From 1950 to 1970, if you were in a meeting at DC Comics, you would have noticed something strange. In every meeting, the writers seemed eager to add more powers to Superman. They kept giving him abilities like super breath, super memory, super intelligence, and many more.

 

While their intentions were good, their decisions were questionable. Superman became so powerful that no villain could genuinely challenge him. Without a worthy opponent, the stories lacked tension and became boring.

But this problem is not unique DC Comics. We all fall into this trap of making our heroes too powerful, weakening the narrative. A better approach is to make the villain more formidable.

In this article, we will cover:

  • How making the hero stronger makes the story weaker
  • How to create tension by making the villain stronger
  • Practical strategies for creating this tension

1. Making the Hero stronger makes the Story weaker

We want our stories to resonate with our audience and ‘adding positivity’ seems like the only way to achieve it. Everyone loves happy things, so adding more of it will make the readers want to stick around and read more.

Or will it?

Human beings are addicted to ‘tension’.Deep down, we have an insatiable curiosity about what happens next. It’s the same tension that keeps us hooked while watching shows like The Breaking Bad an Ozark. As writers and storytellers, if we are to retain the attention of the audience, we need to become proficient at creating this tension.

However, let’s not play in abstracts and make this baby concrete. Let’s go with a testimonial that is ‘positive’, without tension or villain. Let’s see how strong it is.

I don’t want to pick on anyone, so here’s a sample ChatGPT-generated testimonial. It talks about a fictitious weight loss problem that this individual has been a part of.

Will this testimonial work? It may or may not, but you can’t deny that it lacks a narrative. Everything is so… nice. There are only ups, no downs. In other words, the hero is stronger than the villain. The villain is almost non-existent.

How do we make this testimonial more impactful? Let’s make the villain stronger to create more tension.

2. Making the villain stronger

We need a scary villain—one that evokes fear—because it’s the scary villain who makes us care for the hero. When the villain is powerful, we empathize with the hero and start cheering for him. This empathy and care keep us wanting more.

Let’s see how we can make the villain just a little bit stronger:

“Losing 5 kg seemed like a daunting goal at first. I remember for the first five days, I was constantly craving a chicken burger with fries and coke. But somehow, I made it through. Not only do I feel lighter, but I also have more energy and confidence. This journey has taught me the importance of consistency and making healthy choices.
I highly recommend this program!”

Feel the difference?

The villain became just a little more powerful. The part about “constantly craving a chicken burger with fries and coke” is the villain that makes us empathize with the hero because all of us have felt this struggle (or a similar one).

With this tweak, the testimonial became far more interesting.

Or did it?

Well, it’s certainly a lot better than the previous one. But what if we could do better?

Or let me rephrase the question. What are a few specific ways of making the villain stronger and increasing the tension in the story?

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3. How exactly do we make the villain stronger?

Before we get into the specifics, know that there are options to choose from. I do not recommend using all of them simultaneously; it will mess up your story. Here we go…

A. Raising the stakes

Raising the stakes intensifies the tension. It becomes all the more important for the Hero to win. Losing to the villain will have devastating consequences. Let’s see how we can raise the stakes in the above testimonial.

If you don’t lose weight, you have a risk of developing diabetes”, the doctor told me. My jaw dropped to the floor. I remember I couldn’t sleep that night. The next day, I began my weight-loss journey.
I remember for the first five days, I was constantly craving a chicken burger with fries and coke. But later, it got easier. Somehow, I made it through. Not only do I feel lighter, but I also have more energy and confidence. This journey has taught me the importance of consistency and making healthy choices.”

See how I raised the stakes there? The whole angle about risking diabetes makes us care about the hero. There is something really serious at stake.

The story just got a lot more captivating.

 

B. Make the hero suffer

While this may sound dark at first, it’s an effective strategy of keeping the reader captivated.

We wouldn’t have loved “The Pursuit of Happyness” if Will Smith’s character hadn’t endured intense hardships. “The Shawshank Redemption” wouldn’t have captivated us if Andy Dufresne had simply strolled out of prison without facing any challenges.

Let’s make the hero suffer just a bit in the above testimonial, shall we?

If you don’t lose weight, you have a risk of developing diabetes”, the doctor told me. My jaw dropped to the floor. The next day, I began my weight-loss journey.
The first week was especially tough. I was constantly craving a chicken burger with fries and coke. I even had moments where I felt weak and dizzy from the sudden change in my diet. There were nights I couldn’t sleep. But somehow, I made it through. Not only do I feel lighter, but I also have more energy and confidence. This journey has taught me the importance of consistency and making healthy choices.”

The part about craving, being weak and dizzy, and having sleepless nights makes the hero suffer. Doesn’t it resonate better?

C. Increase the obstacles in the Hero’s path

The main villain often has many smaller sidekick villains. You can use these sidekicks to add more obstacles in the Hero’s journey. Here’s how we can add that to this testimonial.

​“If you don’t lose weight, you have a risk of developing diabetes”, the doctor told me. My jaw dropped to the floor. The next day, I began my weight-loss journey.

The first week was especially tough. I was constantly craving a chicken burger with fries and coke. I even had moments where I felt weak and dizzy from the sudden change in my diet. There were nights I couldn’t sleep. Then, there were social events where everyone else indulged in delicious foods, making my resolve waver. Unexpected work stress made sticking to my meal plan even harder. But somehow, I made it through. Not only do I feel lighter, but I also have more energy and confidence. This journey has taught me the importance of consistency and making healthy choices.”

See how the part about social events and unexpected work stress plays out? These are smaller obstacles that are preventing the Hero from achieving his goal.

As an aside, you can see that the testimonial has started becoming bloated, which isn’t ideal. As I said earlier, these are just a few strategies to choose from. Using all of them at the same time might not be a great idea.

I will share a few other approaches to strengthen the villain, but we won’t play with the testimonial.
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Other strategies to consider to increase the tension

– Thwart his plans (When the hero makes a plan, make it fail.)

– Change the obstacles or make the villain unpredictable (This keeps the audience on their toes, guessing what’s next while tightly clutching their seats.)

– Make the villain more powerful (Give him allies.)

– Exploit the hero’s weakness

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​Wouldn’t this diminish the Hero’s strength?

It may seem that I am suggesting making the Hero weak and powerless, almost insignificant. But that’s not it. When the villain is powerful, and the Hero overcomes this tension, the Hero is even more glorified.
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To summarize

Our natural response to making a story interesting is to add more positivity. This approach makes the story ineffective and boring. A better approach is to make the villain stronger- increase the stakes, make the hero suffer, and add more obstacles.
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We don’t know what exactly happened in the DC Comics office after 1980 because Superman returned to his original glory. He was no longer just a superhero who shot lasers through his eyes—he was also a human who had legitimate struggles.