During one of the insta takeovers before TABC I asked Frank Cole what he thought some of the best ways a villain can get an upper hand over the hero. He told me that one of the best ways to gain an advantage is through the mistakes of the Hero. It makes the human more believable and relatable as well. It gives the hero room for redemption and growth from their mistakes and connects the hero and villain.
What do you think some other great ways to give the villain a head over the hero?
I love this advice. I also like when the villain is shown as a worthy adversary who truly knows the MC. I like smart villains who have earned that badge of honor as a villain because of mind games and things like that rather than just because they go around doing bad stuff. Because of this, I like when they get a head over the hero by using the characters weaknesses to their advantage. This is a dorky reference, but when you look at Thanos as a villain, he's willing to do horrible things, however he also knows how to use the other characters' weaknesses to his advantage. Essentially, the characters become their own worst enemy because they've been played by the villain.
I really liked that! Thank you.