Super Villains - Pure Evil or Purely Misunderstood

Great article Ron!

I think Black Adam is the perfect DC antihero. His intentions for his country were noble and good, but many times the way he went about things, appeared, at least from our perspective to be 'evil.'

Some of the most compelling stories are from a villians viewpoint. Wrong as it may seem, it's fun at times to root for the villian. I don't know about you guys, but I always wanted Wile E. Coyote to nail the Road Runner! It's probably healthy for us to release our evil-tendiences through these fictional villians and not on each other.

Darth Vader is also one, if not the most complex, cases of villiany and anti-heroism (?) there is....

There's just no way you don't grow up antisocial after having been given the name "Len Snart." That guy never stood a chance.

Jiminski:

.LOL ..all the Batman villians suffer that same name-fate: Oswald Cobblepot? That name has serial-killer written all over it....

A good way to tell Purely Evil from Misunderstood is by their code of honor, if they have one. Captain Cold beat down Mirror Master because of his drug use, and even showed a little remorse over killing the Flash.

A real mystery is Lex Luthor. Yes, he has committed heinous acts for his own gain, but then again he has helped (in his mind) defend the earth from the evil force that he believes Superman is. He sees himself as more of a protector of humanity than a destroyer.

 And as far as AIM and Hydra go, yes they may be evil organizations, but mostly individual agents of both are not. Many are just programmed according to the organization's customs, but deep inside are just regular people. Take for example, Bob, Agent of Hydra, from Cable and Deadpool. I know that it depends on whose writing it, but many of these large organizations contain simple-minded, yet innocent, cannon fodder.

 Finally, I think it's safe to say that most of the Spidey villains, ruling out any Goblins or symbiotes, are not evil. The Rhino is too dumb to be evil, and has shown real human emotions recently, as has the Vulture. Most are just petty theives with superpowers.

The best villains are the ones that think that they are the hero of the story. I will submit two, but there are many more. Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, and Sinestro. If they were to write the stories that we have seen them in, the narrative that they write would show how much they think they are doing the right thing. Their stories would show that they are the ones making the heroic sacrifices for their percieved greater good. This is thing, for me, that makes a great villain.

There are other types of villains. Ones that are evil for the sake of being evil. Carnage comes to mind. Although it is sometimes fun to see how our heroes deal with someone that likes to kill just because he likes the way their victims twitch while they are dying. They become one domensional cardboard cutouts of a villain.

Thats my 2 cents. 

I think you need to add one catagory to your list of villain types, Ron -- crazy as hell. I don't think the Joker is evil, the dude is too crazy to know the difference between right & wrong.

I agree with Unoob -- the best villains are the ones who think they are in the right. Add Ra's Al Ghul & Lex Luthor to your awesome list of guys who think they are doing the right thing, helping mankind, by any means necassary. Ra's is an Eco-Terrorist who thinks he has to wipe out most of the world's population to save the planet & the human race, & Lex is obsessed with killing Superman so humans can shine on thier own merits, he doesn't believe humans can be at thier best while looking up to, and relying on an alien. I don't think either of these characters are evil, they just look at the world in a totally unique way & that's what makes them awesome characters.

Nice write up Ron.  It's definitely nice that we can get more depth from our villains these days, and I always enjoy reading different takes on villains.

My favorite villians are always the guys who are pressed against the wall, desperate, and just fighting back.  They seem more real to me than the extremely crazy or plain evil villians.

This seems fitting for the week of Dr. Horrible.  After watching the first act this morning, I think there might can be a case for him to go either way.

I would actually argue that Dr. Doom is so self-absorbed, arrogant, and demented that he may as well be evil. He kills people for the most minor and petty bullshit that, quite frankly, he's too dangerous to be allowed to live. Lex Luthor is basically the same. Anyone who would sacrifice innocent lives for the sake of their own ego is fucking evil in my book. 

What about Medusa, who started out in the Marvel universe as a villain? It turned out she had amnesia, of course, and was being manipulated by the rest of the Frightful Four. How about that as a sub-category of Misunderstood Villains -- those that are being forced into doing evil by someone else?

If traditional American judicial systems get people out of jail or death penalties because of mental instability, why should our judgment be any different. Characters like Two-Face or the Joker suffer from terrible mental diseases and require help. Depending on the origin you choose, the Joker used to be just another desperate man attempting crime (as the Red Hood) to make ends meet. I cannot see him as "completely evil" anymore than I can see the same of anyone possessed by the Shadow King.

Nazis, however, are always totally bad no matter what.

I wonder where Mr. Freeze lies, because everything he does (for the most part) he does to save his wife (though I'm going to plead ignorance that I have no idea if in comic contiunity his wife is dead or alive and away from him or whte not). But he has just tried to harm people in a "feel how I feel" way

Dr. Doom IMO, is an arrogant aristocrat.  Doom has taken it to another level. He not only hates Reed Richards (Doom knows he is smarter), but anyone else who has more power or knowledge than himself (see: Silver Surfer).

The Joker is not even "Super" or a "Villain". The Joker is a NUT, but so is Batman. They are the perfect antithesis of going crazy. I don't believe "insanity" equates to "pure evil", since Batman is also "insane" just with a different focus.

In my opinion Joker is a very complex villian.  Most people would dismiss him as psychotic and nothing more.  But to me a villian sees himself as the hero of his story and it's no different with The Joker.  He gets joy out out exposing societies flaws and he believes at our core humans are intrinsically greedy, amoral and overall evil.  He believes in abscence of law and order that a person's true nature shows through.  For example, take the Batman 1989 movie. To poison the city he exploits their greed by promising he'll give away free money at the parade and their are numerous other examples but that's the first that comes to mind.   Which brings me to his relationship with Batman.  In Batman he sees someone that has had some trauma in his life to make him dress like a bat but yet chooses good over evil.  He knows Batman won't kill but the Joker does heinous crimes to push Batman over the edge.  For Joker to drive Batman to break his number one rule of no killing would be his ultimate goal and he would die having proved himself right.  So to me that's what makes him the best villian.  On the surface he is pure evil but if you peel away the layers you see he is much more complex than people give him credit for.

What we are quickly discovering is that things rarely come down to black and white. There are many variations of gray that exist when looking at the 'best' super-villains. Dr. Doom, while commiting acts that are reprehensible, does believe that he is doing what needs to be done to make the world 'right' in his eyes. Even the people of Latveria both fear AND love him. In the Emperor Doom (I think it was called Emperor Doom) story, we see that the world becomes a Utopia after Doom gains ultimate power. 

I think the best villains are the ones who truly believe they are doing what is right. As the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".

The road to hell was paved by the "Spider-Clone"

yet another intriguing article by Ron. this bbrings much light to teh entire good or evil supervillain issue i have been thinking about. cheers mate!

@BrianBaer   

Pleading insanity is by no means a get out of jail free card though. In fact, it's success as a defense is pretty low. I'm pretty sure the Joker would be on Death Row if he really existed in our world.  

I would argue most criminal mastermind's are not evil.  I believe many are just misguided.  They are doing what they think is right for the world but are not going about it in the right way.  For instance Rasputin in Hellboy believes he is bringing a new eden to earth with the release of the Ogdru Jahad, thus improving the world.  He is wrong and would bring the apocalypse but he is doing what he thinks is right.

Yeah, in the real world, the Joker would be given the gas chamber.  According to my roommate (studying to be a psychlogist) the insanity plea is negated automatically by premeditation, which Joker has done numerous times.  Plus, the "insanity plea" requires something like a brain tumor or some sort physical ailment that directly effects the person to where the person cannot act otherwise, which is not the case for the Joker.

Honestly, though, I do see Magneto and Doom and Captain Cold and the like as evil.  At the end of the day, no matter his justification, Magneto is a racist terrorist who thinks his genes make him superior over other groups lacking those genes.  Doom, while he may believe himself a just ruler, still kills and exploits and manipulates for goals both selfish and no-so-selfish and is a totalitarian dictator who has no qualms over stepping on human rights and freedoms.   Cold may not be as much as a killer as others but he still inflicts pain and suffering upon others for personal gain, which is as evil as bank robber or street mugger.  I do think there are distinctions between a guy like the Shocker and a monster like the Purple Man, but I would say "non-evil" and evil" but more "less evil" and "more evil."

Dr. Light and his 'date with Sue Dibny' anyone? 

Hey guys. . . Neil Patrick Harris stars as the super villain Dr. Horrible in Joss Wedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." He's a diabolical inventor who's working on a freeze ray in a "Flight Of The Conchords" meets "The Incredibles" kind of crazy, mixed-up world.  I loved it! It's currently on iTunes.

Wow! It's nice to finally see someone views supervillians just like the bad guys in the real world: people who may have redeeming qualities of various degree, but may also make poor decisions or have some bad intentions despite their good points. The Mole Man, after all, had a mommy who loved him regardless of his flaws.

I must disagree about the evil nature of Hydra, however. No one is going to argue the validity of terrorist actions, but I do think that Hydra firmly believes in the idea that they can run the world better. Many people in the real world are frustrated with our governments, nations and people in charge. So it is not that uncommon to dream of a utopian society that our existing rulers could never achieve. Hydra exists because these people have lost faith in the powers-that-be, yet desire a better society so strongly that they are willing to let the ends justify the means. So, to be honest, sometimes I root for the bad guy a little bit.

Hail Megatron!