What makes for a good villain, /co/? Being able to relate to

They have to look cool.
That's pretty much it.

Easiest way to do this is just make an evil version of the hero with a slightly different costume.

An immediately identifiable visual appearance, a clean set of goals (be they complex or petty), genuine menace to the protagonist, and enough character to escape the dreaded gravity well of boring cliches.

Sympathy and relatability can be a huge bonus, but some villains are just built to be irredeemable.

>>90468942
entertaining
a good villain is a great performer above all else

audacity
a good villain isn't some opportunist, its someone who will go to absurd lengths to get what they want

File: kefka-palazzo-dissidia-final-fantasy-arcade-8.3.jpg (19KB, 210x240px) Image search: [Google]

19KB, 210x240px

>>90468999
Sometimes an opportunist is exactly what the story needs.

>>90468942
Entertainment. That sounds shallow and vague but make a villain grandiose and I'll enjoy whatever his motivation is, whether it be sympathetic motives, monstrous forces of nature or just being a dick. Not someone who does some half-assed shit we've seen a dozen times better.

>>90469065
Kefka reminds me of myself: intelligent, nihilistic and with a wicked sense of humour.

>>90468942
All.

A good villain is simply a good character that can be fun or sympathetic and reacts realistically to the situation presented based on their personality.

They also need to play off the hero really well .

>>90468942
They need something that is cool or interesting about them. They don't need to be sympathetic, because look at Reverse Flash, Black Manta, and Aku. They don't need to be pure evil, because look at Mr. Freeze, Nox, and Raimi's Doc Ock. what they need is a hook, an angle that makes you interested in them. Usually people like to make villains flashy because of this.

Make them so obsessed with the hero that the audience feels they're one step away from fucking.

>>90470967
stop

>>90468942
reason

>>90468942
Presentation!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQJJjcrwXQE

>>90469150
This. A villain can be anything so long as they succeed in what the writer is going for. There have been popular villains who are unsympathetic, have shit goals, and are flat as shit but they're just executed in a very entertaining manner.
Like Aku is a favorite on here.
He's literally just evil because it's what he is, his major goal is just general torment and evil, there's no grand overarching scheme that's interesting to watch unfoltd, but he has a very entertaining personality and design.

>>90468942

They need to have good chemistry with the hero. That's it. Everything else is window dressing.

Heroes are defined by the challenges they overcome and the villains they face. James Bond, without a villain to hunt down, is just some guy with really specific drink preferences.

There are multiple ways this chemistry can play out, but the best moments of the heroes story need to be with their villain.

The best parts of X-Men are seeing Xavier and Magneto together, two friends on opposite sides who sympathize with the position of the other but feel that they have to choose a different path. That shit never gets old, because their relationship just fucking works so well.

The Batman villains that have endured are the ones that contrast some specific part of his personality, acting as a foil for his darker urges and aspects. Scarecrow is his use of fear as a weapon, Riddler is his intelligence, etc.

Even if the villain and hero hate each other, that's still chemistry. Reverse Flash works because he is so consumed with his hatred that he is willing to do anything, no matter how grand or how petty, to make the Flash's life marginally worse. There is a purity of purpose there that is fun to watch.

You can give the villain all the grand speeches or fancy powers or costumes you want, but if their relationship with the hero doesn't have good chemistry they are a lame villain.

File: 1473642256471.jpg (9KB, 204x260px) Image search: [Google]

9KB, 204x260px

>>90468942
Best villain coming through.

File: Black Manta.jpg (2MB, 1088x4567px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 1088x4567px

>>90475940
I#m not so sure about that...

This is kinda subjective, but the ability to instill fear is a huge factor for me.
If a villain can't provide that, they can blow up planets, slaughter newborns and rape women and I still won't find them threatening.

>>90475330

This is a good answer.

>>90470967
Next time on "Things That Aren't True"

>>90476006
what a fucking son of a bitch

I love it