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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Bingo the Blog Post

It's Hannah. This is post #5 in a row. I shall dominate this blog, just you wait and see!

Well, maybe not. See, I'm back to not knowing what to write. I have had a few ideas, but I've already done two Character posts and a Location post, so I was thinking that I should do something else.

Recently I've been working on my main story, Darby's Quest. And I've been thinking about villains. Now, I know that villains are a large point of controversy. Some people hate them (though I don't think I've met someone who does yet). Most people I've met love one form of villain or another.

To me, there are several types of characters, at least in fantasy or adventure novels. There's the hero type, the relatable hero, the anti-hero, the secondary villain, and the villain. There's some more in there too, like the relatable hero's friends, the creepy good guy, the grumpy or stern mentor, and the slightly insane person.

The hero is the one's who's always noble, like Superman and Captain America, Jason from Heroes of Olympus, and Horace from Ranger's Apprentice, for those of you that have read those last two series. They're the one's who always do the right thing, they're the knights in shining armor. Some of these are a bit overdone. They're perfect and invincible. I find these characters a little boring, mostly the Superman type. Superman is boring to me because he's so perfect. You can't kill him unless you get a really rare extraterrestrial rock and shine it at him. He's got swirly perfect hair, and he can do anything from saving a plane and breaking through walls to save the orphans, to welding the moon together with his heat vision (seriously). Not a very complicated character.
Though you can still do the hero thing without making them perfect.  Such as in the cases of Captain America and Horace. They're moral and heroic, but they still have problems and insecurity.

The relatable hero is one of my favorites. Spider-Man, Percy Jackson, Will (Ranger's Apprentice), Po (Kung Fu Panda), and Harry Potter. These are guys who were normal, or thought they were normal, when suddenly something bizarre happened to them. For example, a radioactive spider bit him, a giant chased his adoptive family down and told him he was a wizard, etc.

Then there's my other favorite: the anti-hero. I love these guys to death. Han Solo, Flynn Rider, Artemis Fowl,  Severus Snape, and, it could be argued, Batman. I think that Iron Man belongs in here too. These are the guys who either were bad, and turned good, or are good with bad qualities. They are often snarky and sarcastic, the dashing hero/villain. I don't know anyone who doesn't like them.

Secondary villain: you know them. Draco Malfoy,  Clarisse La Rue (Percy Jackson), Wormtongue, Denethor... basically the bully, the mean one, the one that the hero just doesn't like. Not the major bad guy, but one of the ones you aren't supposed to like. Sometimes you end up feeling sorry for them, or even liking them, but they aren't the same as the anti-hero. Sometimes you really hate them. Like Denethor.

Then there's the villain. They're the ones I wanted to talk about. There are, you know, many many many different kinds. Some people love the villain, some people hate their guts.                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Which type of villain do you like the best?

The big, bad power-hungry dictator (Hitler type: Sauron, the White Witch, Voldemort and Darkseid)
The unexpected bad guy (like most Harry Potter bad guys)
The fun-loving insane guy (Moriarty, the Joker...)
The one who thinks they serve a good cause (no example on hand...)
The convincing, greater good guy (Galbatorix, Chancellor Palpatine)
The deceived one (Darth Vader?)
The angry/upset revenge/jealousy one (Loki, Tai Lung)
The one who's trying to get back to power (Gaia, Shen, Voldemort)
Other?

I'm not sure I've sorted these in the most convenient manner. Many villains could fit into different categories. And it could be that this whole time, I've just babbled on and on about ridiculous boring things and going 'round in circles conversationally. And I hope I didn't give you any spoilers, or insult your favorite superhero/character. Unless you like Denethor, cause that's just wrong. But I am looking for opinions.

Per-son-ally, my favorite villain is the unexpected one. They're so much fun. It could be like a fantasy/adventure thing, but it also has a mystery! I love being surprised.

So anyway, we've been sick around our house, so we haven't been able to get much up on here. I just thought something needed to be written, so there you have it: Bingo the Blog Post.
I can never think of a good name for these things...

1 comment:

  1. I don't have a favorite villain type, myself. Any of those types can be done really well in their own way, suited to their own story.

    In preference, I like villains whose villainy is portrayed for what it is. I don't like it when people make the villains just as likeable -- if not more so, as is sadly sometimes the case -- as the heroes. Things need to be balanced. So if the villain's going to be cool and likeable, he needs to be redeemed at the end, OR he needs to choose the dark side and give himself over to evil to where he's significantly less likeable.

    I have several villains.... A power hungry, a vengeful one, one who's decieved.... Yeah. I like variety.

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