# Evil protagonists. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445 "2009-03-05T21:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/41 "2009-03-06T17:47:51Z")
You could argue that their enemies were even worse, but the Corleones in the **Godfather** movies racked up quite a body count. Likewise, Robert DeNiro’s character in **Casino**. As I recall, the guy in **Goodfellas** only turned “state’s evidence” in order to save his own neck. > [@](#): > > by **Bayard** It’s been a number of years since I last saw the movie, but maybe Harvey Kietel in Bad Lieutenant? Does he turn it around in the end? He sorta kinda makes an attempt to turn it around. Although I am not certain that his final solution is any more moral than his original scheme. Elric, in Michael Moorcock’s novels, committed the occasional mass-murder. (Yeah, sure, he felt really guilty about it, but he kept doing it!) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/42 "2009-03-06T17:58:13Z")
Rorschach from _Watchmen_ is certainly not a good guy. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/43 "2009-03-06T18:06:03Z")
The hero of Milton’s _Paradise Lost_ is arguably Satan himself. Maybe I’m tripping, but the last time I read _The Lord of the Rings_ I began to suspect that Gollum was the real protagonist. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/44 "2009-03-06T18:19:42Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Tyler Durden. > > And pretty much any protagonist Chuck Palahniuk has ever written. Couldn’t it be said that he was trying to do a good thing, though, by attempting to set everyone’s debt back to zero? ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/45 "2009-03-06T21:48:38Z")
What about V from V for Vendetta? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/46 "2009-03-07T13:06:19Z")
Well, the Harlequin was arguably good, from Repent Harlequin said the Ticktock Man, so I don’t know if you can call V evil. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/47 "2009-03-07T13:41:53Z")
Dr. Anton Phibes and Edward Lionheart. both of course played by Vincent Price. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/48 "2009-03-07T15:14:54Z")
Danny Ocean wasn’t exactly a good person. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/49 "2009-03-07T19:38:54Z")
But you couldn’t call Dortmunder _evil_. Just criminal. Parker, though? Evil. From The Parker novels. (See: Mel Gibson in Payback) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/50 "2009-03-07T19:41:13Z")
Quoth **Skara\_Brae** : > [@](#): > > As for my entry, I’ll go with an old one - Macbeth. Sheesh, it took 38 posts for someone to mention him? People just don’t appreciate the classics any more. And people tend to look at me funny when I mention that that play has a happy ending. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445/51 "2009-03-07T20:44:15Z")
To me the best literary villian is “Mrs Danvers” from the book _Rebecca_. I like it because she’s never really overtly evil but that level of total visciousness is always simmering just below and perhaps at the end it finally surfaces. Though you can’t be sure even then. (I won’t ruin the ending) Actually Rebecca would be a boring story without Mrs Danvers hovering around [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-protagonists/488445.md?page=2)