Music for the First Half of the ArticleJust because the main characters are fighting to oust Mr. Big Bad doesn't mean they're heroes... at least, not all of them. In a team composed of good or morally pH neutral members, there will often be one Evil Man. Ruminatively, this character can serve as an entertaining and pragmatic foil to his more strait-laced colleagues, giving Wisdom from the Gutter and serving as a useful whenever the heroes start veering too close to Honor Before Reason and self-destructive heroics, and might even act to solve difficult moral dilemmas.
Sometimes they will begrudgingly admit that they like their teammates, or at least find them less intolerable than they say, and frequently they find their association either lucrative, entertaining, or even enjoyable. If it's pointed out by somebody that they're not as bad as they make themselves out to be though, they'll generally tell them to shut up, or to take it back. This can be done in a very loud, very rude way.
If they do betray their teammates, expect The Hero to tighten their Fist and use various threats like Death Glares to bring them back in line. Why don't they kill him or at least kick him out? Because sometimes you just need the firepower, and they can "do more good than harm".
Some variations include:
• Sometimes a Tragic or Sympathetic Villain joins the heroes to fight a second villain who's worse, but is still evil on the side.
• Outright villains who do this are more the bag of a Strange Incident, since the team ups are rarely stable enough to outlast the episode. Still, it's not unheard of for some to reform not long after such team ups.
• They're in it for the money. Or the opportunity to loot, pillage, and plunder. Bribes and financially based threats keep them in line.
• B.E.F. (Best Evil Friend): Maybe there's a hero who's a friend or family, and they stick around to help loved ones out of duty. But don't expect them to be too helpful for anybody else.
• Sometimes, the friendship is established during the show, at which point the purely money or power-hungry evil guy will "tip his hand" and save his friend rather than get the idol.
• The evil friend is The Treacherous Subordinate and sees the heroes as the best way to topple Mr. Big Bad.
• The Poisonous Friend who blindly believes he's doing right is a member of the group, willing to do anything for his buddy's ideals.
• They were recruited because they have skills, talents and a general attitude that the heroes know will be useful, even if they don't like having them around.
• They have an ulterior motive for joining the heroes, and the heroes' plans will further their own agenda.
• Sometimes they're just in it because they want to. The hero is on an exciting, heroic quest that will save the world, but it also involves a lot of destruction, and they've got nothing better to do right now. They want to cause chaos and rain down carnage, and this is the best way to do it.
• In a setting where a Balance Between Good and Evil matters, or just any setting with Gray and Gray Morality, having people keeping the "heroes" in check is sometimes a perfectly good idea, even if they might find it annoying or inconvenient.
• Sometimes a comedic villian might side with the heroes, but act as an annoyance to them.
• Sometimes they are completely unaware of this character's presence until a member of the group reveals himself as this.
• Sometimes they are a stalker who somehow joined the Heroes side, she becomes both willing to destroy their beloved to prevent other love interests from taking him and willing to destroy their competition so she can be closer to their loved one! She will do anything to make the Man she loves stay with her, and is very good at everything short of SCARING HIM TO DEATH
• Othertimes he is not exactly evil but is much more morally-ambiguous and prone to insanity than the rest of the characters, he has a strong affinity for madness and a love for destruction that he keeps in check by loyalty to the heroes. He's actually a fairly nice guy though, but he is well aware that something is wrong with their own psychology and are fighting it to the best of their ability. However, his madness makes him prone to going berserk and attacking an ally. He even has a temporary reform, but he was not fully in control of himself at the time.
• Othertimes He is certainly the most antagonistic of the other docile members of the group, he is a grouch at worst however, and to many audiences the sanest and most relatable character of the series
• However, there are Exceptions. Initially, the Evil Guy only had ulterior motives for joining them. However, in spite of this, he stood out as the only villain who is really a nice guy. He is undeniably the most polite, classy, generally mannered and the LEAST violent villian of all. Also, unlike other villains, he technically isn't evil, but just willing to do whatever to get what he wants. Not to mention he kept doing GOOD and NOBEL deeds like protecting his friends and defending an army from a High Ranked Villian. In the end, He sacrifices himself to save one of the Heroes while at the same time greatly damaging the Big Bad from the inside.
Music for the Second Half of the ArticleHere are Some Examples:
Fri Mar 15, 2013 1:57 pm
