Research into Similar Products: What Makes A Good Antagonist?

Making an antagonist takes more then what meets the eye. What makes a villain interesting? Is it you see yourself in that fictional character. Are they relatable to you and a wider audience? Or is it the sheer originality of the antagonist that makes them an effective one? I will be exploring the reasons to why some antagonists are successful and why some ain't. This will then allow me to apply what's effective to my antagonist. An antagonist shouldn't be just cardboard cut out of an "evil" person. They're worthy of the hero, colourful in their own right, and they might even make us like them throughout the course of a film.  

From doing various amounts of research I have found some strong traits of an antagonist:

• The antagonist is trying to accomplish something that benefits them yet may not benefit the protagonist or wider society. 
• A strong antagonist is flawed in a relatable way. For some audience members this may create pity towards the antagonist as it may suggest they are not the way they are on purpose. The audience can tap into the antagonist's 'Human side' and understand the situation from their point of view. They becomes more real and readers can see their side of the story. 
• An antagonist is in the path of the protagonist’s goal. At some point these two will come face to face and only one will win.
• They have a personal desire that they wish to accomplish and what motivates them to act. Like the protagonist they have a goal they would like to accomplish. However both the Hero and the villain's intentions cannot exist in the story together as one will stop the other towards the final act of the film.
• Antagonists think they’re the protagonists. this could be seen by the audience. Some antagonists are similar to the protagonist and if we saw the film/series from their POV they may appear as the protagonist therefore reversing the roles. However some antagonists are clearly not protagonists even if they believe they are.

Some successful antagonists that are memorable due to their look 

For this list I have looked at antagonists that are not too out there. For example I haven't used the Xenomorth from Alien as this is an antagonist that I couldn't recreate. but this is an antagonist that is effective for audiences due to its unique look.  

Mola Ram from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Wore a headdress made from the skull of a Ram. He wore ceremonial robes which were accompanied by bone necklaces and bracelets. Primarily red is used as the main colour of his outfit. Suggests he has an evil nature. The Ram supports this as a ram is a common satanic symbol, which is seen as evil. He also has the ability to open someone's chest with a ritual and take their heart from them. Suggesting supernatural abilities. This antagonist is effective as his physical appearance is intimidating and unusual for an audience member viewing it for the first time. He is also highly original and has not been used in other films.  

Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare On Elm Street. He wears what some would consider casual clothes. Including a black fedora. However these pieces of clothing are also using the colours of red and black, which suggests an individual with a sinister agenda. To reinforce this he carries a bladed glove which creates an intimidating look creating a sense of fear for the protagonist and the audience. A distinguishing feature of Krueger is his charred skin. Immediately audiences will wonder "how?" which is addressed in the film. This also creates a sense of anxiety and fear for audiences as he has a different look from other antagonists that makes him scary. To some degree he is original as he incorporates the use of 4 blades and has clear damage to his tissue.

My next antagonist is Franz Oberhauser from the James Bond film franchise. What makes this individual unique is that he looks like your average man for the duration of the film. We learn of his back story and childhood mainly in Spectre, which makes him relatable however he has a scar running down his right eye causing his eye to go milky. This changes the characters look completely and makes him appear terrifying and dangerous. Whilst he appears as a normal individual his injury changes our view of him and the tone of the character becomes darker as we can compare him to an earlier version where he has no scar. This de-humanises the antagonist, a shadow of his former self making a frightening characterisation and something that will shock the audience. He doesn't have any bright colours on his outfit and only goes full black when his injury occurs suggesting a full turn to evil at this moment.  We see him in a navy blue implying he is not all evil at that moment.

My last antagonist I am looking into is Bane from the Dark Knight Rises. He also has dark colours for his outfit suggesting immoral nature. He has an obstruction covering his face constructing mystery around the character yet gibing him a memorable look this therefore muffles his voice creating a intimidating threat and initial dehumanises the character of bane as we may not fully see him as human due to his mask. he is a large man and this creates a threating interpretation and suggest his raw strength creating tension for the audience as he may be more then a challenge for the protagonist.

Conclusion

Overall what I have learnt that protagonist in action flicks have some form of distinguishing feature that makes them immediately identifiable and sets them apart from the other characters. clothing itself can suggest a lot about the different antagonist and implies the antagonist's ethos through dark colours and colours which connote messages and ideas such as 'red' is violence and death. Some antagonists have a backstory which can create pity towards the characters and make them relatable however this may not be included as the antagonist may want to appear without weakness and showing their past and relatability may make them appear less intimidating and frightening