what makes a villian memorable?

[captainproton]

I will say, though, there is something truly enjoyable about a villain who's just a bad person. Not every story explores the villain's backstory, nor does it really need to. Sometimes we get a hint of why they are doing something by how they do it, but it's often left open to interpretation. Of course, as a writer, you should understand your characters and their motivations. But, from and audience point of view, we don't really need to do that. Look at some of the Disney villains:

Cruella DeVil. She was sassy and glamourous and obsessed with making a coat out of puppies. Easily a tropey villain, but, damn, we love her.

Ursula, from the Litle Mermaid. The absolutely best character in the whole movie, and the only thing we know about her is that she wants to take over Atlantis.

Scar, from the Lion King. Okay, so, this is all Hamlet with fur, and his motivations are actually spelled out. but even if we had to dig for his reasoning, he sticks in the mind so very well.

Maleficent. Even before she got her own movie, she was just such an awesome and terrifying villain. She was elegant and poised and utterly evil, no explanations. I mean, cursing a baby? Dang, girl.

Hades, from Hercules. Again, his motivations are spelled out in a musical number, but here's someone else who's witty and clever and remorselessly wicked.

 

[Myst88]

There are many different type of villains, and there are more then one way to make them memorable.

Personally I prefer villains who makes you think 'Wow, if I was in their shoes I might have done the same thing.' These type of villains are very human and so people can relate to them.

For example the villains who have lost everything, family, their home, etc. They are driven to desperation trying to get it all back and will do anything, even sacrifice the world to get them back.

The villains who are driven by a very human fear. Dying is probably one of the biggest ones. Pretty much everyone is scared of dying at some point in their lives. So the villain is desperate for immortality.

Even villains who wish simply for power can be memorable, after all everyone has probably wished for more power in their lives.

Like I said before, you can relate to them in some way because they are very human in their motivations. But their the dark parts of the human psyche. The type that have nothing left to loose, the type who have given in to their deapest fears, their darkest passions. They can be very scary because given different circumstances they could be us.

 

[Dalph]

An interesting backstory and a fascinating point of view (even if it's self-referential or mandatory).

The best villains usually influence negatively the protagonists of the story when they clash with each other, forcing them to adapt or irreversibly altering their worldview. A bit of character and good quotes are very important too, that's why Kefka is memorable.

 

[Sieginder Niederlage]

After some thought, I remembered my favorite antagonist...
A man who seeks to understand the meaning of evil. Possesing a warped mind since birth. He is an evil person, but not a villain. He is deviant, but not inhuman. He is not sane, but neither is he insane. Despite his personal acomplishments, he never felt satisfaction. Despite his best efforts he could not enjoy what other people found happiness in, and instead found himself drawn to negative emotions like the pain of others. He is able to act like a normal person, even bringing pride to his father, but he intrinsically cannot understand others or things they see as "beautiful."

Kotomine Kirei

Spoiler

The real kicker? He's a priest.

 

[JAD94]

After some thought, I remembered my favorite antagonist...

A man who seeks to understand the meaning of evil. Possesing a warped mind since birth. He is an evil person, but not a villain. He is deviant, but not inhuman. He is not sane, but neither is he insane. Despite his personal acomplishments, he never felt satisfaction. Despite his best efforts he could not enjoy what other people found happiness in, and instead found himself drawn to negative emotions like the pain of others. He is able to act like a normal person, even bringing pride to his father, but he intrinsically cannot understand others or things they see as "beautiful."

Kotomine Kirei

Spoiler

The real kicker? He's a priest.

That's deep *sniffle*  , real deep. *Applause* 

 

[Sieginder Niederlage]

Actually...I just ripped that off the TYPE-MOON wikia     
...I just couldn't find a better way to explain Kirei's character, I couldn't do him justice. The description was apparently given by Nasu himself.
 

 

[JAD94]

But you still quoted it! So technically you said it.  BD

*Audience*- "Oooooooo!"

 

[Toaofgames]

I think a villain becomes more memorable if their motivations are carefully explored and they can be taken seriously. There has to be something about them that makes you think.

 

[The Mighty Palm]

Oh. I was thinking of Judge Claude Frollo the whole time I read that xD

 

[Dragnfly]

After some thought, I remembered my favorite antagonist...

A man who seeks to understand the meaning of evil. Possesing a warped mind since birth. He is an evil person, but not a villain. He is deviant, but not inhuman. He is not sane, but neither is he insane. Despite his personal acomplishments, he never felt satisfaction. Despite his best efforts he could not enjoy what other people found happiness in, and instead found himself drawn to negative emotions like the pain of others. He is able to act like a normal person, even bringing pride to his father, but he intrinsically cannot understand others or things they see as "beautiful."

Kotomine Kirei

Spoiler

Spoiler

The real kicker? He's a priest.

Both him and Araya from Kara no Kyoukai were pretty memorable to me just for how they "didn't fit into our world of `normal' people" and looking like pretty much normal guys but still with a touch of "is that dude evil?" just from their expressions alone.

Actually, that's another thing I like. While going "woah, that's some badass evil looking armour that villain's wearing" is also cool I find that villains are cool when a neutral expression mugshot of the entire cast makes pointing out the villain impossible.

 

[CrazyCrab]

After some thought, I remembered my favorite antagonist...

A man who seeks to understand the meaning of evil. Possesing a warped mind since birth. He is an evil person, but not a villain. He is deviant, but not inhuman. He is not sane, but neither is he insane. Despite his personal acomplishments, he never felt satisfaction. Despite his best efforts he could not enjoy what other people found happiness in, and instead found himself drawn to negative emotions like the pain of others. He is able to act like a normal person, even bringing pride to his father, but he intrinsically cannot understand others or things they see as "beautiful."

Kotomine Kirei

Spoiler

Spoiler

The real kicker? He's a priest.

I've been meaning to check out the series for a while now, this finally pushed me over the edge.

And I'm glad it did. Thanks.

 

[Sieginder Niederlage]

Trust me, anything made by Nasu is worth checking out.