What makes a good villain?

>clear concise motivation
>detailed plans
>excels at either being complete bullshit EVULLL or has a purpose for why he's evil (revenge, trying to change the world)
>good backstory
>physically different (perhaps intimidating) than most characters (ie The Judge in Blood Meridian)
>trait they excel at
>best dialogue in the book

I think the best villains are the ones that the reader has a problem finding fault in, but it's all in the context of the story you're telling it.

Villains also should have some antithesis qualities from the protagonist.

how'd they come up with the design for sauron helmet?

>>8641932
This is a pretty good description, the type of villain should fit well the story/hero. The villain should have traits the viewer can identify with to understand why he's doing whatever it is he does.

>>8641858
Fiction:
>>8641932
Non-fiction:
A hook nose.

>>8641932
>The Judge
he doesn't fulfill 1. and 2. of your list

>>8641985
Oy vey, remember the 16 trillion.

>>8641939
The copied John Howe

>>8641987
You don't have to hit every notion of my list to make a good villain.
I would just say most of those qualities are a good bench mark for what I look for in a villain when I write.

Wouldn't an antagonist be a better term?

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>>8641858
>>8641987
>>8641932
Good villains come from a readers own latent attraction to power. The Judge for instance is sensitive, intelligent, and aspires to become Suzerain. He is completely and utterly free, playing on the depths of the human psyche until the very last word of the book wherein even his recognition becomes unbearable. His position as a mirror is replaced by his position as an analogue of nihilism and evil.
Great villains have an infectious aspect about them which: morally, physically, spiritually, intellectually corrupt those around them. The Judge's aura of savage mastery in this regard is too tempting not to join.

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>>8641932
>>physically different

a fox girl as the villain in the legend about teumessian fox...

>>8641988
Case in point. A positively mustache-twirling post.

>>8641858
The best villains are the ones that didn't do anything wrong or the ones where you would have done the same in their place

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>>8642940

Best villains are completely incomprehensible.

>>8643045
Lazy writing

i like a sympathetic villain tee bee aych but an essential weakness / flaw that led them to making those bad decisions is essential imo

>>8642126
>Suzerain
Oh, an overlord, a feudal lord with vassals sworn to loyalty!

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>What makes a good villain?
If he challenges you to a children card game

>>8641987

>the judge
>a villain

Haha.

>>8641858
>doing the smart thing
>not being autistic
people say ultron was just being autistic and finding himself,etc but that is not interesting to observe.
>not crazy or evil for the lolz
>good songs
>not too smug

>>8641858
>I think the best villains are the ones that the reader has a problem finding fault in, but it's all in the context of the story you're telling it.

This is reddit-tier. For some reason, juvenile comic book and fantasy autists these days just love the morally righteous villain. This almost always hinges on the "small-picture vs. big picture" paradigm clash (e.g. Dr. Doom etc. etc.)

I agree with Arendt that evil is intrinsically banal. At the end of the day people who do evil are just selfish and weak. Their motives are intellectually boring and generic. They want power, money, respect or pussy to the extent that they are willing to put their innate goodness on the altar of their corporeal desires.

A good villain in literature has more to do with their personality than their motives. You could make a schoolyard bully a compelling villain if he had a sufficiently attractive personality.

tl;dr it's not about motive: it's about gravitas.

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Easy, complexity and depth. Also, being a dynamic character wouldn't hurt.

>>8644381
This, also a good villain depends 100% of the opera he is in and the intentions of the author

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>>8642995

I think that what a good villain needs is a nice set of chompers.

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Ambiguity and aesthetics.

I wrote a sprawling space opera with a "big bad" villain. And now after doing that I'm eager to write a "Walter white" character who's actually a good person but pushed into a corner. I think there's enough room in literature for both

>>8642995

kill yourself my man

Sauron was kind of a retard to be honest.

>>8646261
Why the fuck does he even need to make ring that being destroyed, kills himself as well? Fucking retarded indeed.

>>8646261
He has got to be one of the worst Dark Lords ever.

>>8646176
Good luck senpai

>>8643065
This. Usually it's what sepparates him from the hero, if you're going for the 'final boss was like hero but went rogue' dynamic

>>8641858
Winning

>>8641932
You must fucking hate Iago then.

>>8642940
>I think the best villains are the "did nothing wrong" martyr types which have been done to death but everyone likes because they think it's original.

This is the cancer that is killing good villain characters in the same way the "edgy antihero" is horribly stale and boring but is still overused.

A good book doesn't have a villain.

>thinking in terms of villain and hero