When A Character is evil but they think they are good? · 5:09pm Jan 19th, 2021
Do you think it makes it a more interesting villain when a character believes they are the good guy? They intend to do good, but they themselves perceive those standing against them as evil.
Rather than evil knows they are evil, and simply does evil, because lols.
The Greater Good - Hot Fuzz
It makes for a more interesting character, but all too often they end up being more interesting than the guy we were supposed to root for (who's less likely to get that kind of depth).
If done right, then a villain with certain ideals can be really interesting. Personally, I adore villains who would happily have an "honorable" duel with the hero, only to then order a firing squad to shoot the hero when thee bad guy was losing. Villains who think they're good usually have to give a long winded monologue to explain why they're the good guys, and those can often drag on for too long and feel really boring.
"You see, I needed X to do Y so Z could hook up with W and cheat with B and A on an R could F the C so Plan B wouldn't be needed, which would then turn Y to 1 and B into F so F could W and then there would be world peace. I'm the good guy, because I'm doing what no one else can do!"
I think MCU Thanos is a great example.
Starlight glimmer!
You either die a hero, or live long enough to become a villain.
Honestly, this trope is a bit overdone, we don't want a villian with misguided ideals, we want villians that order pizza, have family problems, deal with their pets acting up. We want relatable villians, not misguided idealists. I think people forget those are different concepts nowadays.
Just dont use the overpopulation villain. Its become a trope by now.