Anti-hero

In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality traits traditionally assigned to villains or un-heroic people, but nonetheless also has enough heroic qualities, intentions, or type of strength to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. Anti-heroes can be awkward, obnoxious, passive, pitiful, obtuse, or even normal; but they are always, in some fundamental way, flawed, unqualified, or failed heroes. When the anti-hero is a central character in a work of fiction the work will frequently deal with the effect their flawed character has on the other people they meet. Additionally the work may depict how their character alters over time, either leading to just punishment, un-heroic success or redemption.

Types

One type of anti-hero feels helpless, distrusts conventional values and is often unable to commit to any ideals, but they accept and often relish their status as an outsider. The cyberpunk genre makes extensive use of this character-type. An excellent example of anti-hero would be Takeshi Kovacs, an ex-special forces mercenary from Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon.

Related Topics:
Cyberpunk - Takeshi Kovacs - Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon

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Another type of anti-hero is a character who constantly moves from one disappointment in his life to the next, without end, with only occasional and fleeting successes. But they persist and even attain a form of heroic success by steadfastly never giving up or changing his goal. These characters often keep a deep-seated optimism that one day, they will succeed. But in the end they still meet failure, the ultimate fate of a traditional villain. A popular example of this is the director Ed Wood from Tim Burton's famed film of the same name.

Related Topics:
Optimism - Ed Wood - Tim Burton

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Another example of this secondary type of anti-hero is F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby. Gatsby's one true aim was to gain the love of a woman, Daisy Buchanan, who was beyond his social status. He, through what Fitzgerald alludes to be illicit means, amasses a fortune in order to make himself acceptable to the married Daisy. He does, for a time, have an affair with her but in the end his character flaws and illusions that he could turn back time destroy him. But through the whole experience, even after Daisy's husband puts an end to her illicit affair, Gatsby still has hope that he would one day prevail.

Related Topics:
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Jay Gatsby

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A third type of anti-hero is an individual with the same end goals as a traditional hero, but for whom "the ends justify the means". This character type is popular in comic books: for example by day Matt Murdock seeks to bring evil-doers to justice as a lawyer. But when the judicial system fails, he dons a mask and instead exacts revenge as Daredevil. Another popular example is Frank Castle, an ex-Marine whose family was murdered in an act of gang violence. Castle takes the name "The Punisher" and begins exacting vigilante justice by any means necessary, often slaughtering dozens of adversaries at a time. A lesser-known anti-hero of this type is William Petersen's Richard Chance in the William Friedkin film To Live and Die in L.A.. The prime example of this type, however, is Batman.

Related Topics:
The ends justify the means - Justice - Lawyer - Revenge - Daredevil - Frank Castle - William Petersen - William Friedkin - To Live and Die in L.A. - Batman

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There is also a type of anti-hero who starts the story with a few unlikable traits such as prejudices, egoism, immaturity, cockiness, or a single minded focus on things such as wealth, status, or revenge. Thus, the hero may actually begin the story as a not-so-likeable character, but through the course of events, as we get to know the character, they grow and change, and may actually become sympathetic. A well known example of this is Han Solo of the Star Wars trilogy. The actor Clint Eastwood became famous by playing anti-heroes in movies such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, and For a Few Dollars More. Another example of an anti-hero character is Conan the Cimmerian from the stories by Robert E. Howard.

Related Topics:
Prejudice - Egoism - Wealth - Han Solo - Star Wars - Clint Eastwood - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - A Fistful of Dollars - For a Few Dollars More - Conan the Cimmerian - Robert E. Howard

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Sometimes, an anti-hero is an ordinary man or woman who completely lacks any particular heroic aspects, and also features a couple of highly negative personality traits such as a large degree of greed, selfishness, cowardice or laziness. While such characters are not nearly despicable enough to be classified as villains, they lack any of the classical heroic traits such as bravery or self-sacrifice that normally distinguish heroes (even flawed heroes) from the general population. Typically, due to circumstances beyond their control, such characters are thrust into extraordinary situations that one would normally expect a traditional hero to deal with. Examples of such characters include Shinji Ikari from "Neon Genesis Evangelion", Homer Simpson from The Simpsons, Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or Fry and Bender from Futurama. Such characters often behave immorally and do not always have good intentions, which distinguishes them from everyman or reluctant hero characters such as Scooby-Doo or the characters played by Jackie Chan, yet they lack the actual malice demonstrated by villainous heroes such as Richard III (see below.)

Related Topics:
Greed - Selfishness - Cowardice - Laziness - Shinji Ikari - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Homer Simpson - The Simpsons - Arthur Dent - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Futurama - Everyman - Scooby-Doo - Jackie Chan

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Occasionally the central character in a work has no redeeming features at all. The character seems to be a complete villain but for the fact that the story's focus is entirely upon this character and other characters are so insignificant, weak or flawed that they offer no respite. The reader or viewer is forced to sympathise or relate to a wholly unlikable character and to directly confront their feeling for this kind of hero. Pinkie Brown from Graham Greene's novel Brighton Rock, Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange, Tom Ripley from Patricia Highsmith's "Ripliad" series, and William Shakespeare's Richard III are examples of this type of anti-hero. The popular Graphic Novelist Jhonen Vasquez's best known characters, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Invader Zim are also an example of the unredeemable Anti-hero. A comical example of this kind of anti-hero is Edmund Blackadder.

Related Topics:
Pinkie Brown - Graham Greene - Alex DeLarge - A Clockwork Orange - Tom Ripley - Patricia Highsmith - Ripliad - William Shakespeare - Richard III - Jhonen Vasquez - Johnny the Homicidal Maniac - Invader Zim - Edmund Blackadder

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A variant of this approach is a character who is, by traditional sensibility, a criminal, but who is actually a pleasant person, exploiting people who are corrupt beyond redemption, sometimes with comic effect. The classic example of this kind of character is Lupin III. Robin Hood could perhaps also be interpreted as a variant on this concept as well.

Related Topics:
Lupin III - Robin Hood

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