Bob Barnes

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## Guile Villain

### Alias

Bob
Sergeant Barnes

### Allies

Elias Gordon
Chris Taylor (both formerly)
Bunny
Junior

### Powers/Skills

High intelligence
Impeccable marksmanship
Military training
Brute strength
Manipulation
Psychological warfare

### Goals

Eradicate any of the Vietnamese, regardless of their alignments or connections to the war.
Create a “civil war” within the platoon against Elias so that he can take charge.
Cause Elias’ death in order to completely solidify his takeover of the platoon.
Destroy a village he suspects of being allied with the Viet Cong (all succeeded).
Kill Private Chris Taylor at all costs (failed).

### "Evil is Cool" Zone

Being protective of his allies despite the care being pragmatic.
Lacking the sadism of Bunny and the cowardice of Junior.
Knowing that his crimes were unforgivably evil.
Encouraging Chris and his friends into killing him to make up for his actions.

### MEH or Most Evil Actions

Killing an innocent woman and attempting to murder to her daughter.
Destroying a village by raiding the population and burning all the buildings down.
Murdering Elias.

### Kill Count

Countless
1 (attempted)

### Crimes

Mass murder (inc. attempted child murder)
Mass destruction
Genocide
War crimes
Assault
Child abuse
Terrorism
Vandalism
Arson
Abuse of power
Treason

### Type of Villain

Barbaric Jingoist

**Robert "Bob" Barnes** is the main antagonist of Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam War film *Platoon*.

He is a brutal and jingoistic Sergeant in the US Army, known for his horrifically disfigured face that he gained after surviving seven shooting injuries. In the film, he and his platoon are deployed to the jungles of Vietnam in order to fight the Viet Cong, where his psychopathic nature is heavily contrasted with the compassionate and pacifistic nature of fellow Sergeant, Elias Gordon.

He was portrayed by Tom Berenger.

## His Cool and Evil Rankings

### What Makes Him a Guile Villain?

* It's pretty clear that he was meant to be seen as a tragic and three-dimensional villain, since he was so broken by war and understood that his war crimes were so unforgivable and inexcusable.
* He has battle scars on his arms, which further hints at a tragedy.
* Due to being so remorseful for his behaviour, he goads Chris and his allies into killing him in the end.
* He is pretty smart and charismatic as his philosophy of suffering is to "shut up and take the pain", based on Bob's words.
* He is not a sadist or coward unlike other villains such as Bunny.

### What Makes Him Evil?

* Upon discovering three soldiers had been killed by the Viet Cong, Barnes and his platoon completely destroy a nearby village he suspects of aiding the enemy, raiding the population and burning the village down.
	+ During this raid, he kills a total of five villagers onscreen, including the village chief's wife simply for talking back to him. He then holds the chief's young daughter at gunpoint for information.
* He shoots Elias and leaves him for dead, hoping to avoid a court martial.
* He tries to kill Taylor for that same reason in the final battle before he is knocked unconscious by an air strike, allowing Taylor to finally kill him once and for all.

## Trivia

* Bob Barnes is the only *Platoon* villain to be considered a Guile Villain.
* Despite being Pure Evil, he was written to be a tragic, sympathetic and three-dimensional villain according to what Dale Dye said on the DVD commentary that he got battle scars and knew his crimes were inexcusably wrong. If his tragedy was explored in more detail, Barnes would be stripped from his Pure Evil status.
	+ He also seems to care for his soldiers and allies like Bunny and Junior, but this could likely be out of pragmatism. If the care is genuine, it would also lead to Barnes losing his status as a Pure Evil villain.

## External Links

* Bob Barnes on the Villains Wiki
* Bob Barnes on the Pure Evil Wiki