Vengeance is sweet. That is what villains always say, laughing maniacally and walking away, right before the hero rallies his allies and defeats the menace with the power of friendship. Are we done being Children? Good. So let's really look at what revenge is. Revenge, by meaning, is taking an action against another because of something done in the past, or some approximation of that. The reason we see it as the motive for many comic and TV criminals is the tendency for it to pop up as a motive behind real tragedy. In fact, unless we are talking about some antisocial serial killer, it is a motive behind most misdeeds performed now, and throughout history. And history remembers these people as evil doers. Mostly because they failed at their goal. Why did they fail you ask? The answer is relatively simple. Revenge is not a strong enough motivator. In order for any person to get something done, they need a reason. For things like homework, the reason is often avoiding the wrath of mom, or the promise of a better future. But for big things, like world domination, revenge is insufficient. Revenge has a tendency to eliminate everything else within a person. Revenge is not sweet in the slightest. It is, in reality, a bestial monster that exists only as a parody of a human life. So remember that the next time you plan to kill your arch nemesis or take over the world.
