Are we incapable of having a villain who is just EVIL?!

[Hopefulsuicide]

Is anyone else getting tired of all the villains being 'morally grey' areas?

It just seems like the writers have latched onto this idea that villains are only interesting if they have sympathy from the audience... which is just not true! I seriously miss villains that I love to hate, like Lionel was in early seasons. The one's that give you a chill down your spine when they smile.

They started with Lex going from good to badish, then Lionel going from bad to goodish, then Tess and her good/bad back and forth, and Doomsday's part humanitarian paramedic. Now we have a Zod who is questionable, a Metallo who is now going to try and live an honest life, and a Chloe who appears to be slipping to morally dubious.

What the hell is wrong with having characters be consistent in their moral compass? And what is wrong with a villain not having a good streak?

[ragamuffin]

I've noticed this in most every show I watch. Even in Supernatural, they are doing it with Lucifer of all people. Every bad guy now is a victim of circumstances and not just an evil person.

[Andyville]

Well all the more reason to not introduce Darkside in s10 because you don't get more evil then The God from Apokalips.

[Superman of Krypton]

This season there is no villain. Just gray-area anti-heroes:

- Oliver (who killed Lex)

- Chloe (who's done 100x morally questionable things)

- Zod (whos killed but in the name of saving his people)

- Tess (who's supposedly trying to save humanity through shady means)

- Waller (who's trying to defend the planet from alien, but killing people in the process)


Maxwell Lord is bound to be the same way too. No villains this year, just a lot of gray.


All these characters have good intentions but are going about achieving their goals by shady means.


I don't mind it, but it's getting old, especially after Davis Bloomesday last year.

[ragamuffin]

All these characters have good intentions but are going about achieving their goals by shady means.

And we know what they say about good intentions and the road to hell.

[AlexfromLubbock]

It's a huge problem not only with this show but even DC comics as well and maybe it's a modern fiction thing as well that is well predictable and unoriginal.

I don't know what writers are trying if it's saying fiction is complicated like the real world then it's a bit wrong because people in the real world are sometimes just bad and there is no excuse for their actions.

We had Metallo who could have been an interesting Smallville villain and everywhere else is a superpowered bully in all other comics, movies and shows but here they write him completely out of character.

[Hopefulsuicide]

I think your right, and it's not just Smallville, but I guess i notice it more in a supernatural/sci fi context because there is so much opportunity for presenting 'pure evil'.

In shows/movies set in the real world it's a bit harder to deem someone 'evil' because they are all human. In settings like Smallville and Supernatural you can actually have EVIL villains. Demons, monsters, robots etc.

It makes me miss shows like Buffy, in which there was a balanced mix between the morally grey and just the pure evil villains. And it sort of defined what Buffy herself was allowed to do/who she could kill. Destroying the master would never have been questioned. Killing Warren was out of the question. Angel was acceptable to kill as long as he had no soul, etc etc.

But here we are dealing with a place where anyone who suggests killing the villain, is ALWAYS wrong. Because every villain seems to have some humanity. It's become repetative and has forced characters apart through their need to approach things differently.

[moviefan2k4]

Well, Superman's always had a very strict "no killing" policy, even for those he truly despises. He sees the humanity in everyone, including people we'd deem unforgivable. That's one of his greatest strengths, in terms of his character. It's another direct parallel to Jesus, because Clark hates the crime being committed, and yet he also reaches out to the offender. He tried countless times to save Lex, even after what he did to Lana. He tried to save Davis, but his error was in underestimating Davis' reaction if anyone else betrayed him (as he thought Chloe did).

[cara410]

This season there is no villain. Just gray-area anti-heroes:

- Oliver (who killed Lex)

- Chloe (who's done 100x morally questionable things)

- Zod (whos killed but in the name of saving his people)

- Tess (who's supposedly trying to save humanity through shady means)

- Waller (who's trying to defend the planet from alien, but killing people in the process)

Clark should have been on the list imo.

Clark (destroys some towers, violent against women, lo-jacks his gf)

And to answer the OP's question. No, I'm actually loving those morally grey villains. I think having some EVIL villains who are evil with no background story about the why they are what they are would have made them less believable as characters.

[AlexfromLubbock]

Clark should have been on the list imo.

Clark (destroys some towers, violent against women, lo-jacks his gf)

And to answer the OP's question. No, I'm actually loving those morally grey villains. I think having some EVIL villains who are evil with no background story about the why they are what they are would have made them less believable as characters.

In the real world there can be absolutely terrible people so is making genre villains sympathetic and excusing all their actions more believable? I always go back to Mark Waid's comic series Empire you can felt for a villain they can be complex but in the end they are still violent bullies who coerce people.

[cara410]

In the real world there can be absolutely terrible people so is making genre villains sympathetic and excusing all their actions more believable? I always go back to Mark Waid's comic series Empire you can fell for a villain they can be complex but in the end they are still violent bullies who coerce people.

Okay maybe my wording was bad... It's not that they're more believable... let's say they're more interesting and well, imo, if they have a reason to be evil, it's more... I dunno. It's just a personal preference. I like the villains to have some justification behind their villainy. Not just because they are really EVIL.

[Kevin24]

I have to agree that there really is no real villain this season on Smallville. We all know Zod and the Kandorians are going to be the villains but they have showed a good side to them. Some of the Kandorians just want a normal life on earth and others just want to protect each other from being destroyed.

I don't think the Kandorians should be made out to be pure evil just yet. They were good people on Krypton and it would be odd that they would become evil right away as soon as they appear on earth.

I think the power they are going to get will corrupt them and start them down the evilpath.

[dru-zod2501]

I think it's personal preference thing. Some people just like their villains complicated like that, not the moustache-twirling NYAH! Kind.

I'm reminded of the Superman Homepage's review of Checkmate, where one of the reviewers criticized Waller for being too evil, not gray enough "Just once I'd like to see a new "villain" introduced that doesn't walk through every scene with a sign around their neck that says I KILL PUPPIES FOR FUN. Just once. Please?"

me? I agree I like the pure evil villains better. Would anyone like The Joker better if he suddenly thought he was saving the world by his actions? I know I wouldn't. Even Lex I like better as the greatest criminal mind of our time, rather than an unsung hero of mankind in his own mind

The ambiguous ones are ok for contrast, just every so often

[chloesmygirl]

I don't want to get off on a political rant here and I'm certainly not trying to offend anyone but to me it's political correctness run rampant. You can't call things what they really are anymore ie you can't really call a villain a villain and it reflects on tv shows now. Ok off my soapbox.

[Supsfan]

I have to agree, the show's overuse of the tragic villian is getting old. I am a firm believer that the badder the villian is the "gooder" the hero looks.