darthgoober
Senior Member
Since we've for some reason taken it upon ourselves to try to sort through the philosophical/religious reasoning behind terms like "Villain", I'd just like to make sure a few things are kept in mind about those labels to reduce the confusion surrounding them.
Criminal- Someone who breaks the laws that have been established by those in charge. Pretty simple right? Whether or not someone is a criminal is dependant upon the actions of the individual in question. Just WANTING to comit a crime isn't illegal, only TRYING(and especially succeeding) in committing a crime.
Evil- Generally, evil(like truth) is decided in the eye of the beholder. Evil while once a word representing the darker aspects of the human personality, has for the most part come to mean "something that I don't like". But if you look deeper into the concept of evil, it's instead something that NO ONE else likes aside from the perpetrator. Others may like to be spectators to evil that's being committed, but NO ONE likes to be on the receiving end of an evil action. At it's basest level I believe true evil as being synonymous with sadism.
The way I see it, ALL human beings are evil on some level because sadism is the most prominent aspect of the human personality, and sadism is at the root of most(if not all) evil. The reason I feel that way is because pretty much all humans are prone to take pleasure from the misery of someone else given the proper circumstances. That pleasure derived from the suffering of others is ALWAYS evil, even if it's justified. Confusion often arises when trying to decide whether or not something is evil because people try to make that judgement based upon the actions taken when instead the judgement should be based upon the intentions behind those actions. The exact same act can be taken as being evil or good depending on what the reasons behind it are. So committing a crime isn't always an indication of evil, because the law focuses upon making generalizations, and then sorting out any extenuating circumstances during the trial period. But when you get right down to it, ANY act of sadism is evil in and of itself no matter what the cause, which is why all humans are inherently evil on at least some level.
Villain- The true classification of Villain on the other hand is dependant upon a combination of both evil acts AND evil intentions. I say "true" classification because Villain(like the word evil) has strayed from it's original meaning. Now as often as not, it's used to point out the antagonist of the story or situation, no matter what the culprits reasons are. Often whether or not someone is a villain is entirely dependant on who's making the call. If you ask Batman, Joker is undoubtedly a villain because of the crimes he commits, but if you ask the Joker about it, Batman is the real villain for spoiling his fun.
So the way it all breaks down for me(using Punisher as the example)...
1. Is the Punisher a criminal? Abso-freakin-lutely. His actions are often against the law so that's a pretty cut and dry case.
2. Is the Punisher evil? Yes. He takes pride and pleasure from causing misery to others which in my mind makes him evil. But the difference between Franks outlook and Spiderman's is primarily a matter of degree, because they BOTH enjoy putting the bad guy down.
3. Is the Punisher a Villain? No. He commits evil acts(as I've already covered), but the intentions behind them are good(and for someone to be a true villain there has to be both evil acts AND evil intentions).
I can't believe you guys got me monologuing all that crap(sorry it ended up so long). But that's the system I normally use for this kind of stuff.