Story creators, what would you do with an overpowered villain?

[konamanta]

Thanks for the advice. I guess my villain already does have a "flaw" in her plans, in that she's connected to one of the protagonists - basically one of the main characters she's fighting turns out to have been a past ally that was actually her inspiration to become what she is now, which makes her realize how far she's gone and question her ideals, etc. Not enough to make her stop her plans, but causes a lot of inner conflict, and while she'd usually destroy anyone in her way this is one character she isn't willing to see get hurt. So I think I'm going to try to start looking at how that angle could lead to her eventual defeat!

[9outofPen]

This is a fun question!

You can do one of two things as I see it: Give the villain a flaw or give the heroes an advantage. If you don't want to give your heroes a power-up, I would consider the nature of the villain's side.

1) I don't know your characters like you do, but if I were your villain, it might get pretty boring to be so unstoppable. Where's the fun in playing a game with no challengers? In this case he might purposefully give them a small chance, a tiny opening to get a leg up (because of course there's no way they could actually win, right?). It sounds like he has a bit of an ego, and how can he resist flaunting what he's got? If he gives them opportunities, it's all the more like he's making the rules and they're his pawns.

2) If your villain is power-hungry and likes having the upper hand, maybe he contributes to his own downfall? Curiosity killed the cat. If reality warps according to his imagination, it could reflect his desires AND his fears. Maybe this power seems great at first, but it could overwhelm him later. If you control everything, you have to be sure you know best. He could drive himself crazy with infinite possibilities and unsure which one will get him what he wants?

[Zaboem]

Step 1: Unbeatable villain claims that she cannot be beaten.
Step 2: Unbeatable villain wins.
Step 3: Unbeatable villain realizes that winning involves ruling afterward. She doesn't want to rule. She only wanted to fight.
Step 4: Villain quits and wanders away.

[ConradComics]

That's basically how I have the Chibi Apocalypse ending in my Ultimate-Mega-Crossover Fan Fiction. The Chibi* conquer earth, play house a bit, then get bored and leave for another universe.

*Demonic little girls that replicate a chibi female version of anybody they devour (Think: Demonic army of Nendoroid conquering the planet, but believe they are pure and wholesome in every way : )

[Jenny-Toons]

I'm really on board with the "give the villain human feelings" idea. I love a villain that's still human while being a villain. Even with all the powers in the world, if they're like a Greek God as you say, then they've got weaknesses.

I know a lot of people have spoken about this already, but try and play on their humanity. What is their personality like? Are they too prideful? Too cocky? Too calculating? Or, if you'd like, you could do something like a "tragic villain" type thing: a villain who become a villain by force. Did they really want all of this power or was it just forced onto them? Are they actually unable to control their abilities and just killing everything in sight not out of rage/spite but out of lack of control? Do they feel any guilt or have they come to love the power they get from it?

They're so many ways to go about this, but for me, an overpowered villain is much more dangerous when they're portrayed as a human. It's easier to right off a demon or an entity or an alien as "evil". But for me, it's better when the villain is human -- we're a lot more trickier that way

[scythe]

Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet was an unbeatable villain who was beaten. Even though no one knows exactly how they'll handle that in the upcoming Infinity War movie, I won't spoil it for those who are unfamiliar with the story, suffice to say, he wound up being his own worst enemy.

That's the only way you can handle characters like these I feel, if you give them godlike strength, that must come with equally heightened levels of arrogance, hubris, single-mindedness, stubbornness, etc. All of which are negative traits that clever protagonists can use against the villain into manipulating him into making a fatal mistake.

In Eragon, the villain is all powerful, but lacks any empathy. Since none of the magic dealing with might or brute force has any effect on him, the protagonist instead uses up all of his magic to give him empathy, so that he can feel the pain and suffering of those he's wronged, and that defeats him.

The defeat of general Zod in the old Superman 2 movie was good too. A simple deception tricked him into losing all his powers.

[indagold]

It'd be interesting if a villain like this couldn't be defeated, but what destroys them isn't just some magical amulet or wand but something more complex that they caused. That the villain collapses under their own power or goes mad with their power and takes their life or something unexpected.

I had two overpowered villains that went down this route because their paranoia, stress and their own fear that if they kept going on in their destructive ways there would be nothing left but also too afraid to admit their own weaknesses to stop. Much like in reality an actual dictator's collapse isn't always a clear defeat but little tiny things triggering their demise. It might spice up the narrative than your typical fight to the death that happens in most fiction.

[djwaglmuffin]

You can make them the instrument of their own demise. Power can be isolating and can drive people (or personifications) crazy.