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A graphic depicting some of the most iconic villains of all time.

As an avid film watcher, I love heroes, but well-written villains tend to capture my attention because of their complexity, hence making them more interesting. 

I would not justify the actions of villains but in some scenarios, there is a gray area in terms of whether or not a character is truly a villain.

So, why do villains tend to be more interesting than heroes? 

First, a villain’s backstory can be more relatable to the general audience. Villains might have endured more hardship in their lives that explains their behavior, at the same time not excusing it either. 

For example, the villain might’ve been ostracized from society causing them to become emotionally distant or rebellious. 

Take Elphaba Thropp from “Wicked” for an example.  To the students of Shiz, she is the villain but it is truly not that simple.

She is rejected by the students because of her green skin. The students don’t even care to actually get to know anything about her.

Glinda helps her to become more “Popular” but one mistake involving magic, that was encouraged by The Wizard, caused all her development to go down the drain. She then becomes known as The Wicked Witch of The West. 

From an audience viewpoint, I understand why Elphaba becomes “wicked” because of the manipulation she endured. The real villain of the story is The Wizard. What a plottwist!

Second, villains help to create the conflict within a story which challenges the hero and builds suspense. Stories without a villain would feel empty especially in universes such as the MCU. 

When I think of MCU villains, the first character that pops into my mind is Wanda Maximoff. She is an example of a character having a heartbreaking backstory and becoming the villain because of it.

 After losing Vision in “Avenger’s: Infinity War”, Wanda is overcome with grief and she creates what is known as the hex. For context, she creates the hex in “Wandavision”.

Wanda lived within the hex with an artificial Vision and their two children, which she created with magic. It doesn’t sound like she was doing anything bad until you remember that she was holding a whole town hostage within the hex and causing them pain. 

When the hex came down, Vision and her children went with it, or so we thought but that is another story for another day. Overcome with grief and anger, she sets out to find her children in another universe and faces off with Dr. Strange in “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”. 

In the end, she realizes what she has become and sacrifices herself because of it. Even after the crimes she committed, she’s still one of the most beloved characters in the MCU. 

Villains who realize their mistakes and try to make a positive change is one of my favorite pathways for them to take. 

However, Wanda’s story breaks me because she died in the process of making that change. While heroes inspire me, villains make me think. 

Categories: Opinion