User blog:Little-Red/Tragic Antagonists

the Villains Multiverse series is generally dark and mature with many horrible antagonists that are lacking in much sympathy - yet we have a few that defy that trend and although many are anti-heroes now it's time to show some of the Villains Multiverse's more sympathetic antagonists.

Inferno Pendragon
Status: anti-hero (formerly anti-villain)

Info: made into an orphan by his demonic father and forced into a cosmic "game" of manipulation that saw him abused and hated by an entire society, even his sole protector was using him as a weapon in secret - it is little wonder Inferno snapped and became exactly what Kaosa wanted him to be.. a destroyer of worlds.

Yet even in his most antagonistic Inferno was still a lonely child seeking something simple, an act of geniune acceptance - it would be friendship that ultimately broke Kaosa's malevolent hold on him and the malicious actions of Arodnap helped to shed his former contempt for life as he saw himself growing attached to things he used to fear.

Thus Inferno died a very different man from what he had originally been shaped into, giving his beloved daughter a gift neither Kaosa nor Equinox would dream of giving him : freedom to choose her own destiny.

Equis
Status: on-and-off villain / anti-hero

Info: a horribly arrogant and apparently xenophobic man with all the traits of a barbarian-prince, befitting of his status as the favored son of Equinox (as well as the unwanted spawn of Kaosa) : prone to fits of madness Equis is a disturbed individual but he is a victim of abuse, just like Inferno, if not moreso.

For years Equis knew his father was a cruel tyrant yet like all sons he wanted to see good in his father and since Equinox rewarded Equis for harming Inferno he grew to be a bully as a means of gaining his father's acceptance, to see Equinox smile and be "proud" of him.

At the same time Equis experienced the pain of his "mother" favoring Inferno, this caused jealousy and confusion as Equis couldn't understand what to do - he wanted to please his father yet he wanted to be accepted by Titania (Kaosa in disguise) : as he grew up all this was bound to break his mind.

We all know Arodnap grew to become Inferno's dark-half, Equis grew to become in some ways his Rameses - a brother figure stuck between a desire to be the "strong" ruler Equinox wanted and his natural love for a younger brother.

You see, Equis was never a sociopath - even though he was extremely cruel he felt guilt and in the end he truly saw Inferno as a brother : as Equis grew older he began to learn to show this more yet the greatest tragedy of Equis and Inferno's rivalry is Equis never truly got to redeem himself before Inferno's death and thus the guilt remains with him and Equis is still as volatile as ever.

Betwixt
Status: anti-hero (formerly tragic antagonist)

Info: Betwixt is truly one of the most tragic antagonists in Villains Lore because although driven to unspeakable acts verging on CM status his reasons were heartbreaking - he sought to be loved, to be remembered.. to simply exist.

Betwixt was the ultimate betrayal, spending his life trying to make the world laugh and being tossed aside for his efforts - it is no wonder he would grow cynical and bitter in regards to humanity, after all he was largely blameless to begin with as his only crime was not being popular.

Of course he drove himself into a Faustian pact with Artist and his sanity vanished, yet even at his darkest and most twisted Betwixt was the kind of villain that needed a hug or therapy over a bash in the face : thankfully the multiverse began to see this as time went on and now Betwixt is a more anti-heroic force, with Baby replacing him as a far less tragic antagonist.

To put it simply, Betwixt is so sympathetic that even after committing terrorist acts on the world and launching a war against humanity we still manage to feel for him and find him vastly more tragic than the likes of Baby (who are warlike bullies in comparison).

Arbiter
Status: anti-hero (formerly tragic antagonist)

Info: Arbiter has a long and tragic backstory rivalling Inferno, in fact he's considerably older and arguably went through even more abuse and manipulation - as a destroyer of worlds he could easily of become a CM the likes of Neo-Voice or Misery but he was, at the core, a slave and victim.

As time progressed Arbiter would find himself protecting the very concepts he had been destroying and became a symbol of hope - it's little wonder then that he became a "blood brother" to Inferno and a protector to Sangria.

The bond between Arbiter and the Pendragon clan extended beyond his death with Karma and Sangria.

Sorrow
Status: anti-villain

Info: new to the multiverse and an oddity amongst the incalculable alter-egoes of Misery, she is a Devil with a heart.. she seeks to keep balance between Evil and Misery, this arguably makes her a hero but let's not fool ourselves : Sorrow is still an embodiment of emotional torment, her very function in the multiverse is an antagonistic one but she is by far the most sympathetic of the Misery aspects.

Being related to Evil (a doomsday-monster) and Misery (the worst CM in lore, surpassed only by Voice) is tragic in itself - Sorrow's true sympathy comes when we realize that no matter how hard she may try to do good in the multiverse she will ultimately fail because in order for Sorrow to even exist those around her must suffer.. which in turn powers Evil and Misery.. so she's stuck in an endless loop, for all eternity.