Heroes and villains have dominated literature for millennia. From epic Greek tales about Herculean heroes fighting terrifying monsters to the rise of the comic book vigilante Batman, we all have a fixation with good battling evil.
You can see it everywhere you look. Shakespeare’s Hamlet wrestles with morality in the face of self-doubt, fear, power and pride. Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen is a striking heroine who overcomes her enemies, frees enslaved people and yet, later becomes consumed with rage and power.
Then we need to think about the inspirational heroes and unsettling villains that have dominated the news throughout the ages. From the remarkable Martin Luther King to the formidable and unsettling Ted Bundy.
For this list, we’ve picked our favourite fictional heroes and villains:
Hero: Atticus Finch
Principled, loving father and voice of reason and justice, Atticus Finch is one of the most beloved fictional characters of all time. Not only is he central to Harper Lee’s groundbreaking novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, but he has inspired generations since the book’s debut in 1960.
Atticus is not your typical white man living in 1960s Alabama. Adored by his children Jem and Scout, Atticus leads by example rather than fear. But this translates to his everyday life as a lawyer too. When black man Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white girl and stands trial in front of a white jury, Atticus is the only one to stand up against racial injustice.
Fast-forward to 1962, and Gregory Peck breathed life into the character on-screen and put the story on the map. It still resonates with audiences and readers worldwide.
Villain: Dr Hannibal Lecter
Yes, Hannibal Lecter is a despicable serial killer who likes to devour his victims, but there’s something about his magnetic charm that draws you in – which is probably why he’s so good at what he does!
Created by Thomas Harris, Lecter first appeared in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon. But it’s Anthony Hopkins Oscar-winning performance in the chilling The Silence of the Lambs that has made Lecter into the pop culture phenomenon we know today.
Lecter is the OG respected forensic psychiatrist that likes to push the boundaries to the extreme while flying solo. Once he’s incarcerated, with the addition of everyone’s favourite man-muzzle, we meet Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling, and the creepy magic begins.
Hero: Black Widow
Natasha Romanova first burst onto the scene in Stan Lee (editor and plotter), Don Rico (scripter) and Don Heck’s (artist) Marvel comic series Tales of Suspense #52 in 1964. She featured in numerous superhero teams in the Marvel Universe, including the Avengers, the Defenders, the Thunderbolts and S.H.I.E.L.D.
But who are we kidding? Scarlett Johansson has made Black Widow and Natasha Romanoff the badass, powerhouse that we all love.
She’s a former KGB spy with a harrowing childhood story, thrust into the Red Room where she loses everything of herself, before going head to head with everyone’s fave forgotten Avenger, Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye. She’s a lover, fighter, throws all the punches and has the skills to make Batman quake in his boots.
Black Widow is hands down one of the best female superhero protagonists to grace our screens.
Villain: Butch Cassidy
Ok, here me out. You might see Butch Cassidy as a hero, an icon of the Wild West who stuck it to the man and went out in a guns-a-blazing standoff with the Bolivian Army in 1908.
But, here’s the rub.
Butch Cassidy (immortalised by Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) was the leader of a gang of outlaws who stole from banks and pulled off some of the most well-known train heists of all time. Over a decade, the gang accumulated over $21,000 – which equates to £605,000 in today’s money.
People lost their lives in the pursuit of Butch, and some just for being innocent bystanders. So what was the true cost of Butch’s actions?
Hero: Det Virgil Tibbs
Sidney Poitier plays In The Heat of the Night’s police detective Virgil Tibbs in this profound tale of police racism in the face of truth and justice.
Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by racist police chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger). Purely because he “fitted the mould.” But Tibbs does not take the accusations lightly. He proves his own innocence, as well as another accused man before joining forces with his captor to track down the real killer.
Together they go up against some of the hardest characters in town, and Tibbs makes a few enemies, as well as unlikely friends along the way.
Poitier’s powerful performance will stay with you.
The ambiguous one: Daenerys Targaryen
The Queen of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke in HBO’s Game of Thrones), is formidable. When we first meet her, she is under the charge of her abusive older brother Viserys and is forced to marry Dothraki horse lord Khal Drogo. She is essentially the price for her brother to get his hands on an army, to strengthen his return to Westeros and take back the Iron Throne.
But that’s not the end for Daenerys. She is freed from the tyranny of Viserys when he is brutally murdered. She finds her equal in Drogo. Commands the Dothraki army. Leads a revolution, liberates countless people from slavery, captures cities, country’s and more. All while raising her “babies,” dragons!
Like others in the story, she has a claim to the Iron Throne; it’s her birthright, after all. She has a strong moral compass, can rule without fear and deals ruthlessly with her enemies.
Then there’s Season 8 Daenerys. And the love and respect you have for this character is melted away in a writer’s battle to tie up an epic tale—sad news.
Great characters belong in Escape Rooms as much as pop culture and beyond. They elevate game plot lines to the next level and add to that pure feeling of escapism. Did any of your favourites make the cut?