Who’s the most important character in your story besides the protagonist? You might be inclined to answer with a mentor character, a love interest, or a sidekick. But there is one person that we often don’t think of in terms of importance. There would be no story, no plot, no anything but a bunch of scribbles on paper without this one character—the antagonist.

When someone says the word “villain,” the picture that comes to my mind is a smooth, evil, mustache-sporting, guy with a deep voice and a British accent. But is that all that the antagonist should be? Does he exist only to make life difficult for the MC, or is he something more than that? In this post, we’ll be addressing several key elements to a good antagonist.

First, however, I want you to take a step back from all your preconceived notions of what a bad guy should be like. Don’t think of them as just “The Antagonist”, a non-dimensional obstruction in the MC’s path… think of them as a character that’s no different than any other character in the story. They have goals, misbeliefs, and backstories just the same as the MC. Now, it just so happens that these elements do contradict the MC, making conflict between the two inevitable. But when it comes down to it, the antagonist is just another character with a Negative or Positive Change Arc.

So as we go through the following points, check yourself to make sure that you’re viewing your antagonist as a dimensional, living, breathing character, rather than a stereotype. Having this mindset beforehand is vital to creating a solid antagonist.

(Note: I’m talking specifically here about the antagonist for a Positive Change Arc main character. However, some of these points might apply to the antagonist for a Flat Arc MC, which we’ll cover in a future post.)

1. The Want

It’s extremely important that your antagonist has a goal. And not just a destroy-the-world-and-kill-the-protagonist kind of goal. It should be specific, realistic, and reasonable (more on those in the next points). Now, that doesn’t mean that the goal should be boring and normal… by all means, go wild. If your antagonist is a mad scientist, give him a crazy Want. Just make sure that you have a valid reason to make it crazy.

As far as how this affects the MC, there are a few different options.

First, the antagonist and the MC have the same Want, which they join forces to obtain. But as the MC progresses in their own arc, they will realize that the antagonist is wrong, and will eventually turn against him. An example of this would be one of the subplots in “Do You Believe?” Percy and his brother, Kriminal (one of the antagonists), work together for much of the movie to steal money from a rival gang. But as Percy begins to see the truth, he starts making choices contrary to his brother’s orders.

Second, the antagonist and the MC have the same Want, but they are in competition to get it. This occurs in many sports or romance movies, though it can happen in any genre.

Third, the MC’s Want gets in the way of the antagonists’ Want, thus forcing the antagonist to pursue the MC. This might be the most common of the three and is found in movies such as “Monsters Inc.,” where Sully’s Want is to get Boo home. This conflicts the antagonist’s Want, which is to kidnap Boo—and other children—to generate scream power for the city.

Fourth, the antagonist’s Want gets in the way of the MC’s Want, which causes the MC to pursue the antagonist. The antagonist will then have to take action against the MC in order to protect his own Want. The movie “Big Hero 6” is an example of this. Hiro wants to get to the bottom of his brother’s death and the theft of his microbots, so he begins to pursue the man in the kabuki mask, forcing the antagonist to fight back.

Let’s look at our two main examples to see the antagonists’ Wants:

In “Beyond the Mask,” the antagonist is Charles Kemp, Will’s former mentor, and high-ranking East India Company official. His goal is to stop the American revolution and “create havoc” in the colonies, creating the need for law and order. This, of course, would be provided by him, giving him more money and power than he already has. Will’s Want for redemption ends up clashing with this, since Will sees ample opportunity for redemption in thwarting Charles’ plot.

In “In Time of Need,” the antagonist is Edgar Beasley, owner of the tenement house and factory where Tad lives and works. He wants to get a hold of Tad’s inheritance by tricking the lawyer, Mr. Sinclair, into signing it over to him. Though Tad doesn’t know why Mr. Beasley wants to use him, he knows that it goes against his Want—especially after Mr. Beasley locks up his sister. This causes him to refuse to cooperate, forcing Mr. Beasley to go in pursuit of him.

2. The Lie

While the antagonist and the MC are going to be in conflict over their Wants, their Lies will actually tie them together. The MC may not realize this at the time, but the antagonist is more like them than they think. There are a few variations of the Lie, which we’ll look at.

First, the antagonist and the MC have the exact same Lie. In essence, the antagonist is the Lie in human form, and the MC will receive a huge blow as they come to realize that they are no different from the villain. In “Big Hero 6,” Hiro and the man in the kabuki mask both believe in revenge and even have similar backstories. When Hiro tries to kill the man to avenge his brother’s death, he’s suddenly struck with the fact that he’s behaving just like the antagonist.

Second, the antagonist has a more extreme version of the MC’s Lie. This might be the most common variation… the antagonist represents who the MC could become if they continue believing the Lie. In “Do You Believe?,” Kriminal is much more fierce and violent than Percy. However, the audience can clearly see how Percy could become like Kriminal if he continues down the wrong path.

Third, the antagonist has a completely different Lie from the MC, but still along the same Theme. So if the Theme is forgiveness, then your MC’s Lie could be “I am not worthy of forgiveness,” and the antagonist’s Lie could be, “Others are not worthy of my forgiveness.” While they’re not the same Lie, they’re still connected by the same Theme. The most common form of this variation will portray the antagonist and MC’s Lies as complete opposites, but they can really be as close or as far apart as your story needs to be.

Charles Kemp’s Lie is that some people are too evil to be redeemed, though he justifies his own evil deeds as necessary for “law and order.” (“We all have to come to terms with our contradictions… I have.”) This Lie is the opposite of Will’s, which says that he can earn redemption on his own. When we study this movie further, we’ll see how having the antagonist and MC’s Lies in opposition can deepen the blow of the Third Plot Point.

Edgar Beasley’s Lie is that Tad has nowhere to go for help… after all, who would give aid to a poor, worthless boy? Like “Beyond the Mask,” Mr. Beasley’s and Tad’s Lies are in opposition. Mr. Beasley’s Lie also drives home the Third Plot Point, when it seems as though Tad really doesn’t have anyone to turn to.

3. The Ghost

Of course, just like the protagonist, the antagonist must also have a reason for both his Lie and his Want. Whether his backstory is elaborate or short, or whether that backstory is even revealed or not, the antagonist still needs something behind the Lie and the Want.

Often, stories will weave the MC’s and antagonist’s Ghosts together in some way. Other times, the antagonist’s and a supporting character’s pasts will be connected. The antagonist’s Ghost may also have a lot to do with—and might even hold the key to—the main conflict.

Depending on how important the antagonist’s Ghost is to the actual story, you’ll need to plan out its revelation. You can scatter different hints throughout the story, or you can save it all for a startling reveal at one of the major plot points.

For more help in creating your antagonist’s backstory, go back and read my post on the MC’s Ghost… many of those tips can also apply to an antagonist.

Charles Kemp’s Ghost isn’t really talked about much in the movie. We assume he has some kind of motivation for his greed, but that reason isn’t explicitly given. One of the only hints we do get is when Charlotte remarks, “Yes, I imagine such violence reminds you of India. Is that not it was there?”

From this and other similar indications, we can assume that Charles himself worked over in India, doing similar things to what Will did. At some point, he became too old for the task and retired to England, where he continued to oversee things from a distance. The origin of Kemp’s Lie and Want is not mentioned at all, leaving the audience to speculate for themselves.

Edgar Beasley’s Ghost is… pretty nonexistent. The antagonist is really one of the main flaws of the story. For all we can tell, he’s just a greedy, cruel man with no beginning to these qualities. However, his fierce irritation towards the children in his tenement house and factory could cause some to wonder if he was at some point just like them. Perhaps he worked hard all his life to rise from his lowly ranks, believing that a poor man like himself could not depend on help from others, and that he must make his own way in life. However, this is really just speculation, as the story itself doesn’t give much indication of his true backstory.

4. Good qualities

Yes, just as your protagonist ought to have bad qualities, your antagonist should have good ones. While good and evil will always remain the same, people themselves are not black and white. Even the worst of villains do something “good” in their lifetime, even if it’s small.

This is not to say that this presence of good does anything to justify their wrongdoings. Rather, it’s to show that they are human and realistic characters. It’s also to make the antagonist relatable.

“What?!” You might exclaim. “The antagonist is the bad guy! We aren’t supposed to relate to him!”

But the truth is, an antagonist who is relatable and possesses good qualities is often scarier than a downright evil villain. He’s scary because he and the MC aren’t even that much different. He’s scary because, even though the readers know that he’s wrong, he sounds so… right.

Just as all of us have strengths and weaknesses, give your antagonist some. Perhaps he has a soft spot for animals, or maybe he plans to give all of the stolen bank money to charity. Don’t just make him a one-dimensional character—give him his own quirks and talents.

While we’re on the subject of relatability, let’s talk about relationships. Typically, we think of an antagonist as a nasty person that no one likes. But a great way to make your bad guy relatable is to give him someone to love. (And I’m not referring just to romance). Most of us hold some kind of affection for someone else, so should an antagonist be any different?

So give your antagonist someone to care about—be it a Love Interest, a brother, a daughter, an old college roommate, or a pet dog.

On the flip side, you could also give the antagonist someone who loves him. Maybe he doesn’t even love them back, but that person still cares about him. This shows the readers that this person sees some something good in this guy. It shows them that the antagonist is somehow lovable, despite him being… well, an antagonist.

Of course, there still will be those antagonists who really don’t care about anyone, and, in return, no one cares about them. But these options are always good to consider, whether or not you end up using them.

Charles Kemp, while he’s not particularly nice, does have a desire for justice—though even his view of justice is warped. As for relationships, he doesn’t seem to care about much of anyone. Charlotte does harbor affection for him, but that soon dwindles once she learns who he really is. Of course, this still ends up working out because Will is a lot like Charles. He, too, is in it for himself. In fact, the whole reason he’s going after Charles at all is to prove himself—getting others hurt in the process.

Likewise, Mr. Beasley doesn’t care about anyone, nor does anyone care about him. And his good qualities are even more lacking than Charles Kemp’s. (As I said, the antagonist is one of the worst things about this story.) However, he at least has a healthy respect for the law, since he eventually complies to Mr. Sinclair’s demands about treating his tenants and workers right.

5. The connections and similarities

The antagonist and the MC ought to have some kind of connection—something that binds them together. That could be similar personalities, the same skills, the same goal, the same Lie, or some kind of relationship. This goes along with what I was saying about relatability… not only should the antagonist be relatable to the audience, but he should also be somewhat relatable to the MC.

Charles Kemp and Will are very similar in many ways. In fact, Will is almost like a younger version of Charles. Will is somewhat selfish in his goals, as is Charles, and both justify their wrongdoings by the things they’ve done right. They’re also both very smart, talented, and skilled. In addition, they’re somewhat connected by their relationships to Charlotte, as well as the fact that Charles was once Will’s boss.

At first glance, Mr. Beasley and Tad might not seem to have very much in common, but both of them are incredibly stubborn and wary of others. Not to mention the fact that Mr. Beasley owns the tenement house where Tad lives, and the factory where he works.

6. The conflict and differences

Just as the antagonist and the MC have similarities, they also have their differences. This is to keep the conflict going between, even if there are moments where they might otherwise get along. (This occurs especially in stories when the identity of the antagonist is yet unknown to the MC.)

The main conflict between Charles and Will begins when Will resigns from his job. This angers Charles, who had planned to use Will in America. And tey both have different plot goals—one to destroy the revolution, the other to help it. They also both want to win Charlotte over to their side.

Mr. Beasley and Tad’s conflict comes from their overall dislike for each other. They also have different goals regarding Ava—Tad wants to protect her, while Mr. Beasley wants to hold her hostage.

7. The reveal

This is a good thing to keep in mind even as you’re creating your antagonist. When are you going to reveal who he is? When will the MC find out?

In some stories, the antagonist and the MC are at odds from the beginning. In others, they don’t meet face to face until later on. Still other stories have the antagonist and the MC in some kind of friendship or relationship, until the MC finally discovers who the antagonist really is.

Keeping in mind the placement of this reveal will really help you to formulate the antagonist’s and MC’s relationship and attitude towards each other.

Charles Kemp and Will are, at first, on fairly good terms. Charles was somewhat of a mentor to Will so, of course he is disappointed when Will decides to leave the East India Company. However, it seems that Will has already been suspicious of Charles—which is evident by the hidden sword he carries in his cane. These suspicions are very quickly realized as Charles seeks to get rid of Will for good. From then on, they are most certainly enemies.

Mr. Beasley and Tad, as I said before, don’t really like each other. This comes from Mr. Beasley’s mistreatment of his tenants and workers, as well as Tad’s desire for independence. Though the main conflict doesn’t start until a little later, Mr. Beasley and Tad are already behaving like enemies in the first scene.

Here are a few more examples of antagonists for you to consider:

1. Messala (“Ben-Hur”)

2. Charles Muntz (“Up”)

3. Mr. Potter (“It’s a Wonderful Lie”)

4. Lee Strobel (“The Case for Christ”)

5. Joy (“Inside Out”)

(Note: Not all of these antagonists are “traditional.” Sometimes, the antagonist can be a situation, an animal, a natural disaster, or even the MC themselves. We’ll talk about this aspect later on.)

We’ll have to stop there, but I’ll be doing a Part 2 in two weeks to address some common questions regarding the antagonist. In the meantime, I’d like to remind you of the template I gave you all at the beginning of this series. Now that we’ve discussed the main elements mention on this template, you should be able to fill out the different blanks. After our Part 2 on the antagonist, we’ll be diving into the actual plot points, so stay tuned!

Comment below your favorite antagonist from a book or movie!