View source for Big Bad

{{Short description|Major recurring adversary}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
[[File:Little Red Riding Hood - J. W. Smith.jpg|thumb|right|In a 2014 book, Kimberley McMahon-Coleman and Roslyn Weaver speculated that the [[Big Bad Wolf]] of fairy tales such as [[Little Red Riding Hood]] may be the origin of the phrase in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''<ref>{{Citation |last1=McMahon-Coleman |first1=Kimberley |title=Werewolves and Other Shapeshifters in Popular Culture: A Thematic Analysis of Recent Depictions |page=46 |year=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9250-3 |last2=Weaver |first2=Roslyn }}</ref>]]
'''Big Bad''' is a term to describe a major recurring adversary, usually the chief [[villain]] or [[antagonist]] in a [[television series]] or a particular broadcast season of a series, originally used by the series ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''.<ref name="MacNeil">MacNeil, W. P. (2003). "You Slay Me: Buffy as Jurisprude of Desire". ''Cardozo Law Review'', Vol. 24(6), pp. 2421–2440.</ref><ref name="Brannon">Brannon, J. S. (2007). "[http://slayageonline.com/PDF/Brannon.pdf It's About Power: Buffy, Foucault, and the Quest for Self] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930053151/http://slayageonline.com/PDF/Brannon.pdf |date=2011-09-30 }}". ''Slayage'', v. 24.</ref><ref name="Zalben" /> It has since been used to describe annual villains in other television series, and has also been used in scholarly work discussing ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''.<ref name="MacNeil" /><ref name="Durand" />

In gaming, this term is often abbreviated BBEG, which stands for "Big Bad Evil Guy/Gal," a tradition that began on message boards for the tabletop role-playing game [[Dungeons & Dragons]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baird |first1=Scott |title=D&D: Who was the first BBEG? |url=https://screenrant.com/dungeons-dragons-original-villains-big-bad-evil-guy/ |website=Screen Rant |date=January 6, 2022 |access-date=10 May 2024}}</ref>

== On ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' ==
The term "Big Bad" was originally used on American television program ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (which aired 1997–2003). According to author Kevin Durand (2009), "While Buffy confronts various forms of evil during each episode, each season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer had its own 'big bad' villain who dominates throughout the season. The power of the 'big bad' always threatens to end the world, but Buffy ultimately overcomes him or her in the season finale."<ref name="Durand">{{Cite book |last=Durand |first=Kevin K. |title=Buffy Meets the Academy: Essays on the Episodes and Scripts as Texts |publisher=McFarland |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7864-4355-0 |page=59}}</ref> The series balanced its episodic stories with advancing that season's big bad story arc.<ref name="Mittell">{{Cite book |last=Mittell |first=Jason |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Prl1BwAAQBAJ&q=%22big+bad%22 |title=Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling |date=2015-04-10 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-7135-8 |pages=19–20 |language=en}}</ref>

The term was originally used in the episode "[[Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered]]", in which Buffy Summers describes the newly soulless [[Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Angel]] as "the big, bad thing in the dark".<ref name="Zalben">{{Cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2037579/big-bad-marti-noxon-buffy-the-vampire-slayer/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102225022/http://www.mtv.com/news/2037579/big-bad-marti-noxon-buffy-the-vampire-slayer/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 2, 2015 |title=Discover The Secret Origin Of TV's 'Big Bad' |last=Zalben |first=Alex |date=December 31, 2014 |website=MTV News |language=en |access-date=2019-12-04}}</ref> The prior episode, "[[Phases (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Phases]]", has [[Xander Harris]] "being" the [[werewolf]] and saying, "I'm the big, bad wolf." The phrase may originate in various fairy tales (particularly "Three Little Pigs" and the related song) about the "[[Big Bad Wolf]]". The phrase "big bad" by itself as a noun was first used on screen in Season 3, in the episode "[[Gingerbread (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Gingerbread]]" where Buffy says that an occult symbol is harmless, "not a big bad". Slang generation was encouraged in the writers' room. [[Marti Noxon]], writer and eventually [[showrunner]], said that "Big Bad" was used "long before the characters themselves started using the phrase".<ref name="Zalben" /> Using "big bad" as a noun instead of using as an adjective is a [[functional shift]], which was done often on the show.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uIJCAAAQBAJ&q=%22functional+shift%22+%22adjective%22 |title=Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon |date=2004-11-18 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-029192-1 |language=en}}</ref>

The first "Big Bad" villain on the program was [[Master (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|The Master]],<ref name="Jag">{{Cite book |last=Jagodzinski |first=Jan |title=Television and youth culture: televised paranoia |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4039-7808-0 |page=145}}</ref> played by [[Mark Metcalf]].  According to author [[Jan Jagodzinski]], the battle between [[Buffy Summers|Buffy]] and the evil Master is "the central issue of [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 1)|season one]]"; The Master, like all the "big bads", is a "symptom of postmodernity".<ref name="Jag" />

David Sims of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' wrote that [[Joss Whedon]], creator of the series, made the model for the [[Golden Age of Television (2000s–present)|Golden Age of television]]: {{blockquote|text=Years before streaming TV existed, Whedon helped create the bingeable serial drama—one that endeavored to make every episode a special event, without taking the audience's eyes off the larger story being woven. In basic terms, he did this by making sure every season had a "big bad": a villain or antihero with larger machinations developing in the background of every episode, twinned to our hero Buffy and her resolute band of friends in some magical way. Every season would build to an action-packed climax with sacrifices made and lessons learned, but along the way, Buffy would face off against minions of the "big bad", problems of her own making, and various other [[Villain of the week|monsters of the week]] amid whirlwinds of teen angst. It was a heady formula, but a surprisingly unusual one for 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/03/how-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-redefined-tv-storytelling/519174/ |title=How 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Redefined TV Storytelling |last=Sims |first=David |date=2017-03-10 |website=The Atlantic |language=en-US |access-date=2019-12-21}}</ref>}}

== On other television and film series ==
{{Original research section|reason=Citing sources that happen to use the phrase Big Bad in reference to the recently expanding trend for genre TV shows to have season-long story arcs as demonstrating that "the use of Big Bads has become common in TV science fiction and fantasy series" is textbook OR. What has become common is the use of season-long (or multi-season) story arcs, and those arcs having primary antagonists is practically a given.|date=December 2019}}
The use of Big Bads has become common in TV science fiction and fantasy series, especially with more [[binge-watching]] of [[Serial (radio and television)|serialized shows]].<ref name="Golder" /><ref name="Johnson">{{Cite book |last=Fowler |first=Charity |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eR8CDgAAQBAJ&q=%22big+bad%22&pg=PA55 |title=The Function of Evil across Disciplinary Contexts |date=2017-02-15 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-4985-3342-3 |editor-last=Effron |editor-first=Malcah |pages=53–68 |chapter=Seasonal Villainy: Radical Evil, Relativity, and Redemtive Relationships |editor-last2=Johnson |editor-first2=Brian}}</ref>

In the [[Arrowverse]], after 8 years and 20 collective seasons, the series ''[[Arrow (TV series)|Arrow]]'', ''[[The Flash (2014 TV series)|The Flash]]'', ''[[Supergirl (TV series)|Supergirl]]'' and ''[[Legends of Tomorrow]]'' had 22 Big Bads, which [[TVLine]] ranked based on "Compelling Backstory, Fearsome Appearance, Powers/Skills, Utter Ruthlessness, Eeeevilness of Agenda, Despicable Damage Done".<ref name="Mitovich">{{Cite web |url=https://tvline.com/gallery/arrow-villains-best-worst-flash-supergirl-legends/ |title=Arrowverse Big Bads, Ranked! |last=Mitovich |first=Matt Webb |date=2018-07-16 |website=[[TVLine]] |language=en |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref> But [[Den of Geek]]'s Dave Golder questioned the continued use of the "season-long baddie" plot device.<ref name="Golder">{{Cite web |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/go/280024 |title=Why the Arrowverse Needs to Defeat the Big Bad Once and For All |last=Golder |first=Dave |date=March 22, 2019 |website=[[Den of Geek]] |language=en |access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref>

The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' revival has occasionally used Big Bads. Jef Rouner of the ''[[Houston Press]]'' wrote how [[Doctor Who (series 6)|''Doctor Who'' series 6]] succeed with the "proper format," beginning with a new villain to the series, [[Silence (Doctor Who)|the Silence]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/doctor-who-buffy-and-the-art-of-the-big-bad-6394200 |title=Doctor Who, Buffy and the Art of the Big Bad |last=Rouner |first=Jef |date=2014-10-13 |website=Houston Press |access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> He also wrote that for [[Doctor Who (series 11)|series 11]], "The main villain is regular old human cruelty and apathy to suffering", adding this had some similarity to [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 6)|''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' season 6's]] Big Bad, “life.”<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/doctor-who-the-villains-thus-far-11056139 |title=The Big Bad of Doctor Who Series 11 is Us |last=Rouner |first=Jef |date=2018-11-23 |website=Houston Press |access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> But Lacy Baugher wrote on [[Syfy Wire]] that the show can have the smaller personal, emotional stories, and doesn't need the "big, sweeping arcs and grand monsters". "Each Big Bad the Doctor faced had to be the most dangerous in the universe."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/how-doctor-whos-return-to-smaller-stories-has-reinvigorated-the-series |title=How Doctor Who's return to smaller stories has reinvigorated the series |last=Baugher |first=Lacy |date=2018-11-26 |website=[[Syfy Wire]] |language=en |access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref>

''[[Dexter (TV series)|Dexter]]'' and its spin-offs have always used Big Bads in each season. Greg MacArthur of ''[[Screen Rant]]'' thinks the best Big Bad of all is [[Arthur Mitchell (Dexter)|Arthur Mitchell]], villain of the [[Dexter season 4|fourth season]], for being "Dexter's greatest foe who left the most devastating effect on Dexter in the entire series."<ref name="DexterBigBadSR">{{Cite web |last=MacArthur |first=Greg |date=June 21, 2024 |title=Dexter's 10 Best Villains, Ranked |url=https://screenrant.com/dexter-show-best-villains-ranked/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250415020852/https://screenrant.com/dexter-show-best-villains-ranked/ |archive-date=April 15, 2025 |access-date=August 4, 2025 |website=[[Screen Rant]]}}</ref> Unanimously agreed by almost all critics and fans, along with Arthur Mitchell, others great Big Bads are Brian Moser, villain of the [[Dexter season 1|first season]] and Dexter's brother, [[James Doakes]], Dexter's archenemy and antagonist of the [[Dexter season 2|second season]], and [[Travis Marshall]], villain of the [[Dexter season 6|sixth season]], being praised his relationship with Professor Gellard and the subsequent plot twist revealing that Gellard is his Dark Passenger.<ref name="DexterBigBadSR" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=del Busto |first=Carolina |date=June 28, 2013 |title=Dexter's Villains: Ranking the Series' "Big Bads" |url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/dexters-villains-ranking-the-series-big-bads-6500598 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612225305/https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/dexters-villains-ranking-the-series-big-bads-6500598 |archive-date=June 12, 2024 |access-date=August 4, 2025 |website=[[Miami New Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Natividad |first=Sid |date=January 9, 2025 |title=Dexter: Best Villains In The Series, Ranked |url=https://gamerant.com/dexter-best-villains-ranked/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250601190958/https://gamerant.com/dexter-best-villains-ranked/ |archive-date=June 1, 2025 |access-date=August 4, 2025 |website=[[Game Rant]]}}</ref>

In the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]], the Big Bad for "[[The Infinity Saga]]" was [[Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Thanos]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sneider |first=Jeff |date=May 30, 2014 |title=Josh Brolin Joins Marvel's ''Avengers'' Sequels as Villain Thanos |url=https://www.thewrap.com/josh-brolin-joins-marvels-avengers-age-of-ultron-as-villain-thanos/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602044516/http://www.thewrap.com/josh-brolin-joins-marvels-avengers-age-of-ultron-as-villain-thanos/ |archive-date=June 2, 2014 |access-date=May 30, 2014 |website=[[TheWrap]]}}</ref> In "The Multiverse Saga", the current one, the new big bad is [[Victor von Doom (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kit |first1=Borys |last2=Couch |first2=Aaron |last3=Gajewski |first3=Ryan |date=July 28, 2024 |title=Robert Downey Jr. Back as Doctor Doom for Two 'Avengers' Movies |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/robert-downey-jr-doctor-doom-avengers-1235960026/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728022926/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/robert-downey-jr-doctor-doom-avengers-1235960026/ |archive-date=July 28, 2024 |access-date=July 28, 2024 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Boss (video gaming)]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
*{{Cite book |last=Ceriello, Linda C. |title=Holy Monsters, Sacred Grotesques: Monstrosity and Religion in Europe and the United States |publisher=Lexington |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4985-5077-2 |editor-last=Heyes, Michael E. |pages=207–234 |chapter=The Big Bad and the Big 'Aha!': Metamodern Monsters as Transformational Figures of Instability}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BigBad TV Tropes: Big Bad]
* [http://www.spoilerslayer.com/buffyformula.php The Buffy Formula: Patterns in the Buffyverse] on SpoilerSlayer.com
* [https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/a7d5607e-848b-4bf1-8d09-34729dd3dea6/etd_pdf/352c7a41cf8e71af7141078828f1f2ab/lipsett-opposingbuffypowerresponsibilityandthenarrative.pdf Opposing Buffy: Power, Responsibility and the Narrative Function of the Big Bad in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''], Master of Arts Thesis by Joseph Lipsett

{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}

[[Category:Buffyverse]]
[[Category:Supervillains]]