A villain is a bad person, especially in fiction. Villains are the fictional characters, or perhaps fictionalized characters, in drama and melodrama who do evil deliberately and work against of the hero. As such, villains are an almost inevitable plot device, and more than the heroes, the villains are the crucial elements upon which plots turn.
Word origin
The etymology of the word is from Old French villein, in turn from Late Latin villanus, meaning serf or peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of a villa, which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul. Poverty was equated with moral turpitude; villains had to work their way up the social ladder. Thus usually the word villain suggests that the villain's schemes stem from their own moral indifference or perversity of character. Supervillains are found in the melodramatic environs of superhero comic books, where an evil person with super powers is needed to be a realistic foil for the mighty heroes. These supervillains usually have recurring roles; some villains in more down to earth literature have become so popular that they have been reused in later works as well.
Stereotypes
There are many villain stereotypes. A caricature of a common cliché villain can be seen at the right of this page. In the era before sound in motion pictures villains had to appear very "visually" sinister, and thus many villain stereotypes were born. The Rocky and Bullwinkle characters Boris and Natasha, Snidely Whiplash, and the Hanna-Barbera character, Dick Dastardly, are well known parodies of this kind of character archetype. These stereotypes include black clothing (often quite formal - capes, top hats, etc), facial hair, sharp features, and a perpetually "angry" facial expression. Other non-visual villainous stereotypes include a habit of "evil laughter," a snooty or smarmy voice, and a haughty overconfidence that leads to the unnecessary explanation of one's sinister plans. This exposition, of course, is a fairly transparent plot device. There is an opposing stereotype of the beautiful villain who looks like a hero, but his/her personality and attitudes betray a diabolical nature. This especially came well known after World War II when the Holocaust was exposed which led to the popular villain who reflects the Nazi blond and blue eyed aryan ideal, but that beauty hides an arrogant sense of his/her superiority and foul ambitions to make his/her "inferiors" suffer.
The necessary villain
Are villains inherently more interesting than the heroes who oppose them? They are at least as indispensable to the stories they appear in, probably more so. Those who stand on the side of righteousness and goodness seldom have much choice but to respond, and little choice in how; for villains, all paths are wide open. Many believe that Satan, for Christians perhaps the ultimate villain, is the most interesting character in John Milton's Paradise Lost, for all that he is the embodiment of evil. Perhaps in the nefarious acts of many villains there is more than a hint of wish-fulfilment fantasy, which makes some people identify with them as characters more strongly than they do the heroes. Still, the writer's task in creating a villain is not an easy or a trivial one; a convincing villain must be given a characterization that makes his motive for doing wrong somewhat more convincing than Mephisto's gleeful but seemingly pointless mischief.
Yet what makes the villain really indispensable in many works of fiction, including virtually all modern action movies, is that he provides an impeccable excuse for sadistic pleasure. The standard action story invariably begins by demonizing the villain—i.e., showing that he is so evil that he ceases to be a human being and becomes a monster; so that making him suffer is only necessary justice and most commendable. From then on, the reader or viewer can enjoy the sadistic pleasure of watching someone being beaten, burned, chopped, impaled, blown to bits, etc. etc.; and can identify himself with the hero who is doing all that — all with a clean conscience.
Quotes
"The greatest joy in doing evil is to be rewarded by the sight of those who suffer its consequence!"
- — Mephisto, in The Silver Surfer #3 (Marvel Comics, 1968), exemplifying the code of the villain.
"Much to learn, you still have."
- — Yoda to Count Dooku, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, illustrating the arrogance of the villain.
"Your overconfidence is your weakness."
"Your faith in your friends is yours."
- — Luke Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine, in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, suggesting the moral equivalence of villain and hero.
"I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it."
- — Professor Quirrell, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, reflecting the origin of the villain's psychology.
"I'm going to enjoy watching you die, Mr. Anderson." : — Agent Smith, The Matrix, explaining the hedonist motive of the villain.
"Unwilling though I was to follow my namesake's instructions, it has all come down to this. The ultimate risk for the ultimate prize - day of reckoning with those who made us slaves."
- — Megatron, in Beast Wars' "The Agenda Part 3," portraying the slavish origin of the villain.
"I was directly responsible for the deaths of all twenty-four thousand colonists when the Pfhor returned and sacked the planet. Yet I cannot think of any better way I could have served humanity: Tau Ceti's sacrifice bought time for Earth, which the Pfhor are even now planning to invade."
- — Durandal, in The Slings & Arrows of Outrageous Fortune of (Marathon}, idealizing the ambitions of the villain.
"Greetings, Green Ranger. Or should I just call you Tommy? How does it feel to be stripped of your powers forever? Are you green with envy? And your humiliation is far from over! You will soon pledge your allegiance to me!"
"No way!"
"Do you even recognize yourself? The Green Ranger, always willing to sacrifice, always ready. You must have saved your friends a hundred times, and think of all of Rita's monsters you destroyed. You and your powerful DragonZord! Witness the greatness you once were, Tommy. Because it's all over now!"
- — Goldar and Tommy Oliver, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' "Green No More, Part II", revealing the vulgarity of the villain.
"I will not fail again!"
"QUIET! Those Power Rangers are nothing but mere infants! You were defeated by children! You dare call yourself an Empress of Evil? You have made me very angry! Your days of control are over, there will be no other chances."
"Can't we talk?"
"Silence! I have spoken."
- — Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' "The Mutiny, Part I", belying the capability of the villain.
"Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more that your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?"
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master."
"The Alliance... will die. As will your friends. Good, I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the Dark Side will be complete!"
"There will be no bargain, young Jedi. I shall enjoy watching you die."
- — Jabba the Hutt, in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (translated from Huttese)
"My lord, is that legal?"
"I will make it legal!"
"I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace..."
- — Don John referring to his half-brother Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing
"I had a speech... I learned it all... Oh god, she won't understand, she won't understand..."
"Of course she won't understand, Sparky. I'm beyond her understanding. She's a girl! With sugar, and spice, and everything... useless, unless you're baking. I'm more than that. More than flesh. More than blood. I'm... you know what? Honestly don't think there's a human word fabulous enough for me. Oh, my name will be on everyone's lips. Assuming their lips haven't been torn off. But not just yet. That's alright, though. I can be patient. Everything is well within parameters. She's exactly where I want her to be. And so are you, Number 17. You're right where you belong. So, what'd you think? You'd get your soul back, and everything'd be jim-dandy? A soul's slippier than a greased weasel, why do you think I sold mine? Well, you probably thought that you'd be your own man. And I respect that. But you never will. You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me... singing our little song. You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them. Right from the beginning. And that's where we're going... right back to the beginning! Not the bang. Not the word. The true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride, and I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you, trying to do what's right. Just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right. Not about wrong. It's about power."
- — An insane Spike and The First (taking the forms of Warren, Glory, Adam, Mayor Wilkins, Drusilla, The Master, and Buffy), in Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Lessons."
"What do you want from us? We're evil! EVIL!"
"Do you really expect them to pay?"
"No, Mr. Powers, I expect them to die..."
"My children... from the very beginning, it was the children who gave me my power. The Springwood Slasher, that's what they called me. My reign of terror was legendary. Dozens of children would fall by my blades. Then the parents of Springwood came for me, taking justice into their own hands. When I was alive, I may have been a little naughty, but after they killed me, I became something much, much worse. The stuff nightmares are made of. The children still feared me, and that fear gave me the power to invade their dreams. And that's when the fun really began! Until they figured out a way to forget about me! To erase me completely! Being dead wasn't a problem, but being forgotten... now that's a BITCH! I can't come back if nobody remembers me! I can't come back if nobody's AFRAID! I had to search the bowels of Hell, but I found someone. Someone who'll make 'em remember! He may get the blood, but I'll get the glory. And that fear is my ticket home..."
"But you use your powers for evil!"
"Evil? Your evil is my good. I am Sutekh the Destroyer. Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness...I find that good!"
- — Doctor Who and Sutekh the Destroyer.
"Davros, if you had created a virus in your laboratory. Something contagious and infectious that killed on contact. A virus that would destroy all other forms of life... would you allow its use?"
"It is an interesting conjecture."
"Would you do it?"
"The only living thing...the microscopic organism... reigning supreme... A fascinating idea."
"But would you do it?"
"Yes. Yes. To hold in my hand, a capsule that contained such power. To know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To know that the tiny pressure on my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end everything. Yes. I would do it. That power would set me up above the gods. And through the Daleks I shall have that power!"
- — Doctor Who and Davros, creator of the Daleks.
"So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb."
- — Dark Helmet in Spaceballs.