Avengers Endgame: How To Write a Compelling Villian
I read an unintentionally amusing article about AVENGERS ENDGAME where the writer was trying to convince himself that Thanos was actually the hero of the movie. (“Sure, he’s a genodical maniac, but his policies are good for the environment!”) Laying the article writer’s moral myopia aside, it occurs to me that AVENGERS ENDGAME provides an excellent example for fiction writers about how to create a truly compelling and charismatic villain.
(This post contains no spoilers for the movie.)
It is easy to see Thanos as a hero because he does in fact possess many heroic virtues. He is physically brave, extremely intelligent, and a formidable fighter. During the movie, he outfights or outwits nearly every single one of the protagonists. He also has a clear vision and goals, and is willing to pursue his quest regardless of any obstacles he faces. He is charismatic, and able to convince others to follow him. Thanos regards events with calm stoicism, and proceeds from both success and failure with the same equanimity.
All these qualities are admirable in and of themselves.
However! Here is the critical point. Thanos possesses heroic virtues, but what does he do with them? A quote from CS Lewis’s SCREWTAPE LETTERS will illuminate the problem:
“To be greatly and effectively wicked a man needs some virtue. What would Attila have been without his courage, or Shylock without self-denial as regards the flesh?”
Thanos is a villain because his virtues have been twisted in the service of his evil goals, namely, the murder of half of all life. His charisma is employed to bring others to help him in his wickedness. He affects a calm and rational demeanor, but when he gets seriously angry, the masks slips, and it is easy to see that what drives him is Pride on a Lucifer-esque scale. He claims to want to destroy half the universe to save the other half, but what he really wants is to prove himself right, and to have the surviving half of the universe be grateful to him for it. And when thwarted, he has a vicious cruel streak that emerges, and he revels in the destruction and ruin he causes. All his positive qualities are used only to bring harm and destruction.
That is the key to creating a really compelling villain. Make the villain someone who would under other circumstances be admirable, or even heroic, but have all the villain’s virtues be turned to an evil end.
If you want to make a contemptible villain, make him a coward, a liar, a hypocrite, or a traitor. But if you want to make a compelling villain, give him admirable qualities, but have him use those admirable qualities for an evil goal.
-JM
