The Super Villain– these are villains who have super powers and they are pitted against a super hero. Super villains are often out to destroy or take over the world. They are also known to hold personal grudges against the hero.
The Big Bad Villain– these are the villains other villains look up to or often fear. They are the top bad guy. They’re often used during season finales on television series. When the hero defeats this type of villain, it signifies a change and a new hope for the world, or the protagonist, or both.
Villain Protagonist– this is a hard villain to write. This type of villain has immoral and sometimes evil intent. He wants the hero to fail. Although he/she is portrayed as a villain, this villain must also garner sympathy from your reader, so at times your readers will cheer for this villain. Which means your villain should have some redeemable qualities. One way to do this is to have your villain carry many of the same attributes as your hero, while explaining why your villain ended up in the current situation and mindset.
Monster Villain– these villains are so terrible and evil that they are no longer seem human or redeemable. They are no longer worth saving.
Things to keep in mind:
Sharing the strengths and weaknesses in your characters makes them more dynamic. If your antagonist is smart, crafty, and good at being bad, then your hero must be smarter, craftier, and excel at being good enough to overcome evil. This way when your hero wins, they’ve accomplished something worthy.
Your villain will be unbelievable and unworthy if they are doing evil just for evil’s sake. Your villain must have motives for their behavior, otherwise you are writing pointless fluff. Your villain should have weighed all the consequences, thought of the options, and decided their evil path is the right one to help them reach their goal.
A great antagonist will remain with you after you finish reading a story. Villains can hold your story together and keep your readers turning pages, so make your antagonist worthy of your protagonist. Your villain needs to be as three dimensional as your hero, so take time to develop your antagonist’s motives, history, strength, and weaknesses.
