Welcome back!
It's funny I have never been able to sustain a blog. I have tried several times over the year but for some reason or another I stop posting around this time into the blog's lifetime. I almost got to that stage I think seeing how I have not posted for 1 month... BUT! I want to succeed this time in leeping a blog running. So today I am bringing you a blog post this time talking about heroes and villains!
You'd think this is an easy topic to think about: heroes save people and maintain justice so they are good and villains cause chaos so they are evil. For most this is a good enough distinction and categorize their icons accordingly. However is that really the truth? Are heroes always good and villains always bad? What about anti-heroes or anti-villains do they exist in this viewpoint? Or what about mega threats where heroes and villains tend to team up? This is where I think the "Good and Evil" system breaks down. On top of that heroes aren't always "heroes" and villains not always "villains."
So the question arises are heroes and villains really just the same thing? Before I answer that I think a definition of heroes, villains, neutral and global are needed.
What is a hero? From my viewpoint a hero is anyone that trys to work with the citizens and fights for those that cannot fight for themselves. If they see a threat no matter what kind of threat they will try to defend against it. Heroes are also more likely to group up and find threats as a team and will usually not take a life in defending citizens.
What is a villain? A villain is anyone that believes they are fighting for the citizens and giving them more freedom or access even if the citizens do not believe they should have such rights. Villains may also trick citizens "for their own good." Usually villains are not likely to group up with others unless they have an incentive to do so. Villains will also not hesitate to take a life if needed.
An anti-hero or "rogue" is someone that acts on their own and crosses both the Hero and Villain boundaries. They may team up but only if it benefits them. They may also take a life if needed. These characters are neither good or evil and usually, but not always, act alone.
Global threats are characters that are enemies of heroes, villains and rogues. Similar to rogues they act alone with their own agenda. However they will not usually team up. If they do team up with a character it usually means that the partnership will end by enslaving the character or making sure the character doesn't exist soon after the deal. Global threats generally have the power to not only threaten one planet but a vast number of planets on either a galactic or universal scale.
This is where the distinctions end though. Heroes may still fight villains, villains may still act like a hero and rogues may still favor one side or the other. So it is not a question of either being "good" or "bad," what your morales are or how you act but whether what the situation is. If another character seems to threaten your territory you may act like a villain to them while they are trying to act like a hero for example. So to answer the question of whether heroes and villains are the same I would have to say yes.
Whether the character is considered a hero, villain, rogue or global threat they all have an agenda. If anyone tries to disrupt the progress of that agenda than they will be dealt with. At the same time the idea of good and evil is subjective. If you ask a hero who the evil people are they would probably say villains. If you ask a villain they would probably say heroes. Heroes also are not the only ones that help people. Heroes help the majority of citzens (the "average person") but villains also tend to help the minority of citizens (the "criminials").
From my perspective good and evil doesn't really exist. A characters actions determine their alignment and view in the general public, but at the same time if you are not favored by the majority you might be favored by the minority. What do you think? Obviously my view is not seen much by the comic industry so it is in no way a correct perspective.
My next topic will be a surprise and you will only need to wait a week this time!... Though I make no absolute promises. :P
Bye for now,
Superskull85 - The Dark Skull
