Locked up once again, Whiplash easily kills his two bodyguards, then phones Iron Man. “I’m alive, Stark, and I’ll kill you and your Stark Industries within the next forty minutes,” he declares into the phone, laughing manically. Whiplash has one mission: to destroy Iron Man.
Constructing Compelling Characters: How to Write a Villain (Part 2/3)
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.
Nuanced Character
Develop different sides to your character to make him/her interesting. Villains who almost have the potential to be good keep us on the edge.
Iron Man's Whiplash
X-Men's Magneto
Magneto stops the falling crate just in time. A second later and his fellow factory worker would have been crushed. However, turning around he sees his friends stare at him in horror. Whispers of “mutant” echoes through the factory. The next day, the authorities show up at his doorstep with an arrest warrant for him.
Black Panther's Killmonger
If you have something good, shouldn’t you share it? The question echoes in Killmonger’s mind as he reads again about the advanced technology in Wakanda that could uplift oppressed Black communities all over the world. Glancing over at his dead father’s diary, he vows to continue his father’s mission to free and liberate.
