Bad guys. Villains. Antagonists. That’s what we’re writing about this month. Each of our trio of writers is forwarding our top five baddies for you to consider. And we challenge you to prove us wrong by submitting your own compilation. Let the listing begin!
Robin Lythgoe
Author of As the Crow Flies
Oh, dear, so many villains, so few spaces in the list…! Granted, antagonists are not always villains, per se, but someone or something manifesting opposite actions, thoughts, or motives than the protagonist. Still, I’ve chosen to lean toward the villainous in my list. I enjoy the motivations and thought processes of characters over, say, weather or landscape. Weeks of mulling over various evil qualities and their deployment (Ho! Launch the greed! Commence the revelation of dark secrets!) gave me a list.
Patricia Reding
Author of Oathtaker
Since the antagonist in a story is frequently a villain, the first antagonist/villain that comes to my mind is … Now, don’t laugh. It’s Cruella deVil. There are goods reasons for this. Well, good reasons to me, anyway. You see, Cruella, as played by Glenn Close (who I had the great pleasure of seeing on Broadway a couple years ago) gets to wear the most amazing things! I’d like to try some of the things she wore—perhaps with a bit less in the shoulder padding department, to be sure—but aside from that, who wouldn’t have fun dressing up like Cruella from time to time? Seriously though, Cruella is deliciously naughty, and thoroughly egocentric. It would be so much fun to play her character …
Parker Broaddus
Author of A Hero’s Curse & Nightrage Rising
Mine is a list of truly evil baddies, fantastic villains, complex antagonists, and a lovable toad. In the style of FilmFisher’s “Undefended” articles, I’m putting these forward with only minimal comment.
- Darth Vader. I have the same response my 3-year-old has when asked to defend something: “Because, yes.”
- Lord Voldemort. A compelling example of hatred, narcissism, and evil.
- Severus Snape. Another character from the Harry Potter series, but then, they were very well written. There is a long list of antagonists and heroes worth mentioning in that series. Snape deserves a special place as a complex antagonist that is just the right push against Harry Potter’s courageous and heady recklessness. I had difficulty not putting Hans Solo in this spot. Like Snape, he provides that perfect, practical and selfish push against Luke Skywalker’s idealism.
- Long John Silver. Here’s one that continues to survive the test of time. He’s a murdering, evil, greedy and selfish pirate, and yet a likeable character. It’s difficult to tell if there is a character arc in this one. Does he change, or do we simply forgive him of all his faults because he likes Jim Hawkins? Whatever the case, we’ll continue to see renditions of Long John Silver.
- Mr. Toad. Something different, and yet so relatable and real. Toad from The Wind in the Willows is the self-centeredness that we all experience and bump up against in our world. He is the reason that the idyllic, pastoral life is at best caught only in fleeting moments, or at worst simply illusory. There are too many Mr. Toads in our world. We are Mr. Toad.
What do you think? I didn’t mention Scar from The Lion King. He’s up there with Darth Vader and Lord Voldemort. But what do you think? Who’s on your list of best (or worst) antagonists? Let me know in the comments, shoot me an email, or start the discussion on Facebook!
Great list! Limiting oneself to five is so difficult. We’ll have to do this again sometime. I quite liked your approach: names with limited comments. I especially liked your explanation for Darth Vader: “Because, yes.” It works for me!