Going by many different names: lackeys, servants, grunts, mooks, toadies, etc., Minions or Henchmen are followers of a villain. Ones that are silly, foolish, or eccentric are commonly referred to as "goons".

There are two kinds: the valuable kind and the disposable kind. One of the valuable kind is usually very powerful and leads the villain's forces for them; this type of minion is rare and the villain is usually enraged by their death.

The disposable kind is usually found in vast hordes; they are often weak, dimwitted and incompetent, dangerous only in these hordes. They are easily replaceable and the death of a few doesn't matter.

Usually, the minions are killed by the hero, the hero's army, or the hero's sidekick. Sometimes, the master villain will destroy them as punishment for incompetence. Sometimes (in rare cases), the minion will usually take over the master villain's place following the latter's death (e.g. Kylo Ren took over as leader of the First Order after killing his master Supreme Leader Snoke).

Minions can only be Pure Evil if they decide to take over the master villain's place or at least commit heinous acts through their own volition because Pure Evil villains were not forced by someone else to commit evil acts and are personally responsible for commiting them. Examples of these, are Agent Kruger, Evolt, & Professor Zündapp.