Villains

Introduction

Villains are - by modern definition of the word - people using their individualities to act against the law. There are numerous types of villains out there, ranging from common thugs through serial killers, the organized crime and simply scammers, and ending with political and social extremists seeking to change the world to suit their dreams. No two villains are identical, if only because no two individualities are identical - and they tend to shape the villains that awoken them.
With the individualities around for close to thirty years now, villains developed something akin to their own subculture, one that was mostly codified nowadays by the Hero Association. There are regional variants to that, however, although the Europe and America has their systems mostly similar, and they are beginning to influence the rest of the world.

Career

Qualifications

By all intents and purposes, what is needed to become a 'proper' villain is an individuality (aside from some henchmen, who are villains mostly by association), and a desire to break law - with it, but also not necessarily with it. Naturally, if one wants to become an established and feared villain, they have to train themselves hard and do so for the rest of their life, all while avoiding the scrutiny of the heroes and the law enforcement in general.

Career Progression

There are three main levels of villainy, something that has recently began to be something of a codified custom, recognized both by villains and by the law enforcement units. Each of them requires a different approach, something that tends to be mirrored in the internal organization of the ranks of the heroes. You can also expect most of the villainous organizations to be formed accordingly to this division.
Those three levels of villainy are Henchmen, Lieutenants and Supervillains.

Henchmen

Henchmen are the most numerous branch of villains, most of them either developing weak individualities or not having any at all (their status as villains being mostly due to the term practically taking over the word 'criminal', with modern public referring to all criminals as villains). Their job is to serve as rank and file members of most villainous organizations, keeping the police (and, in case of villain versus villain clash, other villains) at bay, letting the higher-ups do their battles in peace. They also do the 'menial jobs', such as hauling and selling drugs.
They tend to be further divided between Mooks and Elite Mooks. The latter are typically speaking those henchmen who managed to prove themselves to be reliable and dangerous. Depending on the level of the villainous organization in question, this might range from thugs capable of beating a police officer to former special force operatives capable of battling SWAT officers like equals - or even as their betters.
It is often customary for the henchmen to - whenever they are deploying as an actual combat force - to wear outfits that signify their allegiance to their villainous organizations. Depending on the funding of the organization in question, it might range from a tattoo of the gang to a full outfit vaguely resembling the one of their organization leader (for example, a business suit to match the one of their leader).

Lieutenants

Unlike henchmen, the lieutenants uniformly possess individualities. They also tend to be excluded from the organization 'dress code' (at least in the more 'organized' groups that tend to observe it properly), instead allowed to wear their own, customized villain uniforms. Lieutenants tend to be the something beyond an elite mook, their individualities allowing them to dispatch of most conventional enemies, aside from heroes.
Most of lieutenants have either powerful combat individualities (while lacking abilities required to work independently) or those more useful in supporting their betters. In short, they are villains who can only reach their full potential while being a part of an organization. They are deputies, head enforcers and close confidantes of 'their' supervillains. A selection of powerful lieutenants can easily propel a minor villainous organization into the first league, even if their supervillain is lacking.
Some of the more established organizations began to mark one of them as their Dragon, after an old popcultural trope. Dragons are by all intents and purposes the supervillain's second in command. As one can expect, the rivalry for this seat tends to be heated. Some of them can also easily switch into supervillainy once they get good enough - conversely, a supervillain whose organization was absorbed by another can see himself becoming a lieutenant.

Supervillains

Supervillains are the top of villain worlds. Each and every one of them is a head of their own, independent villainous organization. Naturally, there are vast differences between them. The organization in question might be a small gang, or a massive insurgency group almost ready to topple the government. As a result the lower ranked supervillains are perpetually at risk of being 'shifted' back to the rank of a lieutenant, if only because their organization was subsumed by another, more developed.
Supervillains tend to develop something of a unique aesthetics for themselves (it's not always the case), and it's quite common for their underlings to replicate that to a degree.
They are also internally varied. Gang leaders, independent heavy-hitters (with their own henchmen) for hire, organized crime syndicate leaders, social revolutionaries, cult leaders - they are, in the end, as varied as the concept of crime itself.

Perception

Demographics

It is unknown what percentage of the population are villains, if only because many crimes remain unreported or have their perpetrators remain undiscovered.

History

Villains were born during the aftermath of the Wishgranter passage through the Solar System, which result in birth of the first individualities. Their incredible combat skills resulted in them quickly dominating the field of crime and general anti-social behaviour, resulting in the world where the term 'criminal activity' is begin to fade, replaced by a simpler term of 'villainy'.

Villainous Organizations

United States

Threat Rating SSS

Villain Academy
People's Liberation Front
VIllain Alliance of America

Threat Rating SS

Ascending Path
Legion of Purity
Mutant Supremacy Party
Shield of Mankind
Socialist Party
Freedom Party
Fascist Party

Threat Rating S

House of Glass
Clockwork Tower
Union of '32
Sanguine Pact
Halworth Industries
Court of Numbers
Vigilante Network
Exchange