Welcome New Readers

I have recently acquired what I believe will be several regular readers and so I say welcome. Perhaps this means I'll soon be able to get more than 1000 hits on this site. And so to them I say welcome.
Today's blog is about villains. Nearly every movie, book and comic book has a villain in it (except for crappy dramas that rely on interpersonal and internal conflict). There is a very fine line between super hero and super villain. It often depends on the point of view. To the British of the 1770's the revolutionary Americans were treasonous terrorists. Villains often could have been hero's if not for some bitterness, spite or resentment introduced to their lives. But what makes a villain and what makes him good at what he does? Quintessential, a villain must inspire hatred in either the protagonists or in the audience. Merely causing fear or pain or injustice is not enough to be really evil. Instead, the victims must vow to exact vengeance on their nemesis. Ideally this must be difficult for the good guy(s), that way there's actually some plot.
In nearly every comic book, the super hero has some weakness which his arch rival attempts to exploit. Knowledge is power and so if the villain knows for example the hero's secret identity (often quite contrary to their usual appearance to the world) then that villain has the upper hand. I rather like Superman as an example. Kill Bill vol. 2 explained it quite eloquently. Clark Kent is Superman's critique of the human race- cowardly, weak and physically flawed (the glasses). But even when he's Clark Kent, he's still Superman on the inside and drops everything to go do some good deed. No matter how hard he tries, he would never stop being Superman. Clark is merely a camouflage cover so that he can blend in with normal society. If Luthor were ever to discover that duality, then Superman would be rendered powerless against him. Bringing Luthor to justice would automatically mean having to accept that everyone would know his secret and that he would never be able to partake in casual society again. It would be lost to him forever and not even Superman has courage enough to give that up.
Until the final resolution, the villain is the one that has the most fun. Toying with the hero's, dangling false leads in front of their noses. Inevitably however, villain always slips up. Otherwise the audience would be outraged at the conclusion and the series would quickly end. The villain's tragic flaw is usually pride. Pride in one's work leads to bragging and the villain makes the mistake of revealing his sinister plot before the job is done. In the really good comics, the hero's even learn something from the villain. The reasons for his megalomania or other such condition as revealed through a very open rant encourage the heros to prevent other from going down the darker path.
Be on the look out for villains everywhere... Mwahahahahaha!!!