Favorite anti-heroes

[rocklobster]

THey're not quite heroes, but they're not quite villains either. They're antiheroes, a character type that's been around forever. (Even the Bible has one) Got any favorites?
For me, anti-heroes are hard to like. I feel that heroes should be, well, good. If they do something that seems evil, it should be justified in context. (For example, siding with the enemy just so you can foil the plan before it's even executed)
But there are a few I've come to like. Here they are:
Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho
Setsuna F. Seiei from Gundam 00 definitely qualifies. Sure, he's got some heroic moments, but there aren't any lines he avoids crossing.
Batman (depending on the writer, he occasionally leans toward this. Read The Dark Knight Returns if you don't believe me)
Wolverine
John McClane in all four Die Hards
and I'd be remiss if i didn't mention Rorschach from The Watchmen. Actually, all the Watchmen are anti-heroes (with Night Owl being a possible exception), but he stands out the most for me.

[Sammy Boy]

Does the Hulk count?

For me, nothing speaks of raw strength and power like the way the Hulk does.

[bigsleepj]

Those are all good anti-heroes, but let me ad to them.

- The Man with No Name, as played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy.
- Michael Corleone from the Godfather movies; the man is his own greatest enemy.
- Scotty Ferguson from Hitchcock's Vertigo. Starts out as a hero, but ends up rather unlikeable, which brings me to...
- Angier and Borden from The Prestige. Who is the worst of the two?
- Oh Dae-Su from Oldboy. I'd rather not go further...
- Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (book). You heard me, baby.
- Doctor Horrible. 'Nuff said.
- Brian Sweeny Fitzgerrald from Fitzcarraldo. Irish Ice-maker goes crazy in the Amazon while trying to drag a 460 ton boat over range of small mountains.
- The Little Tramp, as played by Charles Chaplin in over a dozen movies. He's likeable, he's loveable, but he's not above stealing for his food.
- T.E. Lawrence from Lawrence of Arabia. It's hard to become a legend in one's own time...

[ich1990]

If we are operating under the assumption that an anti-hero is someone who uses means that most people would question, to achieve results that most people would agree is beneficial, then I nominate:

Teru Mikami (Death Note)
Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein)
Jason Bourne (Bourne Trilogy)

Also, how is John McClane at all an anti-hero?

[rocklobster]

I consider McClane an anti-hero because some of his methods seemed kind of questionable. I mean he got that whole "turn in your badge" schtick at one point in one if not two of the movies.

[Sammy Boy]

What about Richard B. Riddick from the Chronicles of Riddick?

[Scarecrow]

A lot of these these I wouldn't have consider an anti hero perse. But maybe I'm a bit confused of what exactly an anti hero really is. An anti hero I always thought was someone like Kratos or whatever from God of War. Or "The Bride" in Kill Bill. Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds, Marv in Sin City (or any other "good" character in Sin City for that matter), The Boondock Saints, Alucard from Hellsing etc... The main character of any Grand Theft Auto Game... Basically a corrupt character who is the hero of a story and one you're supposed to root for or feel sympathetic towards. Maybe these are just more "extreme" versions of anti-heros. I dunno.

Anyway, my favorite was always Catwoman from Batman Returns.

[the_wolfs_howl]

What about Richard B. Riddick from the Chronicles of Riddick?

I was going to say that. Definitely my favorite anti-hero.

I would also say pretty much the whole cast of the Ocean's movies. They're blatantly criminals, but you can't help rooting for them at least a little, because you want to see how they could ever succeed.

...Maybe Captain Jack Sparrow?

[Bobtheduck]

Not sure if he counts, he's not the "hero" in the sense you're talking about, but

Perry Cox, Scrubs. My favorite character on TV. If he was a hero, he'd be an anti-hero, and he's the single most interesting character on any show currently running in English on Korean TV. And he is kind of a hero, vs the villain, Chief of Medicine Bob Kelso. The "main character" JD is just a slimy observer.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Teru Mikami (Death Note)

'Cause killing lazy people is totally fine and beneficial to society.

[ich1990]

'Cause killing lazy people is totally fine and beneficial to society.

Killing lazy people? I must have forgotten that part of the story. I was referring to how he contributed to the virtual annihilation of crime.

To be fair, though, most people don't approve of lazy people.

I consider McClane an anti-hero because some of his methods seemed kind of questionable. I mean he got that whole "turn in your badge" schtick at one point in one if not two of the movies.

Oh, I see. The turn-in-your-badge thing must have happened in the third or fourth movies, because I didn't see that happen in the first two. I grant you that such an action might push him over towards what I would call an anti-hero.

It is just that you said that he was an anti-hero in all four of his movies. It doesn't really seem like that to me, at least in films one and two.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Killing lazy people? I must have missed that part of the story. I was referring to how he contributed to the virtual annihilation of crime.

It's soon after he's given the Death Note, and even Light questions his motives.

Also, I wouldn't call a world where everyone is crapping themselves fearing that they'll be killed a desired world.

[ich1990]

Also, I wouldn't call a world where everyone is crapping themselves fearing that they'll be killed a desired world.

Well, I did say that he used questionable means.

[Hohenheim]

I have several favorite anti-heroes, though not all of them necessarily fit the definition you were describing Rocklobster. They are the following:

Grendel (from the novel Grendel by John Gardner)
Lelouch (from the anime Code Geass)
Macbeth (from Shakespeare's play Macbeth)
Holden Caulfield (from Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger)
Ben Linus (from the TV show 'Lost')

[The Doctor]

The Doctor from Doctor Who was originally an anti-hero (as I understand it), so he's my favorite. One might be able to argue that he still is even with the current writing.

[Wolf-man]

Macbeth (from Shakespeare's play Macbeth)

How is he anti-hero? He murdered two innocent men for his own personal gains.

Anyway, my favorite Anti-heroes.
Punisher (Frank Castle)
Wolverine
Batman (even though I don't consider him an Anti-hero)
Ronan Dex (from Stargate Atlantis he is kind of an ani-hero)
Rorschach

That's all I can think of right now.

[rocklobster]

Batman (even though I don't consider him an Anti-hero)

Have you read any Frank Miller Batman? He certainly goes into the category under Frank Miller.

[Fish and Chips]

If we are operating under the assumption that an anti-hero is someone who uses means that most people would question, to achieve results that most people would agree is beneficial

A lot of these these I wouldn't have consider an anti hero perse. But maybe I'm a bit confused of what exactly an anti hero really is. An anti hero I always thought was ... Basically a corrupt character who is the hero of a story and one you're supposed to root for or feel sympathetic towards. Maybe these are just more "extreme" versions of anti-heros. I dunno.

The antihero is a character who fills a heroic role despite a lack of certain heroic attributes, including sharing qualities usually associated with villains. A paper-thin example would be a character who is openly misogynistic and spiteful towards women, yet when the chips are down will always save the girl. They're people who ultimately do the right thing, despite appearing (at least superficially) the wrong person for the job.

To use Hohenheim's post, Holden Caulfield is an antihero, Macbeth is not. Holden Caulfield is antisocial, whiny, and profane, yet vocalizes a strong desire to protect the innocent (in particular his sister) from the corrupt, despite his own association with the corruption he's talking about. Macbeth would actually be more commonly associated as an antivillain - having many good and genuinely sympathetic traits, yet still turning down the path of the wicked of his own accord, to his own demise.

I hesitate to include any character whose "Heroic" involvement is largely incidentally though, such as Rorschach or Teru Mikami - neither of them are really that interested in protecting the innocent as much as they are in punishing the guilty, to the degree that neither of them see any innocents anymore, just more evildoers to be cleansed. Of course as a natural outgrowth of that, crime goes down and the innocent are temporarily afforded protection, but that's arbitrary.

This is mostly me thinking out loud here though; most people probably wouldn't have a problem with either Rorschach or Mikami being considered antiheroes.

[Hohenheim]

Macbeth would actually be more commonly associated as an antivillain - having many good and genuinely sympathetic traits, yet still turning down the path of the wicked of his own accord, to his own demise.

Agreed. I guess I hadn't thought of that when I posted.

[Souba]

Did someone mention Spawn, already?
Maybe Ghost Rider
The Crow
At least those come to mind with the term "anti-hero"
I few of my own on my website that could maybe be considered "anti-hero" or at least "dark heroes."
Beloved in Grace,
Souba

[Blitzkrieg1701]

The Man With No Name all the way, baby!

Ben Linus (from the TV show 'Lost')

Personally, I don't think we'll be able to judge what level (if any) of hero Ben is until the show's over. He has a way of defying expectations now and again.