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We covered the Heroes Journey. But what about the Villains Journey? Surely there is a pattern there, as well? And you'd be right. In many instances, the Villains Journey is the Heroes Journey in reverse. If we look to literature and film, when we watch or read superhero comics, we are focused on the rise of a Hero. But the Villain has already existed, and they have, in many cases, been in power far longer than the Hero has even been doing his save the day routine. So the question is.. how did the Villain get to where he or she is?

And how can we relate to them?

Fact of the matter, what makes a 'good villain' is its ability to, like with the Hero, resonate with us on an emotional level. Villains have drives, they have goals, they have their own stumbling blocks and triumphs. But how do you connect with a bad guy, you might ask. Make them human. Remember that to a Villain, in most cases they are the good guys. Their perception of reality is that they believe whole heartedly in what they are doing. They don't see that they are hurting people, they see a roadblock to their 'better future'. And if they do understand they're causing pain.. they just don't care. In many cases, the Villain is just a fallen Hero.

And even sociopathic characters and psychopathic characters can have qualities about them that make you understand where they are coming from. These qualities resonate within the audience, make the character feel real. Make us empathize with the character.

And that makes us terrified because it shows us a dark part of ourselves that we would otherwise want to remain hidden. It reminds us that, for all the good we strive to be, there is something wrong in us. When writing characters, that 'seed of evil' exists, too. It is a temptation for the Hero to overcome. It is that binding point, cliche as it is, where a character is left thinking 'what exactly separates me.. from this monster?'.

This is the Villains Journey.

In a previous article, we looked at the steps to the Heroes Journey. And while it is not an end all and be all when writing stories and characters, for certain kinds of stories it acts as a perfect guideline. With Villain characters, their journey is often the reverse of the Hero Cycle.

Let's quickly recap those steps.

Act 1:
The Call to Adventure
The Refusal of the Call
Supernatural Aid
Crossing the First Threshold
Belly of the Whale

Act 2:
The Road of Trials
Meeting with the Deity
Temptation
Atonement
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon

Act 3:
The Refusal of the Return
The Magic Flight
Rescue from Without
Crossing the Return Threshold
Master of Two Worlds
Freedom to Live

With a Villain, that cycle might look something like this:

Act 1:

Master of Two Worlds/ Freedom to Live: From the get go, the villain believes him/herself to be better than all others. He already has, in his mind, mastered the internal self and the external self. He is a god, able to bend society to his wishes. This is his freedom, his power. His perceived 'Rightness'.

Loss: Something about their perception is still off. They see a lack of something, be it a power, a position, whatever. This lack makes them view the 'Ordinary World' as flawed, imperfect, something that needs to be mended and only they can do that mending.

The Call to Adventure: Unlike with the Heroes Journey, where the Call is thrust upon them from an outside source, a Villains Call is often conjured from within. However, it isn't to say there isn't an outside influence that might be involved, but unlike the Hero, the wounded messenger didn't stumble into their tavern: The Villain is the wounded messenger. They give themselves a goal, and nothing in the world will stop them from attaining it. And because they gave themselves the challenge, they have nothing to refuse.

Supernatural Aid: Every good villain needs minions, right? Unlike the Hero who needs a guide to help push them closer to the threshold, a Villain often refuses the aid of a mentor. But they will seek out partners that can be used, abused, persuaded and manipulated in the Villains Journey. While often a productive partnership, it often isn't a healthy one. And in some cases, the partnership falls apart by way of some manner of betrayal: A partner might kill the Villain themselves and take their place to 'stop the abuse and do things their way' or they become a turncoat, a Shape-Shifter, and seek the Hero as their own form of redemption tale.

Crossing the First Threshold: Unlike the Heroes Journey, where the hero needed that final push to step beyond their Ordinary World, a Villain makes that decision on their own. Their own drive, obsession, insanity, hurt, etc. acts as the catalyst. This might be an event in the Villains history that has been haunting them for years or a breaking point that was finally hit. With a Villain, this point often hits at the same time as The Call to Adventure.

Belly of the Whale: The first conflict. The First Invasion of Evil. Their first foray into achieving their goal. Their first victory. Often involving pain, cunning, sacrifice.. but they come to realize they like it. And they are willing to do it again. This would be one of very few instances where a Villain might turn around from their Journey, where the results of their first mission, their first fight, might scare them. In many cases, however, the taste of progress is enough for a Villain to start embracing their new Special World. They might have a moment of hesitation, question their own motives, reasons, drive. But then they will look at the first small prize they had won.. and smile.

Act 2:

The Road of Trials: One is not enough. One hit, one taste, one flash in the pan of excitement and ecstasy. It is a drug, success. And a Villain will do anything to get not just that next fix.. but ensure that no one will take it away from them. Friends, lovers, family, all are thrown aside by their ambitions, their obsession, their selfish desire. But we must remember: For a Villain, they are not the bad guy. They are often merely doing what needs to be done to see their goal achieved. There are no lines that will not be crossed.

Meeting with the Deity: In the case of the Hero, this is where the character receives wisdom and guidance during one of the darkest moments in their adventure. Here, the Hero regains their confidence, finds the silver lining again, reclaims their hope in society. For a Villain.. they deny it all. They have tasted the poisoned fruit and from it they have come to their own enlightenment. Their morals do not align at all with that of society. There are no boundaries, anything goes, everything is free game. The Villain defines their own ethics and morality, not society. And this is the point where it is important for a writer to have taken time in expounding the Villains Journey. Their reasons for continuing this road can be dynamic and thought provoking or they can end up ham fisted. This is a Villains 'Moral Event Horizon'. Further, because the Villain has sunken fully into their obsession, there is often no Temptation to contend with.

• Moral Event Horizon - The first 'evil deed' that truly proves the character as 'irredeemable'. Keep in mind, however, that the Moral Event Horizon might never occur for a Villain character, or it might occur at a later time. However, it is often when the Villain truly refuses to listen to the voices of 'The Ordinary World'. The Moral Event Horizon is also an event that marks the turning point of familiarity between an audience and the character. No one likes to relate to something bad. But if the source of the Moral Even Horizon is something we, as people, can relate to in any way, that makes the Villains true 'Fall' both repulsive.. and a reason to give sympathy.

Atonement/ Apotheosis: The Villain has accepted who he or she is. They are content. Or are they? For a Villain character, whose road has diverged so greatly from that of the Hero, one is often left to wonder if they might still have reservations as to what they are doing. If the Moral Event Horizon has not yet occurred, this point might be where they consider redemption. But if a change of heart does not occur, then with acceptance of their mentality, their ethics, their morals, they 'ascend'. Their acceptance of who they have become adds fuel to their psychosis, and gives them a sense of power.

The Ultimate Boon: The false Victory. The Dragon. This is often the first real time the Villain and Hero meet, be it in person or through a minion. The Hero succumbs to a failure that makes them stumble, which in turn bolsters the Villains mental state as being superior and that their journey, their goal, is 'right'. Any subsequent time that the Villain and Hero meet, and the Villain comes out on top, it only adds further fuel to that mentality.

Act 3:

The Final Rituals of Power: The Villain has come to far too stop now. His goal is near at hand. Yet he is warned by advisors and partners that he should stop, turn back, repent. The Hero has recovered yet again, he seems stronger than before, but the Villain has succumbed to his obsession, his insanity, his darkness. 'I beat him before, I will do it again'. Only to finally, truly.. fail. Plans have been foiled, and the Hero has risen to put an end once and for all to the Villain's Journey.

The Refusal of the Return: The Refusal of Aid. The Hero has struck the final blow, but pauses, offers the Villain one final peace offering of redemption. 'We can fix this'. Now two things can happen here. If you have written your Villain with any sense of moral fumbling still, if he has not taken that step into the Moral Event Horizon, then redemption, after a fashion, can occur. An example of this is Darth Vader turning on Emperor Palpatine to save Luke. On the other hand, if the Villain has entered the Moral Event Horizon, the Heroes offer will be denied, the Villain far more content to die for his belief than to question years of his life by accepting the Heroes help. An example of this would be Clayton from Disney's Tarzan, where despite Tarzan's offers of help and warnings, Clayton hung himself in a fit of his own anger at his failure.

The Echo: Some piece of the villains taint remains. Either the Villain had escaped being foiled, his plans on hold until he can rebuild his resources, or some residual piece of the evil lingers on. Damage to a city, to the faith of the people. Corruption. For who is to say that the Villains ideals were never echoed by others? Even the audience.

For every Jedi.. there is always a Sith.

Now this is just an example of what a Villains Journey might look like. Remember that the Villain perceives himself as the hero within his own story. How then can a Villain character, a construct so many people view as cut and dry 'evil', be something that can be related to?

In the same way as a Hero, we must give the Villain flaws and reasons. If the audience can understand the Villain, not for his crimes but as a person, for his passions, for his beliefs.. for just that small moment, we understand.. and relate. We don't agree with what he has done. But everything he has done makes sense, and with clarity comes many things: Acceptance, understanding, sympathy, sorrow, pity. We feel for this person. We hate them. And we hate them more for making us stand in their shoes for that one moment. Because in that one moment.. we understand that in another time, another life.. we could be them.

More than just flaws, the Villain needs positive traits, as well. A flaw makes them human, but a positive trait makes them enjoyable. If the audience is given reason to like the character, it makes the turn around, that big reveal of their intentions all the more shocking and provoking.

A Villain, like a Hero, needs an origin. A reason that sparks their fall. Were they always a twisted person? Did someone keep them from descending into that madness? Did the Villain lose that barrier between 'good and evil'?

Did they love? Have they lost? Have they been pushed to their last leg?

Were they obsessed? What caused the obsession? How can you, as the writer, make the audience relate to that obsession and drive?

Are they capable of redemption? Is there something in their Journey that might make it possible for the Villain to stumble upon some revelation that turns their views on their heads? Or will this revelation only push them over the brink and into the Moral Event Horizon?

What are their morals? How have they changed? A villain is not a stock asset to just be copy pasted into a story, they need to live their own lives on and off screen, they need to breathe, feel, laugh, love, hate. They need to have their own moral compass, and it needs to make sense to their personal story. They have their own kind of integrity and beliefs that justify their behavior. Embrace that in your writing.

A good example is the characterization and story progression in 'Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'. We learn about Doctor Horrible's reasons for pursuing a career in villainy, we grow attached to him because of his quirkiness, we feel for him when he falls in love, and his choices make even more sense when he feels loss. We pity him, sympathize, empathize.. and in the end, despite the comedy, we might feel a little dirty inside for agreeing with his motives and choices.

Give it a watch and see for yourself!



A villain needs to be authentic. They need to follow through with their intentions. If they say they will kill someone, write it.

A villain needs to be the challenge to the Hero. That is the driving aspect of plot in these kinds of stories. If a Villain is not given some manner of expertise or power that needs to be overcome, the story will fall flat. But likewise, don't MacGuffin this knowledge or power. It needs to be believable to the character. In the same vein, a Villain needs their own personal challenges to face. This is an important aspect of making the character Three Dimensional and not feeling and acting like a wet paper towel. If you can poke a hole into the character and it falls apart, you haven't done your job as a writer to build that characters foundation.

As a writer, one of the biggest themes to play upon in any narrative are emotional. Fear, hate, the unknown. A Villain knows this as well. It can be an important aspect of their personal story, overcoming that emotion and turning it against others.

So. The question now is this.

What will your Villain's Journey be?


In many cases, it is a very fine line. The Hero is a stories protagonist. So to can the Anti-Hero be a protagonist. A Villain is, obviously, an Antagonist. However Anti-Heroes can be perceived as antagonistic, too. Some Anti-Heroes have villainous tendencies. Where is the line drawn?

The answer is this: While an Anti-Heroes Journey might be more rocky than the Heroes, the Anti-hero still follows the Hero Cycle. There are more bumps in the road, skipped steps, but the Anti-Hero still has a goal for 'The Greater Good'. Their mental and emotional state far more aligns with that of the Hero than the Villain. And even though an Anti-Hero might be more likely to fail in their goal, they will never fail like a Villain.

However, because an Anti-Hero walks a morally ambiguous line between Hero and Villain, Anti-Heroes are more likely to be the characters that swap sides. They can be tempted if the temptation aligns with their own end goal. Often, Anti-Heroes are the characters that will say 'I will use the Villain the same way he thinks he will use me'. Whether that comes true or not, however, depends on the story itself, and where the Journey leads. They might find success. Or they might become the Villain themselves.

A Hero will not cross a certain line. An Anti-Hero sees the line but chooses to either hover over it or ignore it completely if it means doing what they feel is best to fix a problem. A Villain never saw a line in the first place.


Fisher, J. (2017, January 26). The Hero's Journey Vs. The Villain's Journey. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://jackfisherbooks.com/2017/01/26/the-heros-journey-vs-the-villains-journey/

Moral Event Horizon. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2018, from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MoralEventHorizon

R. (2010, May 20). The Villain's Journey . Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?180655-The-Villain-s-Journey

Walsh, J. (2016, December 03). What Makes a Villain Feel Real. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqMxH0atn18

Winkle, C. (2016, September 23). Creating Your Villains Journey. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://mythcreants.com/blog/creating-your-villains-journey/