Cosmic Treadmill Presents… Comix Tawk, Episode 12: “The Softening of Comic Book Villainry”
Cosmic Treadmill Presents… Comix Tawk, Episode #12
“The Softening of Comic Book Villainry”
Welcome, friends… to the penultimate episode of Comix Tawk, wherein Reggie and I discuss the phenomenon of “softening” comic book villains. This can be due to a full-blown “face turn” for a bad guy… or, by a writer taking a particular interest in fleshing out a villain’s backstory… to the point where readers might find it easier to relate to them… or at the very least, make the baddie harder to hate!
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As mentioned, this is the second-to-last episode of Comix Tawk… next Sunday we’ll wrap it up with the last ever audio Reggie and I recorded together. After that, you’re in for a limited engagement, five-week return of the Cosmic Treadmill, as we take it all home.
I’m still not quite sure the order in which I’m going to release four out of the final five Treadmills. Stay tuned, I might toss a poll up here and/or on social media.
Every villain is the hero of their own story.
Per-Crisis Earth-One Lex Luthor was the hero of the planet Lexor while Superman was seen as a villain there for opposing Lex. So there is a deeper history of making villains heroes.
Today you have to look at characters more as protagonists and antagonists instead of heroes and villains. It's all down to which character's pinot of view you are experiencing the story through.
Is Thanos heroic because he opposes the destruction of the universe or nearly opportunistic. I mean he still has to live in the universe in order for him to take it over eventually. Thanos' "heroic actions" are more the actions of a hero and villain opposing a mutual enemy. Thanos still isn't a good guy. It's a temporary truce until their mutual goals diverge from each other.
I blame the writers having a lack of good stories to tell about the heroes, so they need to look to the villains to tell interesting stories.