The Gray Guardian glanced around upon making it to the sidewalk. “Now, where could he have gone? A man with pennies glued on his helmet and a large water tank on his back doesn’t exactly blend in.”
His keen eyes scanned his surroundings for any clue that might lead him to his fleeing adversary when he noticed something across the street. He shook his head. “Ah, of course.” He walked to the nearest crosswalk and arrived just as the walk sign changed to do not cross. “Hm,” he muttered as he stared across the street for a moment before pressing the button.
After patiently waiting for the light to cycle around again, the Gray Guardian strolled across the street and down to the nearest bus station. What greeted him was a closer view of what he spotted from the other side of the street, the Penny Man violently trying to shake a change machine that refused to budge or yield in any meaningful way. With a sigh, the Gray Guardian took a role of pennies out from his cape’s inside pouch.
“Excuse me,” he said calmly to the crowd of confused onlookers. “Please move aside. This is official business.”
The crowd dutifully moved aside and watched as one of the defenders of their streets broke open the role of coins and called out in a raised voice. “Penny Man!”
Penny Man looked over with a start and was ready to flee when he noticed the role of pennies in the Gray Guardian’s outstretched right hand. “Pennies!” he cried. His eyes widened as the role of pennies was released and dropped toward the ground. “NO!” he shouted in terror as he ran over.
The Gray Guardian watched as Penny man began gathering the many scattered pennies into a single pile. He sighed and shifted his boot firmly onto Penny Man’s right hand.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow!” cried Penny Man as he tried to wrench his hand free of the boot. “You’re hurting me!”
With a sigh, the Gray Guardian took a pair of cuffs from another pouch on the inside of his cape, leaned down, and put them on Penny Man’s wrists. Penny Man promptly broke down in tears. “No! I may be so close! I may complete the collection my mother left me!”
“Fine,” replied the Gray Guardian flatly. He took out a key, undid the cuff on Penny Man’s left hand, and held onto the empty cuff firmly. “Pick them up and put them in your pockets. If you’re good for the doctors, I’ll make sure the doctors get some other roles that they can give you to look through later.”
Penny Man’s tears shifted to those of joy as he frantically gathered the pennies around him and shoved them into his pants pockets. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I’ll be good!” he sobbed.
The Gray Guardian closed his eyes and tuned out the excitement of the villain. He reached up to his shirt collar where the cape connected and pressed a small button. There was a chirp in his concealed earpiece as the police switchboard was called. “I need a pickup for the psychiatric hospital at 34th and Main.” He listened to the response and watched as the Penny Man excitedly pulled out one penny after the other from his left pocket, examined it, and transferred it to his right pocket. “No, I don’t think he’ll be any trouble.”
The Gray Guardian stood patiently waiting for the police to arrive as a bus pulled into the station. A number of people got off while others boarded the rear doors. The hero watched the passengers as they filed on and off the buss casually before looking off and trying to ignore the puzzled stares. After some time, the crowd mostly dispersed, though no one could think of what to say about seeing such a bizarre sight as Penny Man continued to inspect penny after penny.
He glanced over and noticed that a man with dark brown skin who was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans was still lingering after getting off the bus. The Gray Guardian looked at him more closely and noticed that the man was staring rather blankly in the direction of him and his captive. The Gray Guardian exhaled slowly and diverted his own gaze. “What’s gotten into him?” he thought.
The Gray Guardian resisted the urge to look in the direction again until he heard the sound of approaching teenagers. They were engrossed in their conversation and didn’t seem to be aware of what was going on in front of them until they reached an obstruction in the sidewalk, the man who was still staring unnervingly at the Gray Guardian. The man received their instant and full attention.
“Hey! You’re standing in the middle of the sidewalk!” snapped a young woman with dark skin. She shifted a red purse that matched her skirt and shirt to her shoulder and waved her hand in front of the man’s face. “Hey! Do you hear me?!”
“I don’t think he heard you,” mused a fair skinned young woman dressed in a yellow outfit.
“Hey! Forget that!” called out a young Hispanic man as he walked up closer behind the first woman. “Look up ahead!”
“It’s the Gray Guardian!” exclaimed another of their number.
The Gray Guardian shook his head and looked off down the street. “Thank goodness,” he mumbled. The police are finally here.”
A blue and white police cruiser pulled up and parked in front of the Gray Guardian and his prisoner. The officer got out and quickly worked his way around the cruiser to the sidewalk. “If it isn’t one of Durnett City’s brave volunteers.” He looked at Penny Man and blinked. “Is this some sort of joke?”
“That’s just the question I keep asking myself,” replied the Gray Guardian.
“I found it! I found it!” cried Penny Man as he held a gleaming penny in the air over his head.
The Gray Guardian shook his head and ignored Penny Man as he continued, “You’ll need to collect a statement from the clerk at Willard’s. Penny Man here tried to hold up the clerk with a squirt gun filled with itch powder solution, or at least that’s what this one claims is in the tank. I suggest taking him in directly for psychiatric evaluation.”
“Nooooo!” shouted out Penny Man while examining the penny in his hand more closely. “It has a blemish!”
The Gray Guardian placed his hand on top of Penny Man’s head and turned it to face him. “Do you remember what I said? I’m giving this nice man over five hundred shiny pennies for you to sort through when you get to where you’re going, but only if you do what he says. Can you do what he says?”
“Yes! Yes! Show me the pennies!”
The Gray Guardian sighed and looked at the cop with a smile as he held out the free cuff. “He’s all yours.”
“Yeah, great. Thanks for that,” replied the cop as he took the cuff and looked at his new charge. “C’mon. Let’s get that tank off of you.”
The Gray Guardian smiled and shook his head as he watched the cop gently prod Penny Man to get into the cruiser. He placed the handful penny roles on the roof of the cruiser, turned, and started walking back toward the crosswalk as a few onlookers behind him clapped.
“Well, that was awesome!” exclaimed one of the teenagers.
The dark skinned young woman laughed as she pointed glanced across the street and laughed. “Forget that!” She pointed towards a growing commotion up the street a ways. “Am I really seeing that?!”
The Gray Guardian cringed as he looked over toward the crowd where the woman was pointing. “What now?” he mumbled.
Suddenly, a man wearing nothing more than a tricorne hat and shorts, both made out of folded newspapers, broke free of the crowd and streaked down the opposite sidewalk.
“All ignorance fear the might of News Flash!” proclaimed the man as he held a tightly bound bundle of newspapers above his head. “All will be informed and eyes will be opened!”
The Gray Guardian’s jaw dropped as he looked on in disbelief.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
A man in a brown coat wearing a drab gray bowler hat opened a large ornate wooden door. He couldn’t help but smile as he walked into the opulent office with its rich red plush carpet. His black dress shoes made no sound as he walked up to an equally ornate oaken desk that seemed to fade into shadows before reaching the one seated behind it. “Well, boss, it looks like it’s shaping up just the way you wanted out there.”
“Excellent,” replied the man behind the desk. His hands and arms became visible in the dim twilight surrounding his desk as he placed his elbows on it and steepled his fingers.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
The Big Bad. The big villain lurking in the shadows or behind the scenes that is manipulating, controlling the other villains, events, or any number of other things to achieve their own ends. So much can be said about big bads that they could be made into a small series of mini-essays without repeating material. The question then, is where to start?
The obvious place to start is to the introduction. An introduction for a big bad helps to set the stage for what’s to come, even if the big bad or bads themselves are not present in a story. For example, the big bad presented at the end of the story is shown to be a dark and ominous figure. A lot can be inferred about him and each described element has a part in building him as a character. The large oaken door, as opposed to a normal door, speaks of the power of the villain. The ornate nature of the door and the room speak of his affluence and sophistication. The large oaken desk that is largely hidden in shadow, along with the big bad himself, speaks of the big bad being a mysterious and cunning individual that understands the importance of working in secret. Even the color of the carpet that doesn’t make a sound as the henchman walks towards the desk speaks of the dark and potentially unforgiving nature of the big bad in this story.
All of these elements, each one purposefully placed in a brief scene work together to create a stark and dangerous contrast to everything that’s been presented in the “The Adventures of the Gray Guardian” up to this point. In a sense, it subverts the entire mood of the story even though the introduction of the big bad is only two paragraphs long. This is the power and impact that just the introduction of the big bad can have even beyond vague hints of what the villain’s plan may be.
A grand introduction to a big bad is always great, when it’s done correctly, but it’s far from the only way to introduce a big bad. Sometimes, the big bad is initially introduced as a bystander who watches the hero struggle with the effects of their plot. The big bad could even be presented as a close friend or mentor to the hero. Other times, the big bad may not even be present in the story but the effects of their actions remain a driving force behind the events in the story.
An important distinction to make when writing a big bad introduction, or any introduction for that matter, is that an introduction does not equal a reveal. For example, in my upcoming novel “Drifters: Origins,” which I’m currently seeking a publisher for, the big bad is spoken of and presented early on as the driving force for the events taking place within the novel but never appears in it. As a character Adravious Noroban is introduced through a speech as a cunning mastermind who manipulated space pirates and forced them to become an army that he used to carve out an empire.
Another big bad responded to this threat and organized most of the remaining pirates into a force that he used to found his own empire. Combined, these two empires threaten to cut off the Corinthian Confederation off from her allies and trading partners. The only lifeline the Corinthian Confederation has left to the rest of the galaxy, save for a very long trip around enemy territory in empty space, is a single heavily defended corridor in which most all trade is forced to travel through.
Even though Noroban isn’t actually in the novel, his introduction has impact because he is presented as being singularly responsible for the precarious state of the Corinthian Confederation. This state of affairs in the galaxy also deliberately contributes to shaping the challenges that the heroes-in-training face as they go through their first year in the CorCent Military Academy and participate in a simulated combat tournament, the Grand Tournament Games.
Whether by spectacle, the villain having great influence on events in the story, by music in more visual mediums, or by using any other method an overt big bad introduction must have impact in some way. If the introduction doesn’t have at least some level of impact all on it’s own, then the big bad may fail to stand out from other villain characters or even be overshadowed by them. There are exceptions to this, such as if a creator wants to subvert expectations and cast a some other villain in the dominant role but it must be done carefully or there will be little point in the big bad character even being there.
If a different type of introduction is being used for a big bad character, like if they are initially introduced as a legitimate businessman, spectator, or even an ally, then going for impact in the introduction may not be necessary. In fact, if undue attention is drawn to the big bad’s introduction as a character, like drawing attention to a spectator big bad while they watch the hero struggle, could ruin the impact of when the big bad is revealed to be the big bad.
In summary, if going for an overt big bad introduction, use mood, setting, scenario, other characters, and all tools at your disposal to create an impactful, and sometimes even grand, spectacle centered around the character. The goal is to present the big bad as the central driving factor for not only the hero but for the story as well. If going for a different type of introduction for the big bad, then don’t forget the importance of subtlety.
If it isn’t meant to be known that the big bad is the big bad, don’t draw too much attention to them or an audience will start to suspect that there is something more to the character and ruin the impact of the later reveal about who the character is. Misdirection can be a useful tool here where a top henchman, or some other character, could be playing the role of the big bad while the true big bad is pulling the strings from the shadow the entire time. When using misdirection it can be important to also plant subtle hints that the faux big bad isn’t really calling the shots. The only hitch is that this would have to be done in a way that the hints only fully fit together with the reveal that the character in question isn’t really the big bad. If you aren’t confident that you can do that, I suggest sticking with the shock surprise rather than spoiling and ruining the impact of the associated reveal.
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