WHEN YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE VILLAIN...
What’s good squad?! Frosty Phenix here! We all have our favorite heroes! Difference comic series, television shows, and video games alike. I pose a question...have you ever noticed that as you have a deeper understanding of our current society and societies of your favorite fictional universe that you come to understand or even SYMPATHIZE with the villains?! I know, it seems crazy right?! Makes you wonder if you have a villain mentality. I know there are some of you reading this article thinking “Of Course not! I am a hero through and through!!”, and to you, oh heroic reader, I say...interesting. Let’s discuss below shall we?
Hero Mentality
Growing up I’d say the majority of our parental figures or authoritarians steered us to connect with our favorite hero and smith the bad guys with the fistacuffs of JUSTICE! DC Comics Superman and Marvel Comics’s Captain America definitely fit this bill as the main inspiration for “goodie two shoes” hero worship (I know they have both made questionable decisions in their career but we aren’t TALKING about THOSE decisions). They always want justice served in the proper way, through the people’s justice system even though they have powers that could end most of their enemies. They always choose the way of proper process...the MORAL HIGH ROAD. You always do the right thing to help reform your opposer, give them chances.
Villain Mentality
In the shadows of where the light touches, dark thoughts loom. Individuals who believe the system is flawed, false or just downright “ignorable”. The villain lives life breaking the rules the system has in place as opposed to falling in line. As a young person, or even just a person with high moral values, villains are given a face and an external understanding...they are doing something bad and they must be punished. A villain couldn’t care less about their society and the people in them. There is a line that separates villains though, from those that want to just get by through gaming the system to those that wish to up end the system...by any means (and I do mean ANY). DC’s Lex Luthor is a good example of a villain that can stand in the light of day and do minor nefarious schemes in the dark that are deemed “wrong”, to meet his end goals. Following up his polar opposite view of anarchy is Marvel’s Symbiote Psychopath Carnage, whose desire in life is to murder any and every living being within his presence.
Anti-Hero Mentality
I would be remiss if I did not touch on this category. There is a thin line between hero and villain that some individuals stand on and cross depending on which day it is. From Marvel’s Punisher to DC’s Red Hood to Kratos from God of War. These characters are driven by their passions to see justice done to their enemies or those that have threatened their loved ones. They go outside of the means of preferred justice in their societies to see the job done...and yet they do not do it to upend the society they are in. These characters are interesting because although they cross the line on multiple occasions, they still have a moral compass that guides them if they lose their way too much.
Which side do you sympathize with?
Now back to my earlier question: “have you ever noticed that as you have a deeper understanding of our current society and societies of your favorite fictional universe that you come to understand or even SYMPATHIZE with the villains?!” For example, the Heath Ledger interpretation of the Joker from “The Dark Knight” Batman film. He was a man of chaos, murdered innocents yet also stole from Criminals. He just wanted to see the order of things “burn to the ground”. In this society, some of the politicians who run the city were probably on the payroll of a few crime lords in the city. This kind of system is doomed to make the people suffer. So in this case if Joker worked to destroy the order of things, it would trickle down to the criminal underworld of the city that held the laws of its populace captive. Would you want to see the order of things disturbed and revived fresh or would you rather take a Batman approach to preserve the order of society and tackle it through its own established “checks and balances”? Just some food for thought.
Who is your favorite villian and/or favorite villain mindsets? Comment below! Let’s have a convo! Follow us of Course across all social media and follow me personally @frostyphenix across all major social media platforms. Peace out y’all!!