If you’ve been checking
around the blog recently, you might have guessed that I’ve got Infamous: Second Son on the brain. (The posts on which will come this Monday and
Thursday, so look forward to my joy/despair.)
And with good reason; I may not be one for comics, but I’ve always loved
the idea of superheroes. And by
extension, I’ve always loved the potential that they hold. Powers beyond the mortal man! A persona that’s larger than life! HnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngCOSTUMES! There’s a lot to love, so there’s an obvious
reason why they’re so popular today.
But if The Avengers -- and the internet at large
-- is any indication, it’s that people love villains as well. Maybe more.
Tom Hiddleston’s Loki made a huge splash in the first Thor movie, much
to its (and his) credit; his presence helped make that movie what it was, and
you could say the same pretty damn easily about The Dark World. Loki’s
popular, but I’d bet that he’s not the only one who’s enjoyed his fair share of
popularity. Nor will he be the last.
And I find that more
than a little interesting, if we’re being honest. Along with Loki’s horns. That seems like an accident waiting to happen
-- if it hasn’t already. On the other hand, they ARE curved upward, so, you know. S'all good.
It always strikes me as
fascinating. You would think that in
most cases, people would automatically shun and revile the villain. It’s human nature, and a part of human
decency; the good guys are doing good things, so we should support them. The bad guys are doing bad things, so we
should scorn them. That’s how it should
be, but in the end it’s not always -- or ever -- that simple. It’s not always best or even required to
agree with a villain, but we have to appreciate their presence in a story. They are (bad pun incoming) a necessary evil.
In all fairness,
though, there’s a saying that I’ve picked up on in recent years. Something along the lines of “a villain is
convinced that he’s the hero of the story.”
Not in those exact words, obviously, but the point still stands; the
villain thinks that what he/she does is best, or right -- taking on the task
that no one else will, because nobody can do it better. That’s a fair point, in a lot of cases; I’m
pretty sure that by this point in the Superman canon, Lex Luthor has every
reason to do half of the things he does.
Love him or hate him, his rivalry with the big blue Boy Scout has some
merit to it; since it’s hoped that Man of
Steel 2 will tackle the destruction of Metropolis, I’m that’d be the
perfect issue for Lex to rally behind as a means to passive-aggressively attack
a living god.
Setting aside rigid
definitions and concepts of good and evil, when you get down to it a villain is
still just a character in a story.
He/she is someone that adds plenty of tools into the box. And they’re tools in their own right --
meaning you can use them to counteract the hero by way of some foil work, or
just give them a presence of their own.
That’s where the charisma comes in, I’d bet; the villains can do
whatever they want in an attempt to charm the crap out of us. Raw displays of terrifying power;
intelligence linked to deadly resolve; smugness that lets them swagger and joke
from one end of town to the next. In
some cases, even the best heroes can’t compete with the tools in their boxes.
But going back to what
I said earlier, maybe there’s another reason why villains can be so lovable. The assumption was that people would align
with the heroes because of their basic decency.
Conversely, people are just as likely to look at villains, see what they
have to say, and think “Crap. That’s
actually a good point.” They could be a
way to indulge -- to harmlessly see what it would be like to cut loose from the
social norms and standards, and try to make a world up to their standards. (Or destroy it outright, but let’s not get
into semantics.) It’s kind of a lower
form of vicarious living -- not exactly a way to live out secret wishes and
fantasies, but still something you can’t help but want to observe. If you’ve ever thought to yourself “What
would happen if ___________?” then there’s a chance that a good villain can
provide.
You can probably guess
where my allegiances lie, but then again, this post isn’t about me. It’s about the question at hand, and if
anyone out there is willing to provide some insights sprung straight from their
pulsing, springy brains. That question
is: do
villains have a distinct edge over heroes? And as a corollary, how can they get so popular -- even at the
expense of the story’s heroes?
The fate of the world
is in your hands. Ready? Set?
Defend the earth! I mean…comment!
And look forward to
those Infamous posts. There is…much
to discuss.