Hero Antagonist: Difference between revisions

* {{spoiler|Chao Lingshen}} in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. The only reason the main character opposes her in the end is, basically, to avoid the [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]] he would incur from the authorities if he didn't. And because she absolutely refuses to explain her actions, despite the fact that he'd agree with her if she did. Of course, it turns out [[Xanatos Gambit|winning was actually her Plan B. Plan A was for Negi to defeat her, proving he could handle the rest without her help]].

** {{spoiler|Cosmo Entelechia}} as well, though somewhat more dickish about it than necessary. {{spoiler|Ultimate plan? Save over a billion lives. Opposed by? First an idiot hero who doesn't know what he's really doing and twenty years later a child. To be fair to the idiot hero, Nagi, a lot of what they were doing just doesn't make sense when considering their ultimate goal.}}

* Inspector Zenigata from ''[[Lupin III]]''.

* Inspector Runge from ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'' starts out as one, though he turns to more of a standard villain for a while as his search more Tenma becomes more of a personal obsession than anything to do with justice, causing him to ignore the increasing evidence that Johan does exist. However, he eventually comes to his senses and becomes a hero again.

== Film - Live-Action ==

* US Marshal Sam Gerard ([[Tommy Lee Jones]]) in the role that made him famous: ''[[The Fugitive (film)|The Fugitive]]''. His quest is to capture the hero, who is an (innocent) fugitive from justice.

'''Sam Gerard:''' I don't care! }}

** Gerard even functions as the [[Butt Monkey]] at some points in the story, but his status as [[The Determinator]] unquestionably makes him heroic.

* Ash Crimson from ''[[The King of Fighters]]'' series. His actions make him a villain, but in the end, it's for the sake of stopping an even greater evil, who happens to be the final boss of ''KOF XIII''.

** This is actually an inversion. From the start, the POV of the "Tales of Ash" saga makes Ash ''appear'' like a [[Villain Protagonist]], thus painting the former protagonists (Kyo, Iori, Chizuru, and even K') as this trope. But, as ''XIII'' attests to, Ash was [[Good All Along]]. A [[Guile Hero|Guile]] [[Anti-Hero]] unmistakably, but [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|his actions were for a greater good]]. {{spoiler|And then he died in a [[Temporal Paradox]] [[Heroic Sacrifice]] that ''[[Ret-Gone|erased him from history]]''. [[Wham! Episode|Didn't see that one coming, huh?]]}}

** {{spoiler|In the end of the sequel, the mantle of Hero Antagonist goes to [[Chinese Girl|Litchi Faye-Ling]]. She's still the same kind-hearted woman, but opposes Ragna because Ragna's opposition (NOL) took captive of her love interest, and a [[Complete Monster]] [[Troll]] convinced her thoroughly that they have a mean to restore said interest. To top it all off, she's dying because she was exposed to the same thing he was (dying is a better case, the worst case is, she turns into the same monster that her love interest becomes and consumes everything in her path, including the innocents she grew to love), and anyone who could help her refuses to. She's reluctant to fight for that evil organization, but she really didn't have a better option.}}

* Jowy Atreides, from ''[[Suikoden II]]''. A long time friend of the main hero, Riou, he is destined to come into conflict due to picking up opposing runes (Jowy picks up the Black Sword Rune and Riou the Bright Shield Rune). Jowy ends up betraying and murdering (although not willingly) the mayor of Muse, Anabelle. He ends up becoming king of Highland. He ends up as a Hero Antagonist because he helps bring down [[Complete Monster]], Luca Blight, as well as using his strength to keep the Beast Rune at bay. He ends up having the same goals as Riou, to end the war and to unify the land. The problem is that he and his friend, Riou, lead opposing forces. His love of the orphan Pilika truly drives Jowy in his goals for peace.

** By extension, Harpuia's fellow Guardians, Leviathan, Fefnir and Phantom, as well as all of the Bosses prior to ''Zero 3'', fit this trope. They were only following orders for the sake of protecting humanity.

* Knuckles in certain ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' games, in particular those where he is tricked by Dr Eggman into stopping Sonic. He eventually realises he has been duped, and usually reverts to a side protagonist for the remainder of the story.

** GUN, especially the Commander, until after the events of ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''.

* In ''[[Golden Sun]]'', Felix, though this is not revealed until ''[[Golden Sun]]: The Lost Age'', where a [[Perspective Flip]] occurs and Felix becomes the protagonist and Isaac becomes the Hero Antagonist.

* In ''[[Touhou Project]] 12: Undefined Fantastic Object'', the ancient mage the antagonists were trying to [[Sealed Badass in a Can|unseal]] turns out to be a Buddhist monk seeking to bring peace and harmony to [[Youkai]]. And she still fights you as the final boss.

** Technically, the entire plot of ''Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith'' counts. Sanae didn't know the Hakurei Shrine was key to Gensokyo's survival; she saw competition for the faith her gods needed to survive, from a [[Shrine Maiden]] who wasn't even protecting humanity from the youkai. So she tried to shut down the Hakurei Shrine, and got her ass (and her gods') kicked by [[Brilliant but Lazy|R]][[Plot Armor|e]][[More Dakka|i]][[Let's Get Dangerous|m]][[Curb Stomp Battle|u]] (or [[Badass Normal|Marisa]]).

* Some parts of the campaign in ''[[Warcraft III]]'' and its expansion have the player control a villainous army, making the enemy army a Hero Antagonist ({{spoiler|except the Blackrock orcs, who are pretty evil themselves}}).

* Araman from ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer''. From his point of view, unless the protagonist can be stopped somehow, the world will end.