I don't think we've gotten that villian that's quite "hit the mark" yet...

[Ace O. Jade 122]

(Note: The entirety of the following post is my personal opinion.)

 

So far, we've had five villians. They've each displayed multiple attributes required to be what I consider a "perfect" villian. However, I don't believe any of them has quite hit the nail on the head yet, as none of the five have had all of these attributes.

 

 

 

Attribute 1: A perfect villian needs to be strong and present a challenge/threat.

 

Nightmare Moon: She walks a fine line here. It can be argued well that she was challenging for the Mane 6 to face, but the more I think about it, the more it seems like she wasn't. The extent of what she did: a vanishing act on the sun/Celestia, alter aspects of the Everfree Forest to impede the Mane 6's path, and teleport Twilight/the Elements to a different room in the same building. To me, these actually seem more like shenanigans than challenges.

 

Discord: It's pretty safe to say Discord was a challenge and a threat. It can be argued that what I said about Nightmare Moon could be applied to Discord. However, that's Discord's thing: he used ridiculously amplified "shenanigans" to pose a serious threat to Equestria. I've always thought of Discord as a non-lethal yet more powerful Joker (from the Batman franchise).

 

Queen Chrysalis: I believe it's pretty safe to say she was a challenge as well. She did sabotage and impersonate a princess, defeat a powerful queen, and then send an ARMY after the Mane 6 which they had to fight through.

 

King Sombra: I think this is the one villian that's hard to argue that he presented a challenge. His castle was more of a challenge than he himself was.

 

Lord Tirek: Do I need to present any evidence here? Everyone saw the fight scene right? The one he actually WON at the end? (Wow, I don't know what color to make this text... Red has already been used...)

 

 

 

Attribute 2: a perfect villian needs to be persistent in their goals and appearances.

 

Nightmare Moon: While some may not realize it, she fits this bill. Sure, it took her more than a few centuries to reappear, but she did return to wreak havoc again at least once (and while the writers will never do it, the potential to come back again is there.

 

Discord: Discord is actually probably the best example of this the show has to offer. After he was defeated by Celestia and Luna initially, he came back a total of three times (if we count "Keep Calm and Flutter On" as him coming back in a villianous way, despite the roots of reformation at the end) and accidentally came back another time ("Princess Twilight Sparkle").

 

Queen Chrysalis: She's the lackluster example here. After he first appearance/defeat, never came back.

 

King Sombra: Technically came back once, so he does have this attribute. Also he's dead, so he couldn't come back again if he wanted to...

 

Lord Tirek: Again, came back once. Could come back again? I don't believe they took any additional precautions to seal him in Tartarus this time.

 

 

 

Attribute 3: A perfect villian needs a motherbucking army of expendable minions.

(A little background on me: This is my personal favorite. I've always been a minions kind of guy. In every video game I play that has different character choices, if one has minions of any kind, you can bet I'm picking them without any other consideration.)

 

Nightmare Moon: No minions. I don't think the Shadowbolts count, as they weren't actually real.

 

Discord: No minions, no more possible discussion.

 

Queen Chrysalis: Easily the best (only?) example, and a great one at that. Her army of Changelings is the reason Chrysalis is my favorite villian.

 

King Sombra: Arguable, but doesn't fit the bill; we can ASSUME he had an army in his original conquering of the Crystal Empire, but he doesn't have this attribute as he no longer has one.

 

Lord Tirek: Same as Discord; no minions, no more possible discussion.

 

 

 

Attribute 4: a perfect villian has to have intentions/actions that impede the path/s of the protagonist/s.

 

They all fit this bill. No need to explain any of the villians individually.

 

 

 

 

As a side note: Ahuizoatl and The Mane-iac actually fit some of these attributes (although mainly the minions one) more than some of the main villians.

 

 

Essentially, in my opinion, those are the four crucial attributes a "perfect" villian needs. Of course, you can have a fantastic villian without all of these attributes (I don't think anyone can argue that Lord Tirek wasn't a fantastic villian) but without all of them they (again, in my opinion) cannot be perfect. While all of these attributes are displayed in at least one of the above villians, not until Hasbro writes a villian with all four of them do I think we'll have that villian that really hits the mark.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Ace O. Jade

[Pastel 7,630]

I don't agree with the 3rd attribute, it's not indispensable.

A villain like Discord didn't really need minions, he was already a big threat by himself. I thought it was better he acted alone.

[Ace O. Jade 122]

I don't agree with the 3rd attribute, it's not indispensable.

A villain like Discord didn't really need minions, he was already a big threat by himself. I thought it was better he acted alone.

 

The reason the minions aspect is so important is because for a villian it's a smart, efficient, and manipulable (<- that's a word?) method of getting tasks done. Without the minions, the villian loses a lot of flexibility in terms of options and influence.

 

A villian with minions has manpower to add to his/her list of resources, and it can be a very important resource.

 

Plus it just feels REALLY GOOD to have minions under your control (<- I can vouch for that )

 

Again, a villian doesn't require minions to be a good villian (Discord and Tirek were great villians without them) but a villian cannot (IMO) be perfect without their expendable and unforgettable army.

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

Why would Discord need minions? I mean, he can literally be on multiple places at once, as seen in "Keep Calm and Flutter on".

Thats what I call flexible.

 

But apart of this, I think you are right.

Edited June 2, 2014 by YetAnotherDiscord