Move aside, boring antagonists

By Kat

All forms of stories are pretty unique. They have their plot, and in media forms, their visualisations. Everything contributes to the storyline, which is what I love about all forms of storytelling. But I think one of my greatest pet peeves lies in people not paying as much respect to the quality of their antagonists as those good ol' villains deserve. 

Let me present to you...Exhibit A. 

Avatar. No, not the movie, the cartoon. It's beautifully written, brilliantly executed with revolutionary ideas...and yes, there are good antagonists, such as Zuko and Azula, who through their different paths turn out to be amazing characters...but my point at hand here is the central villain, Ozai. He's described as the 'Phoenix King', he plans for world domination and generally you get the same old bad guy vibe from him throughout the whole series. It's one of the reasons that I sometimes favour the newer series- Legend of Korra- because every single one of these villains has never failed to please. Despite the fact that so many elements of the older outweigh the new, the one part that I just love is the fact that all villains are multi-faceted. They're not just bland and apathetic- they feel and display emotion and each have a motive- whether it be equality, spirituality or freedom. Which brings me to my first statement: A good antagonist is one you can feel empathetic for.

Exhibit B: You can see it in the famed Joker, you can see it in The Prestige...guys who give off bad vibes have a past. They don't just appear out of nowhere, like the author decided "Oh hey, I haven't written a villain for my story yet. Better just slot one in here"...They are circumstantial, created by their past and shaped by their actions. They have motive and that motive is justifiable, making us all think for one second about whether their actions were warranted, or even some form of pity for their depressing pasts. Conclusion? A good villain has a backstory.

Villains are often what can make or break a story. They can build up atmosphere, and they can give stories- whether it be on pages or the big screen- a sense of depth that is lacking in many. Characters should be multi-faceted, they should be comprehensive, and by no means should they be an emergency character pasted onto the page with little explanation and/or exploration of their person.  

So often stories get all caught up in their heroes. You can find great epics about the romances, the drama, the brave rallying of the troops to fight against the evil forces as they struggle with whatever obstacles they are to face...and what I've said here goes for them too. But antagonists deserve more credit for the great contributions they bring. After all, what would be a story without them? 

All protagonists must have their dark side, as all antagonists must have their light. But let's face it- nobody wants a world that's strictly black and white.