What is an Anti-Villain — Definition, Types and Examples

But there’s more than one way to make a villain seem… good. Anti-villains can essentially be broken down into four categories. So when writing your next script, see if you can make your villain a bit more complex by coloring between the lines with one of these archetypes.

Anti-Villain Examples

Type 1: The Noble Anti-Villain

Villains are generally associated with selfishness. They act in their own self-interest and would stab you in the back without a second thought. But there are also villains who, much like Batman, are guided by a moral code. 

These are noble anti-villains. In Reservoir Dogs, Mr. White is disgusted at the brutality displayed by Mr. Blonde. Captain Freedom in The Running Man abides by the Gladiator Code. And while Harry in In Bruges is a violent crime boss, he has a strong code he believes in. 

Harry believes strongly that anyone who kills a child should be punished. When Ray accidentally kills a young boy, Harry asks his partner, Ken, to take him out. Harry eventually takes matters into his own hands, and at one point, states that if he had killed a kid, accidentally or not, he would’ve immediately killed himself. That’s how strongly he believes in the code. 

We brought the In Bruges screenplay into StudioBinder's screenwriting software so we could take a specific look at this scene. Click the image below to read the entire scene and how an anti-villain gets written on the page.

Harry is the antagonist, but he doesn’t kill indiscriminately. He has a moral code, and when he himself breaks the code, he pays the consequences. He may be a tad psychotic, but there’s a nobility to his madness.

He has rules he doesn’t break. 

This makes him far more interesting than a psychopath who kills everyone in his path. When writing your next screenplay, it can be helpful to give both your hero and villain a set of morals neither one deviates from. Or if they do deviate, how do they respond?

Anti-Villain Definition and Examples

Type 2: The Well-Intentioned Extremist

The next variation, which we’ll refer to as “the well-intentioned extremist,” actually has good goals. This villain ultimately wants to bring good to the world, but their methods for achieving that goal are ill-advised. 

This is a popular trope in superhero movies of late. Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame wants to bring peace and balance to the universe by wiping out half of all life. Killmonger in Black Panther wants revenge on the people who oppressed and enslaved his ancestors. He has every right to feel that anger, but his goal is to kill millions.

But one comic book villain who perhaps has the most anger toward the world is Magneto from the X-Men films. 

Magneto’s backstory was best showcased in X-Men: First Class where we see him growing up as a Jewish boy in the middle of the Holocaust. We see him being oppressed for belonging to a minority group he was born into. 

Later, as a powerful mutant, we again see him oppressed for belonging to a minority group he was born into. When we get to the climactic battle in Cuba, we get this callback to Magneto’s past.

Anti-Villain Meaning

Type 3: The Pitiable Anti-Villain

Some villains could have had a better lot in life. However, due to a tragic backstory, they turned to a life of evil. The backstory makes you feel sorry for them. While they may still commit heinous acts, you understand how they ended up where they are. 

Examples include Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. Penguin in Batman Returns. He was born disfigured, so his parents abandoned him when he was young. Andrew from Chronicle is constantly bullied at school and has an abusive father at home. But not every backstory has to be so heavy.

Let’s look at Lotso from Toy Story 3. 

He’s essentially running a toy prison in Sunnyside, and eventually, we learn his tragic backstory. Namely, he was abandoned by his kid and then replaced with another Lotso teddy bear. Read the scene below as a great example of how to anti-villains are created with effective an effective backstory.

It’s an incredibly sad sequence, and it makes us understand how Lotso turned out the way he did. Granted, it doesn’t justify his actions, but we feel like we know Lotso a little bit better by getting his backstory. 

If Lotso had just been loved or was able to return to his kid, then maybe he wouldn’t be a dictator at Sunnyside. That’s the goal of the pitiable anti-villain. We know that if things had just been a little bit different, this person could’ve been good. They could’ve been a hero. And that’s the biggest tragedy of all. 

So when writing a pitiable anti-villain, think of a backstory that will grip the audience. Viewers should be able to clearly see the path between the tragic circumstances and the villainy they are witnessing presently.

What Does Anti-Villain Mean?

Type 4: The Villain in Name Only

The protagonist needs someone (or something) to go up against. In many instances, the antagonist is not inherently evil. They may just have different belief systems than the hero, which puts them at odds. For the villain in name only to work, it should be possible to tell the story from their perspective with their goals and means seeming pretty reasonable. 

For example, Javert in Les Misérables qualifies because Jean Valjean does break his parole. Javert is a little too dedicated to his craft for how passionately he hunts Jean Valjean down, but he is technically in the right, and in another story, we’d probably root for him.

Another antagonist who isn’t really evil would be Keith from La La Land. He’s actually a really nice guy who even gives Sebastian work. But there’s one issue that puts him at odds with the protagonist. Keith wants to move jazz forward while Sebastian wants to keep it in its roots.