Readers LOVE morally gray characters. Go on Instagram or TikTok and it’s all everyone is talking about. Antiheroes who screw with our perception of the ‘greater good’ … Villains with traumatic backstories … Antagonists doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.
This is catnip for your target reader! But there’s a problem. Writers often get mixed up because terms like antihero, antagonist and villain are frequently used interchangeably.
While they *can* overlap (and frequently do), it’s important to understand they do NOT mean the same thing.
So, let’s untangle all this … ready? Let’s go!
1) Antagonist = Story Function
Most writers understand the story function of an antagonist instinctively. The antagonist opposes what the protagonist wants. Nothing more, nothing less.
That antagonist does not have to be a villain. Hell, they don’t even have to be wrong! They just must throw obstacles in your protagonist’s way. That opposition creates conflict, which in turn makes the story more interesting.
Consider this: your protagonist is trying to do something dangerous or neglectful to their health for some reason … yet their parent, spouse or kids are trying to stop them as they fear that character will hurt themself! That antagonist ends up as the most reasonable person in the story, yet they are aberrant to what the protagonist wants.
A memorable example here is Marge Simpson (from The Simpsons). Most of the time, she is cast as the antagonist in the animated sitcom. This is because Homer, Bart or even Lisa drive the action most of the time, yet they often want nonsensical or dangerous things. Instead, Marge steps in, the only good parent – but crucially, she is not a villain.
2) Villain = Morality & Behavior
9/10, the villain IS the antagonist in the story. This is likely why writers – and sometimes readers – get confused about it. This is because that villain will be aberrant to what the protagonist wants automatically.
However, to be a villain, a character has to ACT villainous! Villains may try to take over the world, destroy other character’s lives, commit crimes, or terrorize, exploit or manipulate situations to their own advantage. In other words? Their ACTIONS take them into territory *most people* would consider morally wrong.
Yet nobody wakes up in the morning and says, ‘How can I be evil today?‘ In fact, the strongest villains believe they are right and that everyone else is wrong.
A good example here would be Thanos, from Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. He might be a villain, but he is also absolutely right when he says the universe is running out of resources for everyone. Where Thanos goes wrong is ‘snapping’ half the universe out of existence! (Notice how he doesn’t make himself disappear, funny that).
So, understanding WHY a villain does something is key to writing such a character. But equally, that doesn’t mean we condone what they do. Depiction is not endorsement.
That WHY is called character motivation. By giving villains a strong motivation, we are not excusing them. We are ensuring they’re not simply a cardboard cut-out or cartoon villain.
3) Antihero = Heroism’s Opposite
The key is in the name. If a hero is good and noble, then an antihero is the opposite.
An antihero is typically a protagonist who does BAD things for good reasons, or vice versa. They may be misunderstood, or they may be objectively terrible. It depends on the story being told, and why.
Put simply, antiheroes screw with our understanding of what good really means. They may be ruthless, self-centered, dishonest, violent, or even outright criminal.
A good example here is Amy Dunne, from Gone Girl. She has some GREAT points to make in the book about misogyny, marriage, and expectations placed on women. Honestly, like many women I believe her husband Nick (mostly) gets his just desserts … he sounds like a nightmare!
But does that mean Amy is a hero?? HELL NO – she is a nightmare as well! But this is exactly what makes antiheroes so compelling.
So, can one character be all three?
Of course. Typically, an antagonist is a villain because they oppose the protagonist … AND do terrible things in that opposition.
But an antagonist could be a good person (or even a better person than the protagonist). This means an antihero might be our protagonist doing dreadful things from page one! You can even have a character who straddles all three categories.
Remember, good characterization is about understanding WHAT your characters are doing in the story. We don’t want to tick boxes – that’s how we end up with cookie cutter characters that are boring.
So next time you’re breaking story, ask three questions of your characters:
- WHO are they?
- WHAT do they want?
- WHY do they want it?
These questions will let you know what you need and help you build your characters, whatever they are.
Good Luck!
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Summary for Busy Writers: While antagonists, villains, and anti-heroes are very similar, they have their differences. This post explores each of these adversarial types and the roles they often play so you can decide which ones are a good fit for your story.
