Avengers Endgame: How To Write a Compelling Villian
I read an unintentionally amusing article about AVENGERS ENDGAME where the writer was trying to convince himself that Thanos was actually the hero of the movie. (“Sure, he’s a genodical maniac, but his policies are good for the environment!”) Laying the article writer’s moral myopia aside, it occurs to me that AVENGERS ENDGAME provides an excellent example for fiction writers about how to create a truly compelling and charismatic villain.
(This post contains no spoilers for the movie.)
It is easy to see Thanos as a hero because he does in fact possess many heroic virtues. He is physically brave, extremely intelligent, and a formidable fighter. During the movie, he outfights or outwits nearly every single one of the protagonists. He also has a clear vision and goals, and is willing to pursue his quest regardless of any obstacles he faces. He is charismatic, and able to convince others to follow him. Thanos regards events with calm stoicism, and proceeds from both success and failure with the same equanimity.
All these qualities are admirable in and of themselves.
However! Here is the critical point. Thanos possesses heroic virtues, but what does he do with them? A quote from CS Lewis’s SCREWTAPE LETTERS will illuminate the problem:
“To be greatly and effectively wicked a man needs some virtue. What would Attila have been without his courage, or Shylock without self-denial as regards the flesh?”
Thanos is a villain because his virtues have been twisted in the service of his evil goals, namely, the murder of half of all life. His charisma is employed to bring others to help him in his wickedness. He affects a calm and rational demeanor, but when he gets seriously angry, the masks slips, and it is easy to see that what drives him is Pride on a Lucifer-esque scale. He claims to want to destroy half the universe to save the other half, but what he really wants is to prove himself right, and to have the surviving half of the universe be grateful to him for it. And when thwarted, he has a vicious cruel streak that emerges, and he revels in the destruction and ruin he causes. All his positive qualities are used only to bring harm and destruction.
That is the key to creating a really compelling villain. Make the villain someone who would under other circumstances be admirable, or even heroic, but have all the villain’s virtues be turned to an evil end.
If you want to make a contemptible villain, make him a coward, a liar, a hypocrite, or a traitor. But if you want to make a compelling villain, give him admirable qualities, but have him use those admirable qualities for an evil goal.
-JM
That’s the problem I have with so much tradpub and movie stories. The villains are usually pathetic and lack believable motivation. One of the best villains I’ve read lately is Goth Sullus in Imperator set in Nick Cole and Jason Anspach’s Galaxy’s Edge. A heroic villain who I liked and thought admirable even to the end. The fact that he had only pure motivations made his fall to darkness more tragic.
I agree! I listened to the audiobook of IMPERATOR a couple months ago and thought it was really good.
My issue with Thanos as a villain in Infinity War and Infinity War 2 Electric Boogaloo, is that his end goal does not make sense. His stated end goal is to reduce the pressures of competition for resources by using cosmic and godlike powers to erase half of everyone. Why doesn’t he just double all available resources? That’s accepting his original premise as being correct, which it is not as his borrowed Malthusian philosophy has been continuously disproven since Thomas Malthus first thought horses would cover New York City in manure.
His comic book motivations made more sense where he wanted to kill half the universe to impress a woman (Death).
I do like your interpretion though JM, as Thanos is far more compelling than alot of other mainstream villains. As an aside, which of you many fiction works do you consider your personal best?
His stated goal might not be his real goal, to be sure, but in fiction, you at least have to hint at such a layer.
My take was that Thanos said he wanted to kill half the universe to save the other, but his real motivation was to prove that his solution for saving his homeworld would have been the right one.
I feel like the opposite is true too. Great heroes should have “villainous” qualities. Do they love to kill the bad guys and beat up their enemies? Are they selfish about their own goals and motivations and have 0 patience for the politics of the times? Do they steal in the name of justice? All those are interesting characteristics for a hero.
ALSO whenever I find a hero that’s too…..pure. He/she tends to come across as wimpy to me. Or naive. Or boring. All of which tend to make me put the book down.
For every Thanos, there’s a Gollum.
Do you consider Gollum a hero? I’ve always thought of him as a contemptible villain myself, or a pitiable one. I was thinking more along the lines of how Tony Stark is arrogant and selfish, or how Black Widow you know…..kills people. If we’re tangent-ing into Tolkien I lean toward Frodo being the impure hero. He symbolizes the sacrificial hero to me.
Nah, Gollum is definitely a villain, just not a charismatic one the way Thanos or Sauron himself would be. It’s also interesting when the protagonist and the villain have a lot in common – Stark and Thanos share many qualities, for example.
The divergent brothers/sisters-in-arms foil between good guy and bad guy is classic for a reason… You do that yourself. Ghost Night and Frostborn have that in play. Cloak Games and Silent Order too to a lesser extent.
I find those “heroes” insufferably tedious. They also deflate the stakes.