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[KoruptData]

I was talking to some co-workers about Civil War and I explained that I liked it but I didn't think it was the holy grail of comic book movies. I gave it an 8/10. I define a great story not by motivations of the hero, but the motivations of the villain.

In my home office, I have more villain collectibles such as Vader, Kylo, Joker & Harley, etc than I do hero's. It's like I'm more attracted to fictional villains. I think it's because you can't know the good without the bad. I think most people want to be good people so the motivations for being good are more part of who we are are. But the motivations for being bad; something went wrong somewhere. That wrong is more of a learning tool for me than any action a hero might take.

I don't want the villains to win or anything. I fully want the light to shine over darkness in the end. But I feel the darkness is the more interesting part of the story. That's where Civil War failed IMO. I didn't make this thread to talk about Civil War, it was merely the conversation that made me reflect on my own interest.

 

[Slayven]

depends on the villain

 

[Spring Drive]

I don't know anyone who likes Joffrey or Ramsay Bolton

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

This is basically how pro wrestling still survives. The villains are always way more interesting and funny.

 

[Regiruler]

Almost always.

 

[Sephzilla]

It's the main reason everyone loves The Dark Knight

 

[stuminus3]

The WiLDHEARTS - Rooting for the Bad Guy.

 

[tkscz]

It depends on the villain.

 

[Snwaters]

When this guy shows up. Aizen was (and still is) the only reason I would bother to check in on Bleach.

 

[BKatastrophe]

Pretty much all of the Disney animated movies

depends on the villain

My boy. Though I liked Bane more.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

This is basically how pro wrestling still survives. The villains are always way more interesting and funny.

But The Usos!

 

[Aureon]

There's a reason shows with villain protagonists (Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Code Geass, Death Note, etc) are so damn entertaining.

 

[Geist-]

I love sympathetic villains. Cartoon evil is boring, but a guy who either wants to make the world a better place, but takes it too far, or the guy who's family is killed by the hero accidentally(

Spoiler

Like Zemo from Civil War

), so he's looking for revenge. I love those stories.

The Operative from Serenity is a good example.

The Operative: I'm sorry. If your quarry goes to ground, leave no ground to go to. You should have taken my offer. Or did you think none of this was your fault?
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: I don't murder children.
The Operative: I do. If I have to.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Why? Do you even know why they sent you?
The Operative: It's not my place to ask. I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?
The Operative: I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there... any more than there is for you. Malcolm... I'm a monster.What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done.

 

[BKatastrophe]

I love sympathetic villains. Cartoon evil is boring, but a guy who either wants to make the world a better place, but takes it too far, or the guy who's family is killed by the hero accidentally(

Spoiler

Like Zemo from Civil War

), so he's looking for revenge. I love those stories.

The Operative from Serenity is a good example.

The Operative is a beast

 

[HStallion]

I love sympathetic villains. Cartoon evil is boring, but a guy who either wants to make the world a better place, but takes it too far, or the guy who's family is killed by the hero accidentally(

Spoiler

Like Zemo from Civil War

), so he's looking for revenge. I love those stories.

The Operative from Serenity is a good example.

I loved the Operative from Serenity as well if because he was so level headed and honest about what he was doing. I actually don't care for the villains trying to do good and taking it too far or things around that as its so played out already and get so stupid about it. Yeah you're doing it for good reasons but you're still a piece of shit. He knew what he was doing was morally wrong on an individual level but was trying to do the morally right thing for human society now spread across the stars. Even better was the fact he wasn't even doing it for himself as he knew they'd most likely toss him out/kill him when they he'd lived through his usefulness, guy knew he was a tool of the government and was like,"Yep that's about it"

 

[gutter_trash]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg8DLlP5L2g
Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) in the Daredevil Netflix series

I was rooting for Kingpin to win

 

[Numb]

Most of the time

 

[lucebuce12]

Watchmen: The thread?

 

[Pau]

I'm the opposite. It's why I don't really enjoy shows like House of Cards or Breaking Bad.

Although some of my favorite characters started off as villains but I like them much, much more in the hero category. Magneto and Catwoman in particular.

 

[andymcc]

It's the main reason everyone loves The Dark Knight

Your avatar has quite the villain too.

 

[E92 M3]

Considering that Sopranos is one of my all time favorite shows, then yes I do. I love a good broken character that is ultimately evil but has some good traits.

Tywin Lannister is also one of my favorite characters.

 

[Cess007]

99% of the time. It's 'cause they tend to be more interesting that the heroes.

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

Of course. The villain has to be fantastic, otherwise there is nothing worthwhile for the hero to beat. I can't think of a single fantastic movie where the villain was weak.
Villains are often more free in their range of character and more unhinged from the norms and values we perceive to be good. That is one of the reasons why actors and actresses often like playing villains. The villains in a series like James Bond is endlessly more interesting than bond himself who is a bland fantasy caricature. A empty vessel of memes, branding and catch phrases that repeats itself over and over. The villains and their crazy antics is what makes it interesting.
Unpredictable and wacky antics are the antidote to a formulaic hero-saves-the-day-type story.

 

[Faddy]

I like a villain (typically anti-hero) that you want to root for but then it gets turned around to the point that it is impossible to accept the characters flaws.

Vic Mackie (The Shield) is probably the best example, he is a complete piece of shit but is bringing order to chaotic streets and you can get behind him fucking up drug dealers, pedophiles etc But then in the final episodes he does things that are unforgivable even in the context of how he usually operates.

The Sopranos did that in a different way with Melfie being confronted that she was enabling a sociopath and then some reminders of all the terrible things Tony had done over the course of the show.

 

[shoreu]

The whole .1 issues dc did for the villains was amazing and secret origins

 

[tiijj]

Here's my pick, I think he carried the stories in most of his appearance.

Also "L", he's supposed to be the "good guy" but the protagonist is sorta the "bad guy". I don't know if L or Light is the villain, but L seems to be more interesting than the protagonist.

And people are liking the villains more than the hero because they are more interesting and the hero are becoming boring. The villains wear cooler outfit/armor/suit and they have better guns/power, the hero have better plot armor though.

 

[NEO0MJ]

I love sympathetic villains. Cartoon evil is boring, but a guy who either wants to make the world a better place, but takes it too far, or the guy who's family is killed by the hero accidentally(

Spoiler

Like Zemo from Civil War

), so he's looking for revenge. I love those stories.

That's not how spoilers work. You gotta tell what you're spoiling or it feels too random.

 

[The Elite]

depends on the villain

The Wrath?

He was in one of the first comics I ever bought. I have always had a soft spot for him.

 

[Sephzilla]

Your avatar has quite the villain too.

Two pretty good villains, honestly.

 

[Mudcrab]

The Wrath?

He was in one of the first comics I ever bought. I have always had a soft spot for him.

That's Catman.

 

[BKatastrophe]

The Wrath?

He was in one of the first comics I ever bought. I have always had a soft spot for him.

That's Thomas Blake a.k.a. Catman. That specific version is from Gail Simone's pre-Flashpoint Secret Six run. Fantastic comic right there

 

[Freiya]

The spider man movie with Jamie Fox. I felt bad for him the whole movie lol. I don't think I've ever rooted for a "villain" so much before in my life.

 

[Abounder]

Heroes are plot cockroaches, they're only interesting as a journey for revenge or sacrifice. From Shakespeare to superheroes, it's better to be bad to the bone

What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!

 

[DiipuSurotu]

It only happens if the heroes are not well written.

 

[OriginofHysteria]

Yes, Darth Vader is a prime example of this.

 

[PeskyToaster]

Yes, heroes are lame. As a kid I always had the red lightsaber, had all the bad guy figures and everything. I always play as a bad guy in games where you get to choose too. It's way more fun. It's good to be bad.

 

[Sephzilla]

Darth Vader was so popular George Lucas wrote three more movies circulating around Darth Vader being Force-Jesus

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Certainly not all villains. There are the ones written for you to hate, and some are super effective at it. Like say, the religious lady from The Mist.

but the likes of Ivan Drago, Anton Chigurh, and other bad motherfuckers do get my love.

 

[Stat Flow]

Depends on how they're written/characterized/acted.

For example, I love Ramsay in GoT right now. His actor is amazing.

 

[HStallion]

Your avatar has quite the villain too.

American Jesus ain't the villain!

 

[HStallion]

Certainly not all villains. There are the ones written for you to hate, and some are super effective at it. Like say, the religious lady from The Mist.

but the likes of Ivan Drago, Anton Chigurh, and other bad motherfuckers do get my love.

You could also argue that the religious lady from the Mist is the stand out character in that movie even if you don't "like" her. One of the few times people were clapping hard in a theater was when she bought it.

 

[SugarDave]

Almost always. They don't even need to be a particularly well developed character, I just naturally gravitate towards them. As a kid, I just wanted to be a Stormtrooper.

Spoiler

Still do.

 

[Qasiel]

I'll agree and say that a hero is only as good as his/her villain. I'm a huge Batman fan and a big part of that is because of The Joker. Their dynamic as the unstoppable force vs the immovable object is something that appeals to me greatly.

But yeah, I also kinda like watching Ramsay Bolton's antics on GoT, purely because I think the character is hilarious and Iwan Rheon, the actor who plays him, clearly loves portraying this sadistic arsehole and it shows in his performance. Makes for compelling viewing, moreso than Joffrey.

 

[Boem]

A couple of years back when I still used to get high sometimes a friend wanted to watch Avatar on his then brand-new 3D tv. I'm not going to shit-talk the movie because I know it has a lot of fans here, but let's just say it's not for me. Still, he really liked the movie and I figured the visuals might be neat while we were high.

Anyway, as expected, while some of the jungle scenes were cool the movie bored the hell out of me (the visual style never appealed to me either), and I was almost falling asleep at the point where all the military guys start attacking attacking those blue guys at that big tree (it's been years since I've seen it, forgive me for forgetting the details). My friend suddenly suggested just watching that scene while imagining the obviously evil guys as the good guys and the blue guys as the bad guys. Blew our minds. That entire part was so satisfying to watch suddenly. Just some badasses blowing those hippies out of their trees and blowing that entire shitty world up.

I don't think this really answers the question of the OP though.

 

[kurahador]

Nah...I'm not a psychopath.

 

[E92 M3]

Nah...I'm not a psychopath.

lolwut

Do you have trouble discerning between reality and fiction?

 

[Sunset Samurai]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg8DLlP5L2g
Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) in the Daredevil Netflix series

I was rooting for Kingpin to win

Hell Yes, even in season 2 I was

 

[NEO0MJ]

lolwut

Do you have trouble discerning between reality and fiction?

Maybe he meant people who consider characters like Gordon Gecko, Tony Montana, or Walter White admirable. Like, as cool as those characters may be they're missing the point of them.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

Just got done watching the Chimera Ant arc of Hunter x Hunter and this guy totally blew me away, he was so well written and the voice actor was fucking amazing. The whole arc was very good.

One of the best villains ever.

Meruem

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Quite often, but my stand out example has to be Spartacus, where I liked the villains a lot more every single season. First and prequel season, Batiatus was killing it. Second seasons had Ashur with no restrictions for his bitter badassness. He even took his cheesy and unfair death as a bad ass. Then the final season had the excellent Crassus and the pretty cool Ceasar.

Spartacus and all the other gladiators were fine, but nowhere near as interesting as the villains. Even Glaber got interesting towards the end.