How to Be a Villain – the Frenzy Universe Way

It isn’t easy being evil. Really, who has the time to stay up to date on all the latest technology? And the field of competitors is constantly growing!

While we may not know from personal experience, we’ve read lots of books, seen lots of movies, and generally just like the villains better than the heroes most of the time. So, here is our list of traits we think make a great villain… or at least make us chuckle our evil chuckles and twirl our imaginary devilish mustaches.

1. A Sense of Injustice and the Unfairness of it All – Go with us on this one, when you look at most villains they usually have a point. A good reason for your villainy is always preferential as it makes recruiting underlings much easier. Evil for evil’s sake works for some people, but most of us need MOTIVATION to feed our monomania.
2. Persistence – bringing your plans for world domination to fruition often requires you to be ruthless and steadfast in your course of action. Dedication to one’s cause is absolutely necessary. If you give up too easily, well, you weren’t really serious then, were you?
3. Patience – As a villain you will most likely have limited access to object of your intense dislike and may have years to stew over the injustice done to you by said object. You can use that time to hone your evil skills and plans for revenge, to recruit henchmen and train them to fear you, and to develop a truly twisted and unexpected reveal of your tactics and motivations. Patience is a virtue, and even evil geniuses can be virtuous at times.
4. Scientific Training – Have you ever noticed how many villains are doctors? Dr. Doom, Dr. Evil, Dr. Horrible, Dr. Seuss … okay, so maybe not that last one. A familiarity with the principles of chemistry, physics, and biology are quite beneficial to anyone desiring to wreak havoc or cause mass hysteria. Knowledge IS Power after all and supervillains crave power.
5. A Sense of Humor – We mustn’t forget the importance of being witty and sarcastic in the face of opposition. It throws them off and makes them think they can talk you down because you can’t be really serious if you are cracking jokes. But you know the truth. Besides, the bad guys often have the BEST comebacks, don’t they?
6. Henchmen – No woman (or man) is an island, and as the Big Boss you shouldn’t have to get your hands dirty. Therefore, you need underlings to do your bidding. Whether you recruit with fear, a compelling dogma, or simply a monetary arrangement, you will need to have people you can control and trust. You can call them what you like – thugs, henchmen, underlings, minions – but peeps you can trust (or at least pay/bribe/blackmail) are necessary.
7. Facial Hair – We aren’t sure why, but people always look more evil with impressive facial hair. In fact, some particular versions of the mustache have been named after famous real-life villains. It could be that it hides your face. It could be that it gives you something to twirl when making your evil plans. While not essential, a spectacular ‘stache or well-arched eyebrows can truly assist with the whole “looking the part” thing.
8. An Evil Laugh – This is absolutely essential. The bigger, louder, and more maniacal, the better. If you can master starting small and growing the laugh until it fills a room, then you are well on your way. Of course, it also makes it easier for everyone around you to know for sure when you are being diabolical, which enhances your evilness.
9. A Pet – Cats and reptiles seem to be the most common choices, which are fitting as cats are inherently evil and reptiles can be scary, but you could make just about anything work. It gives you a “sidekick” without having to have tenderness towards another human being, which could be exploited to foil your evil plans.
10. A Secret Lair – Having a base of operations gives you a place to hold meetings with other villains to build evil alliances, somewhere to store your equipment and scheme your schemes. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate underground tunnel system, or a chateau in the mountains (although how cool would that be!), but you should at least have your own place. Living above the garage or in your parents’ basement doesn’t really cut it.

There are lots of little nuances and intricacies to creating your supervillain alter-ego that we haven’t even begun to investigate here. We hope this gives you at least a good foundation on which to build a truly evil empire.