Today I give you a tyrant right from the Greek mythology, a man who's worse than Agamemnon and more power-hungry than most gods, Lord Cotys.
What Is The Work?[]
Lord Cotys appears in the 2014 adaptation of "Hercules", serving as the main antagonist. He manipulated Hercules for a long time, causing great harm both to people whom he sent Hercules to kill, and to Hercules himself.
Who Is The Villain?[]
Lord Cotys was the king of Thrace. He presented himself as a benevolent ruler who wants to kill the warlord Rhesus, but secretly wanted to expand his kingdom into an empire by force, not caring about who'll get hurt, including his own family.
What Does He Do?[]
Long before the beginning of the movie, Cotys risen to power after poisoning the former king, who was also his own son in law. He threatened his own daughter to keep her mouth shut about it, or else he'll kill her son, which is also his own grandson. The fact the former king was Cotys' son in law means he also expect his own daughter to be cool with the death of her husband.
The movie begins with Cotys recruiting Hercules and his mercenaries group to fight against a Thracian leader named Rhesus, claimed by Cotys to be a mass murderer. His plan succeeded after a big effort and at the cost of many casualties on both sides, and Rhesus was imprisoned and humiliating in front of the crowd, along side with many of people, all being forced to do the walk of shame.
After Rhesus was imprisoned, he revealed that the real mass murderer was actually Cotys. This information became officially valid when Cotys' widow daughter admits it and secretly telling to Hercules the whole story. Hercules finally understands that Cotys fooled him, and going away with his payment, but not before Cotys mocked him for choosing the wrong side (Cotys' side). Hercules decided to come back and make things right, only to be imprisoned by Cotys and his people. One of Cotys' cohorts turned out to be Eurystheus, who used to be Hercules' patron. Eurystheus revealed his part at the death of Hercules' family, guided by Cotys to rip them apart by three wolves whom the drugged Hercules saw as Cerberus, and later guilt-tripping Hercules to believe he killed his own family while he was intoxicate.
The final battle involved Hercules and his crew, Cotys and his army, and his daughter and grandson about to be executed. Hercules and his crew intervened for Cotys' family, stopped the execution and gave the child time to escape. The kid escaped from his homicidal grandfather, but the battle was far from over, as Cotys sent his troops against the heroes group. He closed on Hercules at Hera's temple, taking his time to comment that Hercules' wife and children deserved to die. The rage and grief merged into one big burst of divine energy that helped Hercules throwing one of Hera's statues. Cotys' reign of terror ended when the statue crushed many of Cotys' soldiers, as well as crushing Cotys himself with the head of the statue, rolling with him to the abyss.
Redeeming Qualities[]
None. He's a realistic warlord with a clear moral agency who's played for dead serious (no comedic qualities, especially not comic relief). He cares about not one but himself, not even from his own family, and definitely not from his soldiers. Some Greek mythology villains can claim they are mentally ill/psychotic/just monsters. Cotys is a calculated and sane man with a clear moral agency who chose to be what he is. Even paying Hercules and his crew wasn't for anything remotely good. It was just part of his faux affably evil nature, in addition to looking better in his troops' eyes. Being crushed by a statue doesn't make him a scapegoat. Considering his actions and the fact he was willing to be killed just to twist the knife in Hercules' heart one last time, he had it coming. His only regret was that he couldn't kill Hercules with his bare hands, which erase him from "remorseful".
Freudian Excuse[]
The movie doesn't give us any indication to such excuse. He's just a cruel man who craves for power, and occasionally kill/torturing people in front of a vast crowd because he likes it. Even if he did have a Freudian excuse, it couldn't justify extorting his own daughter in a knife point over her son (again, his own grandson)'s neck. Neither can it justify his involvement at death of Hercules' family. King Eurystheus killed Hercules' family, but it was Cotys' idea. The fact he fooled Hercules into believing he killed his own family takes him beyond Eurystheus' actions.
Heinous Standard[]
He's the most vile out of the three villains in the movie. None of the two others villains is any competition. King Eurystheus is an insecure pawn and General Sitacles is treating his soldiers with honor. Cotys is, first and foremost, a self-serving psychopath who keep people alive only as long as they are useful. The fact he's a mass murderer who killed his former king could be insignificant in some very dark settings. But here's a rehearsal of the reasons he stand out even if we disregard the blood on his hands:
1. Treated his own family worse than junk. He killed his own son in law for power, blackmailed his daughter to shut up about the death of her husband under the threat he'll kill her son, and later tried to behead his own daughter in front of a vast crowd. He was even very specific about killing his grandson, specifically order the soldiers to "get the boy".
2. Creating the biggest suffering in Hercules' life. He played on Eurystheus' insecurities to make him kill Hercules' wife and children, and later manipulated Hercules to believe he killed his own family. His last words to Hercules were saying that Hercules' family deserved to die. To put it simply, he was willing to get himself killed just to hurt Hercules one last time.
3. Some dictators become kings and concentrate on staying in power. Cotys had his initial goal thanks to Hercules and his crew, but revealed that he won't stop until having an empire. First stop, Greece, and later every corner in the world he could think about. Whenever Cotys achieves his goals, people are always ending up dead.
4. Framing a freedom fighter at his own orders of mass killings. This severe dehumanization made a good person like Hercules taking part at the enslavement and torture of another good person and his people.
Verdict[]
I would say he's pure evil. People like him are the reason there are wars.