Bad Boys Ahoy!
As I established in Quest for the Good Guys, Bad Guys tend to be more interesting. Or rather, seem more interesting. There’s something about wicked evil genius characters that is appealing. Is it the idea that we see in them? That evil is overcome in the end? Or do we just like that someone is more evil than us? I don’t know, but I do know that there are tons of Villains, Criminals and Evil tropes on TV Tropes.
The vast number of villain tropes and their apparent popularity means there’s far too much to say on them than can fit in one article. As a result, I’m going to stick to listing my three favorite Bad tropes (of the moment), followed some more webfiction Bad Guys. (And there’s also a little sneaky surprise at the end!)
Evil Tropes
Intelligence is sexy, so it’s no wonder I’m a big fan-girl of the Magnificent Bastard. He’s smart, wicked and very much in control. Life is a game of chess, and he’s going to win. Throw in some lucky gambles, a lot of manipulation and you get this Mastermind Evil Person who you can’t help but admire because he’s so annoyingly good at it.
They can vary on the scale of Evilness, sometimes they might even be almost Good, but you can bet that they are the catalyst behind most events. Fans of a Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin will immediatly think of Lord Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish, who kicks some serious ass, even though I still haven’t figured out on which side he is.
It’s probably because I’m a science-girl, but one of my all-time favorites is the Evilutionary Biologist. Mad Scientists are always fun, but when they start to dabble with evolution, think it’s all for the greater good, and cause a whole new level of mayhem, I’m sold three times over. Mister Sinister from X-Men anyone? Hell yeah.
What also adds to the fun is that the evil monsters they create (whether on purpose or by accident) are often way cooler than the regular monsters. Evolution can be fun! I’m following Strange Little Band on their podcast, so the story hasn’t progressed very much for me, but I have the small suspicion Daniel might have some traits from this trope too.
To end with a funny note, I vouch for the Killer Rabbit. Remember the most foul, bad-tempered and cruel creature from the Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Muahahaha. You’ve got to admit there’s something about small cute things that are evil, bad ass and cruel that is awesomely cool. I want more of them. I say at least each webfiction story should have a rabbit in it somewhere, so we can worry if it’s a mass-murderer or not.
Evil Characters
Antonius from Shadows of Sicily scares me. He’s one of the protagonists, but boy is he evil. I still have to find one redeeming quality for him. He’s self-centered and egotistical, he steals, lies and covets, and he’s incredibly cruel. He’s so not in control of his violence and rage it’s seems like he’s sometimes reduced to just that: pure violence. And yet he’s interesting, because you want to understand him, and know what drives him.
Still, I’m always a bit relieved when the POV changes back to one of the other protagonists. He’s just too cruel.
I quit following Tales of MU because I became impatient with waiting for story-arcs to round up, and I didn’t have enough time to follow one series permanently. One story-arc I’m still curious about though is that of Mercy. Mercy is some kind of elf, who’s interested in Mack because she’s a female half-demon, and she wants to breed her to the male half-demons she owns. She manipulates Mack by feeding her human blood and flesh, and is an utter bitch because she treats Mack as a bitch (the dog kind). They say it’s all in a name, but Mercy is merciless.
Almost every story has some kind of Evil in it, but these are my personal favorites. As always feel free to list your own, but make sure they are really, really evil.
And that sneaky surprise? If Anna was a character, this would be her trope.