'Necessary Evil'....

Villains make or break any story especially those in the Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror genres. The old adage of 'The Hero is only as strong as their Villain' is gospel when writing your stories.

In my latest work 'Dark God's Gift', stories are spawned from the creation of an implacable extra-cosmic evil bent on gaining ultimate knowledge so it may one day destroy its creator. In the process of doing so, heroes and villains from many universes and realities will confront entity's terrible powers in unimaginable ways. Those that survive find that is bare compensation for that which they endured!

Villains must always be 'strong' in that whatever their motivation, it must overpower the Hero's own abilities and cause them to rise above their nemesis' comfort zone. All in order to draw the hero in to either be defeated or thwart the villain's goals. Villains when written well can be vastly superior to the hero or vice versa, but there must always be a 'chink' that allows either gain the upperhand to force the conflict to its ultimate resolution.

The main thing that makes a great villain is believability. The villain does not have to be 100% 'reality based'. Instead, there needs to be credible reasons for why they exist, what their motivation is and why they are a genuine threat. Not much more aggravating than reading an 'oh-by-the-way' villain (or hero) who no matter what comes up, they can't be outmatched by any means (you hear that Japanese Battle Anime' writers?) Just as there must be a chink which allows a villain to gain the upperhand, there must be an equal one which may allow them to fail.

The best stories always leaves an 'open door' by which either the villain or hero will win. How it is 'closed' decides the impact of the tale written. Villains and Heroes justify their existences. If your villains are nothing more than 'meatballs' tossed into the open maw of the hero to be devoured, that gets old quick and your hero becomes more of a 'beat cop' or even a bully. Same goes with Villains. A villain can be imposing or overwhelming, but if they cannot be defeated or at least be made to pause then there wasn't much point to them being there.

Here's a really good look at the discussion and analysis of Villains in the DC Universe:
"Necessary Evil: Villains of the DC Universe"

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