Category:Archenemy

An Archenemy is the main enemy of the protagonist. The reason why the particular villain stands out more than the rest varies; they may be the hero's strongest enemy, be the complete antithesis to the hero, have strong connections with their hero's past, pose the greatest threat, or may be the most recurring villain like the Big Bad or the Right-Hand enforcer or even the Rival.

This is not to be confused with the Big Bad, who is the villain responsible for the conflict in the story, or The Heavy, who is the most proactive villain in the story. The Archenemy is simply the villain that the protagonist has the most personal opposition towards. For stories with multiple main heroes and villains, there may be multiple archenemies if each hero shares an antithesis on the villains side. In rare cases such as Evil Vs. Evil scenarios, two villains may be archenemies of each other.