Welcome to Nefarious Tales, a week dedicated to all things villainous and hosted by the awesome Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales! Be sure to check out her blog for all of the details and for her corresponding posts. Today, she's Talking about Antiheros! Also be sure to visit the other lovely participating bloggers who have put up posts today:
Lisa @ Lost in Literature is talking about her favourite villains
Maryam @ Once Upon a Story wonders what would happen if villains ruled the world
Crini @ It's All About Books explains why we love villains
Mishma's also hosting a giveaway all week long so stay until the end of this post and enter! Without further adieu, here is my villain post, dedicated to the baddest, the meanest, sometimes the funniest villains in the beloved series of... HARRY POTTER!
We all know that the main bad guy in HP is none other than Lord Voldemort, yes I said his name! But he is not the only one! There were so many scheming, slimy villains that sometimes get ignored. I'm going to be breaking them all down, which ones were successful, which ones had a soft spot, and which ones were just down right sadistic.
Lord Voldemort
Real Name: Tom Marvalo Riddle
Age: 72
Status: Dead
Featured in: Books 1-7
Let's start things off with the main man himself. Voldemort obviously had his faults, wanting to take over the world and having a FREAKING SNAKE AS A PET! But to be honest, this guy was really damn unsuccessful for someone who knew Harry's whereabouts at all times. Seriously though, why did it take the guy 7 WHOLE YEARS to try to kill Harry? He got beaten by an ELEVEN YEAR OLD KID! Not very smart, that Voldemort.
Bellatrix Lestrange
Real Name: Bellatrix Lestrange-Black
Age: 47
Status: Dead
Featured in: Books 5-7
Now let's get into Voldemort's fearless group of death eaters. Bellatrix was the borderline psychotic one. Escaping from Azkaban to help kill didn't really help her matters, but you have to admit, Bellatrix had ambition, and she always got what she wanted, even if that meant killing Sirius. (sniff, sniff) Overall, she seeked power, that's for sure, but you gotta hand it to her, she was successful in what she wanted until the very end.
Lucius Malfoy
Real Name: Lucius Malfoy
Age: 66
Status: Alive
Featured in: Books 2-7
Ahhh the Malfoy's, what a controversial bunch. Lucius definitely wins first prize for best hair, look at those locks, but he did earn one not so great title, and that is: coward. Lucius tortured muggles alike since he first appeared, and he did anything to screw up Hogwarts. However once the end came and Voldemort was about ready to kill him and his family, he jumps onto the rebellion's bandwagon as if he's been there all long. Lucius, you need to sort out your priorities.
Narcissa Malfoy
Real Name: Narcissa Malfoy-Black
Age: 65
Status: Alive
Featured in: Books 6-7
Now to someone who I actually kind of respect in a way. Narcissa was nothing like her insane sister Bellatrix, and all she really wanted was to protect her son. She ended up saving Harry's ass in the end, which was a big plus, and all she wanted was for her son to be happy. You go Narcissa!
Draco Malfoy
Real Name: Draco Malfoy
Age:36
Status: Alive
Featured in: Books 1-7
Oh Draco, poor little Draco. The poor kid couldn't really help being born into an evil family. and that left him with no choice than to follow their lead. The truth is, I respected Draco. Even though he was a bit of a bully, he didn't know any better, and I think he turned out fine in the end.
Severus Snape
Real Name: Severus Snape
Age: 38
Status: Dead
Featured in: Books 1-7
Here's the big debate! I'm going to keep this short and sweet: I don't think Snape is a good person. Yes perhaps he was the "bravest man Harry ever knew", but the point is, he was cruel to Harry from day one, all because his mother rejected him. I'm sorry Snape, but I never liked you.
Dolores Umbridge
Real Name: Dolores Umbridge
Age: 51
Status: Alive
Featured in: Books 5-7
Ending this off by one of the most IRRITATING, the most ANNOYING, the most CRUELEST PERSON EVER IN THE WIZARDING WORLD! Umbridge was straight up horrible, she took pleasure from other people's pain, killed off innocent muggles, and even though she did not support Voldemort, she was equivalent, if not worse than him. Umbridge, YOU GRIND MY GEARS!
That's just my opinions on some of the most prominent villains in Harry Potter! Which ones are your favourite/ least favourite?
And now to the good stuff! Mishma is hosting an INTL giveaway to celebrate, where YOU could win a mystery villain prize pack! Enter here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
That's it from me! Make sure to follow Nefarious Tales all week long and to grab the hashtag #NefariousTales as there will be a Twitter Chat on Friday at 7 pm EST! Hope you all can join us!
Yours in Villainment,
Emily @ Paperback Princess
Sorry, but I love Severus Snape. I don't think he was cruel because Lily rejected him.
ReplyDeleteI think he was cruel because Harry reminded him of her every single day. And he loved her - there's no denying that. So he lashed out to chase the hurt and grief away with anger - not nice, true, but also understandable. People act like jerks when they're hurting.
True, Draco was one of his favourites - but he clearly knew more about Draco's home life than Harry did. He'd been a death-eater with most of Draco's family, back in the day.
So, yeah, flawed, most definitely. But with good reason.
You make some good points! There's a big debate about it, but I think that he could have been a lot less jerky than he was. I would have snapped if I was Harry!
DeleteTrue, but clearly Hogwarts didn't have a licensed therapist ;)
DeleteThe Malfoy family are some of my favourite anti-heroes. They're in such a grey area, and that's so interesting to me. Yes, Lucius was a coward, but I think Draco was the bigger one. He hid behind 'wait until my father hears about this' rather than fighting his own battles (that he always initiated, but that's not my point). I can't remember him ever standing up for himself - most likely because he was usually in the wrong, but even still did he ever defend himself? Narcissa was probably the strongest of the three of them, but I put that down to her being part of the Black family: she was probably used to all sorts of behaviour and had learnt self-preservation and cunning.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Draco irritated me a lot in the beginning, but I found that when he grew older he wanted to break free but didn't really know how. Narcissa was definitely the most courageous one though!
DeleteI think out of all of these villains, the only one I actually hate would be Umbridge. Ugh, she was so annoying! Honest to God, even Voldemort didn't ignite such hatred in me!
ReplyDeleteI grew a huge soft spot for Draco while reading the series. I hated him at the beginning, but later on, when I understood his situation, I started to pity him. He is such an unfortunate character, and I ma thankful that at least he had Narcissa in the end.
Thanks for joining the event and for the amazing post, Emily! <333
Thank you for hosting Mishma! I think the only person I wanted justice from more than Voldemort was Umbridge, the woman was torturous! Poor Draco, he had no way out of being a death eater :(
DeleteLove this post Emily! I agree - Umbridge is absolutely horrible. *shudders* And I think Snape is one of my favorite villains - you never really know what side he's on. He's so complex and well written. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! ♥
ReplyDeleteI do agree, there's many elements to him that work together in harmony. Thanks Zoe!
DeleteOH MY GOSH I REMEMBER HATING UMBRIDGE MORE THAN VOLDEMORT HAHAHA. Seriously, at least I had little admiration for Voldemort back when he was still Tom Riddle because he was super smart, handsome, and insanely clever -- he made such an interesting character, both as Tom and Voldemort.
ReplyDeleteBUT UMRIDGE OH GOSH, I WANTED TO FLING HER ACROSS THE ROOM HAD SHE BEEN REAL :( Sorry for the caps lock, by the way haha.
Jillian @ Jillian's Books
No no GET YOUR EMOTIONS OUT lol! I did have a respect for Riddle as well, he was very sneaky in a way. Ugh Umbridge was vile.
DeleteI almost feel like Voldemort was inhuman, so that my hatred for him was on a different level. It was like hating evil itself. The emotion was very huge but very hard to pinpoint. UMBRIDGE ON THE OTHER HAND...She was real. I could see her being my teacher, and I wanted her to leave my mind ASAP.
ReplyDeleteOOOOHHHH Bellatrix! Draco! I'm going crazy with all my favorite characters!! I'm a slytherin...Maybe I am quite villainous myself.
Great post!
Kate @Read and Dream
That's a good analogy! And the fact that Umbridge wasn't even a death eater but was still evil made me hate her even more. I'm a Slytherin too! Maybe that's why I kind of admire Draco lol.
DeleteBellatrix! Somehow I'm more scared of her than Voldemort. While Umbridge is annoying and just hated by us all, Bellatrix is downright terrifying. She doesn't pretend to be anti-Voldy and pro-ministry (unlike Umbridge), she's proud with being a death eater, serving in Azkaban. She killed her own cousin, sacrifice his nephew, torturing and toying with her victim. I also dislike Snape. He might be brave, but he's horrible in treating everyone else. And poor Draco. I can't help but sympathize with him!
ReplyDeleteTasya //
The Literary Huntress
Bellatrix was absolutely terrifying, she was extremely sadistic! Yeah Snape, I always had a love-hate relationship with him. But I always had a soft spot for Draco.
Delete