How To Write Marvel Fanfiction

"A llama? He's SUPPOSED to be DEAD!"

This is the second Emperor's New Groove reference I've made and I am not ashamed.

Writing a villain OC is probably one of my favourite things ever. They're bad, they're an asshole, and they don't give a fuck. You don't have to justify some of their character flaws because they're evil and fuck you.

There are a lot of motivations people have for joining the dark side. Money, power, fame, revenge, etc. 

But, and this is a but bigger than Kim K's, a character does not need a reason to be a villain. 

In the words of Alfred, "Some men just want to make the world burn."

You don't need to give your OC some tragic backstory about the Avengers accidentally killing their hamster or some dumb shit. We've heard that spiel. Villains are now evil because Tony breathed on them wrong or something. (Far From Home, I am looking at you) It's boring and I'm tired. You don't need a sob story or a grand motive. Stop.

Sometimes evil people are just... evil. Maybe it's more fun. Maybe it's more freeing. Maybe it has better tax benefits. Who knows, who cares. Humans are naturally inclined to want to break the rules and deviate from the norm. Maybe your OC just took that mindset to the extreme. 

There are just plain benefits to having no moral compass. Love that cute top but it's too expensive? You're a villain, just fucking steal it. You boss piss you off? There's a dumpster out back and a knife in the kitchen, have at it. We've all had the impulses to just do the wrong thing and finally stop caring. So when you write an OC who just gives into those impulses, it's a lot of fucking fun.

Don't get me wrong, there can be a backstory or a motive. But there doesn't need to be. If you want to have a villain OC with some strong powers, go ahead. You're telling me you wouldn't be tempted to go full Loki if you had magic? Fuck off. It's fun. A little death and destruction never hurt nobody. At least, nobody important.

Now, there is another big talking point about villains. Mental disorders.

If you make a villain OC who has a mental disorder, you are walking on thin fucking ice my friend, so you better be careful.

I'm schizophrenic. Yes, it sucks. Yes, I sometimes hear voices. No, I'm not dangerous. Which is the point here. Mentally ill people are not inherently dangerous. It's so tiring to see mental disorders stigmatized as "dangerous" and "evil" in media. It's just plain bigotry. 

It is so exhausting and painful to see another big horror or thriller movie hit the box office, that tells the same old story of some mental hospital patient going psycho and killing everyone. I'm fucking done with it. It's tiring to see people claim that I have demons in my head because I have schizophrenia. The voices aren't telling me to kill everyone, I promise. It's much more likely they're telling me to kill myself, but that's a whole other spiel I'll save for therapy. 

You can make an OC who's a villain and also has a mental disorder. But if their entire villain identity revolves around/hinges on their mental disorder, you're doing it wrong. Basically, if you OC didn't have their mental illness, would they still be a villain? If the answer is no, you're doing it wrong. 

Don't worry about writing an evil person. Just write a person who happens to be evil. They're still a human being with likes and dislikes. They have things they would kill for, things they would die for, and things they would live for just like everybody else. Don't make their entire personality revolve around being eeeviiiiiiiiilllllll. It's boring, and we've seen that villain before. Thank you, next.