# Best Anti-hero ever...? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 17, 2001, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695 "2001-08-17T05:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/1 "2001-08-17T05:42:15Z")
sorry if this is regurgitated, but i really really didn’t feel like doing a search (it takes too damn long), and knowing how some people can get around here, i’m sure i’ll get yelled at for a double topic if it is… 😉 Anyways: Best Anti-Hero ever? Me? I’d say… 1. Comic book: Wolverine 2. Movie: The man with no name 3. Television or Cartoon: Casey Jones 4. Literature: Robin Hood and… 5. All-time: The man with no name what do youse think? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/2 "2001-08-17T06:13:20Z")
Me. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/3 "2001-08-17T06:35:38Z")
Mel Gibson’s character in ‘Payback’. Maybe not the best, but one of the best in recent memory. ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/4 "2001-08-17T06:41:51Z")
Probably every Harrison Ford character I can think of. The best? IMHO, Han Solo. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/5 "2001-08-17T06:42:31Z")
Thomas Covenant. Angus Thermopyle. Gully Foyle. Don Juan. Darth Vader. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/6 "2001-08-17T06:46:10Z")
My two favorite antiheros from the movies are as follows (with quotes ala IMDB) to illustrate. Ash, from the Evil Dead trilogy. ## Ash: Good, bad… I’m the guy with the gun. ## _[Sheila wants to apologize to Ash]_ Ash: First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me. Blow. ## Arthur: Are all men from the future loud-mouthed braggarts? Ash: Nope. Just me baby… Just me. Clint Eastwood’s Bill Munny from Unforgiven Little Bill Daggett: I don’t deserve this… to die like this! I was building a house! Bill Munny: Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it. [aims gun] Little Bill Daggett: I’ll see you in hell, William Munny! Bill Munny: Yeah. [fires] * * * (One of my favorite all-time movie quotes!) Bill Munny: All right now, I’m comin’ out. Any man I see out there, I’m gonna shoot him. Any sumbitch takes a shot at me, I’m not only gonna kill him, but I’m gonna kill his wife. All his friends. Burn his damn house down. ---
**Author:** ![daffodil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@daffodil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffodil)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/7 "2001-08-17T09:55:24Z")
Steve Buscemi; in nearly all of his roles. John Torturro; ditto \*btw; I’m totally in love with them both. \* ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/8 "2001-08-17T10:18:55Z")
I don’t think anyone but seriousart has quite nailed the concept of anti-hero. The Bill Munny example is right on the nose. I’d pick Phillip Marlowe as my perfect anti-hero. If you have to use movies, Bogart did him best. But Raymond Chandler’s novels are far better than even the best Bogey/Bacall movies like “The Big Sleep.” ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/9 "2001-08-17T10:50:44Z")
I still have a soft spot in my heart for Spawn… for the first 18 issues, anyway. After that, he started going downhill… However, I think Lonestar (from _Spaceballs_) would give Han a run for his money. Or maybe they’d sit back and drink booze… Han would teach Lonestar how to play Sabacc… ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/10 "2001-08-17T10:57:36Z")
Well, im not sure I believe it, but he surely should be in the running : Holden Caulfield. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/11 "2001-08-17T12:42:53Z")
It’s John Constantine, star of the comic book Hellblazer, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/12 "2001-08-17T13:06:34Z")
The Tick **SPOOOOOON** ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/13 "2001-08-17T13:20:05Z")
Alex in **A Clockwork Orange** ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/14 "2001-08-17T13:29:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*Thomas Covenant. \*\* Excellent choice. ---
**Author:** ![GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GSV_Consolation_of_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/15 "2001-08-17T13:44:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chas.E \* > \*\*I don’t think anyone but seriousart has quite nailed the concept of anti-hero. The Bill Munny example is right on the nose. > I’d pick Phillip Marlowe as my perfect anti-hero. If you have to use movies, Bogart did him best. But Raymond Chandler’s novels are far better than even the best Bogey/Bacall movies like “The Big Sleep.” \*\* I dunno, I preferred Dick Powell in Farewell my Lovely. IMDB entry [here](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0037101) The lone, displayed comment doesn’t rate it as very good, but look at the others for the opposing view. For my money his Marlowe is much closer to the original books than Bogey’s. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/16 "2001-08-17T14:05:50Z")
Was thinking about this on the way to work today… **George Costanza** , from Seinfeld, is perhaps the greatest TV anti hero. Rarely do you find a character so despicable while at the same time so likeable. ---
**Author:** ![Sophie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Sophie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophie)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/17 "2001-08-17T14:16:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*Well, im not sure I believe it, but he surely should be in the running : Holden Caulfield. \*\* Ditto for Holden. Also, in literature, Milkman in “Song of Solomon”. I consider him an anti-hero; am I right? ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/18 "2001-08-17T14:17:44Z")
Dirty Harry ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/19 "2001-08-17T14:45:13Z")
It’s either John Yossarian in _Catch-22_ or Ignatius Reilly in _A Confederacy of Dunces_. Holden Caufield’s up there, too. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695/20 "2001-08-17T14:45:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Amp \* > \*\*The Tick > > **SPOOOOOON** \*\* The Tick wasn’t an anti-hero, he was as pure as you can get! Actually, he was so caught up in goodnesss and justice that it overshadowed normal thought, making him a little eccentric, but by no means an anti-hero. (I mean, c’mon, he’s 7 feet 400 pounds of mighty blue justice. (and nigh-invulnerable.)) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-anti-hero-ever/76695.md?page=2)