How did young Tom Marvolo Riddle grow up to become Lord Voldemort? Voldemort is one of the most compelling villains; one of the reasons being that the sound of his name is enough to send people into a panic. No one speaks in his name in fear, other than a select brave few. So, how does someone grow to become that powerful? As the main antagonist of the Harry Potter franchise, Voldemort is increasingly interesting due to his overall lack of appearances throughout the novels or films. While he may be working off-screen, if Voldemort were to appear, it is usually saved for the final moments of the installments.
Lord Voldemort’s effects on the wizarding world and on the franchise are critical for the series to work. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince gives brief flashbacks to him as a child, teenager, and young adult, but never enough to grasp the entire picture of who he was and how he grew such a more significant following of supporters. Lord Voldemort may not be a hero or a fan-favorite people would expect a spinoff to follow. However, seeing the franchise’s main villain grow into the threat he would eventually pose is an avenue Harry Potter has yet to portray in-depth.
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4 The Making of a Villain
Warner Brothers
Harry Potter is the story of the making of a hero. Following Harry’s perspective throughout his teenage years, the franchise is a coming-of-age story for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. But, exciting heroes have just as compelling villains on the opposing side. Creating a captivating villain is more than making them evil just to have an antagonist. Some of the best villains have, in their eyes at least, a legitimate motivation for what they are doing. However, some of the best villains also know how to create fear from minor actions. As Voldemort is the main enemy of the Harry Potter franchise, a spinoff surrounding how he came to become such a powerful force in the wizarding world could tackle angles and questions about Voldemort’s identity as a villain.
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3 Creating His First Followers
Who were Voldemort’s original followers? How did he get them to follow him? Tom Riddle did have supporters at Hogwarts while he was still a student. But, at what point did he determine what he wanted in a supporter? Or, did he take anyone who believed in his ideas? Did that group grow up to stay as Death Eaters? Tom Riddle must have been persuasive and influential as a teenager to become as much of a leader as he had. Were Tom Riddle’s initial followers there out of fear, or genuine belief in whatever Tom was discussing? What was Hogwarts looking like when Tom Riddle attended? Was he already creating issues among the Houses? Or, did he sit back and quietly observe or influence, creating breaks in bonds to collect new people to join his beliefs?
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2 Initial Rise to Power
At what point did Tom Riddle go from a frightening and intense young man to a dangerous and threatening Lord Voldemort? When did Albus Dumbledore begin to notice that whatever was happening would only plunge the wizarding world into war? How scary was Voldemort during the Marauders’, Lily, and Snape’s time at Hogwarts if the threat of interest in dark magic was already occurring throughout their time at school? James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus had all joined the original Order of the Phoenix to fight against Voldemort. But how big of a threat was Voldemort during their years at school? How did Voldemort rise to power? Did he influence the Ministry? How far into his attempts at taking over the wizarding world was Voldemort considered a legitimate threat?
1 Voldemort’s Perspective Post-Ressurection
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Although Harry’s ability to look into Voldemort’s mind gives flashes of what he is up to, the novels and movies mainly surround Harry’s perspective of events. Voldemort’s resurrection in the graveyard during Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a turning point for Harry and Voldemort. But, following that scene, Voldemort only appears in brief moments, as most of the fear he inflicts is not the main story. But what if it was? From the moment Harry escapes the graveyard to the final confrontation at the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort works behind the scenes toward building an army and infiltrating the Ministry. Giving viewers the ability to see that would create a more grown-up, political, and darker story, while also giving viewers an understanding that this was all happening simultaneously with Harry’s time at Hogwarts or on the run.
Diving into Voldemort’s perspective would give a better understanding of how he thinks or responds to his many failures in killing Harry. In addition, it could portray the dynamics he has with the Death Eaters, which may even give a better understanding of, at which point the Malfoy family realized they were in deep trouble no matter which side of things they were on.
