User blog:General Khor/Let's talk about: Big Bads

Hello and welcome to another discussion blog by General Khor, and today, we'll be talking about those much hated characters known as Big Bads. For those who are new to this wiki and don't know what I'm talking about, you might be thinking, am I talking about the Big Bad Wolf? Well, here's the definition for today's topic:

"Big Bads are the main antagonists in a book or an entire series. In most cases, they could be considered the nemesis of the protagonist."

So yeah, they're those characters whose deaths or imprisonment for life mark the series' happy ending. They're like the enemy commander in a war game, whom you have to kill in order to win a battle.

There are many instances where we think someone is the big bad, but little do we realise there is a much worse villain out there. Other times it's obvious, and we immediately go: "This guy is going down! Down down DOWN!!!" whenever we see him/her. But how do you know which character do you want dead or imprisoned for life the most? Which character, when defeated, marks the series' happy ending? Here are 3 sure-fire ways to identify the Big Bad in a story. Without further ado, let's begin.

They want to take over the world/country, or rule the world/country with an iron fist
This is a very common case in non-romance stories, especially superhero stories. Whenever someone wants to take over the world (or at least the country), s/he is 99% a villain, and 95% the Big Bad. We see this in The Great Mouse Detective, where Ratigan wants to take over Mousedom, as well as countless Marvel and DC films. And when you have a tyrannical government, you definitely want to see the head honcho destroyed (I'm looking at you, Emperor Palpatine). A well-known Choices example of a big bad in this category is Empress Azura from The Crown & the Flame, who probably won't stop at taking over the Five Kingdoms. In fact, as I've mentioned in an earlier blog, she wants to kill everyone so that she can live forever, and once she has the Five Kingdoms, she definitely will set her eyes on the rest of the world. Then there's Rheya, who in case you haven't realised it, is basically Vampire Azura. If you want to know what she wants, I suggest choosing to reject your LI and embrace the darkness in the Bloodbound finale. Same goes for Quandry from Across the Void, who wants to destroy the galaxy. There are a lot of Choices big bads in this category, but these are some of the worst.

They want to ruin the MC's life
This is the most common case in romance stories. Whether they want to tear apart the MC's family, or rip the MC's main love interest from his/her side, or simply make the MC's life hell (or the lives of those they care about), those in this category want to make the MC cry, and us along with him/her. Some notable examples in Choices include Mr Richards from Desire & Decorum, who wants to marry the MC so that he can subject her to endless sexual abuse, Guy from Mother of the Year, who wants to subject the MC's daughter to constant bullying, ultimately getting her expelled and ruining the lives of his wife and daughter, and Sofia Russo from The Nanny Affair, who not only wants to tear Sam and the MC apart, but also make his kids' life hell.

They want to kill the MC
Look no further than Harry Potter! As we all know, Voldemort wants to kill Harry, he wants to destroy Harry, so that no one will ever again question his powers. Needless to say, this is the worst kind of villain, as the MC's death not only marks the big bad's victory and the story's sad ending, everyone the MC cares about is probably going to suffer under the big bad's tyrannical rule, which leaves us feeling defeated and in tears, as well as furious with the big bad at the same time. In that case, you better hope the story gets a sequel. Examples of Choices big bads in this category include Renza Fierro from The Royal Masquerade, who also falls into the first category due to her ambition to become Queen of Cordonia, and also Thomas from Nightbound, who wants to destroy all supernatural life in New Orleans and sends a dangerous monster to kill the MC, who is later revealed to have supernatural blood.

Conclusion
In a nutshell, the main antagonist is almost always the most hated character in a story, after all s/he's so diabolical, so villainous, his/her death or scream of "NOOOOOO!!!" is a cause for celebration. After all, every story deserves a happy ending, right?

So do you agree with my discussion? What other signs did I miss out? Let me know in the comments. That's all for today, until then, this is General Khor. The end, and thank you for reading.