smithy_2045 said:
Good villains can be of either gender.
Politically correct answer without any substance whatsoever. If you have an actual opinion and not something the society thought you, you shouldn't be afraid to express it.
My answer is male villains. I never found female villains interesting. They just end up being shallow every time.
No writer (in my opinion) was ever able to write a female villain with enough depth to make her as entertaining as a male villain. Which is a cultural "issue", actually. Throughout human history and even today males have been the dominant gender in positions of power. They represent authority. Most women (this is an evolutionary fact, like it or not) are attracted to male confidence and social status. So all of that makes males natural choices for villains. They are easier to write and easier to believe in. It's not sexist. It's the way of the society. Blame evolution if you want because it's the only thing you can do. Women are hardwired differently than men. Again, evolution at work. There are very few women in this world that crave for the kind of power and influence that men strive for.
What some people don't seem to understand is that this is a good thing for human reproduction process. Most women can't act like male villains. We have the need to procreate and we evolved as hunters. The "role" of women in a hunter-gatherer society was to bring babies into this world and nurture them while men hunt for food and provide for the family. The way we go about this might have changed, but the overall idea remains the same. It would be disastrous for our species if women had the same level of testosterone as men. This isn't something that can change either. Regardless of what some feminists would like to think. You can't change an entire race on a biological level. Only evolution can do that and it takes a hell of a long time and a pretty good damn reason. And that is out of our hands.
And before you start, I'm not saying that women should stay at home, cook and raise babies. We're past that in the West. Of course women should have the same rights and the same chance as men to succeed in any area of life they are interested in. But don't forget babysitters. They are still largely female and we all prefer them to be female. So in reality, nothing's really changed except the details of how we do things. I mean, we still fight for the best territory and food except in a form of prime real estate and job hunting instead of declaring a war on another neighborhood. We have nationwide wars for resources nowadays under the guise of "fighting for democracy" when it reality we all know it's for resources.
So anyway, when you want to design a good female villain, don't make her motivation be something selfish that a typical man would want or something born out of envy and desire for revenge.
I think someone like The Illusive Man could also be the Illusive Woman, though. Even though TIM was power hungry, he was also interested in uplifting humanity. Also, Patricia Tannis from Borderlands would be an interesting villain. The fact that she's an awkward introvert who doesn't give a shit about human interaction or humans in general makes her perfect. She doesn't want to rule over anyone. She just wants to do her science stuff. Her total disregard for human life would make her one hell of a villain. But still, she's my favorite Borderlands character and I'd hate to have to kill her.
