Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots: The Supervillain Workplace Satire You've Been Waiting For
If you thought working a boring temp job was bad, imagine doing it for a supervillain. That was the darkly comedic premise of Hench, the breakout debut novel by Natalie Zina Walschots that took the literary world by storm with its razor-sharp wit, biting workplace commentary, and deeply human protagonist navigating a world full of capes and catastrophes. Now, the sequel — simply and boldly titled Villain — has arrived, and it raises the stakes in every possible direction.
Whether you're a longtime fan of the original or just discovering this series for the first time, this article will walk you through everything you need to know about Villain, why the Hench/Villain duology is one of the most creative fiction series published in recent memory, and why readers who love workplace humor, genre-defying storytelling, and sharp cultural commentary should absolutely add both books to their reading list immediately.
What Is Hench? Start Here If You're New to the Series
Before diving into Villain, it's essential to understand what made Hench so special. Published by Natalie Zina Walschots, Hench follows Anna, a young woman who makes ends meet by taking temp jobs — except her temp agency specializes in placing workers with supervillains. Think data entry, administrative support, logistics coordination — just for people who want to take over the world rather than corner the market.
The genius of Hench lies in its central juxtaposition: the breathtaking absurdity of superhero mythology colliding head-on with the grinding mundanity of office work. Anna doesn't care about world domination. She cares about keeping her job, paying her rent, and not getting injured by a rogue superhero during her lunch break. The result is a book that is simultaneously hilarious, emotionally resonant, and surprisingly poignant in its examination of labor, power, and what it really means to be a "villain."
By the time Hench ends, Anna has undergone a dramatic transformation — not just personally, but professionally. Which leads us directly into the world of Villain.
What Happens in Villain? The Sequel Raises the Stakes
In Villain, Anna is no longer a low-level temp worker scrambling for her next assignment. She has ascended — quite significantly — to a second-in-command position within a major villainous organization. Her new mission? To dismantle and destroy the organization that manages the world's superheroes from behind the scenes: a shadowy, bureaucratic, and deeply corrupt institution that presents a heroic face to the world while operating with sinister efficiency underneath.
This narrative shift is brilliant for multiple reasons. First, it allows Walschots to expand the world she built in Hench considerably, pulling back the curtain on the machinery of heroism itself. Second, it gives Anna a much more active, powerful role — she is no longer reacting to the chaos around her but driving it. And third, it deepens the satirical targets of the series, turning its lens not just on workplace drudgery but on institutional power, systemic corruption, and the uncomfortable question of who really gets to define "good" and "evil."
Once again, the humor is extraordinary. There is something endlessly funny about the bureaucratic logistics of running an evil empire — the HR meetings, the budget approvals, the performance reviews — all set against a backdrop of supervillains, elaborate schemes, and the occasional catastrophic battle. Walschots has a rare gift for finding comedy in process and procedure, and Villain deploys that gift with even more confidence and range than its predecessor.
Why the Hench and Villain Series Stands Apart in Modern Fiction
There is no shortage of superhero fiction in today's literary landscape. From comic book tie-ins to prestige literary novels that use the genre as metaphor, the market is crowded. So what makes the Hench/Villain duology stand out so dramatically?
- It takes workplace culture seriously as a literary subject. Walschots understands that work is one of the most defining and often soul-crushing experiences of adult life. By placing real, recognizable workplace dynamics — the boredom, the politics, the small indignities and occasional triumphs — inside a fantastical setting, she makes both feel more vivid and more true.
- The protagonist is genuinely complex. Anna is not a hero in any traditional sense. She is morally ambiguous, occasionally ruthless, deeply human, and consistently compelling. Her evolution across both books feels earned and psychologically real.
- The satire has actual teeth. This series isn't just playful genre-bending. It asks hard questions about power, about who benefits from the systems we call "heroic," and about the labor that keeps those systems running — often invisible, often exploited.
- The writing is genuinely funny. Not "clever" funny in a distant, self-congratulatory way — actually, laugh-out-loud funny in the way that the best comic writing is: grounded in character, rooted in specificity, and arriving at exactly the right moment.
Who Should Read Villain (and Hench)?
If you have ever worked a job that felt absurd, pointless, or faintly sinister, you will find something deeply satisfying in these books. If you love genre fiction — superhero stories, science fiction, dark comedy — you will find both novels to be inventive and refreshing. If you are simply looking for smart, beautifully written fiction that doesn't talk down to its reader, the Hench/Villain duology is exactly what you need.
Fans of authors like Terry Pratchett, John Scalzi, and Nnedi Okofor will likely find Walschots's voice immediately familiar and immediately welcome. She shares their ability to wrap serious ideas in genuinely entertaining packages — to make you laugh and think at the same time, often within the same sentence.
Reading Order: How to Approach the Series
The recommendation is clear: read Hench first. While Villain is its own complete story in many ways, the emotional weight of Anna's journey in the sequel depends significantly on knowing where she came from. The character development, the relationships, the backstory — all of it pays off far more richly if you've spent time with Hench first. Think of Hench as the origin story and Villain as the moment the character steps fully into her power.
Both books are relatively quick reads despite their depth — the kind of novels you pick up on a Friday evening and find yourself finishing by Sunday afternoon, slightly dazed and already wanting more.
Final Thoughts: Add Villain to Your Reading List Today
Natalie Zina Walschots has done something genuinely rare with this duology: she has created a fictional world that is wildly imaginative and yet completely recognizable, populated it with a protagonist who is complicated and compelling, and wrapped the whole thing in some of the sharpest, funniest writing in contemporary genre fiction. Villain is not just a worthy sequel — it is, in many ways, the book Hench was always building toward.
If your weekend reading list has space for exactly one new addition, make it Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots. Just make sure you read Hench first. You won't regret either.