When I was watching Dr Horrible I noticed how despite Dr Horrible being the 'villain' and Capt. Hammer the 'hero' it seemed as though they both had qualities of the other archetype.

For basics, Dr Horrible wore white (through most of it) and Capt. Hammer wore mostly dark colors.. black, grey and brown.  I don't think this was on accident.  “Good guys wear white, bad guys wear black” goes way back in our entertainment history.  I think this was actually on purpose. 

Dr Horrible didn't like killing people, Dr H “There's kids in that park,” Dr H “killing not elegant or creative.  It’s not my style,” Dr H “I'm not going to kill a little kid.”/Moist “Smother an old lady?”/ Dr H, “Do I even know you?”  And even when he did decide to kill Capt Hammer, when faced with his immobilized foe he had to talk himself into it “Its no time for mercy.”  And even the slightest interruption stopped him.  Technically he could have just said “Oh my freeze ray is powering down lets hurry up,” fired and been done with it.

Captain Hammer on the other hand, didn't ask questions.  He sees his foe and begins beating on him. He taunts him with his dream girl and goes on about how he's going to do her.  He doesn't like the homeless.  If you watch his face in the first song of the second act he's obviously faking a smile and dusts off the spot where a homeless man touches his shoulder.  And most villainous is he didn't have any second thoughts about shooting Dr Horrible with the death ray.

There is much more than that, but I wanted to put the thought out.  Has anyone else noticed this?

Ah. The age-old question of “good and evil”.

Nah. “Good” and “evil” are just words. Legislation decides what's right or wrong. Legislation exists by the graces of the powers in a region (usually the people and often the people with weapons). Indirectly, right and wrong are decided by the people (with or without the weapons on a case-by-case basis). Even with a dictatorship regime, it either exists by the allowance of the enforcers and/or the acceptance of the public.

How that plays into good and evil? It doesn't. It's the closest thing we have to defining some kind of standard, though. Each individual decides how to define good and evil. There is no standard to good and evil. The phrase “necessary evil” makes the poignant statement of how such definitions are often bent.

I feel this is more about the irony of control. Those who are in control or seek control end up being controlled by that which they wish to control. Control is a delicate dance when intentional. You have to balance your grip with mercy.

Ironically, it's easy when it's unintended, like with Capt. Hammer, Corporate Tool. (Get it? Hammer; tool?) Claiming to be a servant of the people, he was very much in control (with everyone bowing to him and doing the weird stuff) until he ultimately tried to seize control and his “mask” slipped completely off.

In the end when Billy no longer really wanted control, he was very much in control. It became easy. (So they say, you can never get enough of what you don't want.)

I guess the irony is that control is given, not taken.