We could be heroes

[davywavy]

There's a meme which goes round from time to time - it's the 'ask me questions' one, where you ask the legions of fans on your friends list to interview you. I sometimes succumb to it, and last time round someone asked me an unusual question: "Why is it that all your LJ icons appear to be of villains? Why is that the face you present to the world?"
Actually, they didn't ask that exact question - I've tidied up their spelling a bit for them, but you get the idea.

The thing about villains of the comic or film or cartoon sort is that I find them inspirational. Not necessarily in their plans but in the fact that they are often so creative and undefatigable. He-Man can defeat Skeletor today, but come Hell or high water he'll be back next week with another plan to conquer Eternia. Seriously, how can anyone not be impressed by that degree of tenacity? All He-Man ever does is hang round as Prince Adam getting given free magic swords and eyeing up Teela whilst Skeletor gets up and goes all out for what he wants, and doesn't let setbacks faze him. I know who my role-model is.

I think it's time to reassess some people who have been unfairly categorised as 'villains' by the media, when their actions show them as anything but.

Dick Dastardly.
Thomas Edison said that genius was '1% inspiration and 99% perspiration', and in Stop the pigeon, all the contraptions produced by Vulture Squadron are the 'perspiration' stage of creativity. You just know that sooner or later Dastardly is going to hit on the greatest pigeon-slaughtering device the world has ever seen, and then Yankee Doodle Pigeon is in real trouble.
Instead of laughing at his failures, we should be celebrating his tenacity.

Vernon Dursley
Throughout the Harry Potter books, Harry is repeatedly presented with threats that he overcomes with a succession of allies and advantages; he's a precociously powerful wizard, or he's got the most powerful sorceror in the world/a phoenix with a magic sword/a gang of wizardly pals/ a werewolf in his corner. On the other hand, Vernon Dursley is shown as a blustering oaf. However, it is Vernon who performs what I consider the bravest act in the entire series when he faces off against Hagrid in Philosophers Stone. Harry is supernaturally powerful whilst Vernon is a ordinary fat man who works in sales, and yet when it comes down to it he stands up to a nine-foot tall fireball throwing giant who he believes is attacking his family. Who is the true hero here?

Any more?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

You forgot the Mayor in "Perdido Street Station."

H

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I decided to leave him out as explaining who he was to an audience of people who probably hadn't read the book was taking me too long in the writing.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I find the evil cheerleader/princess stereotype endlessly inspiring - Cordelia in Buffy, Galinda in the early part of Wicked, Ethel Hallow in the Worst Witch, up until Cruella de Vil. I love the fact that these girls aren't pliant, or eagar to please. They are actually females who take control of their own destiny, who don't need a 'hero' to rescue them or validate them, who are genuinely independent focussed women.

Feminist heroes of our time!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I'm totally with you on Cruella de Vil; she was cursed by her name, but, once again, her devotion to her art and dismissal of woolly-minded bunny-huggers is inspirational.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

She has a goal, she sticks to it, and she is willing to work.

Plus, she has the best and jazziest theme song in all of Disney!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I disagree; the musical numbers in Aladdin beat anything else Disney has done.

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

No, that's the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty!

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

I flat-out love Cordelia. She may not be academically brilliant or have any taste whatsoever, but she has the balls of a thing with very large balls indeed.

I kinda love Britney for the same reason: at the end of the day she's still willing to say "Yeah, I'm suppose to be some kind of pop-princess, so what?"

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

She also sung 'Oops, I did it again', which is the most honest song about being a pretty teenage girl I've ever heard.

[belak-krin.livejournal.com]

Not neccessarily inspirational, but I feel that the Machines/Agents in the Matrix get the roughest deal in villain history.

On the one hand, a race of super-intelligent machines, working their socks off to make sure humanity believes it lives in the 20th century instead of occupying an apparently nuclear scarred wasteland incapable of supporting life on its surface.

On the other hand you have a group of angry internet trolls who think its ok to kill random strangers because they can potentially become tools of their enemy...

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

That's actually a pratty good one, especially when you consider that the machines could just as easily run their energy supplies from cows and a nice sunny field would be much easier to simulate than an entire world with all it's complexities.

[belak-krin.livejournal.com]

Yep and even the super-duper bad guy Hugo Weaving makes a massive speech about how he really really doesn't want to be running around interfereing in people's lives and would rather be at home with a nice cup of cyber-tea.

He only really goes off the deep end after Neo decides to blow him up, screw with his existence and prevent him from going home... its not suprising the stress starting affecting his mental health!

[(Anonymous)]

one thing that always used to strike me about the old Adam West "Batman" series was that the episodes only ended on a cliffhanger from Batman's point of view. From the villain's POV they always ended with epic success and yet another gloating opportunity.

H

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

Javert in Les Miserables. (Musical - I'm not clever enough to have read the novel.) Here is a man so firm in his convictions that when faced with the choice of living with being wrong, and being dead he chooses death.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Speaking from experience, you don't have to be clever to read the original book - you just need a very, very high boredom threshold.

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

I felt similarly about Vanity Fair. Yay for film adaptations!

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Oh, I have no sympathy for that man! Of all the criminals to pursue, to hunt, to never give up on, to sacrifice his time, his energy, his sanity for, who does he pick?

A bread thief! I bet he got a funny nickname in the department.

"Have you met Javert?"

"Who's he?"

"Oh, we call him 'The Muffin Man'. He has this fixation with the sancitity of bread related products. Steal a cupcake, and he'll never let you go. Never very good at seeing the bigger picture, is Javert. We heard he once found a murderer. Let him go. No baked goods were involved, you see..."

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

Ah, but I'm sure he's just as obsessive about sausage stealing.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I agree; he's like Dick Dastardly in that respect, or the Hooded Claw, Mumm-ra the Ever Living, Tom Cat or any number of others who are unfairly tarred with the soubriquet 'villain'.

[(Anonymous)]

Old Man Willikins the fairground janitor, who hits on an inventive and non-lethal way to deter trespassers, only to be thwarted by a bunch of meddling kids

H

[moomin-puffin.livejournal.com]

Dick Dastardly is ace. That pigeon was bullying him.

[supermouse.livejournal.com]

Bester from Babylon 5. He's a total hero - *if* you're a psycorps loyalist.

Sir Humphrey Appleby (Yes, (Prime) Minister)). I can get right behind his trying hard to defend a stable institution from the short-sighted and self-interested actions of the various ministers. (I know he's not looking out for the population as a whole, but he's definitely defending his tribe).

[ddraiggwyrdd.livejournal.com]

Over the past couple of years I've read Joe Abercrombies' "The Blade Itself" trilogy. Superb from the "Who's the Villain?" angle. None of the cast are flawless heroes but all have their time or point at which they save the day. However the one I was routing for from the start is the Inquisitor, San Dan Glockta. Hideously crippled, he is the most unappologetic torturer, but Abercrombie gives him a constant internal conversation which is laugh out loud funny. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it but as villains go he's my favourite.

[(Anonymous)]

Palpatine of course. A Democratically Elected Chief Executive seeking to bring Peace and Security to the Galaxy. Opposed by a self perpetuating oligarchy reliant on obfuscating mysticism. Also, he can Act.

The Golden One also gets a consistently raw deal. Lucifer was only riffing on what his Boss was doing, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Does he get an avuncular chat over a glass of ambrosia after work? "Some nice ideas son, but stick with the program"? oh no. Tolkien tried to explain it with Melkor/Morgoth and it still looked harsh to me.

D