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Killing the opposition; even brutally, is an understandable trait of a villain. Mass "impersonal" killing (setting a bomb, firing a missile, exploding a nuclear weapon) are understandable traits, t...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29877 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29877 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
Killing the opposition; even brutally, is an understandable trait of a villain. Mass "impersonal" killing (setting a bomb, firing a missile, exploding a nuclear weapon) are understandable traits, too. Even if those kill babies and kids and innocents, the villain is killing them for some cause or purpose. What makes a villain truly hated is completely **_unnecessary_** killing, often casual, of innocent, defenseless and relatable characters, for no plausible reason. For example, my hit man can brutally slaughter twenty gangsters. He might even be a bit cruel and vindictive (like in the movie franchise Taken); this can be seen as "justice." He isn't hated yet. But as he is leaving, my hit man is checking rooms for survivors, and in the last room finds a baby girl, about six months old, lying in a crib. He smiles. He says, "Aww!" and seems genuinely pleased. Then he shoots the baby. **_Now_** he is hated.