The Villain’s Journey

The Villain’s Journey

Throughout time, there has always been been a single person who during the span of their lifetime enduring struggles and hardships is able `to rise up during a dire situation and overcomes the monstrous feat standing in front of them. These type of people could be called a hero, the word hero meaning could change from person to person but they all share a common trait of being someone that is worth high recognition and is often look up to. Often you would hear about the great feats the hero overcomes that made them the hero they are, but what about those that served as a stepping stone to their greatness or stood in their way? The hero aspiration often comes from wanting to change something for the better, but there’s also another person that has an idea for change. There are those that has ideas for change but often are rejected due to it not being considered a norm in society, these rejections sometimes isn’t enough to stop their ambitions and continue to work on what they believe is right. Due to misunderstanding or foreign ideas the norm classify these people as bad guys or more commonly known as villains. A villain’s

 

journey is two sides of the same coin with a hero’s journey, both sides just fighting for what they believe is right.

 

Before we dive into the talking into what villain’s journey and how villans come about we need to understand how a hero is formed. Joseph Campbell published a book called “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” he describes how many modern heroes today all follow a same formula as ancient myth heroes to become heroes in their society. The hero’s journey can be broken down into twelve stages: The Call, Assistance, Departure, Trials, Approach, Crisis, Treasure, Result, Return, New Life, Resolution, and Status Quo. Villains also follow the format of the hero’s journey however with slight differences in the mix. A villains call to adventure is often a product of a struggle in their life they’re facing or a flaw they see in society, however rather than someone calling to them to set of on an adventure, they get the call from themself to go off and change the world to what they see fit. In their own mind they (the villain) are heroes and is attempting to do what is right in their perspective.

One example of this is Sandman from Spiderman-3, Flint Marko was a hard working father trying his best to support his daughter with cancer, the obstacle of not being able to pay for the treatments needed for her has led him down the path of crime as he robbed for the sake of his daughter. One day after being cornered by police he fled to a remote testing facility where he undergone an accident which transformed him into Sandman. This to Flint was his call of adventure as he was determined to be a hero in his daughter eyes.

 

Bib

 

Cipriano, Rob. “What Is a Hero.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 6 Sept.

 

2014, ​www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-cipriano/what-is-a-hero_b_5560441.html

 

.TEDEducation. YouTube, YouTube, 4 Dec. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhk4N9A0oCA

 

“The Four Main Types of Epic Antagonists.” Well-Storied., www.well-storied.com/blog/the-four-main-types-of-epic-antagonists.

 

 

“Sandman (Spider-Man Films).” Villains Wiki, villains.wikia.com/wiki/Sandman_(Spider-Man_Films).