On the Nature of Villains and Heroes

by Uncle Pervy

Why is it that so many of us RPGamers love villains. Why do so many of us have an almost disturbing respect, if not veneration of those who often cause so much pain and suffering? Cloudslash recently postulated that it was style, the way that villains carry themselves, the way that they look and speak. In a way, Cloudslash was right, but he has neglected to delve deep enough into the issue, and decried the respect of villains, for lack of a better term, as a purely cosmetic thing; that we love them simply for their outward style. I feel that villains call to us, to a part of ourselves that we hide from the world, and from our own notice.

The stories of RPGs are the stories of the villains. Final Fantasy VII happened because Sephiroth tried to become a god. Lunar: The Silver Star Story happened because Ghaleon aspired to the same. Final Fantasy VI happened because Geshtal tried to conquer the world, and Kefka destroyed it. Were none of these villains to do what they did, the events of these games would not have happened.

Why is this so? Because villains bring change, they bring discord and conflict. Heroes arise to fight the villains; without the villain most heroes would not exist. Villains bring change, they stand against old orders and old ideas with ideas of their own; be these ideas new revolutions or ancient beliefs.

But why do villains bring change? For some, it is greed. They want power, and they are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to get it. Sephiroth was willing to bring the world to the brink of destruction in order to achieve apotheosis. X-Death of Final Fantasy V dabbled into powers never before tampered with in order to take over his world and another that was once linked to it.

Others do it for revenge. Zemus of Final Fantasy IV exploited both individuals and nations to free himself from his prison and exact revenge on the Lunarians who shackled him. Sephiroth also desired revenge against those who had deceived and used him.

Another reason is a misguided desire to help humanity. The goddess Myria from the Breath of Fire series wanted to keep the world in a state of unchanging balance, manipulating every little event, in order to save humanity from itself. Ghaleon wanted a deity to exist and bind the peoples of Lunar together.

There is a common thread throughout each of these cases. Every villain wants to change something, be it their stations in life or society, and they do it. They have the will to pursue their goals, whatever the costs. I think many of us can identify with that. A vast majority of RPGamers live in societies where it seems that there is little we can do to change things. There is always a boss, a parent, a teacher, a police officer, etc to enforce what others want us to do, be it in the name of society or in the individual's own name. Villains defy those conventions and restrictions to get what they want, and I think we envy them for it.

There is convention in particular that we all encounter, for we often place on ourselves. Most if not all societies urge us to resist the desire to hurt others. It is wrong to inflict pain on others, to end the lives of others, and to steal from others. The very notions of such things should not come to us. Yet they do.

Everyone feels the urge to hurt another on occasion. When we are wronged, our first impulse is generally to hurt the one who wronged us. Perhaps they hurt us, or they did not respect our rights, or they took from us. Or we might suspect that they will do something to hurt us in the future. Perhaps they bested us, or claimed a reward that we wanted, or they have something we want. Perhaps they are just annoying. Whatever the reason, we occasionally have the urge to hurt, even kill another, if only for a moment.

It is disturbing at times, the things we want to do to others; the desires and impulses we have at times, and the causes. Why would we want to do something, when it is clearly wrong? So, the vast majority of us try to ignore those impulses, and ignore the impulses' very existence. But they still remain, no matter how hard we try to deny the urge to hurt another sometimes.

Villains have given in. Sephiroth slew an entire village of innocents because humans used him, and later threatened the world to become a god. Ghaleon exploited both humans and the Vile Tribe to create a deity. Kefka destroyed the balance of the world in revenge for Geshtal's turning against him. Krelian committed numberless inhuman experiments and manipulated the entire world in order to draw mankind into perfect unity with the Wave Existence. For there own goals, these villains have committed atrocities.

And we envy them, we who cannot do a thing. They have accepted those dark impulses that we deny. They have the power to stand against the society and fight back, be it for what they see as justice and necessity or for selfish reasons. We envy their power, and their will to use it. It is one thing to have a dark impulse, but it is an entirely different matter to enact it. What we secretly desire to do, villains accomplish.

This is the basis on which we respect most villains. Let us take it a step further. What happens when these souls who have defied convention and morality do something good, or show a trait that is not so evil, or suffer from fate?

Seifer of Final Fantasy Eight is the perfect example. Seifer is a bastard, let's face it. He gleefully tortured Squall, he took joy in incriminating others, and he was unfriendly to boot! But, he was also an idealist. He desired to be a knight, to pledge loyalty to a sorceress and serve her faithfully. Who can say that loyalty is evil? Furthermore, his rival became a full-fledged SeeD while Seifer was held back and humiliated. How many of us have rivals who claimed something we desired, while we were left with the shame of failure?

Ghaleon exploited the entirety of Lunar in his quest, but he had a reason. The previous goddess had stepped down and abandoned mankind. Without a common thread to bind the various nations and people of Lunar together, how long before something divides them? How long before war and strife follow those divisions? Is it worth losing complete independence to have peace and prosperity? There is no universal answer. To some, it justifies Ghaleon, for he thought of the future. To others, it only condemns him further, for he defied the will of Althena and tried to dominate the world.

Lezard Valeth of Valkyrie Profile is one of the best examples of a villain who does good. He lusts after a goddess, and is willing to doom the universe to destruction in order to bind and possess her, keeping her from fighting Ragnarok. To draw her attention, he brutally slaughters a married couple on the roof of his tower, and kills numberless elves in designing a way to bind the goddess. Yet later, when the goddess is destroyed and the world is left to the devices of Loki, Lezard returns and gives the heroes knowledge to restore her to life. Without him, none could have stood and fought against Loki.

Finally, there are those who suffer from fate. Gilgamesh is the best example I know. He was a general in X-Death's armies, and fought loyally for his master. Gilgamesh was not particularly evil, he simply fought against humanity to conquer the world for X-Death. In the end, X-Death betrayed him, exiling Gilgamesh to the void. Even then, Gilgamesh remained loyal, seeking no revenge, only a way back to reality. It wasn't until he found that X-Death had no desire to simply rule the world that Gilgamesh turned against the black wizard, sacrificing his own life so that his once-enemies could face X-Death. How many of us have been betrayed by a friend or an idea? It is not hard to identify with Gilgamesh if you have.

In the end, I believe the reason we regard villains so highly is because we can identify with them. We can identify with their violence, even if we are repelled by it, because we occasionally feel the urge to do the same. We respect their defiance, because we sometimes wish to defy and ignore others as well. Many villains have a trait that is not entirely evil, making them even closer to us; for they show that they can feel and act as we do sometimes, despite their atrocities.

There are other reasons, as well. Some villains are amusing; I still crack a smile at Kefka's fury, and Lezard's poetic speech gives a sense of elegance that many find appealing. Other times, they simply overwhelm us with their personalities; Sephiroth's icy glares come to mind instantly, as does his tendency to completely ignore those around him. Sometimes, it is appearance and poise that catch us, like with Lezard's speech or Kefka's laugh. But, these are just manifestations of the villain's personality, and our respect for those symbols stems from respect and envy of the villain's individuality. In the end, we respect villains because some tiny part of our psyches, where we keep our dark impulses, want to be them.

Cloudslash said that we should never forget that villains are just that: villains. They commit atrocities to achieve their goals, and should be reviled for it. What of heroes, then? What atrocities did, say, Locke of FFVI commit? Ask the commandos in the Magitek Factory that fell doing their duty. Ask the numerous people he robbed during his 'treasure hunting'. Ask the numerous monsters who died defending their lairs as he and his companions traveled.

Let us look at another example. Althena cast aside her divinity to live as a mortal. In doing so, she withdrew on of the major threads that bound together the people of Lunar. More importantly, she abandoned them to the dark god that nearly destroyed the Blue Star. Is that an act to be reviled? Only Ghaleon did, it seems.

The truth is that every RPG hero commits some kind of atrocity. Cloud and Barret bombed two mako reactors without regard for the people inside them. Lenneth of Valkyrie Profile pushes several people to death in order to collect their souls for Ragnarok. Squall was a jerk to virtually everyone he knew simply because he didn't feel like being friendly. Vyse from Skies of Arcadia broke into government facilities in Valua twice, and stole their most advanced ship. Has there been an RPG hero that did not slay numerous monsters?

It is an odd double standard. Villains are condemned when they break laws, shatter customs, steal, and kill, yet such facts are glossed over when the heroes do the same. Is it because doing evil to stop evil is acceptable? If so, then many villains are justified. Ghaleon wanted to keep Lunar from tearing itself apart. Geshtal wanted to end the petty squabbling between nations and create a more prosperous world. Sephiroth wanted to keep humanity from abusing the planet. Looked at from the proper viewpoint, nearly all RPG villains can be justified.

Is it remorse that separates heroes and villains? Barret later realized that his terrorist tactics were wrong. Lenneth broke down when she realized that Odin was simply manipulating people to maintain his own power. But look how many heroes never repent. Celes never really agonized over the deeds she did for the Empire; she was more worried about Locke. Vyse never stopped raiding other ships. Cloud never felt bad about slashing through legions of Shinra troops. And I have yet to see a tear shed for monsters that fall in random encounters.

Are heroes really heroes at all, or were they simply the victors? How would Alex be represented in history if Ghaleon had succeeded? What would have been said about Cloud and Aeris if Sephiroth had become a god; assuming he didn't, as the ending is a little ambiguous as to what really happened. Would the Returners have really been a force for good if Geshtal had conquered the world? Perhaps it all depends on how you look at things.

What do you think? If you have read this far, I commend your powers of endurance. Feel free to tell me your theories, just send them to uncleprvy@netzero.net. I want to know if I'm right, or if I'm just more psychotic than I think. 'Til next time.

Uncle Pervy

Original Editorial: Delusion of the Cool Villain