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Q&A How to make the villain relatable/human without making the hero seem like a monster for killing him?

Just because you can understand how the villain got that way doesn't mean you have to agree with the villain's actions. Most people can understand how Black Panther's Erik Killmonger turned out th...

posted 6y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:46Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36334
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:53:09Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36334
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T08:53:09Z (almost 5 years ago)
Just because you can understand how the villain got that way doesn't mean you have to agree with the villain's actions.

Most people can understand how _Black Panther_'s Erik Killmonger turned out the way he did. (More of that discussion in [my answer to this question.](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/35934/hate-to-love-love-to-hate/35937#35937)) That doesn't mean that the viewer has to agree that his solution is the right one. We can accept that Erik has a point without endorsing his plan as the only correct response.

Also, if your villain has a point, but your hero has to kill the villain anyway, I think that's good moral shading which you _should_ carry into the next books. That's something your hero should wrestle with. "Was I right? Did Villain have a point? Did Villain _really_ deserve to die?"

Your villain can be evil _and_ understandable. His death can be both necessary _and_ a tragedy.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-05-22T21:31:59Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 33