People rarely give a second thought to the villains of the story because everyone hates the villain and loves the heroes, right?
Everyone looks up to heroes, gets inspired by them, and tries to be them.
Whereas the villain, the antagonist, is viewed as a “Bad guy”.
After all, I don’t disagree that a righteous path is the way to live, which is also why everybody wants to be good and do the right thing.
But what about the villains? Give them some love. They have a story too, you know. And it’s usually one that’s much more complex than the hero’s too.
Wait, what? How Can Anyone Possibly Learn Anything From A Villain?
Villains are the way they are because of the experiences they went through.
And that’s why most people prefer the villains. Because they’re real. We can relate to their hatred towards the world, and we respect them for going after what they believe in.
Even if it’s the wrong way to do so.
Nevertheless, we can all learn some lessons from them.
Don’t discount the villains’ origin stories, psyche, and journey. You can learn as much from the villains as you can from the heroes!
With that in mind, let’s look at 5 fictional villains with cool origin stories. And we’ll look at their goals, psyche, and journey too.
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Megamind: Overcoming Differences
With Megamind, we can learn how he confronted his enemy and his fears. He realised that he was his own enemy and reflected on his past. That helped him win the fight against Titan.
His friendship with Metro Man also shows us how we can overcome deep hatred to accept relationships.
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Magneto: Unity
(Credits: MARVEL)
Magneto had an incredible ability to unite the mutants. And that gave him strength in times when he was not able to face his enemies head-on, alone.
He proves the old adage about “strength in numbers”, and how important empathy can be. It was through knowing how the mutants suffered that he managed to band them together.
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Darth Vader: The Importance of Love
(Credits: Starwars)
Is there a better redemption arc than Darth Vader’s?
Confronting your past is always the first step you should take if you want to move on, and Anakin showed us how to do that.
But more importantly, Luke’s love for his Father showed us how love can save us!
We usually think of self-love these days and often forget to express our love to our family members. Give them a hug or a quick ‘I love you’ today because we don’t know what they might be battling quietly!
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Joker: The Importance of Mental Health
Many fictional figures show us the importance of mental health in media today.
But the Joker might’ve been one of the first.
His descent into madness shows us how important mental health is and how it should not be taken lightly. So if you’re going through something, please reach out to:
- Samaritans of Singapore: 1-767, available 24 hours a day
- Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800-283-7019, available weekdays 9 AM–1 PM and 2 PM–6 PM
- Institute of Mental Health’s Mental Health Helpline: 6389 2222, available 24 hours a day
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Thanos: Harmful Personal Beliefs and Critical Thinking
Thanos purged half of the universe in his belief that the universe would finally be saved.
His crazy idea eventually led to his downfall, but not before he had murdered billions of innocent beings.
He reminds me of a certain German with an infamous moustache!
So from Thanos, we can see the dangers of extremism and unchecked ambition. Seeing his companions can also teach us to not blindly follow ideals and to think critically first!
Villians Are Humans Too – They Just Have A Flawed Vision
Villains have dedicated their whole lives to seeking vengeance because they’re not able to move on from their trauma or put their hatred or feelings of injustice aside.
If a compassionate soul had shown our villains how to forgive, they wouldn’t have dedicated their lives to the ‘Cat and Mouse’ game.
And sure, it’s respectable that our villains dedicated their lives to a personal cause.
But so did our heroes.
However, people love Batman more than the Joker because Batman uses his drive and dedication for good, while the Joker uses his for a tunnel-visioned and childish personal pursuit.
As cool as the villains are, look past their facade, and you’ll see a sad, lonely, and quite pathetic individual.
This is ultimately why people always end up choosing the hero, even though we relate to the villains more.
A Villain’s Perspective
If you think about it, an antagonist will probably never reach their goal.
If they did, the Joker wouldn’t have a purpose in life anymore, and the Harry Potter franchise would’ve ended after ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’.
In life, we’re always chasing goals. But we rarely stop to think about how we’re going to achieve our goals, and even fewer people stop to reflect on the lessons we’ve learnt while we’re on our journey to our destination.
Most people’s goals in life are tangible and will satisfy them when they reach them. But you don’t want to earn your $10 million unethically or return from the top of Mount Everest and realise you never stopped to appreciate the view, right?
Where’s the satisfaction in reaching your goals then?
So stop, take a breather every once in a while, gather your thoughts, and think about your game plan again before you continue trudging along.
Conclusion
Of course, we can learn from the heroes.
But villains reflect life more realistically.
With villains, we can learn from their mistakes without having to make them in real life. Whereas with heroes, we can only aspire to be them one day.
So the next time you watch a movie, don’t just ignore the villains. You could learn your next lesson in life!
If you’d like a superhero tutor who can save your grades, SmileTutor has many!
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