Most of the time when we think about a story’s antagonist, we simply think of the “bad guy.” The antagonist is the character (or force) that opposes the protagonist’s forward progression in pursuit of the main plot goal. This is fundamental plot theory, linked to the old saw about “no conflict, no plot.” The antagonist creates that conflict by presenting obstacles to the protagonist’s easy forward momentum. When the protagonist finally overcomes those obstacles, the conflict ends and so does the plot.

But the antagonist is not merely a static force of opposition. Because every story is defined by the protagonist’s character arc, the antagonist’s role will vary depending on the nature of the protagonist’s own journey. If the protagonist’s personal character arc, as linked to the plot progression, is a Positive-Change Arc, then we generally recognize that the story itself is positive, even if it ends otherwise tragically. If the protagonist presents a Negative-Change Arc, we recognize the story as tragic, usually in the external conflict as well as the internal. And if the protagonist demonstrates a Flat Arc—which essentially inspires the (usually) Positive-Change Arcs of supporting characters—we also generally experience the story as positive.

Creating Character Arcs (Amazon affiliate link)

Depending on which of these general arcs your protagonist “proves” by the end of the story, the antagonist will play a corresponding role. To create a fully functioning storyform, in which the external and internal stories (essentially, the plot and the theme) pull together, it is necessary to recognize that the antagonist’s orientation to the protagonist and to the thematic Truth at the heart of the protagonist’s arc will not be arbitrary.

Although an antagonist can follow a character arc of his or her own, the antagonist’s role within the story must function in direct correspondence to the protagonist. In short, the antagonist must function to oppose the protagonist, thus creating the necessary conflict in the plot and the forthcoming inner friction within the protagonist’s own evolution.

Many writers believe the antagonist’s arc should simply be opposite to the protagonist’s. For example, if the protagonist demonstrates a Positive-Change Arc, the antagonist should demonstrate a Negative-Change Arc. Although a sound principle underlies this idea, it does not, in itself, get at the true function of the antagonist or, for that matter, the protagonist.

Put simply, a story is always about two opposing forces—an element that seeks change and an element that resists it.

Almost always, the element of change is heroic, while the element resisting it is adversarial. This is why character arcs (and stories in general for that matter) are always about change. This is what defines character arcs and makes them work.

However, it is important to note that the change represented in Negative-Change Arcs is always regressive. It does not represent a heroic willingness and courage in moving forward into necessary evolution, as do the Positive-Change and (in a different way) the Flat Arcs. Rather, the Negative-Change Arc represents not only a refusal to enact necessary and heroic change (either personally or socially) but instead either a stubborn resistance to such change or an attempt to reverse previous changes and revert to a former way of being.

For all its simplicity, this is a complex understanding of story. It is predicated upon the idea that change is always necessary, but it is complicated by the reality that change is not always effective. Therefore, a person who resists change can simultaneously represent an antagonistic obstacle to heroic change and a voice of wisdom.

Right away, we can see opportunities for not just fleshing out antagonists (and protagonists) but also for exploring the central conflict of story as a deeply transformative question that always reflects upon life itself, no matter the story’s actual scope or events.

Today, let’s take a brief look at how you can use this simple equation (enactor of change vs. resistor of change) to strengthen your protagonist and antagonist’s relationship in any type of story.

Positive-Change Character Arc: The Antagonist as Adversary

Here we have the classic story set-up of a heroic protagonist against a villainous antagonist. The protagonist represents the good guy, if only in the sense that the protagonist is willing to confront a problematic reality and attempt to change it. Likewise, the antagonist represents the bad guy, if only in the sense that the antagonist is unwilling to confront this same evolving reality by changing accordingly—and as a result he either acts as an obstacle himself or purposefully creates obstacles for the protagonist.

This is an obviously simplistic approach that in no way accounts for or precludes the individual nuances of the characters. Just because the protagonist is predisposed to accepting the need for change, this does not mean she is instantly heroic. Indeed, the entire point of a Positive-Change Arc is that the protagonist only slowly accepts the need to release an old view of reality (the Lie the Character Believes) and embrace a new and more effective one (the thematic Truth).

By the same token, the antagonist in a Positive-Change Arc story need not be blindly and absolutely opposed to change. What is important within the scope of the story is that the antagonist represents an adversarial obstacle to the protagonist’s story-specific change.

We see this represented in all sorts of stories, everything from blatantly symbolic clashes of good and evil, right down to Bildungsroman stories about up-and-coming young protagonists who may or may not succeed in overthrowing existing establishments (which, indeed, may or may not need overthrowing, as in the case of, say, an established newspaper adapting to the Internet age).

In these stories, the protagonist may or may not be obviously heroic, just as the antagonist may or may not be obviously adversarial. What is important is simply the recognition that any character following a Positive-Change Arc represents humanity’s heroic potential simply through the willingness to embrace change—even in the face of resistance from another.

The Hero With a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell (affiliate link)

The antagonist may represent Joseph Campbell’s tyrant “Holdfast”—keeper of the status quo who refuses to allow the protagonist or society in general to adapt to inevitable and necessary change. But the specific character will not necessarily be blind, stupid, stubborn, or tyrannical. Indeed, the character may represent an aspect of reality that needs to be currently preserved in general but not specifically for the protagonist.

We can see this in many coming-of-age stories in which parents or other authority figures represent the adversary to a “heroic” protagonist who is in the process of growing up and individuating. With a few obvious exceptions, we recognize that these older characters are not villainous in any way but simply enacting prescribed and necessarily limiting social boundaries—which the protagonist is now outgrowing.

Tangled (2010), Walt Disney Pictures.

Indeed, people need other people against whom to push and struggle and grow. Even if the other person is not quantifiably “wrong,” he or she represents to us an opportunity to grow.

Just as suggested by David Emerald’s Empowerment Triangle (which offers several implicit character-arc opportunities), an Adversary is very often a Challenger, and therefore one’s greatest teacher.

The Negative-Change Character Arc: The Antagonist as Hero

Negative-Change Arcs are always interesting in that they subvert the ideal of protagonist as hero. Instead, these arcs explore a story in which the protagonist is a character who blocks healthy change and growth and instead either clings to the status quo or reverts to an outmoded belief.

The Negative-Change Arc features a protagonist who fails to courageously embrace a necessary new view of reality (the thematic Truth) and instead stubbornly clings to or even reverts deeper into a now-outdated view (the Lie).

As a result of this heroic failure (and in some cases outright cowardice), the protagonist will experience tragic personal consequences and will likely inflict similar tragedies upon the story world around him.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, the antagonist in these stories is the one who represents the heroic proposition. As in any story, the antagonist is the character who opposes, resists, and creates obstacles for the protagonist. When the protagonist is the one resisting forward change, the antagonist will be the one challenging this approach.

Very often, this means the antagonist in a Negative-Change Arc will be the “good guy”—the detective trying to take down the corrupt mob boss or the concerned family member trying to save a loved one from an addiction.

Catch Me if You Can (2002), DreamWorks Pictures.

Whether the antagonist will be able to overcome the protagonist’s resistance to necessary growth will depend on the specific story. The author may wish to underline the true tragedy of the protagonist’s negative choices, in which case the antagonist’s heroic efforts will fail. Or the author may choose to emphasize the importance of transformative courage to contrast the story’s in-depth exploration of the protagonist’s destructive refusal to embrace a truer and broader reality. In this case, the antagonist may “win” in the end, while the protagonist ends tragically on a personal level by suffering the consequences of her actions.

The Flat Character Arc: The Antagonist as Either Adversary or Student

In a Flat Arc, the protagonist is, in fact, at his most heroic. Unlike the Positive Change-Arc protagonist, the protagonist in a Flat Arc is not waging a personal internal war between Lie and Truth. Remember, the Positive-Change protagonist is trapped between her own potential for either courage or cowardice. She chooses courage (and therefore change), but not until the end. By contrast, the Flat-Arc character is essentially the sequel to the Positive-Change Arc.

This is a character who has already come to peace with and now represents a brave new viewpoint, which is needed in order to positively transform the story’s external reality. The Flat-Arc protagonist does not personally change over the course of the story (at least not in relation to the central thematic Truth). Rather, the Flat-Arc protagonist is a catalyst for change, representing a call to transformation for the supporting characters.

In these stories, some of the supporting characters will answer this call and be positively transformed into heroically facing the new paradigm represented by the protagonist. Others from among the supporting characters will resist this change, choosing to cling to the thematic Lie and falling into regressive negative patterns.

Your antagonist in a Flat-Arc story can potentially fall into either category. It depends on what type of story you are telling and specifically what type of Truth the Flat-Arc protagonist represents.

If the thematic Truth will require broad social change (on the scale of the community on up), then the antagonist is likely to be an adversary—a person or force who outright resists the need for and the enacting of a new paradigm.

If, however, the story is “smaller” and more relationship-focused, it is possible that the antagonist may instead be a character who is in fact on a Positive-Change Arc. This character will initially resist the protagonist’s Truth, but will eventually overcome her own personal Lie and embrace the change. This is very often the paradigm for romance stories, in which one lead character follows a Flat Arc that constructively impacts the other lead’s Positive-Change Arc. By “meeting” each other within the story’s thematic Truth, they are then able to create a mutually beneficial relationship.

Particularly in some stories with unchanging Flat-Arc protagonists, it is possible to see antagonists who initially seem to be more progressive in their desire to embrace change than is the protagonist. At first glance, this would seem to indicate these antagonists are more heroic than the static protagonists. However, a closer look shows that the change these antagonists are trying to enact is, in fact, not progressive but regressive.

A good example is Thanos is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unlike many, he possesses the ability to recognize the untenability of the universe’s overpopulation and therefore the need for a new “Truth” that would accept, adapt to, and address the problem. At first glance, this perspective seems more forward-thinking and progressive than that of the story’s heroes (who aren’t even thinking about these problems). But Thanos proves himself an adversary in that his solution is to regress to a previous “Truth” by massacring half the population.

The Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Marvel Studios.

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Stories work best when their underlying pieces are placed in direct relationship with one another. Fortunately, these fundamental pieces are very few  in number: really, there is only the protagonist and the antagonist. Once you understand their relationship to each other within various types of story, you can successfully build compellingly dimensional characters upon their foundations.

Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! What is your antagonist’s role in your protagonist’s character arc? Tell me in the comments!

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