In and interview, Stan Lee said that creating heroes such as Spiderman wasn't all that interesting to him and that the real fun for him was creating the villains that the heroes would have to deal with. It has been said that a person is defined by their enemies. Entire stories have been based on that theme.
There are stories without antagonists. They are often about overcoming obstacles to achieve some goal. Those types of stories are perfectly fine. They are entertaining and often popular.
A good antagonist can drive a story. An antagonist who is a villain can put a story into overdrive. So what makes a really worthwhile villain?
If you want a memorable villain that will really drive your story you need to make them a person without a conscience, a psychopath.
What do I mean psychopath? Well, read the books on the subject. Here are some recommended titles. Read any one of these and you will have a very good handle on what evil is all about.
The Sociopath Next Door
by Martha Stout, PhD
Without Conscience: the disturbing world of the psychopaths among us
by Robert D. Hare, PhD
Snakes in Suits: when psychopaths go to work
by Paul Babiak, PhD and Robert D. Hare, PhD
The Mask of Sanity
by Hervey Cleckley, MD
Not all antagonists are villains. Not all villains are psychopaths. Look at Darth Vader. He eventually acted for the benefit of another and sacrificed himself to save his son from death. No psychopath would ever do that. The most memorable antagonists are villains and are psychopaths.
In addition to being a psychopath to really be memorable a villain must also be entertaining. Making a villain entertaining involves some luck. There are plenty of dastardly villains in stories but not all of them are entertaining. There's not formula to follow to achieve that. On the other hand there are some guidelines for making your villains truly evil.
The first attribute of such a villain is that this particular individual is completely and solely motivated by his or her own self interest, whatever that may be. They well may have friends but they are a friend to no one. They will actively or passively sacrifice anyone, even those who are closest to them, or any living creature for the greatest good of self. When it comes to other entities this particular villain never ever feels their pain.
They manipulate others to achieve their own goals. Their goals are never altruistic. As part of their manipulation they will bestow gifts on others but when they do there is always a very high price for the recipient to pay as the villain's machinations unfold. Giving gifts is looked on as an investment to be collected with steep interest.
To the villain other living creatures, including people, are property. They can also be bargaining chips. So long as they serve the villain well their feelings, desires, well being and health are of absolutely no consequence.
Complete and utter compliance to the villain's wishes are demanded from each of the villain's minions. When he or she has opponents the same is demanded. Punishment is always very harsh for not delivering to the villain what he or she wants. As ruthless as the punishment meted out may be it is never revenge. It is always done with the purpose of setting an example to anyone else who might have ideas of not delivering to the villain what he or she so desires. Punishments meted out are always extremely grim and extremely gruesome.
The villain likes to be in the position of leadership. Often the word power is bandied about with regard to this. Power has nothing to do with it. The villain wants control over others and he or she wants followers to do the heavy lifting and to take the fall for him or her, if and when that becomes necessary.
Those within the villain's inner circle are in the most dangerous position. If the villain ever perceives them to be enjoying too much of a free ride or posing any kind of challenge to his or her leadership position, well, there are always many justifications for disposing of them one way or another.
When a villain attains a top leadership position he or she no longer feels the necessity to hide his or her true nature. Within a hierarchy where they are somewhere below others in the pecking order their behavior adjusts to the situation. For the most part they do not conceal their nature to those beneath them in the chain of command. To those above they put on a very different face. They are almost always regarded by their seniors as the very best employee/follower/member in the place. Those below tend to see more of the truth, but they are generally not in a position to do anything about what they perceive.
Read the suggested books and think about how you can use this information with regard to the creation of your villains. You will make your stories sizzle.
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