I am attempting to write my first "sci-fi" piece of fiction and everything is going well except for one thing: why does "mad scientist" want to destroy the world and why is he mad? The story's protagonist is a high schooler who has the power to destruct the world when he turns 18 in 100 days. He isn't the only one of his kind. There are several like him on each continent to aid in the slaughter when it happens. That's all fine and dandy, but why should they destroy the world/every human? Every idea I have ends up sounding childish and Cartoon Network Villain-y. Up until now, my work had always been about sickness and tragedy. Rarely, I'd even pop out a romance. Never anything that required a physical antagonist. Any thoughts?
Destroying the world is a dodgy move, is there somewhere else the 'chosen'/lucky survivors could go? If you're going for complete annihilation you have some options: -religious Noah's Arc cult scenario -punishment -the planet is diseased and crumbling -humans are all now diseased (zombie apocalypse/plague scenario) -the blast from destroying the world could create energy that needs to be harvested or used to do...something. -the alien overlords demand it
The above mentioned aren't bad. You could also use psychological madness. Like the Joker from Dark Knight for example. That can end up working really well a lot of the time. (In his mind he is helping us not destroying us.) Honestly this is where your creativity needs to shine. Think about why he is doing it this way. Think about the advantages, disadvantages, of the methods used. All this should help towards constructing the antagonist's unique world-view. This view needs to be as realistic as it is terrifying. If you think about most good villains in works, the best ones aren't very different from the main character. Lex Luther, Dr. Doom, Big Boss, Ice Truck Killer, Dr. Wiley, just to name a few. They agree on most things but the finer details create the conflict. This can make it easy for the villain to attempt to recruit the MC at some point before they end up fighting him, for example. Rather than limit yourself to these ideas, use them to construct his motivation. The motivation your villain needs probably already exists. You just need to find him.
Perhaps the villain does not want to destroy the world. Perhaps he wants to save it from what he sees as its greatest parasite; humans. The villain may have a connection with the universe at a level that is incomprehensible to humans. He sees us blazing a path of destruction and feels that the annihilation of the human race is for the greater good.
Here's an idea: Your protagonist knows that in 100 days, he will have during 24 hours the (god-like) ability to destroy the whole world . He can show an example of his potential by blowing something just by thinking of it. The story focuses on the moral dilemma he faces. -People try to talk him into bringing peace to the world by destroying only "bad" people (countries) -Others try to convince him to not doing it. -Others try to buy him by giving him fortune, etc. As we learn more about the protagonist, we learn that he had a hard childhood, he has anger inside of him. The reader identify to him and pity him. The tension builds as the 100th day is approaching. On the final day, when he has the power to destroy everything, the protagonist wants to see his parents to ask them why they made him suffer that much. It lets the reader believe and hope the parents will apologize and he won't destroy the world. But (punch), he discovers both his parents commited suicide and left a note, asking him to forgive them and spare the world. He decides to spare the world, the tension is released as the protagonist loses his power, everybody is happy. The story ends when a detective investigate the suicide of the parents and discovers the scene is a set up and they were killed. And lot of people collaborated to commit this crime..
This is all brilliant. I am starting to piece it together now with these suggestions. Just to clear it up, the protagonist does NOT want to destroy anything and he is not the person who created the ones who are set to destroy humanity.
You aren't required to explain your characters' motivation, but you are required to explore your characters' character. (Depending on your story and genre, it may not even be necessary to explore your antagonist's character that much.)
So the protagonist has the power to destroy the world but doesn't want to, and the villain also has the power and is quite happy to see the world burn- or is the villain the reason why they have the power? Just so I have it right in my head!
