Villain Deathmatch, Round 1

[elliptic_eye]

I say round one, but really it's in no particular order.

Poll

Comments

[airie_fairy]

I really hate you.

[elliptic_eye]

But I had to pair them. They're both villains ("villains"?) associated with perverse play. I took a while to make up my own mind, but ultimately had to plump for Alex-not so much for what he does as for his ultimately growing out of it at the end of the novel. That was the terrifying part.

[airie_fairy]

I think Joker is the ultimate villain, so in the end I went with him, but they're both kind of ultimate characters for me and I do have a severe love of A Clockwork Orange, thus I do not appreciate you making my life difficult. XP *weeps* Though, in his context, I think he's more of a neutral character because while holy shit get away from me, he seems to be surrounded by similarly terrifying people even among those who are working against him.

[nonelvis]

Alex is merely amoral and violent; the Joker is amoral, violent, and dangerously smart. (But re: your icon, I bet Garak would pwn them both.)

[elliptic_eye]

Well, of course he would. But, then, he's not exactly a villain, is he?

Alex isn't very bright, I agree. But I ultimately find him a little scarier because of the way the novel paints the end of his story: fading into normalcy. The idea that behavior that evil is something that can be grown out of. Scariest of all, by the way, there is some empirical support for it; some psychopaths with extremely deviant/violent tendencies present with what are essentially emotional and/or neurological immaturities… and actually do seem to develop past them by middle age. In general, we seem to be able to deal with evil so long as it's static. When it's not, things get terrifying.

[airie_fairy]

I think I want you to explain why growing out of it is something that spooks you. Is it that something that horrible can be left behind like its just any old phase? (That's just what I've been able to interpret of what you're saying.)

[elliptic_eye]

Yes, I suppose that's it. I mean, we-people in general-want to be able to locate the evil. We like to know where it is, we like it to be able to recognize it. Of course, as a society, we're also very big on the idea of redemption, but this isn't redemption. It's just leaving the behavior behind like it meant as much as baby teeth. I'll try to think on it and see if I can clarify, first of all to myself, what's so alarming about it.

[fearlessfirefly]

I'd vote, but I haven't seen ACO yet so it would seem unfair.

[elliptic_eye]

I suppose it was rather unfair of me not to distinguish between book and film in the first place, but oh, well.

[fearlessfirefly]

Ah, in my case, the distinction would not matter because I haven't read the book yet either.