Top 5 Villains More Interesting Than the Hero

Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Shanah – The Bionic Bookworm. 

“A superhero has pretty much one job: go stop the villain from doing whatever they’re doing by using your strength/power/overwhelming goodwill. Villains, on the other hand, NEVER cease to amaze us with their intricate, mind-bending plots. Sure, you know their ENDGOAL is always earthly destruction, but HOW are they going to get there??” 

~Why Villains Are Better Than Heroes (And You Know It)

1. The Darkling – Shadow and Bone

  Okay, so the world-building in this series is as amazing as . But the main character, Alina? Not so much. She’s about as Mary-Sue as they come. She’s like vanilla pudding – bland, plain, and just…completely boring. All she ever thinks about is Mal, her best friend/boyfriend. But the Darkling? Now HE’S an interesting character. Honestly, I’ve only read the first book of this series, and if I continue, it’s purely due to the Darkling. He’s an incredibly captivating villain and I can’t get enough of him. I wish the whole series revolved around just him, instead of Mal-I-Freaking-Need-You Alina. For this reason, I I’ve got The Demon in the Wood, which is a short story told from his perspective, on my reading peripherals.  

2.  Caine Soren – Gone

  Now, don’t get me wrong, Sam Temple is great. And that might be where the problem lies – he’s too great. He’s the epitome of the shiny, golden, all-around good guy hero trope. Caine, on the other hand, is quite literally Sam’s evil twin. He’s obsessed with becoming the most powerful guy in the FAYZ – that’s the nickname the kids of Perdido Beach gave to the unbreachable barrier that surrounds their little slice of Hell – and that means he’s unpredictable. Fact: In books, the Unpredictable Baddie > the Predictable Good Guy. Also fact: they’re just more interesting to read about.

3. Queen Levana – Cinder

In the Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana is one crazy, evil, villainous woman. She’s so disturbing that you can’t help but wonder how she got to be that way, and that makes her interesting. Interesting doesn’t equate to morally good, but it does keep the reader engaged and turning pages like a wildfire is about to burn their fingertips. Levana was so interesting, in fact, that Marissa Meyer ended up writing a 200 page book dedicated to telling just her story.

4. The Anarchists – Renegades

    Here’s another Meyer book, just for the heck of it.     A gang of supervillains led by head honcho Ace Anarchy, the Anarchists are living their lives in the shadow of their former glory days. Their super powers are pretty sweet if you ask me – we’ve got Queen Bee with Anthophilia (control bees), Phobia with the power to manipulate fear and darkness, The Puppeteer with the ability to possess inanimate objects, and Nightmare who can pretty much tranquilize anybody with a single touch, to name a few. When compared to the neat-and-tidy Renegade Council, this ragtag group of has-been villains are all the more interesting for their desperate need to fight and claw all the way back to the top of the power struggle ladder.  

5. The Volturi – New Moon

    Another Meyer book, though not of the Marissa variety. Stephenie Meyer should win an award for writing the dullest female character to ever grace the pages of YA literature. This week’s topic is, “Villains More Interesting Than the Hero,” but pretty much any other character besides Bella (not just the antagonist) is more interesting than she is. In fact, I think dirt might be a more interesting hero. Can Bella even be considered a hero, when she spends most of her time just flailing her arms about like the helpless Damsel-in-Distress that she is, pinning over Edward? Probably not.        

What are some of your favorite villains?

Do you agree or disagree with my choices?

How do you feel about antiheroes?