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One popular concept of the "villain", meant to mimic the purposely distinctive visage of villains, initially from the stage plays of the 1880s.

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether an historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain is the bad guy, the characters who fight against the hero. A female villain is sometimes called a villainess. Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines villain as "a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot."^[1]

Look up villain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

French villains in the 15th century.

The etymology of the word is probably Middle English villein from Old French villain, in turn from Late Latin villanus, meaning serf or peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of a villa, which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul.^[2] Consequently, it meant a person of less than knightly status, and so came to mean a person who was not chivalrous; because many unchivalrous acts, such as treachery or rape, are villainous in the modern sense, and because the word was used as a term of abuse, it took on its modern meaning.^[3]

Baba Yaga often acts as a villain in Russian fairy tales

Vladimir Propp, in his analysis of the Russian fairy tale, concluded that a fairy tale had only eight dramatis personae, of which one was the villain,^[4] and his analysis has been widely applied to non-Russian tales. The actions that fell into a villain's sphere were:

• a story-initiating villainy, where the villain caused harm to the hero or his family,
• a conflict between the hero and the villain, either a fight or other compeitition
• pursuing the hero after he has succeeding in winning the fight or obtaining something from the villain.

None of these acts must necessarily occur in a fairy tale, but when they occurred, the character that performed them was the villain. The villain therefore could appear twice: once in the opening of the story, and a second time as the person sought out by the hero.^[5]

When a character performed only these acts, the character was a pure villain. Various villains also perform other functions in a fairy tale; a witch who fought the hero and ran away, which let the hero follow her, was also performing the task of "guidance" and thus acting as a helper.^[6]

The functions could also be spread out among several characters. If a dragon acted as the villain but was killed by the hero, another character -- such as the dragon's sisters -- might take on the role of the villain and pursue the hero.^[7]

Two other characters could appear in roles that are villainous in the more general sense. One is the false hero; this character is always villainous, presenting a false claim to be the hero that must be rebutted for the happy ending.^[8] Among these characters are Cinderella's stepsisters, chopping off parts of their feet to fit on the shoe.^[9] Another character, the dispatcher, sends a hero on his quest. This may be an innocent request, to fulfill a legitimate need, but the dispatcher may also, villainously, lie to send a character on a quest in hopes of being rid of him.^[10]

Darth Vader, one of the most iconic villains in film history, makes his entrance in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

A villain (similar to, but distinct from, an antagonist) is a necessary foil to the hero (who is similar to, but distinct from, the protagonist). While heroes (those who stand on the side of righteousness and good) are often forced to respond to outside stimuli acting upon them and do not have a lot of latitude in how they respond, for villains, most, if not all, paths are wide open.

Others point out^{[citation needed]} that many acts of villains have a hint of wish-fulfillment fantasy, which makes some people identify with them as characters more strongly than with the heroes. Because of this, a convincing villain must be given a characterization that makes his or her motive for doing wrong convincing, as well as being a worthy adversary to the hero. As put by film critic Roger Ebert: "Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph."^[11]

The Evil Genius is an archetype or even a caricature that is a recurring staple in certain genres of fiction, particularly comic books, spy fiction, action films and cartoons. The evil genius serves as a common adversary and foil of the hero.

As the term suggests, evil geniuses are characters of great intelligence who choose to use their knowledge for antisocial ends. Their schemes often hinge on mundane details that heroes can exploit, foiling their plots at the climax of the story.^{[citation needed]}

Evil geniuses have commonly had difficult childhoods. Normally, this is used to compare them from superheroes. It implies that there is nothing different from the hero, and the villain, except a single choice. Evil geniuses often come from poor or impoverished backgrounds but have fought their way to the top and put on an aura of sophistication so that no one will suspect their humble beginnings.^{[citation needed]}

The evil genius is different from the mad scientist, in that the mad scientist tends to be amoral, rather than evil. An Evil Genius is generally a clever schemer, while the Mad Scientist typically pursues scientific knowledge with no regard for the consequences. A mad scientist might create an army of zombies, just to see if it is possible, but an evil genius would have a diabolical use for this army, and a plan to escape the town without being killed (a reason for which mad scientists are often found in the employ or working in concert with an evil genius).^{[citation needed]}

Hubris is a common characteristic among evil geniuses, so much so that they often boast of their grand designs to their adversary, or otherwise compromise their plots in a moment of overconfidence.^{[citation needed]}

It is very common in American films for the cunning villain to be British or French. See Ethnic stereotypes in American media — British and — French.

Evil geniuses frequently employ inept henchmen, who equally frequently help foil their plans, whether intentionally or not.^{[citation needed]}

Conversely, evil geniuses just as frequently employ a highly competent and trusted lieutenant (or similar analogue) who will eventually (A) be defeated by the hero (despite the lieutenant's ostensibly superior skill and/or intellect), (B) ally themselves with the hero, or (C) betray the evil genius at the last minute in order to save themselves or usurp their master's position. This character's main function is usually to do jobs or undertake missions which the villain is unwilling or unable to do. For example, a brilliant but physically frail villain might employ a strong-man as his lieutenant, or a suave and high-class villain might employ a lieutenant to do the "dirty work" of killing people and executing plans. The trusted lieutenant sometimes has a gimmick, power or ability that sets them apart as uniquely suited for the villain's mission, (i.e. Scarecrow's position within Gotham's legal system in Batman Begins), or as the hero's evil counterpart, (i.e. Sabertooth matched against Wolverine).^{[citation needed]}

A sterotypical villain kidnaps the heroine of "The Perils of Pauline".

Note that, as mentioned above, a villain's disposition towards evil distinguishes them from an antagonist. For example, Javert in Les Miserables is an antagonist: he opposes the hero, but does so by such means and under such pretexts as not to become entirely odious to the reader. Note also that a villain may repent, be redeemed, or become in league with the hero. Sometimes, a villain may even appear as the protagonist of a story, while the hero who opposes them may be the antagonist.

• Anti-hero – Not necessarily a villain, an anti-hero is a character with villainous or generally negative behaviour and often advances selfish or ignoble goals but most often fights alongside the "good guys" or is considered a protagonist. The anti-hero may violate the law or the prevailing social standards, but may nevertheless have the audience's sympathy (and may be or become good-hearted). Sometimes, they may be heroes with noble goals but have villain-like or uncouth personal qualities. Often considered "grey" characters due to their moral ambiguity. Although the anti-hero may be the protagonist of the story, they generally show traits which are in contrast to those of the traditional hero, such as cowardice or greed.
• Anti-villain – Basically the opposite of an anti-hero. While the anti-hero often fights on the protagonist's team, but with selfish motives, the anti-villain plays a villain's game, but for what's at least in his eyes a noble cause. They may be personally more noble or heroic than an anti-hero but the means to achieve their ends are often considered immoral, unjust, even evil. Sometimes they may simply be a villain with gentlemanly qualities or a code of honor or some sense of justice. Often also considered "grey" characters due to their moral ambiguity.
• Archenemy – the main and greatest foe of the hero. For example, The Joker is Batman's archenemy.
• Dark Lord – a villain of near-omnipotence in his realm, who seeks to utterly dominate the world; he is often depicted as a diabolical force, and may, indeed, be more a force than a personality, and often personifies evil itself.^[12] The effects of his rule often assert malign effects on the land as well as his subjects. Besides his usual magical abilities, he often controls great armies. Most Dark Lords are male, except in parody.^[12]
• Evil twin – a character which is identical or almost identical to the hero, but is evil instead of good.
• Femme fatale – a beautiful, seductive but ultimately villainous woman who uses the malign power of her sexuality in order to ensnare the hapless hero into danger.
• Heel – the villain in a match of professional wrestling
• Mad scientist – a scientist-villain or villain-scientist. Can easily be confused with Evil Genius.
• Supervillain – a villain who displays special powers, skills or equipment powerful enough to be a typically serious challenge to a superhero.
• Trickster – often more of an annoying nuisance than a fearsome or dangerous enemy, a trickster may take many forms, from a con man to a mischievous imp. Adventures with trickster type villains tend to be light and comedy oriented and the hero typically finds a way to defeat them non-violently. Sometimes there may be a lesson learned from the trickster, even if unintentional.
• Lackey, henchman, minion, or toadie – a minor villain who takes orders.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Villain

• Rogues gallery
• Mad scientist
• Supervillain
• List of James Bond villains
• Evil laugh
• Evil Overlord List
• List of villains

• Zawacki's humorous look at the concept of a villain:
  • Neil Zawacki (2001). So You've Decided to be Evil. Dark Sites.
  • Neil Zawacki (2003). How to Be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!!. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0811846660. 
  • Neil Zawacki (2004). The Villain's Guide to Better Living. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0811856666.