It is something we've discussed before, but I just thought of it again because of this Reddit post.

So, my questions with the audience:

Do you think the sympathetic villain has become as much as trope as the mustache-twirler? I very much do. I practically roll my eyes when each new one is introduced now.

Do you keep sympathy for villains with tragic long-term, no matter how horrible their actions? After a villain has been retconned with more sympathetic origins, do you like retcon their histories to make past actions less bad?

Do you consider villains that believe they are serving some greater purpose, that they are righteous, to be generally sympathetic, even if nothing bad happened to them? Does it matter if you agree with that purpose?

How much culpability/responsibility do you give villains for their villainous actions when you view them sympathetically?


To what degree do you think heroes should keep giving them more chances, keep trying to redeem them, especially if they were former friends? This was something I believe came up when discussing Cheetah and Wonder Woman a while ago. At what point does it seem the hero cares more about or feels more sympathy towards the villain than the villain's victims? I mean, I get fans caring more - the villain is a recurring character, the victims are often just plot devices - but it's definitely something to shy away from in-universe. Though, of course, the hero sometimes does also have a strong (historical) bond with the villain than the victims, too.