Villains Part 3 of 3

Level 7: The Mad Genius (Mad Scientist)

The Mad Genius is a malevolent mastermind who delights in the demonstration of his massive intellect. He is often gifted in one or more of the arts and sciences and uses his gift to serve his own evil or selfish purposes. Unlike the Criminal Mastermind, this villain's purpose is not for the simple trinkets of wealth. In many cases they struggle to defy nature or God with their wicked plans. While the Mad Genius is mentally unhinged, the true threat lies in their unusual mental prowess, wrapped inside their twisted mind. The Mad Genius sees everyone as an intellectual inferior and they are all contemptible in his mind. He looks down on everyone around him and cannot abide anyone's achievement other than his own. In fact he will often develop an elaborate scheme to stop anyone that may stand in the way of his objective.



The Mad Scientist fills the ranks of this category with imposing villains like Scorpius from Farscape, The Invisible Man, and Davros from the Doctor Who story Genesis of the Daleks. But the Mad Genius is not always a man of science. Antonio Salieri from the movie Amadeus is arguably a musical genius but becomes obsessed with the destruction of the worlds greatest musical talent: Mozart. On a slightly more ridiculous note, Mr. Body from the movie Clue wields a genius so vast that the movie requires three different endings just to do his wicked scheming justice. In every case, the Mad Genius has twisted his gift into a dark weapon that he intends to use against humanity at any price.

Level 8: The Demigod

The Demigods of villainy are mortal men with extraordinary ability. They border on the mythological and often defy the laws of nature. Their evil is terrifying because they are seemingly an unstoppable force that wields mystical (or technological) ability so vast as to appear god-like to the innocent bystander. These Demigods motivation vary from character to character. Some are bored with their existence and conduct wicked deeds as nothing more than a casual distraction. Others are former villains from another level whose time as long since run out, but they cling to life through their unimaginable power with every action serving to defy their mortality. Some seek power and fortune like their villain brothers, only they operate on a level of power that is unmatched by 99% of the people around them.



It goes without saying that Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars trilogy is the standard bearer of this archetype. His mastery of the darkside of the force is unmatched by all save Vader himself. Vader on the other hand is more of a Wayward Child who has fallen from the path. Another famous movie Demigod is General Zod from Superman II. Like his brethren, he wields near limitless power and crushes lesser beings effortlessly and with complete disregard for human life. In every case, the Demigod likens himself to a god, but still suffers the inevitable hubris which comes with such power. A hubris that eventually is his undoing.

Level 9: The Devil

This charming fiend is the root of all evils and we see his power in all of the previous eight levels of villainy. He is fanatical, monstrous, secretive, bloodthirsty, manipulative, tyrannical, artful, and powerful. But perhaps more than any other villain the Devil is a master of temptation. He gives people what they think they want, luring his victims into a spiraling decent of their own destruction. He can see into the very heart of others, caplitalizing on peoples darkest fears and most carnal desires. Once he has a victim walking the path of darkness he uses them as a pawn in his chess game to power. For it is absolute dominion over all things that the Devil desires and nothing less will suffice.



Few stories use this malevolent force as their villain and even fewer get it right. But there are some examples (both good and bad) that represent that deepest and darkest level of villainy. Saraun from The Lord of the Rings is possibly the best representation in television and film of our Devil archetype. His power is unmatched and his ring represents the greatest temptation any man must face and only the symbol of his power is capable of destroying the mighty demon-god. Another more "campy" version of our Devil is The Lord of Darkness from the film Legend. Outwardly this villain dresses the part and his power is nothing to slouch at either. There are others from the dramatic to the comedic but in every case you know the Devil by the antithesis of his being. He commits his evil deeds because our lies are his truth, our evil his goodness, our vice his virtue. He seeks our destruction because he is anti-life.

I hope you have enjoyed this tribute to the monsters who make our heroes into heroes. For as long as can be remembered mankind has enjoyed the tales of good versus evil. The struggle between man and beast. It is this struggle for redemption, honor, and love that makes our stories worth the journey.