The Antivillain

The fourth member of the Hero-Villain-Base-Anti quadruplicate.

By far less common than the Hero, Villain, and Antihero, the Antivillain is somewhat hard to define, but as the Antihero is a Hero with some villainous traits, the Antivillain can be logically defined as a Villain with some heroic traits.

To give a more in-depth and useful definition of this role, the Antivillain is an antagonist who, at times, can show a lighter side to their character. They have a chance to get tired of their evil ways and switch to good, becoming a Converted Villain. Although the Antivillain does not join the Good Guys, they might provide assistance from a distance. A second definition of an Antivillain is an antagonist who has protagonist-like visions, such as bringing about World Peace, and attempts to fulfill them in the traditional Villain's style: with destruction and chaos. They would then try to exterminate who they believe is causing corruption in the world so then only the morally acceptable people can exist, which is what a Villain would do if they wanted to kill people because Evil's Gotta Evil.

An alternative way an Antivillain can do their job is by helping one of the Good Guys while either ignoring or directly harming everyone else. This must be based on some thought process of the Antivillain's that goes beyond "you did something I don't like, so I have to treat you badly too" as that is Justifying why they're an Antivillain with real logic. This can be that they believe Different People Are Bad or They Must Be A Hero by removing the "harmful" individuals from the world.