Have I piled too many Evil Tropes onto this hero?

So I have an entire race of Dark Is Not Evil people based around using darkness-based magic, the race that the main story centers around. Most of my protagonists are members of this race, and typically are not squeaky-clean, leading to them being antiheroes to some degree and having at least some traits that could be interpreted as being indicative of evil.

However, I have one protagonist who stands out among everyone else- Viktor Kunstler. When I was developing him, I wasn't even thinking of tropes and how they could potentially be taken as evil. I added various traits on just because I thought they made sense for the rest of his character, and when I thought about it one day, I realized that he officially falls under an exaggeration of Obviously Evil, with somewhere around fifteen traits filed under Obviously Evil.

• Albino
• Russian and German descent with a moderate accent to match, since he grew up in Russia
• A scientist, and one who has participated in (rather benevolent) genetics projects on humans
• Suave and a self-proclaimed aristocrat with a taste for wine
• Always dresses in an expensive-looking suit, like a Mafiya boss
• An ice-type
• High cheekbones

Yet despite all this, he's still a pretty nice guy.

My question is- have I gone too crazy with Obviously Evil traits, especially since nobody else has quite as much stuff piled on?

edited 24th Feb '11 8:46:51 PM by CrystalGlacia

No. None of those traits actually make someone evil, they're just common markers that writers use to show the evil guy. If you make a good (or good-ish) character like that, it'll be a great subversion.

The only way I could see this being a problem is if he comes off as an over-the-top parody of Obviously Evil traits, and if it also entirely dominates his character. You said you weren't even thinking of these tropes when you designed his character, so as long as he's not solely defined by these traits, I think it should work fine. In fact, he sounds like quite an interesting character!

Obligatory link to Tropes Are Not Bad goes here.

Just based on the traits you've given, it does sound a bit like a caricature— the "Man of Wealth and Taste" villain who's kinda Affably Evil and a little "off" (albino, icy). Any character can be well-written, of course, but I suggest toning down/subverting some of the traits if you don't want to come off as a parody. Nix the accent (esp. if it's a book— Funetik Aksent almost never works) and play with the sophisticated angle— maybe he's actually a redneck trying to act sophisticated and his attempts to look suave fail, or maybe he looks the part of the sharp, powerful villain, but he gets nervous in front of crowds and stutters. Anything to make the traits less formulaic.

Thing is, he's not a villain at all. I linked to villainous tropes because that's what those traits could be mistaken for. That's why I didn't think it would fit. And I would never write a Funetik Accent; he just sounds Russian-ish because he grew up in St. Petersburg. I probably did go overboard comparing it to a James Bond villain, though.

However, I won't get rid of the albinism, and for him to survive, he would've had to be reasonably wealthy. Unlike most Evil Albinos, he bears all associated problems, including poor vision. I made sure that was there.

I don't think it's that far-fetched in concept. Heck, if you took away albinism I know a couple of people who match most of the rest of the list. As long as you don't keep nudging the reader to point out how you're subverting the tropes, I think it will be fine.

Alright! Thank you, everyone.

Sounds like a suave motherfucker, I'd love to see him in a work I was reading/watching.