How to Create a Man Vs Man Conflict in Comic Book Scripts

The Joker is as perfect a vllain as you can get.

Paramount to the comic book story is the conflict of mankind. Everything is a battle of humanity, and this includes man vs. beast and especially man vs. himself. But, what matters here is the core of all comic character conflicts. To build a man vs. man story, the villain must have a purpose in bringing something out in the hero. Still, down the road of a man vs. man conflict is the eternal battle between two: the righteous vs. the evil.

Things You'll Need

• Comic books to study
• <br>Willingness to write a comic script
• <br>A hero or heroine
• <br>A villain

Instructions

1. Make choices on characters. Take for example Batman and the Joker. Batman fights against the insanity of the Joker even when he is fighting other villains, because without the Joker he would be less of a hero. What this means is the Joker is Batman’s polar opposite. Joker uses guns, kills with impunity (even children are poisoned) but Batman never takes the road the Joker requires. He doesn’t kill the villain, who continually poses him the greatest of all riddles: Let the villain live on or damage his soul by killing the evil. That is a crucial choice on character made by the writers of Batman, and a shining example on the choices you will have to make. <br><br>This can be two sided: the Punisher is considered a hero in a sense, but is obviously an anti-hero because he would kill the Joker in a second. You will need to make choice on who will contradict each other in your story. Having two great heroes won’t work, as you need a villain; having a simple hero with a insane villain could.

2. 

   Use heroes and anti-heroes. So we have the perfect hero in Batman and the perfect antihero in the Punisher. Both are incredibly popular characters, both have many villains, but take the man vs. man conflict in different directions. You can use either; they both work properly when written well. A good character will be at an extreme, though, and a good villain on the opposite. Heroes and anti-heroes make it easier, in some sense, to create this basic conflict of man vs. man. Now, you need a villain.

3. Create a signature villain. For a hero to achieve something in comic books he must have a signature villain. The writer must put a lot into penning the chaos of life, but find that in some way the good will be victorious over evil. Real life isn’t like that; villains can win, and sometimes there isn’t a way out for the hero. However, we are talking about fiction, and fiction has a different purpose in the world of comic books.

4. Use conflict. Consider starting out with your hero, then work in how the villain is his opposite. The man vs. man conflict poses something for the writer of comic books: It allows him to explore the nature of good and evil. Study Batman and the Punisher for the basic man vs. man conflicts. There is a hero trying to stop an evil—simple as that. If you want something more “real,” try out one of the classic graphic novels like “Watchmen” or “The Dark Knight Returns” because they offer a different view of the world of superheroes. Conflict is the thesis for all good stories, and comic book scripts are no different.

Tips & Warnings

• Batman is the perfect hero; Punisher the perfect antihero. Study them for perfect examples of creating man vs. man conflict.

• <br>The villain shouldn’t just be beaten—he must show something to the hero by proving a moral point.

• <br>In comics the good side should win, but this can be altered, depending on who will read your book. “Watchmen” by Alan Moore, for example, had a somewhat bleak ending.

• There is no secret to creating conflict, but understanding it will make the writing process easier for you.