Some villains are addicted to substances or even a certain activities and also their behaviors. Addicts can thus could be considered Tragic due to addictions fueling their crimes and most sympathizing with them. However, they can become much less sympathetic considering how their addictive behavior affects others.

Mental illnesses are worsened by such abuse which is one of the reasons for violent psychoses if coupled with dissociations and/or schizophrenic disorders. Likewise, prolonged use can cause illnesses to manifest as well as the obvious dangers of chemical addictions (which in the case of alcohol is known as alcoholism).

Despite the fact that addiction is classed as an illness, it is stigmatized in societies with many seeing Addicts as drunkards or lowlives who bring misery upon themselves; some use this as justification to abuse and/or kill such individuals as Social Darwinist and/or Harbinger for Rebirth ideals, some Serial Killers specifically targeting such people in order to "purify" the worlds they live in; this makes Addicts a complicated matter for Heroes and societies as a whole with varying degrees of sympathy being put forth depending on factors. Due to this, many works generally show that regardless of what they are addicated to, they still must help themselves before expecting others to do the same.

However, Addicted villains may otherwise go so far as to lose their redeeming features and in the worst-case scenarios, become Outright Villains or Pure Evils (i.e. Norman Stansfield, the Joker and Bill Cipher).