From as early as I can remember I always wondered what Satan’s side of the story was. Whether he really deserved that bad rap abd why he’s so attractive to a lot of people. Humans love villains. That’s why there’s a whole line for Disney villain merch. Bad guys are awesome. They’re badass. They’re beloved. Everyone sides with the villain over the goody two shoes classic hero. It’s why Robbie Rotten is infamous (rip stefan karl) whilst sportscus is considered irritating. Humans love the villain.
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I thought about this some while ago and I realize this: The villains that are really loved, which people might take the side in a moment of the story are the villains that are split between good and evil and that usually had some sad and or lonely past that usually was the reason for they become villain. Villains like Loki from Marvel, Regina and Rumple from Once, etc.
This goes for Satan too. As you said, wonder what’s his side of the story, meaning wonder if he is truly all evil or if he’s not. Just like we wonder about a villain as we start watch some movie/show.(don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying in no way that Satan is a villain or evil just what people might think when they’re still church).
Now villains that had no side of goodness such as Voldemort from Harry Potter, Negan from The Walking Dead or even Lucifer from Supernatural people love them cause they’re badass, but don’t take their sides. I think is really rare someone take a villain side that want to destroy the world, automatically we take the “hero/antihero” side and wish for they save the world. I mean I don’t know anyone that wanted Voldemort to win or Supernatural’s Lucifer to destroy the Winchesters.
Than there’s villains like Joffrey from Game of Thrones who is so evil that every single fan hates him.
We are not attracted for evil. We are attracted for the ideia of goodness inside evil.
And we like good stories, which to be good needs a good villain and a good villain is evil. Either evil with no reason or evil after some tragedy in the past.
That’s how I perceive this attraction that we have for the villains. 
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To quote Mark Twain:
“But who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most, our one fellow and brother who most needed a friend yet had not a single one, the one sinner among us all who had the highest and clearest right to every Christian’s daily and nightly prayers, for the plain and unassailable reason that his was the first and greatest need, he being among sinners the supremest?”
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I don’t know, good guys are awesome too, if only filmmakers would stop them giving their opponents 2nd chances, that’s not realistic to me. Lazy Town was one example where I’d take Sportacus over Robbie any day - talk about stamina, but also great gym body, er, I mean buddy. Now, Spike over Angel, sure!.. as long as he bottoms. 
Winter Soldier or Captain America? - Cap, he’d be so much easier to deal with and is not less interesting.
I think @BellaMMoon has a point that’s valid most of the time. Maybe not always. Part of me wanted Supernatural’s Lucifer to win, but maybe he did have that streak of pain that makes someone see his side - a big part of me does want those gates open, but I didn’t like the TV Series take on what would happen if they do, it didn’t make sense to me or translate to my worldview.
I think some of it just comes down to who you think is more pleasing to look at.
Joffrey and Voldemort are psychopaths, there’s nothing in their behaviour to relate to as even being human, so it doesn’t surprise me nobody could like them.
I’m a little tired though,of the black and white in media and the ‘bad guy’ vs ‘good guy’ trope. I really like the shows where it’s all grey and you have to think and maybe pick a side and maybe switch. Fringe was good like that. That’s more realistic. I guarantee you I am someone’s villain (one of them’s me), and other people’s helper. Perspective, intention and motivation all count. All that gets dumbed down so badly in some shows I can’t even watch them.
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I agree. I prefer more nuanced villains.
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Or even anti villains
Or good guys with a dark side. Like Lucifer in the TV series Lucifer.
If a good guy is interesting, that’s perfect. All the intrigue with no risk.
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The best villains are the ones who are doing what they do for what they believe are the right reasons.
Marvel comics has recently delved into Dr. Doom and shown that he actually considers himself to be a hero, because through his magic he has seen thousands of different futures, and the only one in which humanity was not wiped out, was the one in which he ruled. So, he does what he does because he wants to save the world. If millions have to die to save billions, he is okay with that.
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Darth Vader thought he was right
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And it turned out that he was…
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Yup. Too bad his grandkid was a prick
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I always loved Mark Twain.
I never thought it about Satan in that way. I just always felt sorry for him and always sided with him.
But Mark Twain really puts it into perspective in a very awesome kind of way.
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How many kids wanted to be Vader when they grew up? Or was it just me?
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Voldemort is a freedom fighter trying to end his people’s erasure from the public sphere, a kind of deranged racism we can barely fathom, and restore meritocracy. Wizards can’t even help muggles lift rubble from screaming babies trapped in earthquakes, or save lives putting out fires, because of the insanity of “we can’t let them know a real thing is real.”
I am unironically Team Voldemort for life. 
And yeah bad guys are hotter, which is why demons get almost all the lady-luvvin’ on here, and never egregores created to be good listeners. 
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Spike always 
Angel was cool in the beginning than he got boring, maybe cause of Spike haha
Yeah sometimes I wish for the heros fail just to the story remain on that plot and or the villain remain on the show.
Pretty much the best villains are those that we can relate with. Characters in general I think. That’s why I always like mostly Tony Stark over Steve for example haha
Nowdays Hollywood seems to be doing more stories with grey characters. American Horror Story is a good example. Also Once Upon a Time, which Snow White has a dark side and Evil Queen a good one.
That’s how humans and I would say even spirits are. Everyone has a dark and a light side. Mostly anyway…haha
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Actually Grindelwald was the one that wanted this. He lived before Voldemort and fought on his twist way for a more free world for the wizards.
Voldemort just hated the muggles and believed that his kind, the wizards, were better than the muggles. That’s why he hated so much muggle borns wizards. Cause they didn’t have “pure blood.” For him only pure blood was worth. J.K inspired him on Hitler. So his thoughts were the same that Hitler had about “his people” and Jews.
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I always wondered why there were crazy rules about muggles not being allowed to know of the ecistence of magic
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I always wondered why the staff at Hogwarts always had the kids doing the dirty work.
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What do you mean?
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Always seemed to be the kids fighting the bad guys for the most part.
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