Villain 

noun: villain; plural noun: villains
• ( in a film, novel or play ) a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot.
•  a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime.
•  a character who opposes the hero.

In almost every movie, TV show, cartoon and book we can find a hero and a villain. Naturally, we’re attracted and drawn to the hero, but to the villain, we discover ourselves often despising and loathing them. However, over the years, the villain character has evolved and is no longer seen as being someone with no redeeming traits and might even be a bit likable. Today the villain is a character that shares equivalent traits as the hero and at times one that is even relatable to.

These changes introduced us to different types of villains, now there is the anti-hero, anti-villain or tragic villain. We also have been seeing more of a female presence within villain characters proving the female villains can be just as evil as any man. These days having so many varieties of villains, you might even find yourself rooting and cheering for some and some I’m sure you nonetheless find yourself still despising them. Either way a story, film, TV show, cartoon or play simply wouldn’t be the equal without the villain persona. Join me as I take a look at some of the most unforgettable and remarkable villains that I have remembered from over the years.

The Care Bears•Villains: No Heart, Shreeky & Beastly.

The first villain in the Care Bears cartoon was named Professor Coldheart and then throughout the years, there were several more, including the three I remember the most. Those three, of course, are no other than No Heart, Shreeky and Beastly.

No Heart: No Heart is an evil sorcerer who can transform and shapeshift. He likes to use magic for his evil doings and is extremely mean. No Heart always wears a purple and red coloured robe, the hood is always up and therefore his face is never visible, you can, however, notice his blue arms and eyebrows. No Heart’s goal is to destroy the Care Bears and to take over the world.

Shreeky:  Shreeky is No Heart’s niece. She is self-centred, spoiled and obnoxious. She uses magic but also uses her voice as well. Her shriek is so powerful that it can break glass, crack ice and shatter crystal. Shreeky has long purple hair with a blue streak in it. She wears a red sweater dress with a purple vest over top and completes her outfit with purple shoes. Like her uncle, she too wants to see the Care Bears destroyed as well.

Beastly: Beastly was originally No Heart’s minion but now is Shreeky’s assistant. He is good at coming up with ideas and plans to capture the Care Bears but never gets credit because Shreeky always lies and says she thought of the ideas and therefore takes the credit. Beastly is a small hairy creature that wears a green hat that looks like an aviator cap and a red scarf. He has big yellow eyes and a very unique laugh. His goal is impressing No Heart and keeping him happy, but sometimes he is torn between staying with No Heart and Shreeky or leaving them because they both are usually just mean to him and seem to not respect him.

             Home Alone • Villains: Harry and Marv

Home Alone is one of my favourite Christmas movies and it has turned into a tradition to watch it each Christmas Eve with my family. One of the things I love best about the movie is the characters Harry and Marv. The two plan on breaking into  the McCallister’s house after they learn the family will be away for Christmas. What they don’t know is 8 yr old Kevin McCallister was mistakenly left behind while the rest of his family did indeed go away on vacation. Kevin learns of their plan and to protect his house he sets up various booby traps for Harry and Marv hoping the traps will stop them from getting in.

Harry Lyme: Harry is a burglar and a small time criminal. He uses whatever kind of tool he can to break into homes and even dresses up like a police officer who is conducting safety checks on homes so he can learn information about the home that he can later use. Of the two burglars, he is the leader and “smarter” one. He dresses in long jackets, scarfs and gloves due to the cold weather. His whole goal once falling victim to Kevin’s traps is no longer taking things from the house but instead catching Kevin and killing him.

Marv Merchants: Marv is a burglar and small time criminal as well. Even though Harry was against the two burglars leaving a calling card or trademark in the houses they robbed, Marv came up with one anyway! He calls them “The wet bandits” due to the fact that they leave the water faucets turned on and running. His choice of weapon or tool is a crowbar. Marv is pretty much the opposite of Harry appearance wise, he is tall and has lots of hair. He dresses similar to Harry though which is probably due to the fact that it is winter when the story takes place. Marv as well only has one goal in mind after being tormented by Kevin and that is catching and killing him.

                        The Bear • Villains: Hunters

Through out my life, I don’t think there has been another movie (except maybe The Notebook) that has made me cry so much. I have only seen this movie twice and I sometimes cry just thinking about it. I just can not endure any kind of animal cruelty or handle seeing animals die. Even after reading about the making of the movie and how the bears are trained to act that way, I still can’t stop the tears. I’m just strange  when it comes to animals but for the normal people who can handle movies about animals then I do suggest this movie if you haven’t seen it. It has beautiful scenery and a touching story about an orphaned bear cub who befriends an adult male grizzly bear as hunters pursue them throughout the wilderness. It has been nominated for 9 awards and has won 5.

The Hunters: The two hunters in the movie are nameless as there is actually not much dialogue throughout the movie. They are in pursuit of the grizzly bear and use guns, traps and tracking dogs as their weapons to hunt him. They appear to wear the usual hunters attire as they actively hunt the grizzly with the goal of killing him for his fur. The hunters only think of the grizzly as a trophy but all of that changes when one of the hunter finds himself alone, weapon less and face to face with the grizzly.

        Jem and the Holograms • Villains: The Misfits

Jem and the Holograms was my favorite show besides the Care Bears when I was youger. I loved that their dolls and characters were different and not like the typical Barbie doll. These girls had cool crazy hair, funky style and were in a band together. Yes, everything seemed perfect for Jem, everything but that rival band they always had to compete with – The Misfits!!!!!

Pizzazza: Pizzazz is the leader of the group and vocals and rhythm guitar in the band. She is very mean spirited and came from a wealthy family. Pizzazz rocks neon green hair and loves wearing animal print clothes. Her number one goal is fame and fortune and sabotaging Jem and the Holograms. Pizzazz truly believes that there is only room for one band to be number 1 and it’s the Misfits.

Roxy: Roxy is lead guitar in the Misfits. She sometimes has a nice side until she is around Pizzazz that is, then she is all bad. Roxy idolizes Pizzazz and follows whatever Pizzazz orders or says to do. She has bright white hair and loves to wear a purple mini dress. Since Pizzazz’s goal is sabotaging Jem it is Roxy’s number 1 goal as well.

Stomer: Stomer plays the Keytar and writes the lyrics in the band. She is the youngest of the group and the least mean with a softer side than the others. Stomer has blue hair and likes to wear anything that has pink in it. Stomer does not have the same goal of sabotaging Jem but instead finds herself consindering becoming a solo artist.

Jetta: Jetta was the last to join the band and didn’t join until the band had already been together for a while. She plays the saxophone and because of her talent with it, she was invited in with the hopes of making the Misfits sound even better. Jetta has jet black hair with white streaks here and there and tends to stick to black clothing as well. Jetta is a mythomaniac and can not be believed about anything. Jetta’s goal is being in a number 1 band and even though she doesn’t really know Jem or the other girls if she has to take them down to get to number 1, then she willing to do just that.

              Dodgeball • Villain: White Goodman

          ” ‘Cause here at Globo gym, we’re better than you! and we know it “

White Goodman: White Goodman is the owner of the popular Globo gym which is across the street from Average Joe’s, a run down gym with few members. White is self absorbed, creepy and just plain rude. He is usually only seen in his skin-tight spandex one piece work out suit and never without his huge bodyguard/assistant MeShell. White’s goal is taking over Average Joe’s gym so he can demolish it and turn it into a parking garage. In a twist of cruel fate he does however make a deal with Peter LaFleur, the owner of Average Joe’s that if he can come up with the $50,000 mortgage payment in 30 days then he won’t take over the gym. Of course White only makes this deal because he knows it will be impossible for Peter to do. White is surprised when he hears that Peter and some of the guys from the gym plan to earn the money by compeating in a dodgeball competition where the top prize is $50,000. This just causes White to go sign up his star powered dodgeball team in the  competition too. Despite all his creepiness and confidence that he will not lose the competition or the gym, White and his team are defeated by the Average Joe’s in the final causing White to lose both the competition and the gym.

         Cruel Intentions • Villain: Kathryn Merteuil

Cruel Intentions is another of my favourite movies and I can say the villain in this movie is easy to dislike. Kathryn Merteuil is played by Shara Michelle Gellar and to me she does a great job portraying the villain. I think if by the end of the movie you strongly dislike the character playing the villain then they are doing a great job! Cruel Intentions is a movie full of manipulation, which is one of a villains favorite weapons but like most stories involving villains, good wins in the end.

Kathryn Merteuil: Kathryn Merteuil is from an extremely wealthy family which includes her mother, stepfather and his son Sebastian. She is emotionally unstable, narcissistic and has developed a cocaine addiction. She uses her manipulation and seduction skills as her weapons to blackmail, emotionally torture and publicly humiliate people. Kathryn wears only the best clothing that money can buy and is never seen without being completely done up. If you’re a new victim for her to manipulate then she always makes sure to dress seductively since it seems to be working for her so far. Kathryn’s goal is to ruin the lives of others for her own personal revenge. She puts on the act that she is a perfect and innocent girl but in the end Kathryn is finally exposed and her perfect reputation is destroyed and she is finally seen for who she really is.

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Villains, love them, hate them or even laugh at them you can’t deny that the villain is an important character to have in every story. The villain has been around since the 15th century and I really think that a lot of our favorite stories, movies, cartoons and many other things just wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have the Villain!