Introduce the villain in the first chapter?

I believe introducing the main conflict early on is important, but the main conflict doesn't necessarily have to focus on the villain from the get go.

But more importantly: If you don't see a reason to introduce the villain, why would you introduce him?

From the way you describe the situation, it doesn't appear necessary.
On the contrary, while I agree that a conflict needs to be introduced early, it could be much more interesting if it is only at a later point in your book that your MC realizes the entire scope of the conflict (a conflict with the main villain that goes beyond trying to go home).

I waited till Act 4 to introduce the antagonist, in MS1.

The very end of Act 2 to introduce the antagonist in MS2.

You might drop some hints in the scenes with the minor villians that there is some greater force abroad in the land. Otherwise it might seem like a series of random events, or, indeed, Whack-a-Mole.

No need to introduce the villain in chapter 1. You don't even have to introduce The Main Conflict right away, if that's how your story works. Building up to it is fine.

Some of these structural expectations may vary depending on your genre, of course. Some are much more rigid in their requirements than others.

There's no reason to introduce a villain in chapter one unless the story calls for that to happen. If there's no reason to do it, then don't. I think it's generally a good idea to start introducing the conflict early on in the story, like in chapter one, to start the story moving, but there's no reason for us to see the villain that early unless there's a reason to.

Not chapter 1, but probably within the first quarter of the story. It may work okay for others if the villain isn't introduced until later in the book, but to me it feels like a plot device rather than an integral part of the story. And by introduced I mean at least alluded to, if not actually presented in the flesh. I was quite awhile before we saw the shark in Jaws, but we knew all along it was out there.

just to build on what frimble says--the antagonist is a role which can evolve. It could be a story starts out woman versus self, then escalates to woman versus environment (or whatever).

Fantasy series which are interlinked (as in series which are really a single story split into multiple volumes) do that all the time; book 1 is farm boy becoming army captain or something, then book 2 is fighting hte evil general, and book 3 is taking down the Dark Lord Kleeshay. But you can do that within a single volume story, too. As long as everything builds on itself and moves towards a point, with plenty of conflict throughout.

I don't think it would be necessary. It sounds as though part of the setup is that the reader *thinks* the MC getting home is going to be the main story arc (and something stopping her is going to be the conflict) - but it actually turns out to be something else. And that's fine.

I don't believe you HAVE to introduce the villain in the first chapter, but you could if you deem it necessary.

Good question, Keithy! Gives me food for thought!

Obviously there's no rule about it, pro or con. Depends on the needs of the story. The only real principle would be that any such early introduction be directly pertinent to the flow of the story, and not a backstory info-dump thingie.

Another possibility, used often, is to introduce the character who turns out to be the baddie, but without indication of that. It's a common practice in mystery novels (Agatha Christie famously used this technique).

caw

I introduced ONE Villain in the first chapter of my book, but not the Big Bad - she was only indirectly alluded to. You need at least somebody to bounce off.

OP, you say yourself you don't see any reason to introduce your main villain in the first chapter, but I'm curious what makes you think you should do so in the first place at all.

This has to be one of the coolest things about writing. The OP asks if there is a rule, and then we all explore whether there is one. And, of course, there isn't. Conflict can be linear, or conflict can be cumulative, but neither requires that the villain be introduced right away. There's no right answer, but every take on it adds possibility to all of our stories. Sorry to emote, but though I haven't been in the community long, I am so glad it's here.
To be relevant to the thread, no, I don't think you need to. My opinion.