(NOTE: BOTH VILLIANS ARE EVIL BUT THE FIRST ONE WILL OPEANLY ADMIT IT)
Evil Villian
Appealing to my better nature? I'm a villain! Here is My Card! "Eve L. Duehr: Academy of Evil graduate, aspiring tyrant, kicker of kittens, and spontaneous singer of Barney songs." I crossed the Line while still in grade school and have never once looked back. And you think you can talk me out of my evil deeds?
Wahahahaha!Villains like this may be greedy, violent, Cool, but most importantly, they are Evil. It's in the job description. They refer to themselves as Evil, with a capital "E". Stretch it out to "Eeeeeevil" for emphasis. (They may even pronounce the "I" with emphasized shortness. Ee-vill. Like the froo-it of the dev-ill.) Terminal cases even require their minions to call them "Your Evilness". In fact, calling them evil, vile, ruthless, or any generally negative epithet will be an Insult Backfire and be taken as the kindest of compliments.
The EVIL Villain demands to be respected and feared and on top of the heap over everyone else because Evil is Cool and Good Is Dumb.
Me: Look buddy anyone is an idiot for trusting you.
Eve L. Duehr: Wahahahaha.........Huh?!
The EVIL Villain demands to be respected and feared and on top of the heap over everyone else because Evil Is Cool and Good Is Dumb.
Thus, they are expected to cause harm. If they acted differently, they'd lose their Evil ranking. Especially ironic if the reason they fell was because they wanted freedom from constraints on their actions. Whatever action they as a good guy wanted to do is considered "bad", so they have to do other bad things as well now. After a while, they usually forget about whatever goal it was that turned them Evil in the first place. So...in a very odd way, they're very much The Fettered; since their actions are bound by the expectation of Evil.
There are, in general, three spheres of their Villainy:
1. Control - the Villain wants to rule; be it a gang, a city, a state, the country, the world, or a similar goal, and have everyone else below them obey their every whim.
2. Corruption - the Villain wants to turn other people Evil. Give in to The Dark Side!
3. Destruction - the Villain wants to destroy for its own sake. Taken to the extreme, the first and second spheres may recognize that this includes them as well, so this often results in Evil Versus Oblivion sometimes the villain teams up with the heroes so they can Take Over the World at a later date. (You can't take over the world if it's not there!)
If not done right (and it is very, very easily done wrong), that is to say, if the card is too serious or obvious, the result can be cheesy, annoying, and stupid. Though, in comedy situations/shows, this fate is usually averted, as it's a humorous thing (and thus right in place). It can also be used with a darker twist - showing a person so beyond redemption, so beyond what we call usual morality, that he is literally impossible to argue and reason with.
Knights Templar
Sometimes, the Forces of Light and Goodness get too hardcore. In a deadly combination of a Fundamentalist, and the phrase He Who Fights Monsters, they get blinded by themselves and their ideals, and this extreme becomes tyrannical sociopathy. It's not the Forces of Darkness' fault, but they are laughing their butts off. It doesn't mean that they won't still fight to their own demise, but they take great satisfaction in the fact that they were right.
Usually, the Knight Templar's primary step (or objective) to his perceived "utopia" is to get rid of that pesky "free will" thing that is the cause of crime and evil. Many Knight Templar types are utterly merciless in dealing with those whom they consider evil, and are prone to consider all crimes to be equal. The lightest offenses are met with Draconian punishments such as full imprisonment, deastruction or brainwashing. Note that the "minor offense with staggeringly out-of-proportion punishment" is jaywalking. If you're in a story like this, don't jaywalk.
It's important to note that despite being villains/villainous within the context of the story, Knights Templar believe fully that they are on the side of righteousness and draw strength from that, and that their opponents are not. Trying to reason with one isn't much good either, because many Knight Templar types believe that if you're not with them, you're against them. Invoking actual goodness and decency will have no effect, save for making Knights Templar demonize your cause as the work of the personification of Evil. After all, they are certain that their own cause is just and noble, and anyone who stands in the way is a deluded fool at best and another guilty soul to be "cleansed" or evildoer to be killed at worst, and doing so is not even Dirty Business.
The Knight Templar is the ultimate incarnation of Light is Evil, and in series where Dark is Good, you can count on this guy being the villain who believes that the "dark" characters are evil and must be destroyed. If they are still nominally good, expect them to be a Hero Antagonist.
The Evil Equivlant of the Well-Intentioned Extremist
Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:49 pm
