Villain Vignettes #25: Pitch Black

Rise of the Guardians is perhaps one of the most underrated films in animation history…..okay I may be hyperbolizing a little bit there, but it is quite ignored even though it houses one of the scariest villains in imagination: The Boogey Man. Or more specifically, Pitch Black.

In a film with a starring cast which includes Jack Frost, The Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and The Sandman, I can see how it’s easy to overlook how potentially awesome and terrifying The Boogey Man actually is. But there are three major factors that make Pitch Black the ultimate villain, even if (SPOILER ALERT) he loses at the end of the film.

1.) Pitch Black has cunning like a true Slytherin.

I may be crossing over fandoms, but if you think about it, you’ll realize how true that is. Not only does he literally travel in the shadows, but Pitch managed to figure out how to use Sandy’s sand against him. And better yet, he used Sandy’s sand and turned it evil without having to use any of his own resources, aside from his own magic. That is true cunning.

2.) Pitch Black made his own henchmen. And they are scary.

Night Mares. How poetically horrifying that The Boogey Man would choose such a beautiful pun to invade children’s dreams and strip them of their innocence, hope, and faith in wonder. Genius I tell you. Not only are they super creepy in design (they’re kind of like zombie horses or thestrals except they are only used for evil), but the idea that you could never escape them is what really gets me. All children must fall asleep some time, and when they do, the Night Mares will be waiting.

3.) It only takes fear to fuel Pitch, which means he will always be around.

Pitch Black ruled during the Dark Ages when knowledge, and light were scarce. Then The Guardians came and people didn’t fear as much, loosening the grasp Pitch had on them. And The Guardians once again pushed Pitch Black into the crevices of his own fear kingdom when he attempted to erase them from children’s beliefs. BUT, because parents will always use The Boogey Man as a means to get their children to bed, or to frighten them into doing what they need, The Boogey Man will always be in the shadows, under the bed, and in the crevices of our minds biding his time for the perfect moment to come back.

How scary is Pitch Black to you? If DreamWorks decided on a sequel, what would Pitch’s role be?