He Who Shall Be Praised

By Robin Weaver

Without a doubt, Voldemort is my favorite villain (at least this week).  While he’s in good company – Mr. Hyde, the Jaws Shark, Becky Sharpe, Alexis Carrington, Jeanine from Divergence—the Dark Lord easily edges the competition into trivial backstory. I mean, come on, the man (critter, snake, demon) has it all. He possesses every single characteristic of a good villain:

A.   First and foremost, The Dark Lord has a great backstory.  Who can’t sympathize with a poor little orphan whose mommy croaked and Muggle dad, despising all things magic, ran for the hills? Even with the humblest of beginnings, Voldey (aka Tom Riddle back then) excels at Hogwarts Academy, becoming, Head Boy and receiving a Medal for Magical Merit. One could successfully argue if Dumbledore had given Tom the same support he heaped on Harry Potter, Voldemort might have been the hero of the story—of course there’d been no story, but that’s another…em, tale.

B.   He’s both handsome… And butt ugly.  As Tom Riddle, he’s a real cutie, but as He Who Stays Alive Via Horcruxes, he’s more terrifying than anything on Alien, the Body Snatchers, or even the Exorcist.  And don’t we secretly love to be terrified?

C.   He Who Shall Not Be Named is a worthy opponent. Seriously, it took eight books to defeat him. 

D.   He’s clever, or more specifically, a downright genius. If we’re honest, Voldemort is much smarter than our boy, Harry—although Hermione might give him a run for his money.

E.    He has many of the same characteristics of the hero, but they’re misdirected.  Harry and Voldemort are literally joined at the…brain.  You don’t get more similar than that.

F.    He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.  Let’s be real. This dark wizard keeps going, even when he’s just a parasite on the back of Quirrell’s head.  Don’t know about you, but if I had to live as covered by a turban, I’d probably pack it in.

G.   He’s persuasive and inspirational.  Just look at all the followers the Dark Lord inspired.  Among the most notable is the fiercely loyal Bellatrix Lestrange, whose name is Latin for “female warrior.” This in-your-face, psychotic witch wasn’t afraid of anything, anybody, any spell, or even the Dark Lord himself. Her crazier-than-crazy antics never failed to drop jaws.  She escaped prison, killed the noble and almost unstoppable Sirius Black, and she tortured the Longbottoms.  How can anyone portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter not be a villainess we love to hate? Admit it didn’t you feel a bit regretful when Molly Weasley stuck-it-to-her?  I better stop now or I might change my mind about my favorite villain.

When all is written and “the end” is embellished, Voldemort’s true evil was being me-centric (yes, I made up that word).  Harry P. had friends, a group of witches and wizards who cared about others, even Muggles.  Friends who cared enough to die for the greater good.  The Dark Lord had only had followers—a band of evil-doers who put self-interest above all else.  And isn’t “me-first” at the core of all the world’s evil?