I Love To Hate You

Since we had so much fun talking about the creepy, gory, frightening and strange last week, let's do it again! But this time we won't talk about food: we'll talk about people! But not real people. Let's talk about characters. More specifically, let's talk about BAD GUYS.

(See, the blog title wasn't me saying something rude to my loyal readers. Way to get offended over nothing! If the blog post was going to be about my feelings towards you guys, it would say this: LOVE. And that is all.)

Do you remember back in the day when bad guys wore black and good guys wore white? Well no more! Not only can good guys go bad, bad buys can turn good, like this guy:

Gru wins my prize for the best villain who embraces the light (bright?) side. How can you not love Gru, even when he was mean?

Bad guys can also remain bad guys, but still be likeable. Like these guys:

My memory is a little faulty on this one, but I don't think they ever repent of their crimes, but still, you like, right?

But then there are bad guys who you just HATE, so much so that you have to respect them for provoking that kind of animosity even though they haven't done anything to you personally. This is the type of character who truly does not have a heart. The perfect example is this guy:

Fernand Mondego from The Count of Monte Cristo. I hate the guy and I feel no remorse for saying so. (Mostly because he's not real.)

There are villains who you actually enjoy because they are just so dang zany that you can't help but admire the level of their insanity. (Or is that just me, the crazy author lady, who admires insane people?) My favorite examples of bat guano crazy villains are the Joker, as played by Heath Ledger, the Grinch, as played by Jim Carrey, Cruella de Vil, as played by Glenn Close, and Bellatrix Lestrange as played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Honestly, crazy villains are always the most fun to watch, just because they are so unpredictable. Don't you have to wonder why the protagonist in movies/books with crazy villains don't just inject the villain with a dose of Clozaril? (Yes, I had to look that up. You don't need to be so worried that I automatically know what kind of medicine to give to schizophrenics. Jeez.)

Then there are creepy villains. I'll admit that I don't watch horror movies/read scary books, so you might not find that these guys make your skin crawl, but it's the best I can do. Voldemort made my skin crawl a time or two. (But obviously not enough to keep me from saying his name! Ha!) I remember watching the original Psycho and being rather creeped out by Norman Bates. I haven't showered since. (I actually think that would be an interesting story to write about--someone who has ablutophobia. Yes, I looked that up too. I'm scared of that word. It's not normal.) Creepiest villian:

Gollum. The dude's got some serious problems, likely including ablutophobia.

Do you know who most people think the best movie villain of all time is? This guy:

But you know what? He doesn't do it for me. I understand how the disfigurement works into the story and the fact that his identity is obscured allows for a later revelation (don't worry all you people that haven't seen Star Wars, I won't spoil it!), but when you can't see the villains expressions--and in particular, their eyes--they lose that connection with reality and therefore lose their credibility. I really wish George Lucas would have consulted with me on this before he went ahead and made trillions off this un-scary fella.

Which leads me to the final (and my favorite) type of villain: the sympathetic villain. This guy (or girl! Gosh I'm a chauvinist.) might have started out good, or at least we are shown through flashbacks a time when this person was nice and not naughty. And because this person was once good, we all have hope that they can be good again. Even while they are destroying the earth and causing calamities, the reader/viewer is still secretly hoping that the villain will fall to the ground and cry, "I'm sorry! So sorry! That was bad! I'll never do it again!" Do they repent and change their ways? Sometimes, but not always. I like this type of villain best because they are the most realistic. We never give up on people who have wronged us, do we? We always have hope that someday they will grovel at our feet and beg for forgiveness. (Or at the very least, tell us how right we were and how misguided they were.) The Grinch fits under this category as well, since we all know what causes his heart to shrink, but my very, very favorite villain is: 

Loki. I don't even hate him. Just love him. (His character, that is.) He fascinates me. You can see his pain and feel his insecurities. He is powerful and intimidating, but he is oh-so flawed. And that is what makes a perfect villain. I might also relate to him since I am the younger sibling. (Zing, Paulashawn--or should I call you Thor?) Actually though, having two boys just a year apart really brings the Thor-Loki relationship home. I live with that kind of jealousy/struggle for dominance. That relationship was masterfully captured in the Marvel movies, and hopefully the brawls that Thor and Loki got into will never be reenacted in my house. :)  And another Loki connection: look at his name. Now look at my name. Now back to me. What do you see? We're practically name twins! (Now that is creepy!)

So tell me: what villains do you love to hate?

And, it's the last week of the month, so come back Thursday for the monthly winner. Do you think the prize should be a Loki action figure? I do, and I want to win. 

And and, since it's Halloween the middle of next week and we'll all be too busy stealing chocolate from the kids handing out candy to the kids, no post next week. But! I'm going to be working on redesigning the blog and my stagnant website, so come for a visit towards the end of the weekish and see what's changed! 

OK, tell me who is the best/baddest/craziest/creepiest/most sympathetic/ anyothertypeofvillainImayhavenotmentioned. GO!