Anti-Hero: Difference between revisions

 

{{quote|''"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right."''

 

 

Most are far to the cynical end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]].

 

 

Other characters may try to impress upon them the value of more traditional heroic values through [[The Power of Friendship]], but these lessons tend to bounce more often than stick.

What amoral anti-heroes learn, if they learn anything at all over the course of the story, is that an existence devoid of absolute values offers a lot of isolation. Which may be to their liking. [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!]] is common, and gratitude may be repulsed with [[Think Nothing of It]] (just to get them to leave him alone.)

 

 

Sometimes, they are not the "star" (protagonist), but serve as [[The Rival]] or [[Worthy Opponent]] of the [[Designated Hero|protagonist]] and inevitably steal the spotlight. If they are part of a [[Five-Man Band]], they will most certainly be [[The Lancer]].

 

 

Antiheroes are spread all over the alignment chart, tending toward Neutral types. It is nearly impossible for them to be [[Chaotic Evil]] or [[Lawful Good]].

 

 

If you've been sent here by a work referring to someone as a "Type-I" antihero (Or so forth), they are referring to the [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]], which is a sub-page of this one.

 

 

Not to be confused with the webcomic ''[[Anti-HEROES]]''.

 

{{examples}}

* Guts from ''[[Berserk]]'' has one goal in life: making his former ally Griffith pay in blood for what's happened to him. A childhood spent as a mercenary and an adult life spent being attacked by demons has left him with few moral precepts. He thinks nothing of cutting people in half, although he ''does'' prefer not to take out bystanders (still a bad idea to stand in his way, though). On the other hand, he cares deeply for Casca and has given some thought to what he really wants to do with his life once he's gotten his revenge; he doesn't have an answer for that one yet. Pre-Eclipse Guts is more of a [[Byronic Hero]].

* You could say that the main cast of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'' could count as Anti Heroes, but [[Villain Protagonist|that would be a misnomer]].

* Nao Yuuki from ''[[My-HiME]]'' is an arguable case; bent on vengeance for her mother, who was severely wounded in a robbery, she uses herself as bait to trap paedophiles, who she proceeds to rob. It's never made clear if her victims receive punishment under a proper judicial system. In fact, she seems to enjoy going after her victims a bit too much.

* Yukiteru from ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'', after his parents were killed and he [[Took a Level in Badass|takes a level in badass]]. The most recent chapter showed him massacring orphans in the name of becoming God; it's implied that once he becomes god he'll bring them back (keeping him from outright villainy).

* Shinji Ikari of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is a deeply neurotic protagonist who is withdrawn, socially awkward, and completely lacking in self-confidence, but is shown to be a good person under his many psychological problems, all of which stem from him being the series' resident [[Butt Monkey]]. Asuka, too, fits the role of Anti-Hero, as her only reason for piloting her Evangelion isn't to protect mankind, but to show everyone how talented she is. Somewhat mitigated by the fact that when she was around 4 her mother lost her mind and thought that a doll was Asuka. And her father started to have an affair with the head nurse in charge of Asuka's mother. So at age four, who cares about Asuka? That's right, nobody. So she works around her abandonment issues by trying to get everyone to need her. Because she doesn't want to be alone. Shinji has the same kind of childhood, but works around it by trying not to have to make any decisions, because he thinks ''he'' is in the wrong about most things. This show messes up the background history of every character.

** Who were key figures in the Corsican mob, so their hands weren't exactly clean, either. They set the events of the story (And get themselves killed) by declaring that [[Even Evil Has Standards]].

* Brilliantly lampshaded in an episode of ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''. [[Anti-Villain|Anti Villains]] Jessie, James, and Meowth are disgusted by how Anti-Hero Paul mistreats his Pokemon, given the fact that they're ''far nicer'' people than he is, and they're ''criminals''!

* Nicholas D. Wolfwood of ''[[Trigun]]'' is not amoral by any means, but his harsh "no matter the cost" martialism copied from [[Disproportionate Retribution|Knives]] and [[Corrupt Church|Chapel]] and his sense of fashion screams Anti-Hero, especially when compared with [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|Vash]].

* ''[[Vinland Saga]]'''s. Thorfinn and Thorkel. Many of the other characters of the manga are villains in one way or another.

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''

** Yami Yuugi from the early manga. Example: A guy steals a playing card from Yuugi. Yami Yuugi comes out to drive him permanently stark raving mad. Whenever he gets out, someone is gonna die or go nuts. Not to mention the fact that he is ''smiling'' as he lights people on fire, condemns them to insanity, etc.

* Elise von Barbaroque from ''[[Dai Mahou Touge]]''.

 

* Marvel's [[The Punisher]] is a [[Badass Normal]], [[Badass Longcoat|trenchcoat-wearing]] [[Vigilante Man]] who often uses extreme amounts of violence to combat criminals. Why do super heroes fight ''super'' villains? Because the Punisher shot the lesser ones.

** Even more so in the MAX series, which has neither super villains nor super heroes. On one occasion, the Punisher killed [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|two pimps, crippled four and stabbed another one in the eye in order to get information]], only to find out that they didn't have it. Later in the same story, he disembowels a [[Complete Monster|human trafficker]], among other things. However, he's still not as bad as his enemies, and he [[Pet the Dog|DOES show kindness on several occasions]], especially towards children.

* Rayek from ''[[Elf Quest]]'' always does what he thinks is best for the entire elfin race, without ''ever'' stopping to ask the rest of the elfin race what ''they'' think is best for them.

* [[The DCU]] introduced a slew of Anti Heroes to "replace" their traditional heroic characters during the [[Dark Age]]—the Eradicator for [[Superman]], Jean Paul Valley for [[Batman]], Artemis for [[Wonder Woman]], [[The Flash|Dark Flash]]—though whether they were supposed to emphasize how good the originals were in comparison or a cynical attempt to get with the [[Darker and Edgier]] trend of the '90s depends on how charitable you are. The only one with any staying power was [[Green Lantern]] Kyle Rayner, but he was never really an Anti-Hero to begin with.

* Cassie Hack in ''[[Hack Slash]]''. Her motivation is mostly admirable, but her tactics and personality are... not role model material.

* [[Batman]], [http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=SR2c8r6jgMQ Marvel/DC Happy Hour]:

'''Eggman''': Not if I avoid you like the... devil? Wait a second! Good guys [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|don't kill]]! Isn't there a [[Recycled in Space|hedgehog moral code]]?

'''Shadow''': Sonic holds such beliefs. Then again, he's a hero, I'm not. }}

* Cynosure's resident go-to guy, Grimjack is willing to do whatever needs to be done to do a job. But despite his gruff exterior, he has a soft spot for people who had the same kind of troubles he had in his past, and has been known to let a deserving person slip out. In the end, he will end up doing the right thing.

{{quote|The name's John Gaunt, a.k.a. Grimjack, and I'm the guy you hire when you need an asshole on your side.}}

* Jason Todd, The Red Hood, could be considered an antihero.

 

* In ''[[Code Geass: Mao of the Deliverance|Code Geass Mao of the Deliverance]]'', Mao is the [[Insufferable Genius|brilliant]] but [[Unhappy Medium|borderline-insane]] protagonist who will do ''whatever'' it takes to reunite with his lost love C.C. and destroy anyone who gets in his way or endangers her in his estimation, including grand theft, blackmail, and murder. He also intimidates and manipulates innocent [[Muggles]] without a care.

* ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure Blue Moon]]'' has {{spoiler|Emiru/Millusion}} become one at the end of episode 13.

* Beren from Russian Tolkien fic [[Beyond the Dawn]]. In Tolkien's [[The Silmarillion]] and ''Lay of Leithian'' he was so good that he even got vegetarian. In [[Beyond the Dawn]] he looks much more like a man who fought six years guerrilla alone.

* Sinestro in the [[SuperHeroHype RPGs|World of Heroes]] rpg.

* ''[[Secret War (fanfic)|Secret War]]'', a Warhammer40k fan fic, that follows Attelus Kaltos, a mercenary apprentice assassin, who is so morally grey in his actions, he could even be interpreted as a [[Villain Protagonist]].

* [[World of Warcraft]] fic ''[[Children of the Stars]]'' features Keleria, a raging, red-eyed, cackling berserker...with morals and a soft spot for adorable priestesses.

 

* In old Westerns, when the hero and villain would face off in a duel, the hero would traditionally wait for the villain to draw, then draw awesomely faster and shoot first. Anti Heroes facing a villain, would simply draw first.

** Sometimes averted either for cool factor or pragmatism. One of the black hats in Shane antagonizes a local in order to get him to draw first. Whether this is to show off or to keep the law on his side ("He drew on me!") is never explained.

* Snake Plissken from ''[[Escape from New York]]'' and its [[Escape From L.A.|sequel]]. In fact, just about anything set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland tends to have a couple show up simply because such settings tend strongly towards the latter end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]].

* When he's not destroying Tokyo on a daily basis, [[Godzilla]] is often saving the world from some other giant monster.

* The guys ''[[In Bruges]]'' would be shining examples of this trope, if anti-heroes were allowed to shine. Even the villain is [[Affably Evil]] and has some very clear principles.

* ''[[Lawn Dogs]]'' has two of them, adult Trent and 10 year old Devon. Both cause mischief in town, but both are really the only like-able characters in the film, as well as the main characters. Devon is very anti, however, when she {{spoiler|threatens her own father at gunpoint and steals his wallet in an attempt to help Trent escape.}}

* Bryan Mills in ''[[Taken (film)|Taken]]'' is a ruthless anti-hero who takes the law into his own hands. His daughter is kidnapped to be sold into slavery, so... he mercilessly tortures and kills dozens of people connected to the kidnapping including unarmed mooks who have surrendered. He is not afraid to [[Shoot the Dog]] a few times either.

* ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' - Batman's unscrupulous methods in make him something of an anti-hero. [[Chaotic Good|His intentions are heroic but he is willing to break the law in order to achieve them]].

* In Milos Forman's ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'', Randall Patrick McMurphy is a sleazy, violent, and sometimes downright insane convict. He's still not as bad as [[Complete Monster|Nurse Ratched]].

* [[Riddick]] from ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick]]'' films and various tie-ins.

* [[Seth Rogen]] usually plays these, varying vastly from Type 1 ([[Knocked Up|Ben Stone]]) to Type III ([[The Green Hornet (film)|Britt Reid]]) to Type V ([[Observe and Report|Ronnie Barnhardt]])

 

{{quote|'''JK Rowling:''' Yes, I do; though a very flawed hero. An anti-hero, perhaps. He is not a particularly like-able man in many ways. He remains rather cruel, a bully, riddled with bitterness and insecurity — and yet he loved, and showed loyalty to that love and, ultimately, {{spoiler|laid down his life because of it}}. That’s pretty heroic!}}

** Sirius Black probably counts as well - even though he's a [[Team Dad]] and a generally nice, though [[Knight in Sour Armor|cynical]] man.

** The movie version of the book apparently likes to portray Edmund as this, since, in the third movie, while Caspian is supposed to act evil for a short period of time, the role is actually given to Edmund again, making him look like the Anti-Hero of the story for the second time.

* Major Elim Rawne and his handpicked cronies from [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]: [[Gaunt's Ghosts]]'' are all coldblooded, merciless, deceitful, and coldly ambitious. Ironically, Rawne himself has perhaps the weakest claim to Antihero status, given that he's also highly respected by his troops and has once been saved by the [[Power of Friendship]].

* The protagonist of William Barton's ''[[wikipedia:When Heaven Fell|When Heaven Fell]]''.

* In Steven Brust's ''[[Dragaera]]'' novels, Vladimir [[Taltos]], an assassin for a criminal outfit who has been known to destroy souls ''on accident''. Lampshaded in ''Issola'':

* John Taylor of the Nightside novel series can accurately be described by this trope since in his world [[Might Makes Right|power and reputation is everything]] he won't hesitate to kill someone in a brutal or cruel way to uphold his reputation because the baddies are hesitant to attack if they're scared shit-less. He's a nice guy but still not at all that nice and he isn't exactly [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|Mr.Mercy]] and certainly not [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]] and though he may be powerful he is not Superman so he can't afford to have his enemies think he's weak.

* In [[Jim Butcher]]'s ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', Harry Dresden is an Anti-Hero: [[Badass Longcoat]], check; [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|won't hesitate to kill someone who threatens him or someone he loves]], check; bucketful of flaws, check; chivalry, check. He's also been known to murder and torture enemy captives, wantonly destroy property, and accidentally get [[Innocent Bystanders]] killed. Contrasted with straight up [[The Hero|Hero]] Michael Carpenter. Still more of a [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type II AntiHero]] than anything else, though, as he will take incredible amounts of damage to try to protect other people. He got his left hand charred almost to a cinder giving a friend time to save some kids who were being held captive in a closet rigged with an antipersonnel mine and sheltered one of his oldest enemies for several days, despite the fact that this put three or four groups of rather dangerous people after him at once. Oh, and he's managed to resist almost every single temptation of power he's been given so far; {{spoiler|even the fallen angel in his head for three years didn't do much more than make him grouchier, and in return ''he'' actually managed to redeem her into a [[Heroic Sacrifice]].}}

* In [[Orson Scott Card]]'s ''[[Ender's Game]]'', Ender Wiggin is not only the most talented boy in Battle School - he's also a killer. He isn't the [[Jerkass|gleeful sadist]] type: that would be his brother Peter. But, all the same, he gets away with killing {{spoiler|two boys who bullied him}}, and doesn't find out that they really were dead until {{spoiler|he saves the world by nearly wiping out an alien species in a war that he didn't know was real}}. Despite having acted in self-defense, he edges towards suicidal over their deaths:

{{quote|Well, I'm your man. I'm the bloody bastard you wanted when you had me spawned. I'm your tool, and what difference does it make if I hate the part of me that you most need? What difference does it make that when the little serpents killed me in the game, I agreed with them, and was glad.|'''Ender, at the end of the book'''}}

* Ferdinand Bardamu, from Louis-Ferdinand Celine's oeuvre. He is, among other things, an [[Audience Surrogate]], and a real anti-hero.

* Thomas Covenant from Stephen R. Donaldson's ''[[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]'' is an unusual anti-hero in that he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever—not just in a moral sense, but in a literary sense as well. He manages to mostly not do ''anything'', but just catalyzes events by being present. In the first books the world falls apart around him while he stalwartly fails to intervene.

* Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, the main character of Dostoevsky's ''[[Crime and Punishment]]'', who {{spoiler|in the first part of a six-part novel, brutally murders an old lady and her meek, innocent sister}}. This example subverts the typical cynicism, though, since he is ultimately {{spoiler|redeemed by [[The Power of Love]]}}

* [[William Gibson]]'s drug-addicted burnout protagonist Case in the seminal [[Cyberpunk]] novel ''[[Neuromancer]]''.

* ''The Continental Op'' from the [[Dashiell Hammett]] books, wellspring of things [[Film Noir]]. He goes after criminals and usually gets them. More importantly he '''always''' makes money from the gig: money from crooks or good guys, it doesn't matter. Catching criminals is just a dangerous job, and any effective method is a good one, even making deals with criminals or inciting them to murder. He holds to a private code of honor, a tightly bound book his enemies never see and he himself suspects might be nothing but blank pages.

* Yossarian from Joseph Heller's ''[[Catch-22]]''.

* [[Robert E. Howard]]'s ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' is strong and bold and performs heroic acts, but he also frequently steals and murders without remorse.

** Vaanes returns in The Chapter's Due... {{spoiler|As one of the Iron Warrior Honsou's chief Lieutenants. He takes part in the battle against the Ultramarines and Ultramar but is continuously shown to be uncomfortable with the traitors he is with and what he is doing. Later he is captured by the Ultramarines, though he claims he let them take him, and agrees to take them to Honsou if they promise to kill him before he can ruin himself, he has learned that [[Being Evil Sucks|he does not like being a Chaos Marine]] and he feels he isn't strong enough to walk the path of righteousness but he doesn't want to embrace damnation either. He saves the protagonist's life from another of Honsou's lieutenants, but dies in the next battle when he attempts to kill Honsou who bests him then turns his attention to Uriel Ventris, Vaanes again saves Ventris's life by attacking Honsou again, Honsou then tears off Vaanes' arm and crushes his chest by stomping on it. After he is dead the protagonists notice his restored Raven Guard chapter tattoo, that he gouged out with a knife years ago, causing the them to wonder if he [[Redemption Equals Death|redeemed himself through dying for them]] and note that they do not feel hatred towards him anymore. At the novel's end Uriel sees a memory of the Newborn that prophesied that the Newborn would be present at a great hero's death, both Honsou and the Newborn believed this to be Uriel. Uriel realises that the great hero was actually Vaanes.}}

* The nonhuman sorcerer-king Elric of Melnibone from the works of [[Michael Moorcock]]. Elric kills human beings regularly to stay healthy—their souls are fed to him by his sword Stormbringer. Elric kicks the stolen soul energy habit twice but events forced him take up the demonic rune-blade again afterwards. If Stormbringer isn't "fed" sufficiently, the sadistic blade is entirely capable of jumping from Elric's hand and piercing the heart of one of Elric's allies, lovers or friends in front of his eyes.

* Also from [[Michael Moorcock]] we have Colonel Pyatt—a cowardly, cocaine-addicted and cruel anti-hero, and a self-glorifying [[Unreliable Narrator]]. Pyatt claims to be a Cossack because he's an anti-Semite whose father was a Jew. He claims to have invented manned flight before the Wright brothers; and rapes a woman on a cocaine binge (''he'' doesn't think it was rape, but it's pretty clear.) All the while decrying others for their "degeneracy".

* Hawk from the ''[[Spenser]]'' series by Robert B. Parker is a great example of an anti-hero. Parker often writes the characters as being something dark, powerful and inhuman. Yet, Hawk often considers the main protagonist, Spenser, the closest thing he has to a friend and he treats him as such. Wherein Hawk has few if any rules with respect to violence and its' application, Spenser is his opposite. What makes the series fascinating is that the two work together well.

* [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'':

** Sam Vimes is both a subversion and a deconstruction of Anti-Hero image. He is portrayed as cynical, unshaven, anti-authoritarian and so on—but is actually one of the [[Knight in Sour Armor|most noble heroes]] in the series. A subversion of a trope that is in itself a subversion. That's [[Rule of Three|pretty subversive]].

** Discworld has a more traditional anti-hero in the form of Cohen the Barbarian, an [[Affectionate Parody]] of Conan (which see).

* Lestat, of [[Anne Rice]]'s vampire novels, is an anti-hero who seeks to rationalize his feeding on humans for sustenance by only allowing those he considers "evil" to die, though his morality has been known to lapse at times. This could be considered an example of unreliable narrator, since Louis and Lestat disagree about so much, including who Lestat killed, it's really up to the reader if they believe Lestat only killed murderers.

* Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larsson's ''[[Millennium Trilogy]]''.

* [[Larry Niven]]'s Beowulf Scheaffer and, to a lesser extent his stepson Louis Wu.

* Roland, the hero of [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series, has a history of valuing his quest for the Dark Tower above the lives of his friends.

* All the protagonists of Kelley Armstrong's ''Exit Strategy''. They are after all, [[Professional Killer|professional hitmen]], although a couple of them are also [[Vigilante Man|of the Do Evil Unto Evil]] persuasion as well.

* Elion is the clearest example in Maggie Furey's [[Shadowleague]] trilogy, though none of the [[Loads and Loads of Characters|many characters]] are conventional heroes.

* Asher in ''[[Someone Else's War|Someone Elses War]]''. Sure, he'll help you escape the tyrannical [[Child Soldiers|child army]] and find your way home, but show even the slightest hint of treachery and he'll shoot you for it.

 

* {{spoiler|Wesley}} from ''[[Angel]]'', after the whole throat-cutting thing. Angel himself is an Anti Hero and made lots of [[Shoot the Dog|morally questionable decisions]]

* Spike from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', especially after {{spoiler|he gets wired by the Initiative}} and before {{spoiler|he gets a soul}}. Also Faith is an Anti Hero.

* Although the Doctor from ''[[Doctor Who]]'' is traditionally a [[Heroic Archetype]], some incarnations have been less merciful and more deceptive than others.

** The First incarnation of the Doctor, a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|grumpy old man]] who kidnaps and deceives his companions, and has to be forced, manipulated or at least asked before he will help. His worst moment was probably threatening to throw Ian and Barbara out the TARDIS in ''The Edge of Destruction'', something that could easily have killed them. Of course in this incarnation he does [[Character Development|get better]] due to the influence of his Grandaughter and her teachers who he eventually returns home.

** Perhaps the clearest example of Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor's anti-heroism appears in the episode "The End of the World", where he prevents the escape of Lady Cassandra and impassively watches as she dies horribly, coldly ignoring his own companion's request to heed the villain's pleas for mercy.

** For David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, his cold-blooded execution of the Racnoss in "The Runaway Bride" is probably the quintessential example, an act where he lost himself so completely in his own inherent ruthlessness that in an alternate reality where his companion was not there to stop him, it actually cost him his life. Then you have his actions against the Family of Blood in "The Family of Blood". And he brought down the prime minister that led Britain's Golden Age prematurely because of her own ruthlessness against fleeing aliens. All this leading to "The Waters of Mars," where he gets so dark that when he decides to [[Screw Destiny]] by saving three people from the monster of the week, one of them (who knew she was fated to die, according to history) walks inside and {{spoiler|kills herself}}.

* Dr. Cox from ''[[Scrubs]]''.

* Tony Soprano of ''[[The Sopranos]]''.

** Vala, though less so as time went on and [[Badass Decay]] set in.

** Ronon. Combine elite military training with years of being chased by the Wraith and you get an intimidating muscle wall with dreadlocks and a trigger-happy personality (and a whole armory of knives on his person, including at least one '''in his hair'''). For him, shoot-to-kill is default unless explicitly told otherwise.

** Dean was [["Well Done, Son" Guy|always seeking his father's approval]] and usually wallowing in a deep, dark pit of [[Death Seeker|death-seeking]] self-loathing so that he puts [[Big Brother Instinct|his family]] [[Thicker Than Water|ahead of]] [[Sadistic Choice|everything else]] when he's not [[Despair Event Horizon|utterly hopeless]]. When Sam isn't addicted, craving, or {{spoiler|soulless}}, Dean tends to be the one who [[Shoot the Dog|takes care of potential threats]] or [[I Did What I Had to Do|does the practical thing]].

** Sam has apparently [[The Heart|been trying]] to [[Samaritan Syndrome|save people]] since he was twelve, but goes through a period where he's desperate to help ''everyone'' just to balance out the [[In the Blood|darkness inside him]]. He's usually [[Horrible Judge of Character|not as clever]] [[Unwitting Pawn|as he thinks he is]], and even his efforts to do something good (saving demon hosts and stopping the Apocalypse) tend to [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|end in disaster]] because of how easily his lack of self-worth and approval is played upon and turned to [[Pride]] when [[Psycho Serum|his inhibitions]] [[The Dark Side|are gone]].

** ... And don't forget Bobby!! He might be the most level-headed of the team, but he has his share of flaws and inner demons, and in the rare episodes where the spotlight is on him, he doesn't behave any better than the Winchester boys. In general, The writers seem to love this trope, as most of the hunters and "good" guys fit it to some extent: John (if you [[Kick the Dog|aren't too disgusted]] at his [[Parental Abuse|treatment of Dean]] , Ellen, Crowley ( at the end of season five), The Ghostfacers, that tech wizard who slept on the pool table at Jo and Ellen's bar, Kubrick and Walker.

* Jack Bauer of ''[[24]]''. He's perfectly willing to [[Cold-Blooded Torture|torture]], mutilate, execute allies if necessary, and break nearly every law in the book. To his credit, he does intend to stand trial for any laws he breaks, even though this never actually happens (given that this ''is'' [[Memetic Badass|Jack Bauer we're talking about]], perhaps nobody is brave enough to try).

* The military team from ''[[The Unit]]''. They are a representation of real world US special operations soldiers like Delta Force, Seal Team Six, etc. They are highly trained, efficient, and ruthless. They will do anything needed to complete their missions. Although they operate by some rules and moral codes, they are trained to do things that the average person would not have the stomach for.

* Malcolm in ''[[The Thick of It]]''. He started off as the arch-enemy of the main character, then was made the main character, when the writers realized an amoral spin doctor is a far more entertaining character than a worn-out middle-aged politician.

* Gleb Zheglov, the police officer in ''[[The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed]]''.

* All the main characters in ''[[Misfits]]'', five young adults with ASBOs, understandably more or less fall under this.

* Patrick Jane of ''[[The Mentalist]]'' is normally a straight consultant helping the cops solve murder cases (his tendency to annoy people aside), but he is obsessed with finding serial killer Red John (for killing his wife and child). When it comes to anything involving this ongoing case his rationality and level headedness flies out the window, his darker side manifests and there are no lines he is unwilling to cross. He fully intends to murder Red John in cold blood when he finally catches him... and partner Lisbon intends to arrest him if he does. {{spoiler|At the end of the third season he goes through with his intention and kills Red John, though the episode ends before we find out what kind of consequences are in store for him.}}

* Eric from ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'' starts out like this, but gradually shifts towards being more of a regular hero.

* [[Power Rangers Lost Galaxy|Magna Defender]] is [[Power Rangers]]' first. He's also probably the series' harshest, ranking a [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type IV on our scale]] with few heroic acts and a willingness to risk a kid's life to take down a monster (to be fair, the last time he surrendered to save a kid it ended badly).

* Team [[Leverage]]: Running down the list, we have an [[The Alcoholic|alco]][[Off the Wagon|holic]] ex-insurance agent who [[The Chessmaster|plans and runs cons]], a [[Con Man|grifter]], a [[Genius Bruiser|hitter]] with a ''[[The Atoner|very]]'' [[The Atoner|dark past]], a [[The Cracker|computer hacker]], and a [[Impossible Thief|world-class cat burglar]]. [[They Fight Crime]] and are heroes to many people, but their methods are less than legal, and have involved hurting some innocent folks, as well.

* The titular character from [[Sherlock]]. Sure, he assists the police rather than criminals, but he makes it very clear that his primary motivation is to solve cases and relieve boredom, not to do the world any kind of good.

{{quote|'''Sherlock''': I may be on the side of the angels, but don't think for one second that I am one of them.}}

 

* [[Five Iron Frenzy]]'s song 'My Evil Plan to Save the World' illustrates this point to an extent.

* God Forbid's song "Anti Hero" Explore themes of anti-heroism, with lyrics like "Torn between right and wrong."

* [[My Chemical Romance]]'s Killjoys

 

* [[Professional Wrestling]] ''thrives'' on anti-heroes, as the very nature of the show requires even the most idealistic to pound someone into a gooey paste for a living. Plus, if a woman dumps a man and betrays his trust, the audience will often demand [[Domestic Abuse|physical retribution]] from the wronged hero.

* [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] raised it to an art form by becoming (in his own words!) a "trash-talking, beer-swilling, backstabbing son of a bitch" who was the hero because he opposed [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] [[Vince McMahon]].

* The Undertaker is WWE's first antihero!

 

* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'':

** Toshiro Umezawa of the setting Kamigawa is a selfish, conniving, snarky bastard. Doesn't keep him from fighting against a war against nigh-omnipresent and incredibly powerful god-spirits wanting to tear the entire world apart, for obvious reasons.

** After being a straight villain in ''[[Magic: The Gathering/Agents of Artifice|Agents of Artifice]]'', Tezzeret grabs the [[Sympathetic POV]] after some [[Character Development]] and takes an Anti-Hero role in the sequel, ''[[Magic: The Gathering/Test of Metal|Test of Metal]]''.

 

* John from Shakespeare's ''[[King John|The Life and Death of King John]]'' tracks this trope pretty closely, in his efforts to navigate the murky ''realpolitik'' of early-1200s west Europe. Contending with finicky noblemen at home, enterprising relatives with ambitions of coronation and control, foreign armies, and a heavily influential Vatican, John is completely overwhelmed. In spite of arguably having the military advantage over his foes, the events around him cause him to behave with irrational brashness: he orders the execution of his nephew in vague language, later rescinding the order once he realizes that popular support for such an action is nil; takes his army to continental Europe to battle France and Austria for control of a small ''départment'' (which he later offers just to give away), leaving England vulnerable to attack from a swift Franco invasion at the behest of the Pope; and he [[Incredibly Lame Pun|royally]] pisses off the church in an attempt to levy unfair taxes on the church, {{spoiler|on account of which a priest poisons him}}.

 

* Haseo from the ''[[.hack|.hack//G.U.]]'' Is a good example of an anti-hero.

* Jimmy Hopkins in ''[[Bully (video game)|Bully]]''. No, he's not very nice, but considering he's at least not insane, and in several cut-scenes stands up for smaller kids, and teams up with the weaker [[Nerd]] gang, he's a lot more pleasant than the guys he's up against. Jimmy is the lesser of two evils, only the "hero" because he's controlled by the player. Jimmy had a bad upbringing—parents that didn't care about him at all, and as a consequence he's definitely not a good guy at all. He only teamed up with the nerds so he could use their brains to help him take down the Jocks. In fact, every seemingly "good" thing he does has him profiting in some way at the end. He still has [[Pet the Dog]] moments and is loyal to the nerds until they respectively [[Kick the Dog]].

* Ayane from ''[[Dead or Alive]]''. She's bound by her duty to hunt down and kill her half-sister Kasumi for running away from the ninja clan where they both grew up, and was also jealous of her for getting all the attention while the others saw her as a "[[The Unfavourite|cursed child]]" due to the [[Heroic Bastard|circumstances surrounding her birth]]. In ''DOA 2'' and ''DOA 3'', she's a bit of a loner and a jerk, but in her story mode in ''DOA 4'', {{spoiler|she helps Kasumi, Hayate, and Ryu Hayabusa bring down the [[The Syndicate|DOATEC corporation]], suggesting that her feelings toward Kasumi may have softened a bit}}.

* [[Sly Cooper]] goes without saying. His m.o. is thievery after all

* Caim from ''[[Drakengard]]''. It's hard to sympathize with someone slaughtering thousands of people. Many games have protagonists that slaughter enough mooks to populate a small city. Caim is a [[Blood Knight]]: he ''likes'' it.

* Kratos from the ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' series, despite being the hero of the story, is a sociopathic warrior who has little to no compunction over the numerous lives that he has taken. His only humanizing trait is his love for his wife and daughter. Later, Pandora's influence does help him to examine his actions. He actually seems genuinely regretful when he observes the damage he caused after his final battle. But the franchise must continue and Kratos must slip back to his basic character. In ''God of War 3'', he kills gods and titans {{spoiler|[[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|that he himself]] is responsible for making evil in the first place.}} Interestingly, Kratos is pretty close to [[Values Dissonance|what antique cultures would've considered "heroic".]]

*** The stars of the 2 DLC games, Johnny Klebitz (The Lost and Damned) and Luis Lopez (The Ballad of Gay Tony) also fit this.

* Agent 47 from the ''[[Hitman]]'' series, could be seen as an anti-hero, seeing as he is a cold-blooded, remorseless killer. In his defense, the plot of the second game kicks off with him trying to rescue his priest from the Russian Mafiya. He also dislikes killing civilians if he has to, and it can be assumed that the Silent Assassin rankings for each mission are canonical. Later still, in ''Blood Money''—he sheds a tear for killing the budgie he kept. That must offset at least one murder.

* Iori Yagami, introduced in ''[[The King of Fighters]] '95'' as an enemy (and later [[The Rival]]) of series protagonist Kyo Kusanagi. K' (from ''KOF '99''), one of Kyo's many [[Cloning Blues|clones]], is also like this, though he brings more [[The Stoic|stoicism]] to the table in contrast to Iori's [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|occasional bouts of madness]].

* Kain from ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' is generally considered an anti-hero, having apparently doomed the world and subjugated the human race to the point of extinction, but apparently did so since the original choice would have doomed the world either way and is technically trying to save the world.

* Shadow the Hedgehog in all the games he's been in, though first appearing as an enemy in ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', became a [[Villain Decay|mere rival of Sonic's]] in later games.

** Team Chaotix from the same series. They'll do good, but they expect to be paid-handsomely. Of course, Vector at least has his better moments, such as finding a kid's lost toy for free.

** Considering the [[Black and Grey Morality]] of this chaotic setting, it would be easier to list the characters who aren't Anti-Heroic in some way or another. Most of the cast consists of [[You Killed My Father|revenge seekers,]] [[The Atoner|atoners]], [[I Just Want to Be Badass|glory]] [[Blood Knight|seekers,]] and [[Knight Templar|renegade]] [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|extremists who would stop at nothing to see peace returned, no matter what the cost]]. It almost seems as a necessity, considering the [[Complete Monster|terrifying, heartless]] [[Eldritch Abomination|foes]] [[Ax Crazy|which they face]] .

* The Star Wolf team in ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star FOX]]'' started as a generic "[[Evil Counterpart|evil Star Fox]]" group, but in sequels, the team becomes more anti-heroic. The removal of the two "scum" characters Pigma (a traitor) and Andrew (nephew of the main villain in Star Fox 64) and the addition of a ladies' man named Panther (who falls in love with a character on the heroes team) gave them an opportunity to work with Star Fox.

** Cecil as a dark knight in ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' is this during the intro, where he kills innocent magicians for a crystal, believing it's the right thing to do for his king. After Mist Cave, {{spoiler|as the bomb ring destroys Rydia's hometown,}} however, he becomes a [[Chaotic Good]] at best.

*** Kain is probably a better example. While Cecil believed what the king told him to at first, after he destroyed Mist he turned around and never looked back. Kain, on the other hand, is possessed by {{spoiler|the Disc One Final Boss (Who is possessed by the Big Bad...)}} several times during the game, and although usually calm and dedicated, shows that he is truly in love with Cecil's girlfriend, Rosa; stealing her several times during the game (while possessed), and even showing that he, deep down, would be willing to KILL Cecil just to be with her. He has proved to be able to control his inner demons, though, and is truly a good guy.

** ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' has Shadow, as it's obviously described in his introduction. And who knows if he'd really slit his momma's throat for a nickel like Edgar comments.

** Cloud of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' also counts, for about the same period of time. He starts out on the right side at least, but only because they sign his paychecks.

** And Squall, of ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', who likewise gives the impression of it just being a job for most of the story, at least until [[Always Save the Girl]] kicks in. His catchphrase is pretty much "...[[Whatever]]."

** ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' has Amarant, who under goes a [[Heel Face Turn]] and joins your party purely to observe Zidane, not that he worries about bad guys taking over the world so much.

* Alex Mercer {{spoiler|the second one}} from ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'' develops into this by the end of the story after spending most of it at [[Villain Protagonist]] levels. {{spoiler|The original was a straight-up [[Complete Monster]].}}

* Altair from ''[[Assassin's Creed]]''. Kill templars for ''peace''. Also in mini-objective Altair saves a citizen by ''killing'' the guards that harass them.

** Most of the squad in ''Mass Effect 2'' also qualify as anti-heroes—some as soon as you meet them (Jacob, Garrus, Samara), some if you [[Hidden Depths|dig a little deeper]] (Mordin, Miranda, Thane).

* ''[[Disgaea]]''

* ''[[Just Cause (video game)|Just Cause]]'' series - Rico Rodriguez, protagonist, will gleefully commit murder on behalf of drug dealers and terrorists if it gets him closer to taking down a dictator.

* ''[[Dragon Age]]'' ''Origins'' - It is very easy to play the Grey Warden as one of these in There is no [[Karma Meter]] in the game and there are often good rewards for acting like a greedy selfish [[Manipulative Bastard]]. It's all for the greater good though, since your end goal is preventing a horde of soulless [[Ax Crazy]] rape happy monsters led by an insane dragon god from killing the world.

* Zero from the Megaman Zero series toes the line on this, as he isn't afraid to kill whatever stands between him and his goal; even his girlfriend, Iris, although the event scarred him mentally. As he said in Megaman Zero 4, "I never cared about justice, and I don't ever recall calling myself a hero... I have always only fought for the people that I believe in. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears before me, I will destroy it!"

* In the flash game series ''Sonny'', the titular protagonist is one of these, only saving a mountain village from a cult in exchange for finding his way to a town on a map in the second game. When he first meets the guy who offered to help him perform the above task, his response is along the lines of "Get out my way or die". He also helps out a fellow zombie in the first game who was trying to fight off humans that chase him, immediately fights soldiers in revenge when they shoot and kill someone helping him at the beginning, and hesitates when a traveling companion suggests that they kill a human warrior [[Enemy Mine|that just helped them against a common threat]].

'''Sonny''': But why? He helped us.

'''Veradux''': Listen Sonny. [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|To them, we're monsters.]] Now we can either be alive monsters, or dead ones. You choose. }}

** Given [[Crapsack World|the setting,]] the other party members are antiheroes as well, one example being outlined above.

* Meta Knight from the ''[[Kirby]]'' series, an Anti-Hero [[Hero Antagonist|Antagonist]]. He often opposes Kirby because of the latter's [[Chaotic Good]] nature (and the trouble it tends to cause). However, he's not nice about it - he once tries to take over Dreamland because he feels it would be a much better place if he were in charge instead of Dedede.

* Duke Nukem from the ''[[Duke Nukem]]'' videogame series is the prototype of a [[Badass]] anti-hero.

* Due to the [[Crapsack World|rather]] [[The Good, the Bad, and The Evil|dark]] setting of ''[[BlazBlue]]'', pretty much '''all''' of the "good" characters could be labelled as this. There's Ragna the Bloodedge, a [[Sir Swearsalot|trash-talking]] [[Badass]] rebel with a [[BFS]] and [[Badass Longcoat]], who [[Unreliable Narrator|may or]] [[Alternate Character Interpretation|may not]] go around slaughtering [[The Empire|NOL]] personnel wherever he finds them [[Leave No Survivors|down to the last]], Hakumen the [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|Ninja Zombie Samurai Robot]] [[Hero Antagonist]] who is a textbook example of [[Good Is Not Nice]], Jin the [[Ax Crazy]] [[Jerkass]], and Rachel the aloof [[Deadpan Snarker|bitchy]] [[Guile Hero|Guile]] Anti-Hero. Most of these people would be [[Designated Hero]]es in any other story, but when you consider their mutual enemies are [[troll]]ing [[Complete Monster]] [[Omnicidal Maniac]]s who enjoy [[Mind Rape|mind-raping]] [[Break the Cutie|young girls]] for [[For the Evulz|fun]] and [[For Science!|science]]...

* Krass Tyler from ''[[Project Starfighter]]''.

 

* M in ''[[Shikkoku no Sharnoth]]'' is ridding London of monsters, however, he does so in a pretty evil manner and appears to have no emotions resembling empathy.

 

== [[Web Animation]] ==

* Baninja, the title character of ''[[Banana-nana-Ninja!]]'', is a banana who slaughters humans for eating bananas and other "innocent" foods.

 

* While ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'' doesn't have an obvious Antihero in its main cast (it's usually either [[Lawful Good]] or [[Heroic Sociopath]] for the most part), Vaarsuvius comes pretty close. Even not counting the recent events, which could still be explained away by stress and ''not having rested for six months'', the elf is the only truly morally ambiguous protagonist—a decent person and a faithful friend and yet being quick to suggest that the heroes simply execute the captured villains rather than surrendering them to the authorities and not seeming to have a problem with the idea of using evil methods to ensure that they stay dead. (Granted, V WAS representing [[Token Evil Teammate|Bel]][[Comedic Sociopath|kar]]'s opinion at the time, but still...)

** Belkar himself is a [[Chaotic Evil]] murderous psychopath who happens to be in the good guys' party only because he enjoys the dungeon-crawl killing and because he can't suppress his impulses long enough to cut a proper deal with the forces of evil. His later 'character development' and voluntary commitment to the party comes about when he realizes he can exploit the world much more easily if people think he's a good person.

** Cale has become more like this recently, in the "do what is right rather than what is lawful" sense. Hell, his entire character development has been a transition from [[Lawful Good]] to [[Chaotic Good]].

** Richard is this when he does good instead of wantonly killing things for his own amusement.

* Riff from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' is in many ways a [[Badass]] who saves his friends and the world at large from aliens, vampires, and the like. Thing is, thanks to his [[Mad Scientist]] experiments and reckless behavior, he's probably endangered the human race more times than he's protected it. What else do you call a hero who's on record saying this?

{{quote|'''Riff:''' "I literally summon demons to keep myself from buying a shotgun and permanently emptying a Taco Bell!"}}

* Ed from ''[[Fake Knight]]''

* While its difficult to quantify where, precisely, Sixx from [[Collar 6]] falls due to the [[Blue and Orange Morality]] of the series, she clearly isn't a traditional hero.

 

 

 

 

* The titular character cartoon version of ''[[Beetlejuice (animation)|Beetlejuice]]'' is rude, gross, mean, a pervert (though, not as much as he is in the movie), and is willing to scam even his own friends out of their money. His redeeming qualities? He cares deeply for Lydia and will do anything to make her happy.

* Valerie [[Meaningful Name|Gray]] [[The Hunter]] on ''[[Danny Phantom]]''.

 

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