The MCU’s villain problem is well documented. The Marvel movies have yet to produce a villain as frightening, entertaining, or iconic as Heath Ledger’s take on the Joker. Until Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Here are the villains from the Marvel Cinematic Universe - the most successful movie franchise of all time - that meet these criteria: none of them. Here are four super-famous examples that meet these criteria, off the top of my head: Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight, Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber in Die Hard, and Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. They are often scarier and more entertaining if they’re unknowable to some extent, with a hint of humanity, but not too much. But too detailed a backstory, too rich a deconstruction of their psyche, can be as much of a hindrance as a help in setting up a good villain. Sure, it’s important for any well-constructed story to make it clear why the antagonist is doing what they’re doing - to give them both a clear goal and an emotional driver for it. And here’s an important, if counterintuitive one: I only care about their motivation up to a point. I want them to be a good foil for the hero: equal or even greater in stature, charismatic and powerful, a dark reflection of them in some way. I want to enjoy their villainy, for it to be creatively, salaciously, deliciously cruel. “What makes a good villain?” will always be a subjective question, but allow me to lay out a few bad-guy qualities that matter to me personally.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |