Heroes and Villains

If you watch a lot of movies and TV shows, read a lot of books or comics, then I must ask...who is your favorite hero and villain? There is a great reason I picked this topic to study, beyond my own interest in the subject. This can apply to any field of entertainment. Movies, books, TV, anime, comic-books, any form of media can cover the conflict between a hero and a villain.

Back in the day the conflict between a hero, or protagonist, and villain, or antagonist, was pretty black and white. The hero was a dashing, valiant, and brave man with a heart of gold. The villain is a devious, mustache-twirling man in a black hat, even in stories dating back centuries. Nowadays, it's not so simple. Both hero and villain is given depth.

Let me us an example with my favorite hero, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and my favorite villian, the Joker. In 2008's Iron Man, when we meet Tony Stark, he is a selfish egotistic weapons designer. After he is kidnapped by terrorists and learns his own weapons are being used to harm people, he gives up making weapons and creates Iron Man, a suit designed to help people. We see why he's a hero, how he became a hero, and in the end we are given a great character. While there are many interpretations of the Joker to use, I'll use my favorite, The Dark Knight Joker. In the film, the Joker lacks a moral compass. However, the film takes it a step forward to the point when not only does the Joker lack empathy, he thinks everyone does. To the Joker, people's codes and rules are a bad joke, and when pushed to the wall, they'll show their true colors and he wants to prove it. Both Iron Man and The Dark Knight craft interesting and endearing characters.

Somethings this conflict is even the main focus. Stories often thrive on the relationship and conflictbetween two conflicting sides. Often they can be simple good vs evil tales, or serve to show a greater symbol. Shows like Transformers and G.I. Joe are bad-guy vs good-guy stories, while No Country For Old Men and The Dark Knight use their conflict to to examine themes of human nature and violence. There can also be what the story had been building up and where the story could lead to. For example, the Harry Potter series builds on the battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort for seven books and eight movies.

I hope we can study this, as it does have a wide range. And every hero needs a villain. Every Sherlock Holmes needs a Professor Moriarty. Every Batman needs a Joker. Every Red Sox needs a Yankee. And Harry Potter needs a Lord Voldemort.