TYRANICAL TIPS   •   BLOOMSBURY VILLAINS   •   DASTARDLY DEEDS

To inspire you in the creation of your supervillain, here are a few examples of villains from some of Bloomsbury’s authors:

You can be really descriptive when you introduce your villain. As you can see from the three extracts below each author has used the appearance of the villain to really bring out their character -

A door hissed open in the wall off to one side and a tall man, dressed in black, strode purposefully across the stage to the central lectern. Everything about this man was imposing, from his immaculate black suit and blood-red cravat to his raven hair with streaks of silver at the temples. He regarded the crowd before him with a look of cool calculation, his handsome face giving Otto no real clue to his age or nationality.
H.I.V.E. – Mark Walden

The lights came back up. And now a dark, gaunt figure sat at the head of the huge oak table.
His head was crowned with white hair, brushed up stiffly from his lined forehead. He looked to be in his early sixties, but there was a lean and hungry look about the pale, craggy features that put Jonah in mind of someone far younger. His eyes were a piercing blue, one eyebrow raised in either challenge or amusement. The thin lips curled into a half-smile as he rose now to his full imposing height, which had to be way over six feet. He was dressed like a big businessman: a dark suit, a silk shirt open at the neck to reveal a glint of gold – an amulet of some kind, clearly nothing so mundane as a St Christopher.
Thieves Like Us – Stephen Cole

The other mother sat on the sofa. Her mouth was set in a line; her lips pursed. She popped another blackbeetle into her mouth, and then another, like someone with a bag of chocolate-covered raisins. Her big black-button eyes looked into Coraline’s hazel eyes. Her shiny black hair twined and twisted about her neck and shoulders, as if it were blowing in some wind that Coraline could not touch or feel.
Coraline – Neil Gaiman

Sometime you don’t even need to describe the villain. You can create a real sense of the villain by the dialogue they say. The extract below has no physical description of the villain but you get a real sense that the Warden is not a nice character -

The Warden opened the bottle. “Rattlesnake venom.” With a small paintbrush she began applying it to the nails on her left hand. “it’s perfectly harmless … when it’s dry.”
She finished her left hand. She waved it in the air for a few seconds, then began painting the nails on her right hand. “It’s only toxic while it’s wet.”
She finished painting her nails, then stood up. She reached over and touched Stanley’s face with her fingers. She ran her sharp wet nails very gently down his cheek. He felt his skin tingle.
The nail on her pinkie just barely touched the wound behind his ear. A sharp sting of pain caused him to jump back.
The warden turned to face Mr.Sir, who was sitting on the fireplace hearth.
“So you think he stole your sunflower seeds?”
“No, he says he stole them, but I think it was—“
She stepped toward him and struck him across the face.
Mr. Sir stared at her. He had three long red marks slanting across the left side of his face. Stanley didn’t know if the redness was caused by her nail polish or his blood.
It took a moment for the venom to sink in. Suddenly, Mr. Sir screamed and clutched his face with both hands. He let himself fall over, rolling off the hearth and onto the rug.
The Warden spoke softly. “I don’t especially care about your sunflower seeds.”
Holes – Louis Sachar

Your villain doesn’t have to be human. There are loads of weird and wonderful animals or creatures that are ripe for the dark side! Philip Reeve’s monstrous spiders play on the fear that people have of creepy-crawlies -

Down in the hall, the monstrous spider squeezed its white, prickly ball of a body in through the door with a faint scraping sound. A cluster of black eyes glittered like wet grapes at the front end. Above them a shabby brown bowler hat was perched upon its spines. Beneath, hairy mouth-parts twitched and fidgeted. It tilted itself upwards, and saw me staring down at it.
‘The name’s Webster,’ it said, lifting its hat with one huge claw. ‘I’m expected.’
Larklight – Philip Reeve

But sometimes human beings are just so good at being bad they are the perfect choice -

Regalia Mason was a scientist. Underneath her white fox-fur, she wore a white coat. She analysed, quantified, measured, and experimented. Her latest experiment was to take Time from people who had too much of it – useless people, lazy people, unemployed people, children, perhaps, yes, children, perhaps, and sell the Time she had taken from them to people who didn’t have enough of it – important people, rich people, successful people, old people, dying people, if they could afford it.
Tanglewreck – Jeanette Winterson

Don’t feel like you have to make your villain an ugly monster. Often the most beautiful and seemingly nice people are the most sinister -

Homeira was even lovelier in person than she had been in the pool. Her jet-black eyes were cold and strong, but her lips were smiling sweetly, with a slight curve of scorn at their edges. She turned her head, and her curling black locks fell over her shoulder as she came forward. She was dressed all in purple, as she had been when she had first encountered Owen, but the robe was much finer, with delicate embroidery, like the cushions about the cave.
The Telling Pool – David Clement-Davies

The fantasy genre is a great one for creating villains. When you have no restrictions on the land and people you create, and the world of magic and mystery is open to you, then the sky’s the limit -

The DomDaniel who lay snoring in front of Alther looked, at first glance, much the same as he had remembered him from all those years ago, but as Alther scrutinised him more closely he saw that all was not unchanged. There was a grey tinge to the Necromancer’s skin that spoke of years spent underground in the company of Shades and Shadows. An aura of the Other side still clung to him and filled the room with the smell of overripe mould and damp earth. As Alther watched, a thin line of dribble slowly made its way out of the corner of DomDaniel’s mouth and wandered down his chin, where it dripped on to his black cloak.
Magyk – Angie Sage

Zoltab was a huge, terrifying figure clad in armour of cold, grey steel and holding a giant sword in his hand. He stood immobile in front of a black throne adorned with fierce gargoyles and raving demons while all around him his minions roared their homage. Suddenly he reached up and, snatching off his helmet, dashed it to the floor, revealing his shaven head and a face twisted with hate. The hysterical cries of the minions grew louder. Zoltab slowly surveyed his acolytes with arrogant satisfaction and then finally allowed his gaze to rest on the four questors.
Blart – Dominic Barker

Sometimes by twisting something that is normally seen as nice into something nasty you can create a really unique villain. M.I. McAllister’s villain is a squirrel and Dale Peck manages to make mermaids seem really evil -

Evil breathed and echoed around him, exciting and satisfying him even when it appalled him. It spoke to him of power, fear, treachery. In here, he could think clearly of how worthless the other animals were, and how unfair it was that he had to serve the king, when he would be a far better king himself. He thought of the first murder he had ever committed. As he soaked himself in the atmosphere of the dungeon, its power seeped into him until it spoke to him. It spoke to him. Words formed themselves clearly, grimly, in his head and heart. They were the words of prophecy – I will be all powerful. But the one that falls from the sky must be destroyed.
Urchin of the Riding Star – M.I. Mcallister

It was imposible to imagine anyone disputing the sovereignty of those dark piercing eyes, that green-white skin that seemed as flawless and had as glazed porcelain, that wide pink-lipped mouth that seemed to smile and frown at the same time. The queen’s face was so compelling, so commanding, that Susan could hardly look away, but she had to, for fear that she would be mesmerised by its beauty and cruelty … A piece of Queen Octavia tail seemed to detach itself and stretch out toward her with a whiplike movement. In a moment it had wrapped itself around her waist, fastening her arms to her side in an escapable embrace.
Drift House: The First Voyage – Dale Peck

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