Essay: The Popularity of Supervillains

LOOKING TO LOKI: WHY VILLAINS ARE THE NEW GEEK HEROES

by Bennett Campbell Ferguson

 Above: Tom Hiddleston as Loki

 

“5 Reasons Geeks Love Loki.”  Recently, that title caught my eye while I was sitting at Barnes and Noble, flipping through SciFiNow Magazine.  This article (which was written by James Hoare) caught my interest because first of all, I love Loki.  The pale, dark-haired plotter who has haunted the heroes of films like “Thor” and “The Avengers” has always been compelling in his deviousness, thanks to the well-modulated performance of British actor Tom Hiddleston. 

            But there was another reason Mr. Hoare’s theory caught my eye.  The outcast Loki, he argued, is essentially a geek while his nemesis, the heroic and handsome Thor, is a cosmic jock.  To Mr. Hoare’s mind, this explained why Loki is such a popular figure amongst the film “geek” crowd, despite his status as a world-wrecking villain.

            I can’t say that this exact idea has occurred to me before.  But for a while now, I’ve been noticing that when I watch a contemporary blockbuster, my sympathies do often stray from the noble hero to his morally bankrupt opponent.  Is it because villains are getting geekier while heroes seem to be more and more a part of the establishment?  In a word, yes.  Yet to truly understand the meaning of this phenomenon, some questions need to be answered.

 

“What is a geek?”

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a geek is “a carnival performer whose act usually consists of biting the head off a live chicken or snake.”  To say the least, this definition has changed over time.  Now, “geek” typically refers to someone with a passionate knowledge of anything, whether it’s science or history.  In the case of fantasy movies and characters like Loki, it’s pop culture.

            The word geek has also shed some of its formerly negative connotations.  Once, it was the moniker of awkward outcasts and losers; now, it’s become a badge of pride.  It’s certainly telling that the great actor Simon Pegg titled his memoir Nerd Do Well and used the book to proudly show off his obsessive knowledge of “Star Wars.”  He’s a product of a culture that considers such passion to be at once nerdy and cool.

 

“Who are the geek heroes?”

One of the great uncomfortable truths of our moment is that while geeks love blockbuster movies, those movies aren’t always made for them.  For instance, the recent film “Star Trek Into Darkness” has been meant with ravenous resentment by “Trek” franchise fans; at a recent convention, they voted it as the worst entry in the series.  And yet the movie made more than $400 million worldwide.  In the end, it didn’t really matter that a few geeks were alienated; plenty of non-geek moviegoers were still buying tickets.

            And yet, blockbusters are often a reflection of geek passion.  In the 2000s, a small but prominent movement of geek heroes arose, earning both critical and popular acclaim.  Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man was without a doubt the leader of the gang, but delightful geeks-turned-warriors like Reed Richard in “Fantastic Four” and a revised Spock in “Star Trek” enjoyed the spotlight as well. 

            It bears noting that the importance of these characters is immense.  As someone who considers them self a geek, I know that some loneliness comes with the territory.  Geek-friendly movies like “Iron Man” might be more popular than ever, but I still have a hard time finding other people who share my love of nerdy topics such as Kitty Pryde and the Dominion War.  Sometimes, I feel isolated by my passion, and with isolation inevitably comes resentment.  Merge that with the natural anguish of life (unrequited love, academic frustration, et cetera), and you have a recipe for a pre-mid-life crisis.  And I suspect that ironically, I’m not alone in this respect. 

            Of course, these are all first world problems.  But that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be solved, which is why cinematic geek heroes have been and continue to be a crucial part of my life.  They’ve reminded me not to give into resentment, to thrive on the fuel of selflessness and positivity.  Consider the plight of Spider-Man and Spock.  Both are men who suffer hardships and as a result, find themselves hungering for vengeance.  Yet they don’t choose bitterness and violence—they choose to devote their lives to bettering the world and building happier relationships with their friends.  They prove that being different doesn’t have to lead to despair; that in fact, in can be quite the opposite.  To paraphrase “Trek” hero Odo (a consummate geek icon), “Being an outsider is not so bad.  It can give you a fresh perspective.”   

 

“Who are the geek villains?”

Still for some, a “fresh perspective” is really just a death sentence.  In recent years, a number of “geeky” villains have emerged—characters whose isolation builds to bitterness, transforming them into enemies of the state and occasionally, the entire universe.  Loki fits this mold and I like Mr. Hoare’s suggestion that the character, with his ghostly complexion and greasy black hair, looks like a guy who’s been playing video games in his basement for hours on end. 

            But there’s a problem here.  Loki is not really a geek in the way that Spider-Man is.  Spider-Man’s problem (in the films, at least) was that his wide-eyed sincerity made him subject to mockery; he was ridiculed most likely because of his timidity and tenderness.  That’s not the case with Loki, however.  Raised in the magnificent kingdom of Asgard, he was mentored by his father, King Odin, only to learn that he was in fact the offspring of a monstrous Frost Giant.  This made him an outsider, but it certainly never hampered his confidence; he still had the balls to impose himself as dictator of Earth. 

            Which is why I have to argue that true geek villains rarely appear—Loki may stand apart from society, but it’s because of his heritage and despotic hunger, rather than an obsession with “Daredevil” comics.  Yet Loki, like many antagonists, does feel the frustration of being an outcast in the same way that many geeks like myself do.  Therefore, I would argue that a relative counterpart to the geek hero is the outsider villain—the nemesis whose uniqueness turns him against humanity.  And it’s a type that’s becoming more and more rampant, a mold that fits everyone from Talia Al’Ghul (the orphaned avenger in “The Dark Knight Rises”) to Magneto (the holocaust-survivor-turned-terrorist from the “X-Men” series).

            I love many of these characters.  I think that Loki, Talia, and Magneto are all chillingly impressive in their confident cruelty and while their actions might be despicable, their anguish is relatable.  But there’s a problem here.  What these narratives of outsiders who turn evil suggest is that the more a person suffers, the greater their capacity for violence and cruelty.  It’s a rather depressing prospect, especially when you consider that each of these villains, like Loki, is usually conquered by a hero who is neither geek nor outsider.  The vulnerable, wounded nemesis is defeated by the all-too secure hero and we all live happily ever after.

            I hope I’m not the only one who finds this idea problematic.  It may ring true, but movies aren’t just there to reflect reality—they’re meant to improve it.  What I get from the “Spider-Man” trilogy, for instance, is that even someone who’s suffered as much as Peter Parker can grow beyond the bitterness that suffering provokes, dedicating his life to the greater good.  By contrast, what I get from “Thor” is that the outsider is always doomed to become horribly corrupt, condemned by fate and the conventions of Hollywood narratives.

 

“In another life….”

So, we’re in rather a bleak situation, pop-culturally speaking.  Which brings us back to the original question—why do geeks love Loki?  For starters, I think part of it is that his portrayer is undeniably cool.  Tom Hiddleston is a wonderful actor and in a rumble to see who’s the better dark-haired, white-faced baddie, he could definitely trounce even the perpetually delightful Benedict Cumberbatch.  But the real truth is that as far as geek/outsider characters go, Loki wins by default.  Quite simply, there are no truly compelling geek heroes left.  Even Peter Parker has been neutered by Andrew Garfield’s performance in the recent “The Amazing Spider-Man,” which, while charming, turned the once nerdy character into a suave, Tony Stark-esque rogue.

            I don’t expect that to change.  Ever since critics (unjustly) savaged “Spider-Man 3” and boisterously heralded “The Bourne Ultimatum” back in summer 2007, the blockbuster-pop culture landscape has been bleaker.  Oh sure, the brutality of “The Dark Knight” in 2008 was ultimately succeeded by the color and humor of “The Avengers” in 2012, but “The Avengers” is neither drama nor comedy—it’s a cynical, sarcastic mixture of both, afraid to fully commit to either darkness or light.           

            But that’s another story.  And until it’s fully told, geekdom will have to accept Loki and cinema’s villainous cadre as their temporary patron saints.  Considering the potent complexity of those characters, maybe it’s not such a bad deal after all, even if it means we have to look ever deeper into the shadows for inspiration.