Face/Heel or Heel/Face

[RatRace123]

Here's a question I pose to you: Which is better, a villain who turns to the side of good, or a hero who falls to the dark side? (An "I've been evil all along" hero or the "I've been good all along" villain doesn't count.)

I personally prefer the Villain turning good, usually a hero who turns evil does so due to stupid or cowardly reasons.


(I meant to add a poll, but I submitted it before I realized where the poll option was.)

 

[DeadlyYellow]

For me the Face/Heel turn. I like seeing heroes fall from grace, rather than a villain repent.

 

[ma55ter_fett]

When villains become do-gooders it's usually quite awkward, where as a hero falling to the dark side is often much more believable. With the exception of Anakin Skywalker turning into Vader, seriously how did that guy ever have children? Dude had zero balls and was minus one in the spine department and had the IQ of a dead chicken.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Hero to villain tends to be more interesting.

Edit: Although villain to antihero can work. Case in point, Artemis Fowl.

 

[Zai]

I've always been a sucker for a good face/heel. Probably the main reason that FFT has been and will probably continue to be one of my favorite games of all time.

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

Hero to villain tends to be more interesting.

Edit: Although villain to antihero can work. Case in point, Artemis Fowl.

Oh dear god! I hated those books! I had to read them all for my English class and they were so shit!

 

[FalloutJack]

Better? I'm not sure how you mean. I suppose a villain who becomes a hero (and stays good) probably wasn't really into villainy as much as he thought. Whereas the hero that, through the trials of his life, begins to degenerate slowly and inexorably into the foul reaches of darkness...will probably stay there his entire life through bitterness and hatred.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I tend to prefer Heel/Face turns, myself. Reformed villains often make the most compelling heroes. Face/Heel turns tend to take more effort to pull off well...

 

[Dark Knifer]

I prefer heros to villans. It makes them alot more badass.

Case in point, from this...

Spoiler

to this...

Spoiler

See? There completely different! Evil is always best.

 

[Veylon]

I prefer the Heel/Face, when done well. In those cases, the badass villain becomes the badass anti-hero. Unfortunately, all to often the ex-Villain either dies immediately or loses all powers and wanders off.

 

[SimuLord]

Face/Heel turns are never handled well (except Andre the Giant's heel turn at Wrestlemania III. That was just pure, refined awesome on a stick.) Heel/Face turns, on the other hand, tend toward really turning a villain into an awesome character.

 

[NimbleJack3]

Face/Heel. Evil is always more stylish. Ergo, Darth Vader.

 

[Grand_Marquis]

I like the ones where it's a villain who turns good, but then turns evil again.

Also: because I wasn't familiar with that terminology, this is honestly what I thought the thread was going to be about:

Spoiler

 

[Caligulove]

they have both been done so much that you can think of a cliche for either of them. I would have to say that I like the villain become the hero arch much more than the hero becoming the villain.

I always think that villains have the better potential for deep characterization already, so... it would only add on to that. They define the hero and force you to change and question how you think of the hero if they reform