How to Create HATEABLE Villains (Writing Advice)

Learn how to make villains that audiences will love to hate. Examples from Game of Thrones, Rocky IV, and Titanic.
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[@JimCroz]

I doubt there’s ever going to be a villain more hateable than Joffrey. Such a fantastic performance from the actor.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yeah, while editing these clips, it really struck me how GREAT Jack Gleeson is in this role. He's an absolute star, but we don't think of him as one because we hate the character so much

[@videonmode8649]

I heard he was so hated that some people would randomly yell insults at him when he walks down the street in public.

[@1775adam]

Remember his appearance in Batman Begins? Boy, did he prove Nolan correct about "die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain"😅 poor guy, I hope he is better now that he's away from it all.

[@videonmode8649]

@@elementeight8 I double checked and several sources said he didn't find acting to be enjoyable and wanted to pursue academics again. No mention to how he was treated in public causing him to quit.

[@chnkypolarbear]

Give me Umbrdige as the most hateable. I read a thing saying while no one will deny Volde was more evil, Umbridge is more hated because we all know an Umbridge. Someone in our lives who took pleasure in making us miserable for no other reason than they wanted to do it.

[@saffronjuice]

A recent example for me is Jack Horner in the recent Puss In Boots movie. The character was just an asshole for the sake of it with no care for humanity, and he honestly felt refreshing for me with the trend of redeemable/morally grey villains these days.

[@dataexpunged4784]

At the same time, you can't help but like him because every scene he's in is morbidly hilarious in a different way, unlike the villains mentioned in the video who are just straight up unlikable through and through

[@slayallrebels5996]

@@dataexpunged4784"You wouldn't shoot a puppy, would you Jack?" "Yeah. In the face."

[@williamstormo2922]

Great villain and I love how in that movie there’s 3 types of villains and it does it very well

[@archstanton664]

I think a villain never getting their comeuppance is what makes me hate them the most. The real life villains in politics, the justice system or corporations getting away with heinous acts comes to mind.

[@j.munday7913]

I think that's why Cal is still so hated. Like he's awful but in the end he gets to choose his own way out, presumably leaving his wife and any children they had destitute.

[@DanielECarroll]

This reminds me of Tim Robbins character in Arlington Rd.

[@talktidy7523]

A real life villain never getting their comeuppance is why we need fiction.

[@patrickleighpresents749]

Well, not necessarily. Hitler spent a good amount of time sweating in a bunker before killing himself and Stalin spent about a day lying in his own filth after he had a stroke because the guards outside the door were too afraid of angering him to check if he was okay after they heard him collapse. "As you sow you shall also reap" is often true, just not in ways we can always see or anticipate.

[@pickleddolphinmeatwithhors677]

@@patrickleighpresents749 I like to think about what was going through his mind in that bunker knowing everything he worked so hard to achieve was falling apart around him. Not to mention the fact that lots of people close to him reported that he became more mentally unstable and quick to anger in his later years. I'm not sure what the expert consensus is, but I've also heard that theres evidence he may have suffered from Parkinson's later in life as well.

[@shellsterdude]

I really like the tack that "John Wick" took where the villan (the son) is extremely hateable, but he is backstopped by a relatable villan (the father).

[@MrWebweaver]

A few others are Joaquin Phoenix’ character in Gladiator, Edward Longshanks in Braveheart and Ramsey Bolton from later seasons of Game of Thrones.

[@komodosp]

Always saw Ramsay as Joffrey Mk II - they wanted to give us the satisfaction of Joffrey getting his come-uppance, but didn't really want to lose him from the series

[@MrWebweaver]

@@komodosp it’s all from the books. Ramsey is a bastard in the books too, not just illegitimate but a completely irredeemable person.

[@leonmayne797]

Damn I just watched Braveheart the other day. Great example so well acted.

[@achimdemus-holzhaeuser1233]

Jonathan Randall Esq. from Outlander

[@arzabael]

@@achimdemus-holzhaeuser1233 black Jack is by far the most evil character I’ve ever watched

[@adchoalulle387]

Judge Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Maybe my favourite Disney villain in terms of credibilty. Not as iconic as a Scar or a Hades, but you see him and you know he exists in the real world in one way or another. And that's the disgusting thing. His fall was very satisfying.

[@breannadeal8610]

Frollo and Clayton (from Tarzan) are two of the most hatable Disney villains in my opinion.

[@Chaki21]

I haven't watched many movies, and games and books tend to not really have a villain (those I played/read, anyway), but... Frollo is actually my favourite villain of all time.

[@lindamartinez2370]

I'm not a writer and have no interest in ever writing a screenplay or novel, but I really enjoy watching your videos! You do a great job with these. Thanks!

[@samhutchison9582]

What I like about these villains, aside from the simplicity, is the relatability of the situation. It reminds us of the unfairness we all face in life. It's the direct or indirect bully. The jerk boss. The economy that lets morally corrupt layabouts become rich by default and lets hard working honest people be poor. We relate to the situation where we see unfairness and feel utterly powerless to fix it. That comeuppance allows us to release some of that same tension in our real lives vicariously.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Great point. Perspective is important here

[@zachcurtis1283]

A hateable villain doesn't necessarily have to be the most evil, he mainly just has to be purely antithetical to the protagonist's goals. For example Lord Cutler Beckett in the pirates of the Caribbean trilogy is technically the good guy because he's upholding the law and he's trying to defeat the pirates who are criminals, but it's the pirates we are made to empathize with through the story. This makes Beckett, the lawful character, the villain of the tale. And due to his deviousness, is very hateable indeed.

[@570y3n]

I cannot agree with that. He is clearly killing anyone he can under the guise of protection. Elizabeth's father is killed as an example. There are children lined up for the gallows. Beckett even checks the "undeserved power box" by having control of Davy Jones's heart and forcing the sympathetic villain to work for him.

[@zachcurtis1283]

@@570y3n Beckett isn't killing people just for the sake of it. He's killing people he believes are evil due to leading a life of piracy.

[@treasonouspigeonpeckers957]

The villain from the Patriot is a perfect example. He comes from a rich family in England, murders a boy early in the movie, his actions are so bad that his higher ups despise him, and most important, he continues to do worse things as the movie progresses

[@greense65]

Oh, yeah. That's a good example.

[@breannadeal8610]

Jason Isaacs is up there with Imelda Staunton on the list of people with the unique gift of perfectly portraying *vile* characters.

[@themorrigan7702]

I also hate the main character in that movie. He's a completely sham, used to make Americans look like perfect moral heros and and push anti-british stereotype. The real guy Mel Gibson played was a brutal racist who scalped Native Americans for sport

[@Yull-Rete]

Eustice from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C. S. Lewis) is a very interesting hateable villain, because, while he does get his comeuppance, he then goes on to also get a redemption arc, and even goes on to be a primary point-of-view character for the rest of the series.

[@sophiejones3554]

Arguably, a lot of that is purely due to POV. I think a lot of these hateable villains would be similar to Eustace in terms of how they think, so if you saw the story from their POV it would read a lot like Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We just know that Eustace is the villain from page 1, because we know Edmund and Lucy and their intentions. We know that he's misrepresenting them, and therefore we're not supposed to like him. However, if you hadn't read the other books you'd be liable to think Eustace was the hero. Additionally, I think the redemption arc thing only works in the case of Eustace because he is A CHILD. He has the excuse of behaving like this because no one has ever taught him differently. If he were an adult, that redemption would not feel earned.

[@Knuckles2761]

Jar Jar Binks: 1. Kick the dog - his actions leads to huge catastrophe, that why he was banished from gungan society, he almost killed Qui-Gon when they just met. 2. Unforgivable behavior - he is an avatar of that 3. Not charismatic, charming, or funny - yes 4. Give them Power they didn't earn - he became a general of the entire gungan army and a senator of Naboo 5. Comeuppance - killed by Darth Vader in robot chicken.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hahaha you're not wrong at all

[@cosmicspacething3474]

💀

[@sychaellawinger5448]

Totally disagreed. Jar Jar is one of the most beloved disliked characters in all cinema. Haha.

[@metrockpop]

One example of a hateable villain is Nurse Ratched from ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. She cold, cruel, heartless and uses inhuman techniques to dominate the inmates of the asylum under the guise of helping them improve themselves.

[@jaredthomas4663]

The High Evolutionary is a great example for this. His de-appreciation of himself and other things around him, and high ambition to reach his goal by putting it ahead of all priorities, such as committing genocide of his created species to create a “better” species, caused his followers to turn on him, knowing that they would be a means to an end, even if a win was headed in his way.

[@professorx3060]

I was looking for a comment mentioning High Evolutionary from Guardians of the Galaxy volume 3. How he treated Rocket Raccoon and others, and how he never showed any redeeming qualities... I couldn't wait to see him lose.

[@RobertDownySenior]

Yeah james Gunn did a great job

[@thearisen7301]

I'd add a villain who was a friend/leader but then betrays the protaganist & the reader. Griffith from Berserk is a great example. For awhile he's a charismatic, brilliant leader & friend who really understands the protaganist. He's literally lifting everyone up with his success, etc. But then he betrays everyone who ever believed in him. You learn it was all a sham & his followers were just cattle to feed his acension to godhood. (P.S. you should read Berserk & watch the good 1997 anime)

[@gizel4376]

it wasn't a sham, he really cares about all his follower, otherwise it wouldn't had been a sacrifice worth of the power he received

[@ElliYeetYT]

One thing I really love when it comes to comeuppance is when there is ironic circumstances involved. EG: With Joffrey, he ended up dying on what was meant to be the happiest day of his life where he married his queen. There’s just something so undeniably satisfying when villain punishments spawn irony with them.

[@gizel4376]

i think the most brillant one is when you deeply wish for a character to die for a long time and when it finally happen, it doesn't matter anymore.

[@stephajn]

I am working on a feature film script, and I wanted to ensure my villain is hated right from the moment we meet him and that the audience positively loathes him more and more as the story unfolds. This video really helped me know that the way I designed my villain is on the right track. Thank you so much!

[@TheEric_Esq]

Ramsey Bolton’s face when Littlefinger’s army defeats his is priceless. That episode was peak GoT

[@gizel4376]

i thougt that was the start of the downfall, i didn't really care that much about ramsay, his death wasn't the probleme in my opinion, it was just a bad timing, john Snow was just resurected, and while resurection is really dangerous writting tool, having him die again 3 days later would had been the best way possible to use it, it would have push ramsay as a relevent vilain and well that was the first of a long series of bad writting decision

[@TheRealZeke2003]

Uhh no, that was when things started to get bad. Peak GoT was when Tyrion killed Tywin, or the red wedding when Robb dies.

[@TheEric_Esq]

@@TheRealZeke2003 nah

[@johngagon]

I think Ramsay Bolton even one-upped Geoffrey esp in the come-uppance. If the come-uppance has irony in it, like being fed to the dogs that he had carry out his dirty work, it's that much better. But good in finding those stories that carried all the elements. While Ramsay didn't kick the dog per se, that was a metaphorically good substitute I thought. In anime, Full Metal Alchemist when Mustang, a kind of heroic mentor character, burns Lust and Envy...to their "cores". in revenge for the death of his friend. It's truly drama that stays with you for weeks. It's hard not to replay those comeuppance scenes.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Ramsay indeed has the better comeuppance. Unbelievably satisfying

[@jeraldisme]

When Ramsay came on screen I suddenly felt like I had taken Joffrey for granted lmao

[@loriki8766]

YES! I loved that scene! Pure genius!

[@thelegomaster597]

Lots-O is a hateable villain I happen to love, he is one of my favorite villains of all time. A fantastic performance from his voice actor Ned Beatty (may he rest in peace)

[@nycdotnet4751]

As for a hatable villain who didn’t get their comeuppance, unfortunately, I think the one that most sticks in my brain is Mr Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Good call. He's a menace. Thankfully, George's ending is so euphoric that it's easy to forget that Potter gets no comeuppance

[@loriki8766]

That was not that sort of a movie. BUT sometimes living a good life and making your enemies so inconsequential that they don't matter is the best revenge.

[@thucydidesjones7982]

I guess you missed the lost ending then. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKibaqJmlsuVaKM

[@hanssolo3238]

Hantengu is a pretty good example of a hatable villain to come out recently. His personality splitting gives him the biggest cheat code against the Demon Slayers. Plus his backstory showed that he was a thieving, murdering con-artist even in life, and a merciless eater of humans. All the while, he is the only demon who straight-up demands sympathy and plays the victim to his victims.

[@LordBaktor]

William Hamleigh from The Pillars of the Earth (the book, haven't seen the miniseries). He spends the whole friggin book "kicking dogs" and his comeuppance is one of the most satisfying pages of fiction I've ever read.

[@minutebooks3245]

Love these videos. Jumps right in, easy to follow, informative, tightly edited, pleasant speaking voice and pace that keeps you engaged. Not surprised that you teach with so many natural gifts.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@daveandlisapilkington9701]

Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds. Hides behind an air of civility yet you just know he's going to do something incalculably heartless at any second.

[@Ictus2015Tunaso-yu5pd]

Syndrome from the incredibles He made a plan and killed lots of retired heroes but his greatest weakness was that he like to show off A car going at his direction at full speed because he kept talking instead of leaving and the fact that he has a cape depite his greatest power being his intelect makes his defeat a very satisfying one for a villian that makes himself to be hated since the begining of the movie

[@gmm7852]

I agree with what you said at the beginning. I get why people consider hateable villains to be a clich nowadays, but I feel like there are a lot of situations where it works better than having a sympathizing backstory. Also, I'm going to be honest, some of my favorite movies are ones with hateable villains (Shawshank Redemption, Titanic, Gladiator). And yes, I absolutely love seeing them get what's coming to them.

[@mrneutral8423]

Annie Wilkes, Anton Chighur are two of my faves for different reasons. One is a complete sadist and the other is a seemingly unstoppable psychopath. Both of them capture the screen.

[@jacevicki]

Annie is great because she is so unpredictable. You just never know what will set her off and what the result of her being upset could be. Misery is one of my favorite horror stories because of that. It was scary because she was so real yet so wrong in the head. She felt like someone you can have for a neighbor and never know she has someone tied up in the basement.

[@jjulesmw]

Seriously, I can’t believe Anton didn’t get overwhelming mentions.

[@williamozier918]

I think part of it is also that we have to see the villain has every oportunity and resource to be a good, if not great, person, and instead they use all that ooportunity to be horrible. Joffre could have brought peace to the kingdoms, instead he decides to start war. The dude in Titanic was suave, charming, rich and could have been a good man, instead he decided to be a jerk about it. Ivan Drago had every chance to display good sportsmanship and instead used the mic to be callous for no reason.

[@buffieboily2883]

Great video. Umbridge will always be my #1 go to for this, as you listed all of the traits, I said Umbridge after each one : D. Thanks for the great content!

[@DatsWhatXiSaid]

In _Titanic_ I found Cal's footnote of an ending fitting since it shows his loss of status and prominence.

[@earthknight60]

An important aspect of the comeuppance is that it matches the character in some manner. It shouldn't e something random or unrelated to the character. It has to be something that fits.

[@GamingCartoonGeek]

The steps to make a hateable villain according to TV Tropes. 1. Kick The Dog (Well, obviously) 2. Moral Event Horizon 3. Hate Sink 4. Antagonist Abilities 5. Laser-Guided Karma

[@Lady_de_Lis]

I was about to consider Azula a hateable villain, but then I realized that she's far too fascinating, clever, and weirdly charismatic in a scary way to fully hate lol. She has my absolute favorite character intro scene of any villain, hands down. And she legitimately made me worry for the heroes on numerous occasions. I would say Umbridge is the best hateable villain of all time, but I think someone else already beat me to to punch in this comment section lol. She was just too excellently done. The first villain that ever actually made me angry enough to legitimately consider stabbing my Harry Potter 5 book with a pair of scissors lol. She really is the definition of someone I love to hate. I hesitate to add Jack Horner to the hateable villains list, since he's so funny. But. I think he meets every other criteria to the letter. :)

[@DoctorPorkenfries]

I would say she's too sympathetic to be hateable. It's made clear that she's something of a victim, too. She's clearly hurt when her two friends (forget their names) turn against her to help the Gaang, she becomes paranoid, she does everything for her Dad's approval, and she has a psychotic breakdown when she first loses the Agni Kai to Zuko, then gets beaten by Katarra. Now Ozai on the other hand, *there's* a hateable villain.

[@Lady_de_Lis]

​@@DoctorPorkenfries I agree, but being a victim doesn't remove people from the villain category. Plenty of villains are also victims. However, they later made the choice to victimize others and become villains in their own right. Azula is the same way. Whether a character's victimhood makes them sympathetic kinda depends. For example, if someone becomes a villain in order to save themselves and their family from being enslaved, then that's a very sympathetic motivation. But if someone becomes a villain simply because they had bad parents, that's not very sympathetic. Plenty of people have bad parents and don't grow up to become horrible people who hurt others. I also agree that Ozai's definitely hateable, but he's so distant from the action for the majority of the story that many people don't end up feeling very strong emotion towards him. Plus he's not especially unique compared to other "evil king" characters, making him far less memorable. And if there's one thing you don't want your villain to be, it's forgettable. I'll bet most casual watchers don't even remember Ozai's name, and only remember him as "The Firelord" lol.

[@DoctorPorkenfries]

@@Lady_de_Lis Yeah, but part of creating a hateable villain is to not give them excuses for their behavior or redeeming qualities. Azula has a few of each. Ozai does not.

[@Lady_de_Lis]

@@DoctorPorkenfries I already acknowledged in the OG post that Azula is not a hateable villain. Not sure why you feel the need to come up with additional reasons why my conclusion was correct. But also, you could argue that Ozai had a similar backstory to Azula. He's also the second child of a Firelord, and he was raised by objectively bad parents and grandparents. So, just saying. Even though it's not directly stated, we can easily conclude Ozai was similarly shaped by his own messed up childhood. They even kinda hint at it when they show off Ozai's baby portraits.

[@DoctorPorkenfries]

@@Lady_de_Lis Sorry, I get confused easily. I probably thought you were another person arguing Azula was a hateable villain. As for the difference between Ozai and Azula that prevents Ozai from being at all sympathetic, I'd say it's the little displays Azula shows of being more than a monster. She's hurt when her friends betray her. She tries to have a relationship with her brother while he was temporarily in Ozai's good graces. She wanted to love and be loved. Ozai never shows any signs of this. He never shows any signs of caring for anyone beyond how they are useful to himself. Even Azula is simply manipulated and used by him. When he's finally defeated, he doesn't despair that his vision for a better future has been thwarted (as the Korra villains did). He is only mad that he was defeated.

[@samanthakelly718]

Honestly I’m surprised no one ever talks about Ramsey Bolton in regards to hate able GOT villains. It’s one of those fascinating moments where a writer can make you hate a character for doing bad things to a “bad person.” Theon ain’t exactly likable, he’s pathetic, he murders innocent people, he’s power-hungry, he’s shitty to women and he’s selfish. And yet, watching him get broken down by this needlessly cruel monster is somehow infuriating. I think part of it is that we know this isn’t happening to him cuz of “karma.” It’s happening because one sick freak wanted to take advantage of their power over someone.

[@steadyOnIt23]

Great job at the subtle differences from a villain you love and A villain you hate!

[@TheKulu42]

I had to come back and say a big "Thank You!" I've been contemplating a villain for a steampunk tale I've been tinkering with, and after pondering your advice, a big "Click!" when off in my head and more than a few options popped into my head!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thrilled to hear it! Best of luck with your story

[@FredericGuimont]

I've watched a handful of your videos now and I must say these are the most information rich videos on writing I've come across. You not only know your stuff but you are able to communicate it clearly and concisely. Thanks for your hard work.

[@meerkatnip892]

Another thing about undeserved power and no charisma is sometimes an entourage of followers who appreciate everything the villain does and says, making you questions your sanity. Like in Titantic, when Rose's snarky remarks about Freud get barely noticed but everybody applauds Cal for saying that a real mean makes his own luck. Same with Geoffrey and his mother/ the court, or Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic. They hold power because they are believed and applauded beyond all rationale.

[@DiegoRodrigues-es4ph]

Damn, from anime's we have DIO from Jojo's bizarre adventure, not only he had the KICK THE DOG moment in the first episode by KICKING the dog of the main character but he later on the same episode will put the dog on FIRE and KILL it. THat was for sure a monster to behold.

[@thijmen5295]

One thing that also works to make us hate the villain is when they keep being irritating to our protagonist but they seem seemingly invincible. A perfect example would be Umbridge from the Harry Potter franchise. She acts with a brutal authority to the children but they can’t do anything about it since she’s a teacher (and later even the headmaster) of the school, plus she works for the government.

[@gizel4376]

a misconceptioon some people have is that they think a vilain become hateable after killing a character we love, but that's not true, or at least that's not optimal, because once it's done, we can move on, a hateable character need to be constantly messing with the beloved character. i would say that's also why i think Joffrey was a fail in term of hateable character, because i start to care about him before i care about any of the character he was messing with.

[@ajmittendorf]

Never forget Mrs. Olsen, not the one from Folger's Coffee ads but the one from "Little House on the Prairie."

[@JohnBradford14]

The legendary OG wrestling villain, Gorgeous George, once advised to a young Muhammad Ali, "People will pay good money to see someone shut your mouth." Seeing hateable villains get defeated, particularly if it's in a humiliating way, can be extremely cathartic and satisfying for audiences.

[@rebeccaschade3987]

Colavaere Saighan in the Wheel of Time books. She's a villain that is SO hateable. And when she finally gets her comeuppance, it's super satisfying.

[@TunySturk]

Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. He fits every category except the third one, in my opinion. He even has a literal "kick the dog" moment as soon as he's introduced and has no care for human life, merely using his minions as a means to an end. However, if you ask me, because he's so over-the-top and yells everything, I find him to be funny even though he's meant to be pure evil, but maybe that's just me.

[@glentz716]

Admit it though, when Jotaro defeated him, you were PUMPED.

[@jackdccole]

If you do want to craft hateable villains who are also round characters, I recommend looking at the Lotso from Toy Story 3, Dr. Emilia from Kipo, and Belos from Owl House. Their backstories give context to their actions and beliefs, but don’t present them as justified. They also often serve to show the extent of their villainy.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Which villains do you love to hate? Let us know!

[@ultrajedigamer]

Delores Umbridge

[@gonzalomendez4623]

Micha Bell is a good example, hate his guts but the actor who played him did incredible. And his character writing was excellent too

[@jamiea8155]

Two characters spring to mind: Raymond Cocteau in Demolition Man, and the warden in Shawshank Redemption. Wesley Snipes's Simon Phoenix was a great example of a loveable bad guy in that one, which was a nice counterpoint to the hateable Cocteau.

[@Naz1Killer]

Quan Chi and D'vorah

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Ah, another reminder that I need to play RDR2

[@Snavels]

Dio Brando from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, he fits all of these absolutely perfectly (spoilers for part 1- Phantom Blood) Dio's "kick the dog" moment is him literally kicking the protagonist's (Jonathan) dog. His unforgivable behavior is acts such as locking said dog in a furnace burning it alive, Assaulting Jonathan's girlfriend, Lying about Jonathan turning people against him, even stealing Jonathan's father's love. Dio is extremely charismatic, but not towards the audience per se, in private he's a very spoiled and egotistical megalomaniac. He uses a stone mask to give himself vampiric abilities, power he didn't actually earn (and certainly doesn't deserve), and it all ends with Jonathan using his own power to reduce Dio to nothing but a living head.

[@STOPLIKEBEGGARS101]

I think it'd be interesting to see how to do the things mentioned in the video while also making the villain seem like a realistic person and not a caricature "evil villain guy".

[@Alexey65536]

I cannot remember villain more hateable than Amy Dunne from "Gone Girl". The very fact that she got away with her crimes and also remained a victim in the eyes of general public makes me nauseous.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yep, I love how the book initially frames her as this unfortunate victim... THEN we see her true colors later

[@RobTzu]

I loved that movie. I think I was only guy in the theater hahah

[@MajorMlgNoob]

Since he cheated on her she was just having a girl boss moment

[@coryjack606]

Good one. Yeah I hated her character lol

[@Whisperer-th3wk]

I hated her too

[@nerdyengineer7943]

Captain Poison from Blood Diamond! His demise at the hand's of the boy's father in unspeakable righteous rage was perfect!

[@marchmelloow]

Furudo Erika from Umineko is my favorite hateable villain for not only how she goes completely against the themes of the story she's in but more so because you learn what those themes are in the first place from how hard she goes against.

[@vast634]

"Makes the world unsafe" for the heroes. Thats a good point.

[@joshualeventhal]

I think Lester Nygard from Fargo season 1 is one of the most despicable characters in fiction. The way the depths of his selfishness and cowardice unfold is masterful, and it’s his lack of spine that makes it all the more effective. Not only is it superb from a writing standpoint, but using Martin Freeman was such a brilliant casting choice because he’s so inherently likeable. We think we’ll be rooting for him, only to find out how manipulative and self-serving he is through horrifying means. Truly brilliant

[@broken6795]

I have been watching your videos for some hours now, Jeez what an amazing channel this is , Subscribed!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha thanks!

[@kenkunkel5976]

Messala in "Ben-Hur." Him getting trampled underneath his chariot is one of the most shocking and satisfying comeuppances ever.

[@stephvandykeozzy]

There's also the captain in the movie Changeling and also the mom in the movie Precious, that are two villains that I've always hated. Same thing for the Trunchball in Matilda and Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter. I think what also helps to create a hateful villain is to make them realistic and to create them as something you don't like. It's also good to look at true crime stories to make the villain more hateful and a huge threat to the hero. I think that if the writer hates the character, then the reader or audience will hate them. For example, I've been writing this Super Mario FanFiction that I gave Princess Daisy a horrible father who's a narcissist and control freak who tries to control her life, but in turn she's trying to get away from him and to stay with Luigi by dating and marrying him. The whole time her dad tries to force them apart through horrible acts, even threatening Luigi's life. I love your video that it's great advice for anyone who wants to create a hateful villain and I agree with everything wholeheartedly. Ivan Drago and Cal Hockley were good examples. I don't know that much about Game of Thrones but I think that character mentioned is similar to Joaquin Phoenix's character in Gladiator.

[@DaniloSantosVieira]

The villain i love to hate the most also happens to be one of my favorite characters of all time, Griffith, the main antagonist from Berserk. Despite not fitting every trait you pointed out, he is still very hated 😂😂 despite being a "fallen from grace hero" character that you root for during his "origin story" he is still firmly stablished as the main antagonist you're supposed to root against in the very first arc. It's actually genius level writing imo, specially considering how it fits into the stories' themes of fate vs free will. You know things are predetermined to go a certain way because of the first arc, which takes place forward in time, and that is simply big brain of the author. How is your reading going by the way?

[@calmcloudlesssky3443]

Light Yagami is the villain I love to hate the most. Interesting case, on your terms, because he lives directly on the fault line between earning his power and cheating his way into it. And he's charismatic, the audience can see he's charismatic, but they are also privy to his mental process and therefore not taken in for a second.

[@soulofresolve9514]

I’ve got an antagonist in my story whose story is straightforward. He was born the middle child, and despite his own success, he was jealous of his siblings, and got involved in shady business. When the village found out about this, he got exiled. He made use of his younger brother (the protagonist’s) loyalty to him and made him follow him into the woods to provide for him. When they ultimately had a falling out, the two separated, and the older brother made a deal with a family enemy to join them, willingly undergoing dark rituals and experiments to obtain power and prestige among the enemy’s ranks. He’s cruel, manipulative, rarely bothers to excuse or give reasons for his actions, enjoys seeing disruption and chaos and pain. When he does try to excuse his actions, he puts the blame on anyone but himself, even the gods. And he gets his comeuppance when the dark power he used to become powerful goes out of control, killing him.

[@magiclantern66]

Have you made a video about likable villains? The more interesting baddies, to me, are those that don't fulfill all of your criteria. The classic villain is surely Iago. His only motivation is envy, and he uses his charm, wit and intelligence to completely destroy his imagined rival, Othello. Darth Vader often is seen as an emblem of Pure Evil. but he's more interesting than the Emperor, who is just plain nasty. What about HAL? He just wants to complete the mission by any means necessary, and don't you feel a twinge of sympathy when he says "Please don't do that, Dave"? Then there's Harry Lime: A total bastard if ever there was one, but so charismatic. Perhaps I'm commenting on the wrong post. Please re-direct me otherwise.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Likeable Villains--there's a good topic for a future video. Thanks!

[@Augustus087]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Please include Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost in Space when you do this one. "Oh, the pain, dear boy. The pain."

[@MrTaxman66]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Magneto from the 1st Xman movie fits this role in my mind.

[@kingo_clubs9097]

Joffery biting the curb in 4k

[@Carcin00gen]

A great hateable villain is Firelord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Ultimately, the story is about Aang restoring balance to the world and mastering the 4 elements, so ending the 100 year war in a "kids" show perpetuated by the embodiment of evil is totally fine. Zuko is the complex, morally gray antagonist of the show, and foil to Aang, and Azula is evil but likeable and commands her time on the screen. Having Ozai's children be complex villains while he stands as an insurmountable final boss allows for lots of complexity, while audiences do not feel guilty for hating the fire nation and its war

[@true_gamer2341]

Emperor Palpatine. He's freakin' devil, idk any person who'd liked him. Terrifying master of puppets, uglied by his own power (UNLIMITED PAUAAAAAAAAAA). He destroyed planets, like Alderaan, made up a few galaxy wars, broke down lifes of Anakin, Obi Wan, Padme, Darth Maul, Count Dooku etc. I don't see a reason to talk about ones he murdered by himself, it would take the whole infinity. He's cheating, lying, manipulating and betraying to gain more power. Yes, he's charismatic, but that's one of powers he didn't deserve. And he hadn't his comeuppance yet, but i'm sure he will get it, once the Disney stop caring only about money. Yes, in VI episode of original trilogy he got killed by Vader, but now it has an explanation as cloning by Force :(

[@tattoodude8946]

Tim Roth's Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy has been a barometer for a no-redeeming-qualities-bastard-of-a-villain for me for years. And his comeuppance is soooooo satisfying - and not just the final blow, but the fact that even his snooty aristocratic "friends" don't seem to be bothered by his demise.

[@MikeHowellhakosoftware]

I just commented essentially the same thing. What an amazing portrayal!

[@WicksAndWacks]

I feel an example of a hateable villain that is super effective is Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2. He was born into wealth to two loving parents, his first instinct upon seeing fireworks was wondering how to weaponize it, his genocide of the panda race because of the Soothsayer's prediction, his vow for vengeance following his exile, etc etc. He's vile, he uses Po's trauma to manipulate and lie to him, he's ruthless in that he'd fire cannons into platoons of his own men just to have a chance of stopping the protagonists from reaching him. Shen is just a despicable, unlikable character, and it gives me goosebumps whenever he's on screen or I hear his soft-spoken, hateful voice and delivery. Great character and movie all around!

[@Augustus087]

Hey Brandon- just found your channel. As an amateur author who spent 7 years on my novel, I wanted to thank you for all these great, content filled vids. Thankfully, I am finding as I go through them, that my own work checked most of the boxes. Salute! PS The villain I love to hate the most is one of my own antagonists, Khalid el-Mazri. He attempts to "recruit" the protagonist, and after he fails he kidnaps her best friend, which sets up a great retribution scene and also works to enhance the hero's story arc.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for the kind words! Glad the videos are helping, and best of luck with your story!

[@Augustus087]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thank you! The title is called A Golconda Story and it has already been published =)

[@1776huckleberry]

Nurse Ratchet was a good at being irredeemable, her evil was on a lower more hidden frequency but her mask slipped a few times.

[@juanpillo10]

I couldn't stop thinking about Griffith from Berserk

[@adamsunderland0823]

Drago was actually a pretty chill dude

[@drepics3194]

I feel another good hate-able quality is when the villain keeps coming, not giving the hero a break to recover from the pain and hurt from the villain's last atrocities type deal. Kind of a sense of the villain saying "We ain't done here until I say it is." The villain simply just won't stop sticking their nose in where they ain't wanted.

[@TheMightyPika]

My fave hateful villain is Steven from Django Unchained. Smart, traitorous, influential, sadistic, and most of all not around long enough to get frustrating.

[@bugspray9545]

I think that homelander is one the most hateable villains, he’s all powerful, he’s protected by a corporation, he may have some humanizing backstory, but everytime he comes on screen I just wanna see him get his shit rocked

[@Oscar.224]

Nahh ppl calling him sigma now

[@Haexxchen]

Every villain needs a reason. It will probably be a selfish one, but there needs a reaon to do things or the character would be completrely inert. Give them motive for what they do.

[@88gschannel39]

As you were listing everything off in the description of this type of villain, one character definitely came to mind, the warden from Shawshank Redemption. Greedy, hypocritical, God complex, power flexing through punishment, and refuses to accept any responsibility or punishment himself hence the suicide at the end.

[@AC-op3bo]

Homelander for sure, but a close second for me is Archie Lee from Baby Doll (1956). I think sometimes hateable villains come off as hokey or ridiculous because they are not very believable. When they are too evil, or you do not understand their motivations, they can seem like caricatures or something. Watching Archie get his comeuppance at the end of Baby Doll is super satisfying, even more so because he is a very believable character.

[@justthinkingoutloud2538]

The channel The Closer Look recently made a video about this very topic, and his underlying theory for why we hate certain villains more than others is that these "hateable" villains are not just an external threat to the heroes or to humanity as a whole, who must and can justifiably be stopped by whatever means necessary; instead, they are a part of society, they emody the unfairness of society or take advantage of others for their own benefit, and the heroes feel powerless to do anything about it. If someone killed Voldemort, it would feel totally justified and no one would blame them, but could anyone get away with murdering Umbridge? As much as we hate her, that seems to be a step too far. These villains are protected by society, and thus we feel helpless to do anything to stop them. I think this idea, combined with the points you raise, really get to the heart of it.

[@ikmor]

Another one from me: Gaston, from Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast. Daaamn he's horrible, utterly evil, and totally plausible. No magic, nothing like that, just the ability to work (and use) people and his own very flawed and thin egg shell persona. Chills

[@jamiegould8845]

Hey I'm 17 and just had an idea for a book trilogy about 6 months ago. I have almost completely outlined the philosophical conflict, characters and the theme of dark age Germanic mythology. I just really don't know how to start. Can anyone give me tips on writing a first draft please? I have repeated the first two chapters for weeks now. I feel like I have a good vision in my head of what each chapter looks like and what it entails, yet I just can't seem to replicate it on paper. I guess I'm just scared that it will be bad because I love the book idea so much. Any help from anyone would be much appreciated.

[@cosmicspacething3474]

I guess you could read more direct German mythology and see how it’s structured, then try to replicate that?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Stop repeating those first 2 chapters and push toward the end. Accept that your first draft will not be perfect and that you can make revisions later. Once you finish the story, things will come into focus. Then you can plan and rewrite from there.

[@jamiegould8845]

@@cosmicspacething3474 Thankyou

[@jamiegould8845]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thankyou

[@N00bKefka]

Dio's "Kick the dog" Moment Kicks the dog

[@glentz716]

Then has a hot dog

[@caedrewan]

This is a timely video, it's reminded me to consider more about my villain's villainous-ness (seriously, thanks)

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thrilled it helped!

[@captainhowlerwilson508]

Another hatable villain is Denethor from The Lord of the Rings. That guy showed complete favouritism towards his older son Boromir and treated his younger son Faramir like shit. After Boromir dies, he falls into complete despair and sends Faramir on a suicide mission to try to retake Osgiliath. Then he tries to burn both himself and his son in a fire.

[@Megaevo89]

Miss Trunchbull is another good example of creating a hateable villain.

[@crissalexi7825]

Would you do one on how to make a charismatic villain? Like you mentioned the joker from Dark Knight. It’s a crazy balance of you know he has to go down, but you also want to see more of him on the screen. I think they tried to do that with Ultron from the 2nd avengers movie, but it totally failed. How did one character benefit from breaking from this whole another basically almost ruined the whole movie?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for the topic idea--I'll add it to my list!

[@LordBaktor]

Generally, charisma, unpredictability and competency seem to be a big part of villains that people like. The Joker is fascinating to watch and he's several steps ahead of everyone at all times until the last scene he is in, and even when defeated Batman still has to fix the whole Harvey Dent situation that the Joker is responsible for unleashing. Ultron had some charisma and was competent, but his plans get thwarted left and right so you end up loosing respect for him. That is also why Thanos worked in Infinity War and became a joke in Endgame (imho).

[@mattpope1746]

Commodus from Gladiator is probably one of my favorite villains to hate. He fits most of the criteria that you set out including killing beloved Marcus Aurelius to become emperor. The scene where Maximus removes his helmet and reveals that he still alive is a great early comeuppance scene.

[@Drc902]

Joffrey's so hated, that even for this video, his demise is the most replayed part. Now that's hate!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hahaha!

[@chrischuba5037]

'Gack, gack, as he clutches his throat' - loved it.

[@erakfishfishfish]

Prince Humperdink in The Princess Bride. Even though he survives (much to Fred Savage’s chagrin), his comeuppance at being revealed to be a coward is fantastically done. Chris Sarandon did such a good job (as did everyone in that movie). Another one: Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore.

[@fenrik8178]

When you want people to hate your villain, but not too much because a future redemption arc..... Difficult to balance.

[@fruzsimih7214]

Jack Horner from Puss in Boots - The Last Wish is a great hateable villain. Though he's also fun, because he's so over the top.

[@МарияСоина-с2р]

A great example of this is Archibald Cunningham from Rob Roy. Waiting to see him killed off is one of the things that keeps the viewer gripped

[@MikeHowellhakosoftware]

Tim Roth was so good in that role that I felt legitimate emotional response to the character. My poor brain absolutely lost track of the fact that it was just an actor.

[@WalterWhite-qf4di]

This is such a well made video. Now can you make a video on how to create loveable villains.

[@RobertDownySenior]

He did 👍

[@ilghiz]

This is perfect advice how to make a caricature of a villain.

[@alexanderparker2219]

One really good example of a hateable villain in recent times would be the high evolutionary in guardians of the galaxy volume 3. Seriously every time he appears on screen you some how end up hating him even more, and seeing the main characters just beat the shit out of him in the end is one of the most satisfying scenes in a marvel film ever.

[@DoctorPorkenfries]

Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizaare Adventure is the most hateable villain I've seen. He murders his father (although he did deserve it) and gets adopted by the wealthy George Joestar (because Dio's father inadvertantly saved George and his infant son while looting the carriage they'd had a crash in.) Jonathan Joestar immediately welcomed him to the family, and Dio repaid his kindness with a literal kick the dog moment. He showed up Jonathan to his father by being more polite, beat Jonathan at boxing (going out of his way to shove his thumb in Jon's eye while doing so) forcibly kissed a girl who liked him so he couldnt be her first kiss, had the dog burned to death in an "accident," and pulled a knife on Jonathan when he finally had enough of Dio's bullshit and kicked the shit out of him. And that's just the shit Dio did *as a child.* He just kept getting worse from there.

[@hungariangiraffe6361]

Umbitch, without a doubt. My favourite villain though are Grand Admiral Thrawn, Bellatrix Lestrange and Captain Dubois, in this order because they are iconic.

[@Mikail_199]

dio from jojos bizare adventure is also a good example. He literally burned jojos dog alive and betrayed the person that helped him out of poverty

[@moycorbin4750]

In first part yes In part 3 he still being a terrible creature but his charisma just stole the show

[@Mikail_199]

@@moycorbin4750 he still wanted to kill every jojo he sees lol

[@alexistourand8058]

This video definitely helped when creating the main antagonist (Ashlynn) for my story and my best friend absolutely hates her. Her late beloved was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the grief over his death drove Ashlynn into madness. She was the heir to the throne, however her use of dark magic made her younger sister Marilyn the heir. Throughout the series, Ashlynn does wind up taking countless lives (including the lives of her parents, her husband and in-laws, and her sister’s best friend; these were very slow and personal deaths that she perpetrated) and she does play a bit of a role in her sister’s death. Ashlynn also tortured her niece, exploited her daughter for her magic, and she committed multiple other atrocities. She may be cold and calculating, but everyone fears her and her reigns of terror (her first reign was as Ashlynn, her second was after her husband’s death under the name “Melania”) came after brutal deaths she delivered. Finally, Ashlynn does die a brutal death; her niece burns her alive from the inside-out and both niece and daughter decide to have her ashes buried in the middle of nowhere with no gravestone and no ceremony. And all she wanted was to bring her first love back from the dead…

[@hedevangsvej]

i personal think the reason for the lack of this type of villains is that people are idiots and begins harrassing the actors

[@NotFadeAway522]

Warren Mears from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a good example of a hateable villain. He's unredeemably evil, is horribly misogynistic, thinks he's better than everyone, is manipulative, and gets his momentary victory by shooting the hero, which feels like cheating on a show where guns are almost never used. When he gets his comeuppance it's one of the most satisfying moments I've ever seen.

[@GreyManFaustus]

MorningLightMountain is a pretty interesting example of a hateable villain. It has all those "classic" ragebaity attributes of being an absolute, cold tyrant with no regard for life whatsoever, well established with his treatment of Verbeke. But it's also made clear that it's not operating on human ethics, even with a glimpse of human perspective wandering through it's mind. This adds a nice meta layer to an otherwise very one dimensional character.