How do I make my villains better

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

I don't know how to do status updates. I tried but no one ever answers mine 

 

Not all my villains are female. But I think media lacks strong female villains. 

1.) She is a scientist with an IQ of 300. She is a bio engineer and has mastered stem cell research. She mastered it in 2005.(her age is 40). Her goal is to rid the world of men and turn them into women. Her greatest creation was a nanotechnology she created from her philosophy of trans humanism.It was designed to make sex changes obsolete. She only turns men into women. Turning women into men would go against her agenda. But whens he turns men into women, they become biological women. They have the organs, the DNA everything. Her other goal is to discover the secrets of immortality by expanding the life cycle of her DNA. She wants to be a goddess with an all female utopia. She thinks since she is the pinnacle of human intelligence she should rule Earth. She was raped by men and grew up with a mind set that they are the reason why the human race is violent. She views men as a virus. I am still working her out. But my main hero has super powers. She doesn't. I will eventually give her powers down the road when she obtaisn what she wants. But for now she's normal. She actually succeeds in turning my hero into a woman and making her, her slave for a while. But eventually the female breaks off from the hero and becomes her own entity. 

2.) Another one is a young actress who is into theater. She grew up collecting porcelain dolls and puppets. Her powers is mind control and she turns humans into her pawns. She has enchanted gloves that produce strings that latch onto her target. Thus making them hers. She also grew up spoiled. She has a wealthy back round and always got what she wanted. So she decides turning people into puppets is the next best thing. She wants to add my hero to her collection and grows an obsession with him

3.) She is a cannibal. But there's no graphic depiction of massacring people. She shrinks people down to ant size and consumes them. Once they are digested they become apart of her and she absorbs their powers. She is kind of over powered since she has eaten hundreds of people

 

[Dark Fox 151]

I don't know how to do status updates. I tried but no one ever answers mine 

 

Not all my villains are female. But I think media lacks strong female villains. 

 

1.) She is a scientist with an IQ of 300. She is a bio engineer and has mastered stem cell research. She mastered it in 2005.(her age is 40). Her goal is to rid the world of men and turn them into women. Her greatest creation was a nanotechnology she created from her philosophy of trans humanism.It was designed to make sex changes obsolete. She only turns men into women. Turning women into men would go against her agenda. But whens he turns men into women, they become biological women. They have the organs, the DNA everything. Her other goal is to discover the secrets of immortality by expanding the life cycle of her DNA. She wants to be a goddess with an all female utopia. She thinks since she is the pinnacle of human intelligence she should rule Earth. She was raped by men and grew up with a mind set that they are the reason why the human race is violent. She views men as a virus. I am still working her out. But my main hero has super powers. She doesn't. I will eventually give her powers down the road when she obtaisn what she wants. But for now she's normal. She actually succeeds in turning my hero into a woman and making her, her slave for a while. But eventually the female breaks off from the hero and becomes her own entity. 

2.) Another one is a young actress who is into theater. She grew up collecting porcelain dolls and puppets. Her powers is mind control and she turns humans into her pawns. She has enchanted gloves that produce strings that latch onto her target. Thus making them hers. She also grew up spoiled. She has a wealthy back round and always got what she wanted. So she decides turning people into puppets is the next best thing. She wants to add my hero to her collection and grows an obsession with him

 

3.) She is a cannibal. But there's no graphic depiction of massacring people. She shrinks people down to ant size and consumes them. Once they are digested they become apart of her and she absorbs their powers. She is kind of over powered since she has eaten hundreds of people

 

Your second one is the strongest for me, the first one is just strange, just sounds like a mad scientist, that's been done thousands of times before, the story hasn't, but as I said, it's just strange, unless you intend it to be funny because I don't see a gripping drama unfolding over losing your dick and growing tits.

 

The third is meh, there's really nothing there, it just sounds like kirby, you haven't expounded on it much so I can't say a lot about it.

 

They all aren't that great to be honest, I mean, it's like you're just taking character archetypes we've seen hundreds of times and giving them super powers, a good villain needs to be complex and be able to garner sympathy or no one will care what happens to them or have any interest in their story. I mean the first one getting raped is something but it's far too simple, like when I think "Why would a woman hate all men?" I just jump to rape and abuse, it's simple, don't be simple, give it depth and substance.

 

If you just have an evil chick stroking a cat and laughing maniacally it'll flop.

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

Your second one is the strongest for me, the first one is just strange, just sounds like a mad scientist, that's been done thousands of times before, the story hasn't, but as I said, it's just strange, unless you intend it to be funny because I don't see a gripping drama unfolding over losing your dick and growing tits.

 

The third is meh, there's really nothing there, it just sounds like kirby, you haven't expounded on it much so I can't say a lot about it.

 

They all aren't that great to be honest, I mean, it's like you're just taking character archetypes we've seen hundreds of times and giving them super powers, a good villain needs to be complex and be able to garner sympathy or no one will care what happens to them or have any interest in their story. I mean the first one getting raped is something but it's far too simple, like when I think "Why would a woman hate all men?" I just jump to rape and abuse, it's simple, don't be simple, give it depth and substance.

 

If you just have an evil chick stroking a cat and laughing maniacally it'll flop.

I am taking this as carefully as I can. I am going to toss the rape back story. I am trying to flesh out the scientist since she is the main villain. But I really want to make this happen. I want to give people in my universe powers. But it's so hard to come up with original ideas nowadays 

[Dark Fox 151]

I am taking this as carefully as I can. I am going to toss the rape back story. I am trying to flesh out the scientist since she is the main villain. But I really want to make this happen. I want to give people in my universe powers. But it's so hard to come up with original ideas nowadays 

 

It's not just that, it's the turning men into woman thing, it's simply not a dramatic premise, that's something I'd find in a comedy movie. I mean does your story even need 3 villains? I think you're better off finding 1 or 2 you can really flesh out and spread them out through your story, remember spiderman 3? It had 3 villains and it was overcrowded nonsense with backstory thrown in within 5 minutes just as an excuse to have venom in the final scene.

 

What kind of powers are we talking about anyway?

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 938]

Vell you see, all zu have to do iz give your scientist an evil germen aczent like this, und make zem flamboyant.

Or you changr her evil plan because as bad as losing my biys would be to a man, I really would not care.

Now perhaps, based on this, she could kill off the reproductive system by poisoning the worlds crop and animal supply with a drug that does just that, and the only cure is a vaccination sold by this woman, at a high cost. With the panic this would cause people would scramble for every shot they could, paying high amounts for even a chance of a cure, thus rising her up in terms of money and soon by the UN out.

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

It's not just that, it's the turning men into woman thing, it's simply not a dramatic premise, that's something I'd find in a comedy movie. I mean does your story even need 3 villains? I think you're better off finding 1 or 2 you can really flesh out and spread them out through your story, remember spiderman 3? It had 3 villains and it was overcrowded nonsense with backstory thrown in within 5 minutes just as an excuse to have venom in the final scene.

 

What kind of powers are we talking about anyway?

Everything is in it's early stages. I don't know what to base the powers off of yet. My original idea was that a mystic comet fragment hit earth and leveled an entire state. most died, but the few who survived had mutated DNA and it gave them powers. I think every power has been done before. I watched literally hundreds of cartoons and I see that most new comics and manga aren't that original either. It's the characters you need to care about, the powers are just a bonus. Like Virgil from static shock compared to cole mcgrath from infamous. Cole and static have the same powers, but Cole has more layers and development So I really don't know aht I want to do yet. I figure a villain who turns men into women is  an original idea that hasn't been done before

[Revolver Bobcat 45]

I think the problem i see in your first villian is that you really don't know that much on science fiction, hell, turning men into women it's almost a reality, its not quite there yet, but if there's a will, there's a way. The best advise i can give you on the issue is that you should read "Shadowrun" or "Cyberpunk" Manuals, there's a lot of material on science fiction there, specialy in terms of gadgets and technology.

 

ESPECIALLY RENRAKU ARCOLOGY: SHUTDOWN!

 

OR MAYBE CTHULUH-PUNK!

 

Also, where the fuck did she get all that money to buy all of that men-into-women tech? And i mean if this is cutting edge technology in that universe it better have a good explanation on where did she get that money to make all of that. And im not talking about millions, im talking about billions of dolars/credits/rupies/whatever-your-currency-is .

 

3.) She is a cannibal. But there's no graphic depiction of massacring people. She shrinks people down to ant size and consumes them. Once they are digested they become apart of her and she absorbs their powers. She is kind of over powered since she has eaten hundreds of people

 

Wasn't that a villian on "Heroes"? some guy eat other people with power and he gets their powers and blah blah... i don't know, it sounds not fully tought in my opinion.

 

As for the second, i really don't care for her, it seems like some spoiled brat with powers, it could never be a treath beyond something along the ways of "She stole my boyfriend" kind of thing, and even its not she's still rich, why would she do something EVIL when she's rich AND can control people? doesn't make sense really.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Revolver Bobcat

[Fourze Stallion 95]

Villian making is an artform, but there are some things you need to consider:

 

1) Motivation - Why are your villians like this? What gave them their powers? You seem to give a decent one for the second example, but you need to sit down and write why the villianess is like this, why does she have an obssession with your hero? A good motivation is necessary in order to give your character a basis for how they'll act.

 

2) Flaws and Quirks - All characters have them. Sometimes we love some characters for that very reason - For example, let's take a look at a well established villian - The Joker. He acts as a perfect foil to Batman, with his insanity yet with a cheerful disposition, and had some really good plans with his crimes, all with a relative theme that was tied with his trademark of laughter or joking nature. An antagonist that I really like is Axel the Dark Hero from the disgaea series, admittedly, he's not really a villian and more of an anti-hero, but this also applies to those sorts of antagonists. Axel was a fallen, demonic pop star who was trying to claw his way back to his pedastal, and why he did it was because he wanted to provide for his poor family - Which is odd behavior for a demon. Through out the game he debuted in, he was a coward and a wimp, but he kept getting up in order to try to get back to his fame (even when he's legally declared dead he doesn't stop) - And although he does kidnap the main character's siblings to get back at his foe, Axel takes care of them and even goes to save the sibling who gets swept up in a river. He ultimately fails, but he tries at the very least. Axel is a villian of circumstance, he may be doing bad things, but he has a reason to do so - To get his life back (essentially, literally) and provide for his family. That may have gotten off topic.

 

3) Abilities - Think outside the box on these. The puppet strings sounds good, but its been done before. Try to think of how to make the power unique. Take for example your third character - The cannabal. Someone already pointed out that its essentially Kirby. But why not just do something a little different with the same power, essentially. A few years back, there was a cartoon called Static Shock based on the comic book hero, and there was a villian called Leech, and as you can imagine he had the ability to suck out the powers of other meta humans by touching him (the same as Rogue from X-Men). The thing is however, the power he sucked out was temporary, and he had to lock up the metahumans he absorbed energies from it and recharge his powers from them. Essentially, from what I read, once your character devours a being, she gets the power - FOREVER. And as stated, that's really broken. You can still have the idea of canabalism with her, but instead of devouring them and keeping the power forever, you could have her kidnap the beings she desires and have her drink blood of her 'power batteries'.

 

These are just thoughts, and ideas, so take them with a grain of salt.

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

Villian making is an artform, but there are some things you need to consider:

 

1) Motivation - Why are your villians like this? What gave them their powers? You seem to give a decent one for the second example, but you need to sit down and write why the villianess is like this, why does she have an obssession with your hero? A good motivation is necessary in order to give your character a basis for how they'll act.

 

2) Flaws and Quirks - All characters have them. Sometimes we love some characters for that very reason - For example, let's take a look at a well established villian - The Joker. He acts as a perfect foil to Batman, with his insanity yet with a cheerful disposition, and had some really good plans with his crimes, all with a relative theme that was tied with his trademark of laughter or joking nature. An antagonist that I really like is Axel the Dark Hero from the disgaea series, admittedly, he's not really a villian and more of an anti-hero, but this also applies to those sorts of antagonists. Axel was a fallen, demonic pop star who was trying to claw his way back to his pedastal, and why he did it was because he wanted to provide for his poor family - Which is odd behavior for a demon. Through out the game he debuted in, he was a coward and a wimp, but he kept getting up in order to try to get back to his fame (even when he's legally declared dead he doesn't stop) - And although he does kidnap the main character's siblings to get back at his foe, Axel takes care of them and even goes to save the sibling who gets swept up in a river. He ultimately fails, but he tries at the very least. Axel is a villian of circumstance, he may be doing bad things, but he has a reason to do so - To get his life back (essentially, literally) and provide for his family. That may have gotten off topic.

 

3) Abilities - Think outside the box on these. The puppet strings sounds good, but its been done before. Try to think of how to make the power unique. Take for example your third character - The cannabal. Someone already pointed out that its essentially Kirby. But why not just do something a little different with the same power, essentially. A few years back, there was a cartoon called Static Shock based on the comic book hero, and there was a villian called Leech, and as you can imagine he had the ability to suck out the powers of other meta humans by touching him (the same as Rogue from X-Men). The thing is however, the power he sucked out was temporary, and he had to lock up the metahumans he absorbed energies from it and recharge his powers from them. Essentially, from what I read, once your character devours a being, she gets the power - FOREVER. And as stated, that's really broken. You can still have the idea of canabalism with her, but instead of devouring them and keeping the power forever, you could have her kidnap the beings she desires and have her drink blood of her 'power batteries'.

 

These are just thoughts, and ideas, so take them with a grain of salt.

I find it really hard to be original in terms of powers. I was going to make the cannibal sadistic. She enjoys eating others. I was going to limit her with the amount of powers she could absorb. But I wanted my hero to overcome a villain who would give him more than a challenge. My hero wins and loses. But it's his wits that get him through. I'm kind of stuck really. Art is my passion and I want to be remembered for something before I die, sounds extreme but I want some fame. If michael bay can rip off transformers and appeal to the lowest common denominator then I should be able to be successful with my ideas. I am still developing my thoughts, nothing has gone on paper yet. But I have more of a focus on the scientist. She is a human and wants to become goddess through means of science. She was simply born a sociopath and is unpredictable and dangerous

[Circadian 1,273]

You want to know the secret to a good villian? Make them charismatic. Make them likeable. Make your audience secretly root for them.

 

I'd argue that making a good villain is more important than the protagonist.

 

You should love to hate villians.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Circadian

[Orablanco Account 3,706]

My suggestions?

 

Give each villain a unique flavor. You say the cannibal takes pleasure in preying on others, but the puppet master villain already has that vibe, so it'd be redundant. I'd simplify her to being a succubus who does all this nasty stuff for fun. Make it like Freddy Krueger or Hunson Abadeer from Adventure Time where they take people's souls. Much simpler and makes everyone a target, not just people who have powers. I'd change the scientist's motivation to be purely ultra-feminisim. In fact, make her a parody. You have guys out there who think feminism is just a plot to ruin everything for them, so make a villain who fits every exaggerated stereotype for a feminist.

 

Oh, and unless you're trying to create a theme with the whole "every villain is a woman" thing, make the puppet master a pompous douche bag male.