Henchman - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Henchmen (occasionally henchlings) are common in mystery, fantasy, adventure comic books, and adventure novels and movies. They are the expendable adherents of the main villain, always there to do the master's bidding, to kill or be killed, kidnap, or threaten, as needed. Often, they are killed by the hero before the master villain is reached, by the hero's sidekick in a dramatic battle, or even by the master villain as punishment for failure to comply with orders. They also may switch sides during the course of the story to ally with the hero. Alternatively, they may be forgotten in the heat of the climax when the master villain is defeated, then killed when they reappear in the denouement for one last scare or even promoted to master villain for a sequel.

Henchmen are often abused and insulted by the villain for their incompetence, or for his pleasure; indeed, some abused henchmen take revenge after the villain's final defeat at the hero's hands, so that the henchman rather than the hero actually kills the villain. Henchmen in this sense are also sometimes called lackeys, toadies, or mooks (with the latter term more often used for lesser minions of the villain).

Not all henchmen are dimwitted, expendable employees of a villain. Sometimes, they may be of an equal social standing or at least have a high intelligence or social standing of their own, thus being valued more like a right hand man. In such cases, they may command groups of more expendable thugs. This is common in ensemble casts where often the leading villain remains behind the scenes. Being granted a large amount of autonomy, intelligent henchmen often have their own agendas and may also covet the leading villain's position, and they often attempt to betray the villain in order to obtain it.

While the term is masculine, female henchmen are not unheard of. However, many of them typically serve only as the male villain's lover, rather than actively take part in the schemes. Usually, there is, instead, an additional male accomplice for the purpose of criminal business. A female accomplice is more often called a "moll."

In 2011, a parody website for the International Brotherhood of Minions & Henchpeople: Benevolent & Evil was launched.

A henchman might also be the non-player character follower of a player character in role-playing games. This henchman will follow the player around and assist in various manners.

In fiction, such heroic supporting characters are normally portrayed in a more positive light, tied to the hero by bonds of friendship and loyalty and are usually called sidekicks; the villain's supporters are called henchmen or minions because of their evil nature, which implies that such personal bonds are difficult to establish. However, some darkly comedic heroes have sidekicks of a more subservient nature; though these relationships are often a form of "tough love" or even just a condescending affection, the henchman is in this case usually known as a minion.