V is for Villain

Image Source: The Great Geek Manual

So ladies, we have files for the boys we love (HBWS!) and the Chicks Who Can Kick Our Asses, but I think we're leaving out a very important filing section - Villains! When I think of YA Lit, my very favorite villain hands-down is Valentine. He's so pretty, but so eeevil and creepy. I love it. I know we have a file folder for him, right?


Ah...Villains starts with the letter V - so I'm all about Vader, Voldermort and Valentine. And apparently, I've been practicing my Letter Sounds with my Kindergartner, too.




Oooh - why do all the Great Villains start with the letter V? Unfortunately, Vader and Voldemort are not pretty. Rather ugly, actually. But they all do make for excellent Love to Hate 'Em characters.




Well, Voldy is not pretty but you know, Vader was Anakin, first. Just misguided. The poor little boo.





Okay, well, I was thinking of the Removal of the Mask scene with Vader. But yeah, I guess you could say Ani went through a pretty phase. But he didn't wear tailored suits like Valentine. And he hid his paternity from his children, while Valentine just pretended to be everyone's father.



You are right. Anakin slaughtered the young paduans in episode 3 while Valentine simply used his kids as genetic experiments. But hey, there was a Sister Kiss in both. Sorry, I'm off on my own Slave-Girl-Leia Style Sidebra.




Why is it that all villainous roads lead back to Darth Vader? He's epic, true, but hardly the first or even most villainous villain I've seen. He's a total Sauron rip-off, with the whole "corrupted by the pursuit of power" thing.

I agree with the observations you guys have made so far. But I think we're missing out on the folder system! I put mine into categories:

Villains Who Might Be Redeemable - Like Vader, some do come around in the end. Even some of our favorite bad boys fit in here. (Spike from Buffy, anyone?)

Villains Who Are Pure Evil - I'm pretty sure we can put Voldemort here. I mean, was the guy EVER good? I think he kicked puppies. And Leck, from Graceling and Fire. I actually really liked that in Fire there was no sob story about why he became evil or excuses for it. Sometimes evil just is. (And he really did kick puppies.)

Villains Who Are Really Cogs In A Villainous Machine: Like President Snow. He was great, and so so evil, but in a very politician-evil kinda way. He wasn't the reason for what was wrong with society. He was more of a product of it. Does it make him any less evil? Of course not. But it DOES make him a symptom of a more pervasive evil, one that doesn't have a face.

Villains Who Are So Hot We Don't Care Either Way - I'm totally not shallow enough to put anyone in this category. Nope. Valentine does NOT appear here. *whistles and walks away*

I love those categories...but hmmm, a Villain So Hot We Don't Care...*puts Thinking Cap on and realizes it's the Sorting Cap*...let me think about this one...





HELLO? ARCHER????? Oh, sorry, I got excited there. But Archer from Hex Hall! He's a POTENTIAL bad guy only - I know this, but he's obviously so hot we don't care!

And Eric Northman. He has his bad-guy moments and really? I care not. I would still take him in if he got hit on the head and had amnesia and needed a safe place to shower. I mean stay.

Ah, see, I think Archer's the Anti-Hero...and so launches that discussion. When is an anti-hero a villain?? LOL. Then you can throw in Oscar from CANDOR. Because, the boy wasn't all good, ya know??

What about a Can't Be Too Sure If They're a Villain category?? I'm thinking of my all time favorite whose cape would swirl at this very label...yes, that's right...Severus Snape!

Oh! You're getting all technical on me. Okay, so Archer might not be a Villain, but he is part of a secret society that aims to hunt prodigum, so he has potential. And Cabe was never going to hurt Jamie - even though he did have a bad boy side.

And yes, Snape! He's the perfect Villain, but is he really a Villain? (And if you don't know the answer to that question - get to reading book 7 please!)

I think Snape counts as a villain. I think sometimes even a villain can do the right thing at times. It doesn't negate all of the past villainy.

Maybe we should put Archer in a "We're Not Sure If He's Really A Villain But Signs Point To Yes And We Really Hope He's Not But Even If He Is He's So Hot We Won't Care" category. I think that works. Ladies?

Yes, that works for me. Absolutely perfect. Do you think that will fit on a file folder label?





If not we'll just have to make his file... bigger. *winks*

SO, did we miss any categories? Who are your favorite villains? Why?