How to Avoid Villains and Their Henchmen

This blog post is a continuation of the satirical series, “Poking Fun at Fantasy Tropes.” We’ve already looked at the tropes of taverns and heroes. Now we’re taking a look at some of the commonly used tropes about the person behind the hero, the one who tells them what they need to know to survive in the world beyond their small village or town: The Mentor.

Where would the hero be without a mentor to guide them? Honestly, in many Fantasy stories, without a mentor to keep them safe from the villain’s henchmen, the hero wouldn’t make it past the first few chapters. And even if they did, they’d undoubtedly be incredibly lost once they left their small village or town behind them and ventured out into the wide world of the story beyond. They certainly wouldn’t learn the skills they’d need to know in order to defeat the villain at the end of the story. (Or series if the book isn’t a standalone novel.)

A mentor is an integral part in any Fantasy story—probably because mentors are an integral part of our own lives in the real world. Can you imagine what it would look like without mentors in schools, in families, in the workplace, etc.? It’d be a disaster—and we don’t even have the responsibility of stopping villainous characters from destroying the world as we know it.

The point being, we all need help from time to time, and that’s not a bad thing. Even heroes in Fantasy stories need someone to lean on for guidance. Ergo, the mentor.

Have you ever noticed how many Fantasy stories seem to involve mentors who can be described in one (or all) of these ways? Mentors are usually:

1. Mysterious old men with long beards, often described as hermits or village storytellers who keep to themselves and are filled with words of wisdom for the hero
2. A former hero from another era in the world’s history believed to have been killed by the villain or their henchmen (whom the current hero grows up hearing stories about)
3. In self-imposed exile because they failed to defeat the villain and now blame themselves for the tragedies that have befallen the world
4. Secretly related to the hero (but won’t tell the hero to keep them safe or some other inexplicable reason)
5. A former mentor to the villain of the story (but again, won’t reveal that knowledge to the hero until later on in the story)
6. Has the skills/knowledge to train the hero in using magic/fighting to defeat the villain and usually does so during the travel montages of the story (but fails to pass along all of the required knowledge)
7. A father-figure who sacrifices himself to save the hero from the villain and/or their henchmen—usually in an incredibly heroic way that provides the hero with the motivation they need for stopping the villain

Look, I’m not trying to help a Fantasy villain hunt down the hero’s mentor by telling them who to look for with this blog post. That’s not my goal. (It’s quite the opposite actually.) I’m merely highlighting a few common threads that I’ve noticed in Fantasy stories which heroes’ mentors seem to gravitate toward. It’s like they’re drawn to those descriptions and feel compelled to paint themselves with that brush.

I’m just saying, it’s high time to go against the grain. After all, if you know the tropes, you can subvert and avoid them altogether.

Dear mentors in Fantasy stories—you should try breaking free of some of the tropes surrounding your mentoring role—especially if you want to remain undetected. Take a good look at the list above. If there’s anything up there that is within your power to avoid, take care to do so. The villain and their henchmen are undoubtedly looking for you, and the hero is depending on you.

Until next time,

Al