Dull Heros

Dull Heroes, Compelling Villains
Often writers give villains deeper, more interesting characters than heroes. I believe writers use their own most hated traits in their villains, like an exorcism. Since we have bad thoughts and emotions, why not use them? Here are two examples from excellent books nobody reads anymore.
In Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, we learned little about Ivanhoe except that he was brave, handsome and good. Yawn. I don’t recall any passion in that superficial hero, but the Templar Brian de Bois-Guilbert suffered from unrequited lust and conflicting emotions. Brian had life and fire, but he couldn’t be good. Anyone who ever suffered from lust or conflicting emotions had to feel a tinge of empathy for the Templar, who died of a heart attack.
In Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend, the hero is another brave, handsome youth of no depth or complexity. We hardly know him, let alone identify with him. But Dickens must have put every evil emotion he’d ever suffered in Bradley, the angry school master, another villain tortured with lust and jealousy.
Writers divide their own feelings with all their good going to heroes and all their bad going to villains. The recent Batman movie, The Dark Knight, poses another example. The handsome millionaire, who is secretly Batman, is so dull his girlfriend dumps him. The Joker represents pure, psychopathic evil, yet he’s more intense and fascinating than the hero. Heath Ledger, a charismatic actor, creates much of this attraction. The colorful Joker provokes with his eccentric make-up, clothes, action, mystery, underlying good looks and odd humor. He’s everything Batman isn’t. It’s easier to imagine the Joker telling a joke than Batman telling one. Fortunately, the Joker is so thoroughly evil, he excites no sympathy.
Ian Fleming’s James Bond is one of the few heroes more interesting than the villains. The villains in James Bond movies tend to be megalomaniacal bores, with no emotional or physical attractiveness. Lusty Bond engages us with his cool sense of humor and physical vigor. He’s comfortable with his sexuality, a charming and fun guy to have around, good without being impossibly perfect.