent "Suicide Squad" movie. He and I disagreed on what we thought made the perfect comic book villain. For him, he saw the Joker as easily the best villain to ever grace the page and screen. He saw the Joker's anarchist thought process and chaotic image as the best kind of villain. That pure chaos was the best imagery of evil and terror.
Now, I admittedly have deep grievances with the Joker for a number of reasons. But I pushed that aside to state my case objectively. I felt that villains who were multifaceted were the best kinds of villains. Villains who don't just want to take over the world for all the power or chaos, but rather villains who want somebody to feel their pain or villains who didn't know how to get help and lashed out. I argued that villains like Harley Quinn or Magneto were the best. I think villains who are also anti-heroes are the best kinds of villains because they are more realistic. They have backstories and lives outside of their evil plans.
I get why people don't like the idea of a realistic villain. Comic books are meant to be a place where people can experience the supernatural and the fantastical. No one wants villains that are ordinary and human. But I think in a day and age where comic books and their movies are tackling issues of government control, responsibility, xenophobia and discrimination, etc., I think the villains can't just be maniacal beings who want to take over the entire world for the ability to rule the world. I'm sorry but to me, that doesn't cut it. I feel like villains who are like that, villains who want to see the world burn aren't scary but actually laughable. Villains who could exist in the real world because they were wronged by the government, or had a personal tragedy, or are having inner struggles... Those are scary villains because they are real villains who exist today. They are the people we see on the news and have us questioning why anyone could do something so horrible. Villains who have in-depth reasons are better written villains to me.
