There'll Be No One To Stop Us This Time

Hi All,

I left Bean a note that said, "Brandon Routh is my HERO!" So she left me one before she left for home that said, "Brandon Routh = Tom Cruise's Replacement = My New Boyfriend!" Bean is still a Cruise fan, mainly because he still looks pretty good. I'm a Brad Pitt fan, because, well, LOOK at him! But oddly enough, we were talking about this Friday: There's not really any guys in film for us to drool over anymore. They're all getting older. But ahhh..Brandon. Woo-Hoo, indeed.

But the true purpose of my post today is to explicate on the topic of Villains.
I've been pondering this topic for a while (my mind rarely rests), and Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor reminded me that I need to write this. I read an article in Writer's Digest that listed the optimum characteristics for a villain. The ones that stuck with me were The God Complex (character wants to be God, like the ultimate villain, Satan) and The Narcissist (character loves himself above all others). I haven't written a truly great villain yet, in my stories. My focus has always been on the protagonist, who sometimes is unreliable. I like the villains I've come up with, but I haven't really nailed that skill yet. There's always so much more to learn as a writer.

But these characters I'm going to mention? They're well-developed. And they've got that certain 'factor.' They stick with you, not because they were Good. They stick with you because they were so good at being Bad. For the purpose of this list, I'm going to focus exclusively on films and television. No literary characters, unless the movie came from a book. And there's 'classic' movies I've never seen, like 'The Godfather.' I don't get into 'mob' characters much, unless your name is Tony Soprano. Or unless you're in a Martin Scorcese film.

My Favorite Villains

1) Darth Vader. (Star Wars) Well, YEAH! My subject quote is his, from his grand entrance in 'A New Hope.' He was more likable as Anakin Skywalker, sure, but the Vader I have etched in my head is the one that was towering, imposing, choking commanders, wielding a cool red lightsaber, and....BREATHING. That breathing alone scared the Holy God right out of me. And the suit! And the mask! And the Presence that he was. Vader could kick anybody's ass. Except maybe Edgar Allan Poe's. (haha, winks, Thursday)

2) Emperor Palpatine. (Revenge of the Sith) Vader was Palpatine's pawn, we realize. As powerful as Vader was, Palpatine was the true Devil of the two. He defines the archetype: He cares about no one save himself and his goals, he wants to be God (all-powerful), he even wants to cheat death. And he's got an extra edge that a lot of villains don't: He's extemely adept at manipulating others. All villains manipulate things and people, but they don't all have Force powers! Strong in the Dark Side, this one is.

3) Keyser Soze. (The Usual Suspects) He gunned down his family, after they were violated by criminals. He's rather have seen them dead than defiled. He planned the most cunning and nefarious plot to eliminate his enemies. He was a legend, and some thought, a myth. He was awesome! And he was Kevin Spacey. Case closed.

4) Hannibal Lechter. (The Silence of the Lambs) We'll never think of fava beans and Chianti the same again. And we'll never forget the subdued yet powerful performance Anthony Hopkins gave as Lechter. Lechter is the worst type of villain: He makes Clarice sort of 'like' him before he continues on his killing spree. He's so refined and elegant, you expect him to be a nice friend you've invited for dinner. You don't expect him to have YOU for dinner. That's what makes him great.

5) Cigarette Smoking Man. (The X Files, TV show) If The Lone Gunmen are to be believed, CSM is responsible for everything from the assassination of JFK to the Oscar winners. CSM is the ultimate behind-the-scenes bad guy: He runs things through other people, and everyone is deathly afraid of him. And well they should be. He became a bit more vulnerable as the show went on, but he died when HE wanted to, I still believe. No one could defeat CSM. He was the ultimate Shadowy Villain. And he's got the Morleys to prove it.

6) Arvin Sloane. (Alias, TV show) Arvin was so obsessed with Rambaldi, he killed his own daughter. And he didn't seem too broken up about it. Part of the appeal of this show was seeing Sydney hate Sloane for five years. Who could blame her? He had her fiance murdered, her best friend murdered, and proved his capacity for evil hundreds of times. And what we assume Syd may have never known was, he was responsible for her father's death, too, in the end. Sloane wanted immortality in the end, like God. Good for him that he got trapped under a rock for eternity, all alone.

7) Lex Luthor. (Superman Returns, Superman) I love both versions of Lex that we've gotten: Gene Hackman's controlling yet flustered, sometimes slightly comical Lex, and Kevin Spacey's more accurate Lex the evil genius. Some said Spacey didn't have much to do in this movie, but I disagree. He became Lex, the way I've always thought he should be (no offence to Gene Hackman). I actually forgot that I was watching Kevin Spacey. Lex is so unhinged, but yet calm on the outside, he's scarier than any horror movie villain. And he's the one villain that truly matches Superman, in mind if not in body. That's one heck of a villain.

8) The Terminator. (The Terminator). He will never stop. He will keep coming after you, even after you crushed his arm in an incinerator. You can set him afire, shoot him, do your worst. He just won't stop until you've somehow destroyed his CPU. He has no heart. He's not human, but he looks like a guy you'd want to play tackle football with. He's the villain that literally just won't stop until you're dead. Whoa. Harsh! He might not have the character development that these others have, but he is too cool not to put on this list.

9) Agent Smith. (The Matrix) He called Neo 'Mr. Anderson' like a sarcastic over-the-top FBI agent. But Smith is a different type of agent. He's relentless, kind of like The Terminator, and he has one goal: To destroy those that upset the balance. His programming makes him set toward one goal: The God-like control over all human beings. And, Smith is Hugo Weaving; great actor!

10) Cruella De Ville. (101 Dalmations) Why am I putting a cartoon character on this list? Because we had an audio tape of the movie when I was a kid, and hearing her laugh that maniacal laugh on tape scared me so much, I remember it to this day. Plus, any character who wants to kill puppies HAS to be EVIL.

Honorary mention goes to:

The Ring Wraiths from 'The Lord of the Rings.' They didn't have lines, but they looked COOOOL. And they were devoted killers. Doesn't get much more evil than that.

Monty Burns from 'The Simpsons.' He's evil in a funny way, sure. But all Burns has to do is say, "Exxxcellent" and you sense his innate dark nature. Pretty impressive for a cartoon.

I'm sure I forgot someone really cool. Suggestions welcome.

I think it's interesting that The Devil has never been properly portrayed in films or on TV. He should be the ultimate villain, but so far no one's really given him a shining role, in my opinion. I guess because we feel we see real signs of evil in the world, we don't want so much of it in our escapism. And, one might say the devil is in every villain we create. I'm not sure about that. I don't think the devil can be 'in' us the way God can. I think we create a lot of our own negative desires.

Anyhoo.

Villains that wouldn't quite work

1) Mr. Banker. He refuses to give you your deposit slip, and he yells at you to 'go through the maze!' before you get to his window. He thinks it's his way or the highway.
2) Mr. Prohibition. He bans all alcohol, as part of his evil plot. Wait...that really happened? WHAT?
3) Ms. Tease. She gets men excited all the time, but refuses any actual sex, because, "Men suck." Also sometimes known as "Possible Lesbian."
4) The Mad Postman. He crushes your packages, opens your birthday cards, and dents your car if you park too close to your box. He thinks he rules the world. What a jerk!
5) The Pizza Delivery Guy from Hell. He never gets the order right on purpose, he refuses to leave, and he annoys you with his inane chatter about wanting to be 'Pizza God.'

haha

Have a great day, All.