ITT: Villains

You have to begin with Iago. Get caught and refuse to speak, that's that.

Death. Always compelling.

>>7635450
Cate in East of Eden seriously scared the shit out of me when I read it five years ago. Terrifying character

>>7635473
Is death really a villain though? Unless you're personifying it Seventh Seal style it's more like an inevitable force of nature.

>>7635450

Crake was pretty good in Oryx and Crake.

what about the judge in Blood Meridian. He had depth because he was a comparison of ironies.

>>7635624
> comparison of ironies.
expand pls

My favourite villains are Stephen King's. Not the supernatural unexplained ones, but the ones with human traits.

We understand them, we empathize with them.

In my opinion a good villain is one that has a damn good reason for doing what he/she does. Or at least one you can really feel for.

eg. Christine
Rosie the Hat

iago

godtier villainy right there

Villains who are aware of their villainy and are dedicated to it

"Morally complex" villains are mostly terrible, such an easy way to flounder the characterisation

Patrick Bateman is a good villain.

>>7635450
Nice Dark Souls drawing.

Iago.

>>7635450
Mrs. Stoner ....that bitch. I'd have shot her in the knees and then sliced her neck off with my Katana.

So much Iago.
What about Richard III? I think he's my favourite Shakespearean villain.
Don't get me wrong, Iago is great, but something about Richard is more appealing to me.

Dolores in Nabokov's Lolita.

>>7637427
I agree most of the time morally complex attempts just turn out to be edgy shit, but what would you say are some good examples? I still like the idea of a "villain" with complex motivation

Hester in The Scarlet Letter. No good cheating temptress jezebel and a single mother to boot.

>>7637468
I like Iago more because he's much less human than Richard, who at times shows signs of guilty conscience.

>>7637506

> misreading the scarlet letter this much

>>7637512
t. woman in her 30s looking for a real man to raise her children

>>7637506
b8

>>7637519

> misreading the scarlet letter this much

no really, this is highschool level misreading

>>7635450

Macbeth, Pigs in 1984

>>7637533
Hester today would be a Tinderella with a half-black kid or three. Terrible person.

Josey Wales in Brief History of Seven Killings is a beast.

Jorge of Burgos in The Name of the Rose is a piece of shit evil fucker.

>>7635450
O'Brien from 1984. The last few chapters actually made me physically sick.

>>7635450
Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

>>7635696
contrast of ironies. my bad i was thinking about fapping while i was writing that.

Satan, the judge, iago

>>7637439
Thanks mate. Is the Pygmy a villain? Or just misunderstood?

>>7635485
Men were the bad guys in Oryx and Crake.

>>7638044

This makes me wonder if betrayal enhances a villain, or if it's played out

Dorian gray. Tho I suppose there is a debate on if he could be classified as a villian or just a tragic hero

Professor moriarty

A good villian should have a convincing reason for doing what he's doing or for what he is. And if not a good reason then his personality/power depending on the type of villian must be convincing enough to sell his character. He should have faults... not necessarily tragic... but something that a reader can identify with. Or he just has to be a flat out badass.