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The villain's journey is rare in popular culture--most characters are fully-formed tyrants with little to no story arc. However, a few particularly epic series take the time to develop complex villains, including Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Babylon 5, Game of Thrones, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Increasingly, villains' origin stories have found new popularity through films like Wicked, Maleficent, and Despicable Me, alongside shows starring serial killers and Machiavellian schemers.
This book examines the villain's decline and subsequent struggle toward redemption, asking why these characters are willing to cross moral lines that "good" characters are not. The first half follows characters like Loki, Jessica Jones and Killmonger through the villain's journey: an inverse or twisted version of scholar Joseph Cambell's hero's journey. The remainder of this book examines the many different villainous archetypes such as the trickster, the outcast, the tyrant, or the misunderstood hero in greater detail. Written for writers, creators, fans, and mythologists, this book offers a peek into the minds of some of fiction's greatest villains.
List of contents
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Part I: The Journey
Condemned by Society: Magneto
The Scarring: Killmonger
Tainted Vision: Thanos
Refusal of the Call: Khan
The Mentor Tempts: Fantastic Beasts
Constructing the Talisman: Doctor Horrible
When You Look into the Abyss: Saruman
The Slippery Slope: Darth Vader
The Road of Failed Tests: Babylon 5
Sacrificing the Anima: Kylo Ren
The Villain's Stronghold: Wicked
Competing with the Hero-Shadow: Megamind
The Inner Shadow as Conscience: Marvel's Jessica Jones
Murder of the Weak Father: Game of Thrones
Epiphany: A Christmas Carol
Twisted Success: Spike
Refusal of the Return: Despicable Me
Turned by Love: Severus Snape
The Magic Chase: Gollum
Crossing the Return Threshold: The Huntsman: Winter's War
Master of the Two Worlds: Good Omens
Embraced by Society: Battlestar Galactica
Part II: Archetypes
Born Evil: Voldemort
Beast: Twilight
Potential Brutality: Deadpool 2
Unwanted Child: Smallville
Created Monster: Wreck-It Ralph
Sidekick: Darth Maul
Bully: Draco Malfoy
Traitor: The Chronicles of Narnia
Entitled Brat: Ghostbusters
Seducer: The Boys
Madman: The Dark Knight
Trickster: Loki
Misunderstood Hero: Maleficent
Fanatic Hater: Colonel Stryker
Mad Scientist: Jekyll & Hyde
Ordinary Guy: Spider-Man
Society's Outcast: The Joker
Restrictive Father: Captain Hook
Smothering Mother: Shrek 2
Tyrant: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Nietzschean Superman: Watchmen
Philosopher-Villain: The Hunger Games
Evil Sage: The Rise of Skywalker
Former Power: Davros
Vicious Ghost: Paranorman
Conclusion
Works Cited
Index
About the author
Valerie Estelle Frankel teaches English at Mission College and San Jose City College. The author of 90 popular culture books and more than 100 stories and essays, she lives in Sunnyvale, California.
Summary
The villain’s journey is rare in popular culture--most characters are fully-formed tyrants with little to no story arc. This book examines the villain’s decline and subsequent struggle toward redemption, asking why these characters are willing to cross moral lines that ‘good’ characters are not.
