Anti-heros: Are they all dicks?

[Celtic_Kerr]

Captain Jack Sparrow.
Lelouch from Code Geass.
Altair from Assassin's Creed.

Those spring to mind as anti-heroes.

I wouldn't call Altair an anti-hero. Maybe at the beginning, but fairly early in when he discovers there is a conspiracy going on, he wants to right things. He seems a little less conceited about it. He's not saving the world for his own benefit, atfirst he's trying to prove himself and then he's trying to save the world

 

[Autofaux]

Batman is an anti-hero personality, even though he's a hero. He is also a prick, and doesn't like getting along with those more aligned with authority i.e. Superman, Green Lantern(s)..

 

[RagingScottsman]

I wouldn't really think of Deadpool as a dick. He's a complete and utter smart ass, but not THAT bad of a guy.

 

[Dogstile]

I dare you to call Stone Cold Steve Austin a dick.

I will do this when I get the chance.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

I don't know, why don't you ask him?

Go ahead, I dare you.

[sub]Yes, Venom is an anti-hero. Look it up. He helps Spiderman on numerous occasions.[/sub]

 

[biGBum333]

I don't know, why don't you ask him?

Go ahead, I dare you.

[sub]Yes, Venom is an anti-hero. Look it up. He helps Spiderman on numerous occasions.[/sub]

yeah he actually came to mind just a moment ago. i hear hes got his own comic book series too

 

[Wintermoot]

theyre just heroes doing stuff theyre own way they dont have to be dicks but its easier for the writer to make them dicks

 

[_Janny_]

I'd say Dexter (from the tv show and books) is a nice example of antihero who isn't a d-bag. Besides the whole killing thing he treats people nicely and is more or less fair.

 

[JediMB]

I don't know, why don't you ask him?

Go ahead, I dare you.

[sub]Yes, Venom is an anti-hero. Look it up. He helps Spiderman on numerous occasions.[/sub]

Was an anti-hero would be more accurate. I'm pretty sure he hasn't been one since the 90's, since someone decided to hit the reset button on him... multiple times.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

snip

That's good to hear. Venom is one of my favorite comic book villians, and any attention he can get as an anti-hero or otherwise is great. I mean, how can you not love a blackish goo that takes over a body and gives them superhuman strength, tentacle-like weapons, and that wicked maw and tongue?

Freaking. Badass.

[sub]I'd like to see Deadpool and Venom do some vigilante work together I think it would be really cool to see.[/sub]

 

[Ubermetalhed]

I'd put Revolver Ocelot forward. And this is will make most sense for those have completed the series.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

snip

This may be the case when it comes to the Ultimate series and others, but I still have fond memories of Venom occasionally doing the right thing to halt a greater evil. Spiderman does need help sometimes, you know.

Case and point:


"Surf the web! Surf the web!"

 

[biGBum333]

The definition of anti-hero is hard to make, the most basic of the anti hero is that in his environment, he is not liked, regardless what he does. But this is not the only requirement, or spidey would be one of them.
Spawn is an anti hero, but even when he was a hitman, he had a lot of humanity in him and wasn't exactly a prick.
I heard of people labeling Wolverine as an anti-hero, but he is a mere prick. And I don't think Alex Mercer is a prick, IMO, he was a complete prick before the events of Prototype, and he deserved what he got, but after that, he wanted to find answers, and you see him having interaction with other characters normally. The only time Alex could be a prick is when you use him to cause chaos in the city, but that's up to the player.
Never read Catwoman, is she a prick? Does anyone know? Just asking.

 

[Scout Tactical]

Dent and Gatsby were both douchebags of the highest order, I thought.

I'll grant you Gatsby, but I think Dent wasn't particularly douchebaggy.

Yossarian of Catch-22 is a better example of rational cowardice, and he is considered an antihero.

 

[Axeli]

Since everyone is throwing around their own definitions, here's the dictionary one:

a central character in a story, film, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes

 

[HentMas]

The godfather

seriously, i feel he is the most compelling anti-hero of them all

you really feel for him and understand his actions, like at the beginning of the movie when one guy asks for his help in killing a guy that beated his daughter, and he says "what have i done to you?" so and so, and at the end sends his guys to "beat up" the other jerk, but not to kill him, because that is not justice

thats why i love Marlon Brando on that movie.

 

[Axeli]

The definition of anti-hero is hard to make, the most basic of the anti hero is that in his environment, he is not liked, regardless what he does.

Uh, no. Anti-hero is defined by the writer's and the audience's views on the character, not by the in-universe reaction to the character.

 

[tjs09]

I dare you to call Stone Cold Steve Austin a dick.

Aha! I was having a hard time finding a relatable anti-hero...I forgot all about the Attitude Era
OT: Travis Touchdown from the No More Heroes series is pretty relatable

 

[Tiny116]

I thought the Idea of a anti-hero was that they were not supposed to be likeable?

 

[Spark Ignition]

An anti-hero to me means any protagonist or character who would be expected to show heroic traits but does not. This could be because he is a complete tool (see Alex Mercer), a coward (Rincewind from the Discworld series), overly cynical or selfish (Rick Deckard ala Blade Runner/DADOES) or a combination (Jim from Yahtzee's Mogworld). Now with the exception of Alex Mercer, these are all characters who I love, their flawedness making them so much more human and relatable than a cookie-cutter hero character, and often very funny. In fact in playing an rpg like Fallout 3 I usually try to emulate characters like these, as it leads to an interesting and immersive character development arc as they inevitably come to terms with the fact that they are essentially the hero and begin to act as such.

So yeah I guess I'm saying I love anti-heroes for being much richer and more interesting than their heroic counterparts.
Oh and first post! Hello Escapist forums!