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Types of Villains

Anti-Villain Examples: Dr
Anti-Villain Examples: Dr

An Anti-Villain is the opposite of an Anti-Hero; ... Dr. Phillium Benedict; ... Examples of popular anti-villains include Char Aznable from Mobile Suit Gundam, ...

The Authority Figure
The Authority Figure

The Authority Figure is often an example of how "evil" is defined in terms of context. These three characters above are perfect examples. The Authority Figure represents opposition to a character's free will. This type of character excels in a wide variety of genres, but often are more prevalent in comedies and dramas.

The Beast Examples: The Alien — Alien
The Beast Examples: The Alien — Alien

The Xenomorphs are a parasitoid alien race that serve as the central antagonists of the Alien film franchise (Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection, Alien: Covenant), and a minor character in the Alien spinoff Prometheus.

The Bully Examples: Mr
The Bully Examples: Mr

Edna is a minor character in Bully and a rather stereotypical example of a school lunch lady, like many members of staff she is also a minor villain - though never poses a threat to Jimmy Hopkins: from their first encounter Edna shows herself to be a disgusting and unlikeable woman, violating several health and safety laws whilst deliberately coughing/spitting into the food of students and smoking.

The Corrupted
The Corrupted

Corrupt Officials take many forms; they may be world leaders or powerful businessmen who act criminal or they may be judges, chiefs, executives, officers, entrepreneurs, teachers, principals, or police officers (including agents and detectives) who abuse their position for their own selfish gains.

The Criminal Examples:
The Criminal Examples:

The Criminal. Examples: Clyde Barrow & Bonnie Parker — Bonnie and Clyde. Tom Powers — The Public Enemy. Tony Camonte — Scarface. Frank Lucas — American Gangster. James Conway, Henry Hill, and Tommy DeVito — Goodfellas. The Criminal is just that… a criminal. They often broadly represent villains that are in it for money and power.

The Disturbed Examples:
The Disturbed Examples:

The Machine. Examples: HAL 9000 — 2001: A Space Odyssey Terminator — The Terminator Ultron — Avengers: Age of Ultron Roy Batty — Blade Runner The Machine is often one of the most terrifying of villains because they are lifeless.

The Equal: Examples:
The Equal: Examples:

15 Types of Villains With all of this gray area, how can writers differentiate between types of villains and what makes them do what they do? And how do writers know if a certain type of villain fits well into the context of their genre or story?

image: kullabs.com

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