Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Movie Antagonists They Relate To The Most

People Explain Which Movie Antagonists They Relate To The Most
Image by Andreas Glöckner from Pixabay

You know your story is a little off when the villain makes more sense than the heroes.


Now, when crafting a story you want a villain to have understandable motives. If your antagonist's desires and wants aren't somewhat relatable, you can't process their evil actions as real. However, a writer might go too far in another direction and make them too relatable, bordering on becoming the more sympathetic character.

Reddit user, u/Arsh0911, wanted to know which villain was more relatable than the hero when they asked:

In what movie did you relate more with the antagonist?

Sometimes, the villain has easily understandable actions. You watch them film, taking in every horrific action they take, and think to yourself, "Well, yeah, of course they would act that way."

Like Tears In The Rain

"Roy Batty in Blade Runner. Though you're supposed to, that's kind of the point; by the end of the movie, the robot antagonist has shown far more humanity and empathy than the human protagonist."

rockit5943

Peace Was Never An Option

"Magneto, he's just a man who lost everything each time he wanted to live in peace."

themanyfaceasian

"That backstory of him and his childhood in X-Men First Class made me have sympathy for him. Magneto is for sure one of my favorite comic book villains."

Snoo79382

Michael Keaton Is NEVER The Antagonist

"Spider-man: Homecoming"

"Average working Joe, scraping a living, investing in his team, then some random government agency rock up and tell him "Tough, it's ours now," without the slightest bit of compensation for all the money he's spent to get things set up."

jasontredecim

Looked At The Internet Lately? Yeah. Makes Sense.

"Avengers: Age of Ultron."

"All it took Ultron 5 minutes to analyse internet and come to a conclusion that humans aren't worthy to live"

Indianfattie

You Killed The Man's Wife. What Did You Think Was Going To Happen?

"Dracula from Castlevania."

"He had a good point when he said the common people were also responsible for his wife's death, not the bishop alone. The church had the power to burn her at the stake because the common people gave them that power. In fact, the majority of the population of Targoviste were there cheering as his she burned."

"Don't get me wrong, straight genocide is too much, but every adult there cheering as a "witch" died deserved death what they got."

onawitch

Why do we hate the rules? It seems that movies do their best to show the person who follows the regulations of the organization they work for as nothing more than big dorks who we should boo and jeer. In reality, we're probably more like these people than the rebellious antagonist because we like keeping our jobs.

*teeth clicking noise

"Top Gun."

"Maverick never should have been there in the first place. Top Gun is an instructor course. Graduates return to their squadron as training officers. A hotshot who doesn't follow the rules and flies dangerously is not going to be a good instructor. Iceman gets just as good results while obeying regulations and flying safely. He was a better topgun candidate and will make a better Instructor."

Boomhauer440

Mess With The Bull...

"The principal in The Breakfast Club. When I was 13, he seemed like a bully and a jerk; after teaching for awhile, I watched it again and realized he's spending his Saturday there because the kids were doing dumba-- stuff like shooting flare guns into their lockers and assaulting kids in the locker room, and they don't have the decency to just sit there during detention and not be pains in the a--."

Lupus76

It can take a lot to make you root for the "villain" of a story. It's not always intentional, though, as your views of a character's actions and motivations can shift as you get older. ​You've learned, you've seen more of the world, and you understand that sometimes a villain is just doing their job.

Parents Everywhere Understand

"Hands down The Lego Movie."

"The Dad just wanted to enjoy his hobby in the basement to relax and get away from his stressful job and life. But his kid would not let things be and kept messing with his stuff."

"I get it, I have two small children. All I want is an hour to myself to do something, like garden or crochet, and they're in my face, breaking plant stems because they want to "help" re-pot or tangling my yarn as they "help" hold the ball."

"I felt for that man so much."

Long-Wishbone

Just A Cat Doing His Job

"Not a movie, but Tom. Jerry is a d-ck and bully for the most part."

009-

"You know you are grown up when you start rooting for Tom. He was just doing his job as a cat and keeping his house free of rodent and the owners stuff not stolen."

Greedence

They're Absolutely NOT Just For Kids

"Trix Rabbit. I know he's not from a movie, but if they had just given him some stupid cereal, he would have realized how gawd awful that stuff was and stopped wasting his life."

songmage

It's uncomfortable when you associate with the villain. Deep down you might think something is wrong with you, when in reality the filmmakers have made a film's antagonist too human, too real.

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump holding photos of White House ballroom
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

CNN Just Used A Hilarious Poll To Show Just How Unpopular Trump's Ballroom Is—And We're Cackling

After President Donald Trump claimed that his new White House ballroom is "very popular" with the American public, CNN shared a hilariously shady poll that gets to the truth of the matter.

Last year, Trump ordered the demolition of the entire East Wing to make way for a 90,000 square-foot ballroom that will dwarf the size of the White House itself, sparking alarm from historical preservationists and the public alike.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @devynnehaddoxx's TikTok video
@devynnehaddoxx/TikTok

Woman In Labor Times How Long Her Husband Takes To Poop To See If She Can Push Their Baby Out Faster In Hilarious Viral Video

It's well-known across the internet that it takes forever for men to use the restroom. For dads especially, in the time it takes them to poop, when they return to the house, their kids will have aged seven years, and their baby will have learned to walk.

These are jokes, of course, but it's an internet consensus that men spend a really long time on the porcelain throne.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Letterman (left) has continued defending Stephen Colbert (right) as CBS faces backlash over canceling The Late Show.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

David Letterman Rips 'Lying Weasels' At CBS For Claiming Colbert Was Canceled For Financial Reasons In Epic Takedown

David Letterman isn’t staying quiet about CBS canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. As Colbert’s run comes to an end later this month, the former late-night host is publicly challenging the network’s claim that the decision was purely financial.

Letterman, who hosted The Late Show from 1993 until stepping down in 2015, addressed the controversy during a new interview with New York Times journalist Jason Zinoman.

Keep ReadingShow less
Billie Eilish on 'Good Hang'
Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube

Billie Eilish's Refreshingly Blunt Take On Aging And 'Botched' Plastic Surgery Has Fans Nodding Hard

You know what they say: the grass is greener on the other side. Most people want something that they don't have.

While many people right now are fixated on appearing younger than their age, Billie Eilish—who already looks younger than her age—is looking forward to what comes next.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @archerhayesofficial's TikTok video
@archerhayesofficial/TikTok

Guy Films As Couple Delays Flight By An Hour After They Refused To Sit Apart From Each Other

TikToker Archer Hayes was ready to fly incognito with a baseball cap pulled down low, sunglasses, and his hoodie pulled up and tied around his face, ready to relax in the window seat.

Instead, Hayes recorded an entitled couple who delayed the flight by more than an hour—all because they were not seated together.

Keep ReadingShow less