The Benefits Of A Villain Who Is Just Evil
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Most fans are used to grey villains when it comes to mainstream films and shows. Villains like Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Loki, Wanda, and Harley Quinn are what I consider grey villains. They have done or are doing horrific things, but we justify their actions based on things that happened to them in the past. For example, fans justify Wanda’s actions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness because of the things we saw her go through during WandaVision. Darth Vader is typically seen as pure evil, especially in that scene in Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, from the prequel series and The Clone Wars, we see that Anakin is not inherently evil. These characters evoke emotion, and they force the audience to question their own morals. But what about villains that are just purely evil?
There are some villains that are truly pure evil, like Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars), Michael Myers (Halloween), Voldemort (Harry Potter), and Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War and End Game). These characters all have one thing in common. They are evil with no traumatic events to point to as the reason for their evil actions. These are also characters that, even if you did give audiences an origin story, it would not make up for the atrocities they committed. So you might wonder, if these characters are so evil, what could they possibly add to a film or television show? Well, they actually add a lot! Let’s take a look at the benefits of these evil villains and what they bring to our screens that their grey counterparts can’t.
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Clarity
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One of the biggest benefits of a villain that is pure evil is their motives are clear. We might not understand their reasoning, like Thanos wanting to kill half of the population, but his motives were clear. With characters like Loki, more than half of the movie is spent trying to figure out if you can trust him, and then the other half is spent trying to figure out what he actually wants. While this might work in a detective story, it does not work so well with action-packed films that are high-intensity from start to finish. An evil villain makes it clear that they are evil and what they want to accomplish, so the rest of the film can focus on stopping them.
Heroes
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One of the biggest benefits is that without evil, there would be no need for heroes. You could argue that grey characters might create a need for heroes, but ultimately since we know that they are not truly evil, the stakes are not as high. When dealing with pure evil, the need for heroes is apparent, and we see the average person step into a role that would not be needed if not for the existence of the villain. This is perfectly shown in the final Harry Potter films. In the Battle of Hogwarts, as evil grows and seems invincible, the most unlikely characters step up to defend the innocent and fight for good.
Society
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While evil villains can push people to become their best selves, they can also do the opposite. The Battle of Hogwarts sees the wizarding community come together to fight evil and protect those that could not protect themselves. In perfect contrast to this, in Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, evil can sometimes push society to devolve into a shell of itself. Michael Myers poses such a huge threat to the town of Haddonfield that the town becomes consumed with fear. Not only does it rip itself apart, but it also leads to the creation of a new villain. It may not always be pretty, but evil always forces society to show its true colors.
Grey Characters
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Evil villains not only lead to the creation of heroes but also the creation of new villains and grey characters. While heroes can lead to the creation of new heroes and, yes, sometimes villains, most of the fan-favorite characters we have today would not exist without the presence of pure evil. We would not have Harley Quinn if not for the Joker, and there would be no Darth Vader without Palpatine.
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