Crafting the Perfect Villian

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Last night I finally had the opportunity to watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I had the pleasure of watching the brilliant Sherlock Holmes and the brilliantly mad Professor James Moriarty do battle on the silver screen in a fashion that I haven't seen captured in a very long time. It was akin to that of two Roman gladiators matching whits in the Coliseum. Not a game of cat and mouse. Not a crucible where there must be one winner and one loser. No, this was something else entirely. The battle between Holmes and Moriarty is and has always been one of equals. It is the perfect dichotomy between protagonist and antagonist, and meets its end as only a relationship of this caliber can. 


Putting all this aside; however, Holmes and Moriarty's relationship got the cogs in the inner recesses of my mind turning. And so I pose the question, what makes the "perfect" villain? Is it how he or she carries him or herself? Is it the way he or she speaks? Is it the villain's malevolent acts towards the protagonist's of the story? Is it the way he or she dresses? I would argue that it is none of these things, and that the reason why many villains come off as flat and predictable is due to the fact that the villain's character was designed with these attributes in mind.

On the contrary, it seems to me that what makes the perfect villain perfect is the relationship he or she has with the hero or heroes of the story. The perfect villain antagonizes the hero because that is what a villain is designed to do. And how does a villain go about this antagonism? But by studying its subject carefully, intimately. I speak of the character as if he or she were real, and therein lies the key. The villain, in order to be effective, must be somebody that the reader or viewer can relate to. Too often emphasis is put on the reader being able to relate to the hero, but it is the villain that should  embody every dark thought and desire the reader has. The villain is the personification of every time the reader wanted to throw their boss through the sixth story window, and every time he or she felt jilted by a former lover. For every time they were ever wronged, hurt, or oppressed, the villain represents the manifestation of those feelings.

And what of the hero? How does the hero fit into the equation of the villain? The hero in turn represents the reader's desire to make atonement for these feelings. The hero represents normalcy. Few heroes that I have had the pleasure of creating were the most upstanding citizens; and they didn't need to be. Doing right by the world is not a prerequisite of the written hero. Matter of factly, the idea of a "do-gooder" rarely appeals to our human sensibilities. Sherlock Holmes is a fine example of this. He drinks. He smokes. He does drugs. He makes mistakes. Yet his defining characteristic that makes him a hero is in fact his relationship with the villain. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty are the same in every respect, except for one key difference. While Holmes seeks to bring balance to the chaotic world that ensues when a puzzle presents itself, Moriarty seeks to unbalance the world.

How does all this create the vision of the perfect villain? Quite simply, if there is no conflict, then there is no hero. And if there is no hero, then there cannot be a villain, or at least a villain that is effective in the eyes of the reader. The two are co-dependent upon each other. They feed on the strengths and weaknesses of the other, thus creating depth, emotion, a soul. And so we come full circle and see that the perfect villain is one who reveals the imperfections of the hero.


To all the aspiring writers out there, consider this the next time you attempt to craft your antagonist. Look past his or her demeanor, attire, and actions, and instead examine the relationship he or she shares with the hero. Build your antagonist from there. Then, and only then, will your villain truly be worthy of the hero's remorse. Then, and only then, will your villain truly be "perfect".