This month I want to discuss villains again. Not all stories contain a villain but for those that do, the villain is the most important star of the story. Why do I say that? Because without the villain there is no story.

Villains fascinate us. Why do they behave the way they do? What is driving them? Power, control, wealth, revenge, hatred, sadistic desire or notoriety. Take your pick. They have their very own view of the world and flawed moral code. And in their own world they see themselves as the heroes of their own story.

Recently I rewatched The Dark Knight (2008). One of the famous quotes from the movie was from the character of Harvey Dent (Two-Face) that foreshadows his own future:

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

This is the classic trope of the good guy turning bad. It has been used over and over again by movies that capture this particular character ark. There are many examples.

The most famous film using this character ark was the Godfather trilogy. The story about Michael Corleone’s transformation from the White Sheep of a crime family to its ruthless leader, and subsequent doomed attempts to atone.

There are other examples. Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith (2005) sees Anakin Skywalker’s fall from grace.

Even Shakespeare used this trope in Macbeth. He starts off as a hero returning from war in triumph. But driven by his wife’s ambition leads him to murder his king.

The Journey from hero to villain often starts with well-intentioned motives, but gets corrupted along the way. One of my favourite corrupted heroes is Walter White from Breaking Bad. He’s a high-school chemistry teacher who turns to crime to secure his family’s financial future before he dies from lung cancer. But after a time he simply enjoys what he is doing. It’s a great series and wonderful character ark.

Lastly, there is one further twist to this trope I want to mention. Recently I binge watched The Day of the Jackal (2024)– A TV series. I had already read the original novel (1971) written by Frederick Forsyth and watched the movies staring Edward Fox (1973) and the remake with Bruce Willis (1997). So I wondered what the new series would do.

The plot had changed, although the Jackal was still an elusive assassin who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But the investigator now tracking him down was now a black female British intelligence officer, Bianca Pullman. Initially I thought this was going to be a modern woke version of the story line featuring a powerful female protagonist. But as the story unfolds, we find the Bianca Pullman will go to any lengths in the relentless pursuit lengths of the Jackal. Her actions result in the torture and deaths of informants, their family and two of her colleagues. Whereas as the story progresses we find more empathy for the Jackal, who has a family and is seeking one last score before retirement. It’s an interesting story-line.

I could see the way the story-line was going from half way through the series but didn’t believe that the writers would follow it through. That is that the good guy becomes the bad guy, and bad guy becomes the good guy. Well almost – both characters had strong moral flaws. No spoilers – I am not going to say how the first series ends. Is it better than the original book? Possibly not. But Forsyth was an exceptional writer. Was it better than the two subsequent movies? I would say it is different and well worth watching.

If you have seen the series, tell me what you think.