Category:Anti-Hero

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Antiheroes are tricky to define; generally speaking, they are characters who are morally ambiguous, challenging the traditional depictions of "Good" and "Evil". They are neither paragons of virtue nor truly malicious, and might appear in the City games as both Heroes and Villains.

As Heroes, such characters tend to lack stereotypically "good" traits like altruism, nobility, and respect for the law; they are often vengeful or mercenary, unwilling to help out just for the sake of it. As Villains, they tend to be disinterested in stereotypically "evil" goals - like causing pain and suffering, or taking over/destroying the world - and are often categorised with more malicious individuals purely because they are at odds with the law, or unwilling to accept traditional moral values. In both cases, anti-heroes are usually defined by being amoral and self-focused, having alliances with traditional heroes or villains only for the sake of their personal goals. Often, they are unaligned with either "good" or "evil" ideals, caring more about aspects of law versus anarchy, or simply "me versus them".

Classic examples of anti-heroes from published comics include Deadpool and Spawn.