A good boss/villain is someone who could use the hero’s weakness as a strength against him or her, challenging the hero’s moral code with opposing beliefs.

The most important thing is having a motive that is very important to the villain, the hero doesn’t have to understand it, it just has to make sense to the villain. And the villain will go to any length to achieve that motive, however out there and twisted it is.

Ex: In fiction, the Joker wanted to prove that nobody is pure, and let an entire city suffer. In real life, perhaps the man that embodies a villain the most, Hitler wanted a “superior” race, and went so far as to even wiping out a huge population.

The villain could show no compassion, not giving a second thought about letting someone die for his or her “just” cause. Viewing the ones that died for his or her cause as tools rather than actual people.


In MK, I think they’re doing a good job so far, but it would be cool to see it elaborated more. Ex: why does Shao Kahn want to merge all realms, besides just power, because there’s almost always a better reason than that.

I guess the tragic villain is the type I’m more afraid of, because some characters mirror what could happen in real life. At first they have a minor flaw, then an incident occurs turning that minor flaw obsessively into a driving force.

Oh man, that's pretty close to the kind I like too.

I like the "Perfect but Flawed" villain. This devil never makes excuses, they are admirable because of their accomplishments, and given talents. Alot of times these individuals find out that they love power, but are also very careful with when and how they use it. These individuals own one thing, and expand on it slowly enough for no one to notice until it is too late. They are cynical and professional, self absorbed, wicked, and fantastic at what they should only "just be good at" inherently.

This is so, because throughout their lives, they have been presented with situations that provoked them to choose the right choice for a circumstance, but at the same time, it always has been a taboo decision to live with. What really allows them to be broken is that they are trained up through that thinking as the only correct way to be. And so they are excellent individuals in the wrong ways.

They are morally stable depending on what and who those morals benefit, and usually live by some sort of code of ethics. It's just that the code they live by, is perceptually distasteful to anyone but themselves and maybe a right-hand man. These individuals are "perfect"(or rather, they strive constantly for perfection according to their tainted beliefs), they have just been subjected to, and left to fend for themselves through situations that are always objectionable in the first place. They are evil but they don't know any better because circumstances close to them don't allow them to "understand" things properly.

My boss character would be an opportunist like Shang Tsung, a methodical planner like Quan Chi, a punisher like Shao Kahn, and all the while a person of some twisted code of honor and generosity like Shinnok.
A snake, spider, shark, and dragon, all in one.

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From some other media, I like the antagonists played by both actors (John Travolta and Nicholas Cage) at different points in the movie from Face Off. I also like Travolta, in SwordFish. I like Azula from the avatar cartoon. I like certain aspects of the latest iteration of Lex Luthor in the movie. His bride in that movie, was a vampire in the last Blade movie, and I like her role in that film. On vampires, and though not nessasarily evil, I like both main roles in Interview with a Vampire". Both of them are "bad guys" to us if you think about it...we're their food, "at the end of the day"....literally. I like Darkseid from DC(don't like his design though)

I like a good corrupted judge, or a drug lord disguised as the Robin Hood figure(Wesley Snipes as "Nino Brown" comes to mind).

Continue later...

Right now, one of the best villains going in fiction is The Joker. I think if I ever met that guy, I'd be scared. What would scare me, is how unpredictable he is. I'm a smart guy. I can act like I'm insane when I want to, and there are moments where I feel like I am. But someone as masterful as the sheer insane art of what he does, The Joker would scare me. The only way to be safe around him, is to kill him before he kills you.

I'm not sure how to translate that to Mortal Kombat, but it's one aspect of what could potentially make a great villain. I don't want to get all political on people, either, but another fear the Mortal Kombat games seem to have, are women. I mean, really think about it: The women in Mortal Kombat are brandished as sex objects. They dress provocatively, they're never the main protagonist or antagonist, and while I don't want to accuse anyone here of having a poor social life (I'm sure it's the exact opposite), the majority of the Mortal Kombat fan-base would be male, and pretty much every guy, especially one that plays a video game, is sure to be able to relate to having a problem at some stage with a woman that couldn't be resolved by just smacking her in the mouth.

A strong, yet utterly psychotic (except to herself) woman could make a very interesting main boss. I envisioned a female sorcerer character that was more powerful than Shang Tsung and Quan Chi combined. If she wants something, she can take it. But she doesn't. She plays these games, and if someone like Raiden tried to piss her off, she'd point her staff at him and turn him to dust. Someone like that would make an interesting villain.

And then her man comes into play. Now that could be epic.

Voldemort.

Ran into this site just surfin' around.


Y'know, there's actually quite a bit to consider when finding some compilation like that for a bad guy. I mean, you gotta think about presence, what the villains powers would be, and what type of power...What kind of attitude.....what they look like...ect.

Seems like right now, you could get a villain out of a nice guy, someone innocent, or someone who was just raised up wrong. I think most of them have some sort of turning point that consequently makes them "thee baddie". And for me, depending on how bad that situation was, and what decision they chose, makes them an even more interesting character to like -- or hate, I guess.

If I used that list, and picked a few of them to blend together, I'd probably go with:

a.) The intellectual degree of Hannibal Lector (knowledgeable, understanding..ect)

b.) Presence of the Terminator(1 or 2)//Maybe Darth Vader fits here...um, I'd probably add Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. They have a pretty terrifying presence.

c.) The quality of "everywhere, but nowhere" of a Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, or probably the best one I've seen, Mr Smith from the Matrix.

d.) Attitude & Duality of maybe Vincent Vega & Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction). There's also a charisma here to consider. "Why others are willing to work with him//her"...ect. I think charisma contributes to a talent the villain might have.

e.) Unpredictability of probably Tyler Durden (Fight Club) or The Joker from this latest Batman Dark Knight. It's essentially, a really bold unpredictability.
It's the whole..."I'm gonna do something, but you have no idea what". lol Adds character.

f.) Vicious and Relentlessness could come from any really good Crime Bosses. Al Capone, Nino Brown, Lex Luthor(s), ect..Throw some horror movie viciousness in there too. There's the sense that, "they always get away with it", there to consider as well...

The way they look could be anything by those descriptions, but I like them to be sharp, maybe even obsessive compulsive to some varying degrees. "Best Dressed" or "purposefully dirty//gritty" looking. No matter what though, there's always a sense of elegance about the way they look. There's always some-thing that makes them seem either regal or arrogant given their circumstance at the time.

That's why I think introducing them in one light, taking us through a few things that bring us to another state of the character, makes them so good to me. Good back story, and thorough explanation of what turns them evil, or what grooms them up to be evil is welcomed by me.

I think this might have been why I was so disappointed in Shinnok. Cuz in MK, he's probably the closest to all of what I'm saying by design and rank in the inherent hierarchy. He's just waaay off the mark.

Do the powers later I guess.

Boss characters doesn't have to be necessarily evil.

You mean like, a Saint with abstract views on things?

aheh, or do you mean like Politicians?...haha..

I like a boss that has an aura of mystery around them. It can be as simple as a wearing a mask. A more complex example might be a tragedy or event that allowed for the villain to become the menace that they are.

As I mentioned in another thread, I'd like to see the MK team do a build-up of the next 'big' boss character. Not that they haven't built towards characters such as Onaga or TOB (Whom I doubt we ever will see in a bodily form)... but I'd like to have a visual aid this time around during a build up.

What if we had a character influenced by another character (both established in MK9) and turned into something all together new? Not necessarily TOB being involved.. a new-generation sorcerer, may be, who corrupts another character (preferably a good guy) and they have a working relationship like Palpatine/Darth Vader..

I'm rambling.. but just wanted to throw it out there..

I enjoy a boss with wits AND strength. While no one specific comes to mind immediately, here's what I want:

-Someone smart. Someone who can manipulate others into working for him as well as finding a way to weaken his opponents (ie causing suspicion/deception among team members/partners)

-someone who can fight all alone, if somehow, this criminal mastermind fails with getting the job done with his lackeys, he should be able to finish the job himself.

-someone strategic. I want a villain trhat can take nothing, then go on to create an army and fight a war, someone who can win that war with jsut sheer planning and strategy.

-someone creepy. The villain should be insane looking. Like me :P. Only scary and not freaky. If they can scare me if I jsut loko at them (not ncluding the stuff above) that's awesome.

Someone with no emotion. If you can kill anyone, and I mean ANYONE without remorse, that's pure win. Someone deluded who cares for no one else.

Someone with a real goal. I want someone who is deluded in their own fantasy, soemone who will stop at nothing to get what they want. This is a true villain

-Someone with knowledge. have someone who knows EVERYTHING about their enemy BEFORE they go into battle, and holds this knowledge to themselves until the time comes to use it to win, sheer awesome.

With all this combined, you have a good villain. No, you have THE villain, one that could be the greatest villain of all time.

I like villians that can just torture people, while making either their loved one of their friends just watching him/her torturing someone they're close to. That's evil, like lets say, there's a couple walking somewhere and two thugs just jump out of nowhere and attacks the couple. One guy is pinning the man down while the other is raping the woman. That's horrible to watch, and I'm pretty sure no one wants to be in this situation.

I also like when your enemy plays mind games with you. Optical illusions are just so weird. Psychological abuse is something I would love to see. Play mind games on the victim pretend that something is there when they're really not. If I was ever a villian, I would play mind games on my enemies for sure.

Villians these days though, are usually always in black or some dark color, and it's fine, but it's so easy to tell. Or, they're the ones that have the eriee background music playing or they have a scar on thier face. I would totally enjoy having a colorful, peppy villian that would just SMILE every time. I star in movies that my friends make, I'm not posting any of them on here, that at times I play the villian, and it's very creepy becuase no one can possibly visualize me as a villian becuase I'm so happy and cheerful, but what they don't know is that deep down, people who can be so happy can often freak the living shit out of anyone. Face it, smiles are creepy to look at during some times in life.

I would personally enjoy having a mutant creature for a boss, just like an alien, no more humans, I mean, sure they're fun to fight against because it's fun spilling their blood out, but it's time to actually put some little fantasy into these characters and make them into something that you don't normally see now and days. Would it kill people who play MK if we had an alien somehow entering the cast? I doubt it. And it's not just MK I'm referring to either. This is the only game I can think up at the current time to make an example out of. But basically any game that features other races besides Humans in it, should at least face new races in the game.

My ex girlfriend would make a terrifying boss; not only is she hot, but her tits are banging! as well as her attitude. she's a total dominatrix. i have been beaten and bloodied many times by her. i love that bitch! she's like Jade and Tanya with shao khan's violence lust.

This is a good topic. Appearance wise I think a simple design would work best for a start. A great way to get into our heads though would be to have the boss start shaking or glowing or whatever and it would mean he's building up to turning into a demon looking boss that's twice as strong and fast as hell. It'll give incentive for players to try to beat him/her as fast as possible and pray he doesn't get far enough into it. You know you'd freak out if you're close to beating him and he starts spasming and you know you don't have enough life to withstand his barrage.

In a sense, I always imagined the One being, or at least the fraction of it that exists within the G1 MK dimension, as.
It foresaw the flaws of having externally created universes as they would grow uncontrollable in powers, but the Elder Gods (Ironically also parts of it.) saw no harm and dissected it, like how Norse mythology had the world forged out of the corpse of a Frost Giant.
As it reassembled itself, it tried to reestablish which universe woud be the universe stored within it and which universes to eliminate. It foresaw and manipulated the countless warriors in the G1 MK dimension to fix these wrongs by nullifying its existence, but the Elder Gods always stopped this agenda. As such, it saw the need of another fraction to take this task and eliminate everything. Even as one thing within the universe, it should hold a power capable of rivaling many gods, as it created all, but as "one true master, the all-father", this power would further escalate, to the near deaths of those chosen to defeat it...

Well, that's my idea.

a.) what are the bad guys that you like? Anything from any movies, t.v. series', games, books, ect... anything. What's the ones that stick out to you?
Darth Vader, Nightmare, Albert Wesker, Vergil, Sepharoth, Shao kahn, shang tsung


b.) Try to describe them a little, maybe add a picture. I'd like to see them in that role if possible.
Either very badass with brute strength or being intellegent charismatic(more important). and Generally they bear mystery qualities and great charisma as well as ability to plan. they typically possess supernatual power and have no remorse for others, using them as pawns to their only goal of domination

c.) Do you think a role like that could work in MK? How about a combo of some of the ones you like?
Shang Tsung fit well into the intellegent, mysterious type(if only develope more into his persona) and Shaokahn is the top badass one(i think he is very badass and strong despite lacking the shang tsung itellect skill.). their combination does work a great havoc. Shinnok and quan chi also shared a similar trait combination.

d.) Has what you like about an Evil Boss character changed at all over the years? What are you scared of, that might make an excellent NEW boss character?
it is a topart question. a villain should possess a great intellegent and charisma while can be more or less frail physically wise. a boss swould bear the opposite quality with strength>intellect. and I gradually shift from "boss side" to more of "villain side". another part is that I am scard of things that eat people,and a giant, man eating low intellect creature typically makes the best boss despite being a bad "villain". while at it's side/back an oppertunitist who seizes power and can plan. and maybe one may become another. but a good "villain" class is always too precious to die, while a "boss" is more expendable.

For me the villains that have always stuck out in my mind are the ones that aren't pure evil and are kind of in a moral grey area.(ex. Magneto and Ozymandias from the comic book Watchmen) These villains want the same things that the heroes want , but their process to getting to it is so radically different than that of the good guys that they are branded villains.

Take Ozymandias from Watchmen, he wants world peace just like everyone else, but it is what he does to get it is what makes him a villain. Because what he does is that he fakes an alien invasion and blows up New York city and kills millions of people in the process, but the world gets global peace. To him the ends justify the means.

In short a good villain should always believe that he is right and everyone else is in the wrong, dispite how much evidence is weighing against him. And some times evil doesn't always come to you wearing all black and has a tail and a forked tongue, sometimes it comes to you wearing a three piece suit and greets you with a handshake and a smile.

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