Can you explain what the types are like as villains and give examples from fiction?
These villains are motivated by pure curiosity and an insatiable need for mental stimulation. They often deliberately engage with a hero in order to find the yang to their yin: someone who can keep up with them, the only person who might pose a genuine threat, the only one who might outmatch them. They’re emotionally detached, manipulative, and can improvise and extricate themselves from the worst situations with what seems like ease. ENTP villains will set the world on fire just to watch it burn.
INTP villains generally don’t see themselves as villains. They’re not immoral, they’re amoral: pedestrian morality doesn’t factor into their decision-making. What’s logically best is what goes, regardless of emotional cost or physical destruction. They often conform to the “mad scientist” archetype, due to their thirst for knowledge at all cost.
ENFP villains are above all creative. They’re constantly chasing new possibilities, which makes them one of the hardest villains to predict. These types of villains are generally motivated either by their own personal emotional pain or by their strong, warped, one-size-fits-all morality. What they feel is right, and if you don’t feel the same way you’re toast.
INFP villains believe they’re dark, brooding antiheroes. They have a very black-and-white view of what’s right and wrong and go around imposing it. These villains are extremely unlikely to be swayed by other sympathetic characters or by a hero. They’re often motivated by their own emotional pain and have a desire to inflict similar pain on others in a sort of sadistic quid pro quo.
ENTJ villains are almost always after power, whether it’s just for power’s sake or for other reasons. They tend to be dictators, and are feared rather than loved. They repress their emotions, and trying to make them stop is futile. These villains believe that the ends will always justify the means. They’re able to construct a long-term plan or vision and stick to it.
INTJ villains have a vision of the world as it should be. They’re usually motivated either by a desire for world domination or the advancement of the human race. They’re immoral rather than amoral, and will have sacrificed any positive morals they might have had along their villainous journey. INTJ villains plan entirely for the long term, including after their death. These villains won’t hesitate to sacrifice their own people in order to achieve their goals.
ENFJ villains are some of the hardest to see coming. They’re extraordinarily good at manipulation and getting hordes of people to follow and believe in them. They often chase an idealistic vision for the future of the world and will pursue it at all costs. These villains are exceedingly empathetic, but they use their profound understanding of humanity as a tool in their sadism.
INFJ villains are the unwitting hero of their own story. They know what is best for the world and will save it, whether the world wants to be saved or not. INFJ villains always work in the long-term, and their goals reflect this scope. These villains understand the hero and their position, which makes them that much more dangerous. They’re good at manipulation and at disarming the hero by finding the chinks in their emotional armor.
ESTJ villains are the face of authority. They’re often high-ranking figures in the government or powerful organizations, or they might be the government itself. These villains always fall into the “Lawful Evil” alignment because they believe in obeying the law at all cost, whether that law is evil and unfair or not. They usually face off against vigilante-type heroes. Competent and organized, they firmly believe that what they’re doing is what needs to be done.
ISTJ villains follow tradition at all cost. They might follow their predecessors into the family mafia, inherit a shadowy corporation, or uphold evil politics or religious beliefs. These villains believe that what they believe is the best for everyone, and their one-size-fits-all morality stifles. ISTJ villains don’t always spearhead the Evil Effort: they sometimes find their place among the armies of Evil.
ESTP villains are in it for the sheer visceral thrill. They’re manipulative and often sadists. These villains don’t particularly care about Evil as a concept or have a strictly defined mission: they do what they want, when they want, and they’re not about to let anybody stop them. Often cocky and cruel, they’re the easiest villains to recognize. They live in the moment and are often extremely showy.
ISTP villains lurk in the background until it’s time to strike. They prepare before their assault and make sure they can come out on top no matter what. These villains are extremely emotionally detached and often don’t consider the “human factor.” They’re usually proficient with weapons and overall competent. ISTPs villains are generally motivated by a logical cause rather than an emotional one, and they’re not easily swayed.
ESFJ villains operate within the confines of their sociopolitical system rather than seeking to reform it. Extremely socially adept and manipulative, they’re great at attracting followers and making them do their bidding as well as turning people against each other. These villains are often motivated by bitterness or a sense of having been cosmically wronged. They often follow tradition and inherit positions of power.
ISFJ villains are harmless. Until they’re not. They’re hard to see coming, due to their deceptively innocent facade. These villains almost always know more than they let on. Traditionalists to the core, they like to employ “tried and true” methods of executing their evil. They’re not always instigators: many times, they choose to let evil happen in order to avoid conflict rather than actively combating it.
ESFP villains enjoy the moment, fuck all else. Although they might associate with other villains, they prefer to work solo: at the end of the day, only they and their emotional satisfaction matter. They often seek to impose their own views on people and throw fits when things don’t go their way. ESFP villains tend to be exceedingly reckless and cause mass devastation wherever they go.
ISFP villains are motivated by their own morality as well as a desire to reshape the world in their own image, or an image they deem “good” or “beautiful”. They often prioritize individuals over the crowd, which means that they’ll let disasters happen if they can protect the people only they care about. These villains are rigid in their morality and no hero can possibly convince them to change. They often appear deceptively sweet.
[note: this ask requested examples, but all of this takes time. examples can be found either here or by special request (e.g. “what are some ENTP villains?”)]
