Top 10 Signs A Character Will Become A Villain

What has science done?! Experiments gone awry and villainy are frequent partners in crime. As any researcher can tell you, experimentation often yields unexpected results, but when it comes to fiction, it’s a safe bet that the results of said trials will lead to sinister consequences. Whether the scientists choose to experiment on themselves, or inflict the procedure upon someone else, there’s a high probability that the test subject will wind up a monster or have some kind of superpower that drives them mad. The lesson is a simple one: when you try to play god, things have a tendency to go sideways!

We know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but cinema is a visual medium and the evildoers more often that not have identifying markers. Think of how many iconic villains have scars! Even if the character is initially behaving innocently, such features frequently act as a visual cue to the audience that the character is secretly up to no good, or will be in the future. That isn’t to say that heroes can’t have scars too, but it’s overwhelmingly more likely that a villain be the one with the aesthetically imperfect face. The logic behind this being that villains are somehow marked by the evil they do, whereas heroes remain unblemished.

As the old adage goes: “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Such is the case with characters who cozy up to the heroes and appear to assist them, only for it to be revealed later that they were really working towards more sinister ends all along. Maybe they’re someone the protagonist puts on a pedestal, creating a blind spot. Or perhaps they give aid without seeming to ask anything in return. Sure, some people are naturally charitable, but there are limits to how altruistic people can be. In the end, such sickly sweet characters rarely have the heroes’ interests at heart. Then again... everyone’s a hero in their own mind.

Society has a nasty habit of excluding those who are different. Nowadays that usually takes the form of being socially ostracized, but in harsher fictional worlds or period pieces, it could go as far as literal exile. Regardless of the exact form it takes, being excluded can lead said outcast to feeling angry or resentful, and if they’re allowed to stew in those feelings long enough, well... then you’ve got a villain. While it might be a bit of a cliche, there’s a reason that villains are so often given this type of backstory, which both humanizes them and gives them a motive. Now, it’s also worth noting that this isn’t an archetype exclusive to bad guys; heroes can be outcasts too!

Prejudice is sadly far too common; a problem that’s institutional as well as individual, and can influence how we think in unconscious or subconscious ways. But on film, especially in movies with a clear hero/villain dynamic, morality is usually more clear-cut. Characters who have dogmatic views about groups of people also tend to be agents of evil, and their prejudice makes it that much easier for us to dislike them. Although some characters learn to overcome their prejudice as part of their character arcs, the ones who can’t see past their own preconceptions usually end up in villainous roles.

Jealousy can be a powerful motivator, and while it can be a weakness on the part of the hero, villains are (generally speaking) far more likely to be green-eyed monsters in the story. We all strive to be the best that we can be, but there’s always someone out there who’s going to be better than you at something. So while jealousy is a universal motivation, most moral individuals aren’t driven by it. Villains however, usually take their envy too far; either cheating to bridge the gap or else doing their best to destroy the protagonist because they know they can never measure up to the latter in terms of luck, natural talent, or accomplishments.

Ambition can be an admirable quality. Most people aspire to become something more than they are, and many heroes strive for self-improvement. However, in fiction, the very ambitious should still be viewed with some suspicion, since many villains are defined, first and foremost, by their seemingly limitless ambition. They frequently seek to attain their goals by any means, and aren’t above hurting, betraying, or killing people, to achieve them. Whether they’re an antagonist, or a hero who goes too far, excessively ambitious characters serve as a cautionary tale about the necessity of restraint.

Hell hath no fury like a villain scorned. Protagonists may be the heroes of their stories, but they’re often far from perfect. This means they can be as cruel or careless as any other person. In cases such as this, however, the hero’s past mistake often comes back to bite them in ways much worse than is typical of real life. If the hero wrongs or embarrasses a character early in the film or is revealed to have done so in the past, then there’s a good chance that the person they hurt is going to turn out to be the bad guy later on.

Everyone has someone they care for – even villains. However, it’s often the loss of their loved ones that spur some characters to go bad. Maybe the hero allowed the person they loved to die and the future antagonist wants revenge. Maybe the would-be baddie has been wrestling with their morality and losing a close friend or family member is all it takes to drive them over the edge. Whatever the case may be, unless they’re the protagonist, it’s a good bet that they’ll end up bad…and sometimes not even heroes are a sure thing.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

They Tent Their Fingers

They Tell People Not to Trust Them

They Have a Tragic Childhood

They’re Bald

They’re Obsessive

Well, of course they’re the villain – they’re played by so-and-so! Every actor has their strengths and weaknesses, and casting agents take note, which can lead to typecasting. Besides not allowing some actors to flex more of their acting muscles, typecasting can also make guessing which character is going to be the villain in any given medium much easier. As soon as an actor appears in a film or TV show, if the viewer is familiar with their body of work, it becomes fairly easy to tell that they’re going to end up being an antagonist. Curses! We’ve seen through their clever plot!