I’m the notorious Marcus Wolfe. Well, perhaps I am not notorious, but you’ve probably heard of me. First, I would like to apologize in advance to anyone who feels degraded while reading this. I don’t really mean to hurt anybody’s feelings, but I simply have a very hard time being informative without being condescending. Blame it on the way I was raised. Also, sorry for using masculine terms when I should be using gender-neutral terms. Force of habit.
Today, I’m going to help you construct fan villains for Shonen/Seinen fan works. This is also a process in which a villain should be changed, in case of Dr.Evil. Creating a villain is not an easy process, not even for the professionals. But this should make it easier.
Before you create any sort of character, villain or hero, you should take a good look at various character archetypes. Archetypes are standard character models that are modified to create all fictional characters. Examples include (but are by no means limited to): Evil Overlords, Revenge-Driven Assassins, Rent-A-Thug, Lone Warrior and Bounty Hunter. Every once in a blue moon, someone will come up with a character so unique, it will create it’s own archetype, but the chance of you creating a new archetype are one in a billion, so it pays to look into what you’ll inevitably end up referencing. Usually, you should have picked the archetype/archetype hybrid.
I am currently working on a Naruto fan character known as Jūō (獣王) which translates to ‘Beast King’. He is named so because of his extensive use of summoning jutsu. He travels the world, always searching for more creatures to add to his menagerie of zoological disciples, the more exotic the better. He obtains the summons by violence on few occasions, and usually prefers to steal or swindle his prize.
Jūō fits an archetype I like to refer to as ‘Collector’. It’s just what it sounds like: A collector of things. These things can be collected for profit or power, but usually for the amusement of the Collector (note: heroic variants will often collect items to ‘save the world’ or whatever). The Collector will often go out of his/her way to add to the collection, and a far greater effort is exerted for rarer and/or more valuable additions. Nothing would please a Collector more than to have their collection completed, but whether it is because of the actions of their nemesis or the very nature of what they collect, this is usually impossible.
Canonical characters matching this archetype include Orochimaru. He desires to know every jutsu, but due to his mortality, his goal is out of reach. Until, of course, he makes himself immortal! Another character would be Inu Yasha’s nemesis Naraku, who seeks the shikon jewel shards. Inu Yasha and co. could also be viewed as collectors. In animes like Inu Yasha and the Dragon Ball series, competition between Collectors creates most conflicts.
