Keeping A Villain While Keeping A Protagonist Competent

When I look at some of the complaints on Arrow it makes me glad that I've stopped watching the show since the early part of Season 3. And part of it is this little phenomenon concerning popular villains that TV Tropes would call The Joker Immunity. A term, thanks to Arkham City, I find a little outdated. I'm personally going to call it Karma Escape Clause till I think of a better title.

What KEC is its when you have a popular villain the writers would come up with various ways to ensure that he lives, even at the expense of a heroes character. For instance Batman would go out of his way to save The Joker despite all the countless times he has hurt everyone. Which in turn put Batman's competency as a hero into question. Based off of this video, it almost makes him look less of a hero and more like a guy that is taking his childhood issued out on those who reminded him of his lost childhood

That is a different topic entirely. But the topic of today is to keep a recurring villain while still keeping a protagonist's character intact. I'm going to use one of my works as an example.

In Into The Darkness we have Violet. A Private Investigator who solves cases and fights evil spirits, while also acting as an agent of heaven. Long story on the latter. Violet, as far as she's concerned, doesn't see herself as a hero. Eventhough she'll protect people from the monsters that lurk in Castle City, either supernatural or actual monsters. On the other side of the corner you have Victoria Volkoff, the Queen of The Criminal Underworld in Castle City.

Lady Volkoff is Violet's shadow archtype in every way. Like Violet she has the same beliefs in protecting the people in Castle City and will go flat out Mama Bear if those they love are hurt. Yet she's more of an antagonist than an evil villain. Because Volkoff's own brand of morality clashes with Violet's. In an essence its a gender flip of Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty. Interestingly enough Sherlock Holmes is in this.

Yet one of the reasons why I personally felt they work so well is because despite the conflict in moralities they also share some similar views aswell. Its like Volkoff represents what Violet could be if she became an antagonist. What also helped is that outside of what she did to Canny, Volkoff didn't really do anything to a human being. That didn't have it coming anyway. Lets say she's not Rhaeslog levels of reprehensible.

Also if you look at Into The Darkness there is this key theme that is building. No matter whom you are there is always something much worse lurking out there. Which makes the dynamic between the two even more complex as they're both women trying to survive Castle City. And because there are worse things lurking in the horizon that also means the both of them must take several levels of badass to ensure their survival.

Keep this in mind. You'd hardly see both women try to pull an enemy mine situation. The only time it happened was to save Eve whens he was possessed by Canny. There are reasons. One Eve is Volkoff's goddaughter, a fact that Violet is unaware.  And Canny has been killing innocent civilians on their turf. So with that you have an enemy mine situation that makes sense. Outside of that they rarely if ever team up because a team up would put their reputations at risk.

And should there be a case that would lead directly to Volkoff of course Violet would go through lengths to stop her and even have her arrested. Yet when she'll do so she does it while keeping her humanity intact. And Volkoff knows it will be only a matter of time before they cross paths. Until then they're just two people trying to survive in a world that could be, at its worst, a cosmic horror story.