Wicked and the Villains That Have a Point

Empathizing With the Bad Guys

The Wizard of Oz sucks.

The Wizard of Oz movie doesn’t suck. It’s a classic. The Wizard of Oz book doesn’t suck. It is also a classic. The Wizard of Oz, the man, sucks…big time. He’s the emperor with no clothes. He’s a fraud. He’s the real villain of the story.

Oops, I think I just led with a passage that should be tucked in later on in the piece. I just had to get some things off my chest. I’m sitting here enjoying a bourbon & eggnog by the Christmas tree and I’m thinking about the movie, Wicked. I went into seeing the brand new film knowing next to nothing about Wicked. I knew it was a Broadway play and I knew it was about the Wicked Witch of the West and I found out a couple weeks ago from a friend that it was originally book. I’ll say this, the movie is phenomenal. The music was amazing, the set pieces were beautiful, the story struck a chord, and the actors were incredible. It was actually just “Part One” and I’m already excited for “Part Two” in the near future.

So, the Wizard of Oz sucks and we are #TeamWickedWitch on this Substack. It got me thinking, there are lots of great villains that kind of have a point. Sure, they may be bad and they may make some bad choices along the way, but you can empathize with where they are coming from. The Wicked Witch of the West isn’t the only one, but she may be the best example…especially with the recent release of Wicked. Let’s channel our inner darkness and talk villains…

Disclaimer: This is not a full-throated endorsement of the actions of these villains. They are villains for a reason. This is an analysis of the experiences and philosophies behind their motivations.

The Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard of Oz & Wicked

In 2003, the American Film Institute released a 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains list to celebrate the good guys and bad guys of cinematic history. The Wicked Witch of the West was #4 on the list, only behind Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, and Darth Vader. Case in point, the Wicked Witch is a BADDIE….but let’s rewind here…

When do we meet the Wicked Witch of the West? Right after some girl from Kansas drops a house on her paraplegic sister. To make matters worse, this girl tried to steal her sister’s ruby red shoes (or silver if you’re going by the book’s depiction). Wouldn’t you be mad if someone dropped a house on your sibling and tried to steal their shoes? Later on in the film, we find out the “Wonderful” Wizard of Oz is not so wonderful. He’s a fraud clinging to power in his emerald castle. So we must ask ourselves, who is the real villain of Oz?

L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (puke) book was published in 1900. The classic movie was released 39 years later. In 1995, Gregory Maguire added to the lore with the Wicked book, which became the play and the movie that are beloved today. We learn that the Witch’s name is Elphaba and she is a very intelligent young woman with a good heart. The movie was, at times, painful to watch. You see a girl growing up into a woman, and people react in disgust to Elphaba’s green skin. My first question, how are people shocked by green skin when they live in a world with talking animals, singing scarecrows, and witches floating around in bubbles? I also live on planet Earth where too many things don’t make sense so yeah…

But I digress…

The Wizard wants to oppress the talking animal population and he lies to his people about having magical powers and Elphaba is against these devious schemes. And of course she gets portrayed as the villain by challenging the man in power. Of course she feels alienated by society and this “wonderful” fraudulent wizard. She has a point and that is why we are #TeamWicked Witch.

I pair up most of the following villains for brevity. They share enough similarities to be grouped together.

Killmonger, Black Panther & Magneto, X-Men

I have waxed poetic about Magneto before. He’s my all-time favorite comic book villain. Holocaust survivor, a man who faced genocide for being Jewish in the 1930s and for being a mutant in the modern day. These experiences are the root of his motivation. Humankind and mutants are at war and cannot live peacefully together. Humanity has shown time and again that they desire to hurt the “others” in society. Magneto chooses to look out for the mutants. He has a point.

Killmonger, a descendant of both slavery and royalty. Abandoned by his royal family as a child, he seeks the throne of Wakanda. He believes that Wakanda should use its power and technology to re-take what Imperialism stole from his people. Like Magneto, he is at war with the world and at war within himself. He also has a point.

Johnny Lawrence, Karate Kid & Regina George, Mean Girls

Remember senior year of high school. This pivotal year of your life, the end of a four-year journey. You want to make lasting memories with your friends before stepping into adulthood. You’re popular and accomplished. Maybe you’re the reigning All Valley Karate Tournament Champion or you’re the Queen Bee of your high school. Then this new person comes to your school. They aren’t as accomplished, they try to steal your boo thang, they bully you so you fight back but you’re seen as the bully, and they snatch away the positive momentum of your life. To make matters worse, Johnny was defeated by an illegal karate move and Regina was hit by a bus. These two young people, full of great potential, deserved better in their last year of high school.

The Netflix show, Cobra Kai, does justice to Johnny Lawrence. He gets his due. Now, it’s Regina’s turn.

The Dinosaurs, Jurassic Park & The Shark, Jaws

Before I continue, I just want to say that I absolutely adore this picture of Steven Spielberg in the shark. Talk about a fun moment that would have been cool to see in person. I’m happy that it was captured on film.

Let’s start with the shark in Jaws. I’m a firm believer that when I’m in nature, I’m a visitor in someone else’s home. The forest, the mountains, and the lake do not belong to me, but rather the wildlife that live there. This comes from how my parents raised me to respect the great outdoors. Why can’t this apply to the poor shark in Jaws? Dude is just trying to chill at his home. He wants to swim around and eat other fish, but more meaty human beings are disturbing his peace. Of course it’s sad that Chrissie and little Alex get eaten, but were swimming in the shark’s home. The real villain of the movie is the Mayor that insists the beach stays open so the town can remain profitable. The shark clocks in at #18 on our AFI villains list, but there’s no mention of the Mayor. Interesting…

And about those dinosaurs…

I’m not sure that they are seen as villains per se, but Jurassic Park is mostly about a group of people running to survive this island of carnivorous dinosaurs. We don’t talk enough about John Hammond. The man who, in his hubris, created this dinosaur theme park without considering the implications of his pursuits. We see Hammond in two of the movies, Jurassic Park and Lost World, and he faces absolutely zero consequences for what he did. Sure, he doesn’t get his park but he lives the rest of his days in comfort.

Hammond’s failure is summed up best by Dr. Ian Malcolm. Maybe a warning for those working to develop artificial intelligence today?

Hans Gruber, Die Hard

I love Hans Gruber. He is #46 on the AFI list, but #1 in my heart. Alan Rickman’s first movie acting gig is one of my all-time favorite villains. The Christmas movie, Die Hard, is also known as one of the best action movies of all-time and Hans is a big reason why. Holding people hostage and stealing their money isn’t cool, but maybe it’s okay when Ellis is involved?

Hans also delivers one of the best quotes in movie history: "When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer."

Now, this is a villain that I can root for. He has a point.