Villains vs. antagonists
One of the questions my developmental editor asked me before taking me on was “Is there a villain or antagonist in your story? Who?” When I answered the question, I didn’t mention villains, only antagonists. That’s because I don’t think there are any true villains in my story, only characters who have desires that run counter to what the heroes want.
In fact, I have three tiers of antagonists in my story:
- Series antagonists, who drive the entire series
- Book antagonists, who drive the action of each book (some series antagonists become book antagonists)
- Threshold guardian antagonists, who present mid-book blocks our heroes must overcome to progress toward their goals (Threshold guardians are a character type discussed in The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler.)
I like what Jack Anderson, the author of The Return of Moriarty, says about the differences between heroes and villains. In particular, I agree that while “heroes die for their beliefs, villains kill for them.” But I would add one more quality I think separates villains from antagonists: relatability.
DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics
There’s no better example of this distinction in action than the stories from DC and Marvel. DC features iconic villains like the Joker, the Riddler, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Bane, Lex Luthor, and Darkseid. Many of them are certifiably insane, while others are egomaniacal sociopaths and ruthless tyrants.
On the other hand, Marvel features iconic antagonists like Magneto, Thanos, Loki, and Kingpin. They’re bad and absolutely kill others in the name of their beliefs, but they’re not insane, two-dimensional characters. Their heinous actions stem from relatable worldviews, such as Magneto’s desire to protect mutants from racist persecution and Thanos’s desire to alleviate resource scarcity caused by overpopulation. These characters also have other redeeming characteristics, such as the ability to care for others.
If you’re into antagonists and protagonists who are rainbows of gray tones, rather than black and white cartoon characters of evil and good, then my sci-fi trilogy is for you.
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