Whiplash roars in rage, using his whips to crash and destroy the oncoming race cars. One of them is Iron Man’s. Gritting his teeth, he swings his whip, slicing the car into two. “I will get you because I can!” he cries.
Constructing Compelling Characters: How to Write a Villain (Part 1/3)
Writing Practice
Villains often have complex experiences and challenges that drive their behaviour. The best villains aren’t the ones that just appear onscreen spewing destruction. Just like the protagonists, the antagonists in our essays need to have understandable motives, be interesting and clearly described in order for the essay to succeed. Let’s learn from the triumphs and failures of familiar onscreen Marvel villains to construct our own bad guys.
Relatability
Give your character understandable motives to help readers empathise with them. A very relatable character might even make us realise we may act the same if we were in their shoes.
Iron Man's Whiplash
X-Men's Magneto
“I will join you in your mission to destroy humanity,” Magneto tells Apocalypse. He thinks about his dead wife and daughter, killed by authorities seeking to capture him for being a mutant. Since he cannot be a part of civilised society, he will destroy it.
Black Panther's Killmonger
A young Killmonger cradles his father’s head, squeezing his eyes closed to block out the sight of the panther claws in his father’s chest. As he mourns the loss of the only family he had ever known, Erik vows to one day take his revenge on his father’s killer.
