# Favorite Anti-hero **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665 "2004-06-10T17:05:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/41 "2004-06-11T12:15:15Z")
Parker, from the “Richard Stark” books. Kerr Avon from _Blake’s Seven_, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/42 "2004-06-11T12:19:12Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > [Him.](http://www.toyboxdx.com/991001/godzilla.jpg) Oh yeah. Also, [HIM](http://www.marionnettes.ca/documentation/20e_siecle/kingkong.jpg) ! ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/43 "2004-06-11T12:20:19Z")
From comics: Grendel (Hunter Rose) The Shade (from Starman) Jesse Custer (from Preacher) Catwoman (only Ed Brubaker’s version) Grifter (from Wildcats and Point Blank) Holden Carver (from Sleeper) John Constantine (from Hellblazer) From movies: Clarence and Alabama Worley (from True Romance) Jules Winfield (from Pulp Fiction) CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow (from Pirates of the Caribbean) Martin Blank (from Grosse Pointe Blank) Bud White, Ed Exley, and Jack Vincennes (from L.A. Confidential) Tyler Durden and The Narrator (from Fight Club) Agent Sands (from Once Upon A Time In Mexico) Porter (from Payback) From TV: Jack Bauer (from 24) Vic Mackey and everyone else from The Shield ---
**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/44 "2004-06-11T13:58:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Gollum and Lecter are not protagonists. I kinda thought Gollum was the antihero protagonist of Peter Jackson’s _The Two Towers_. Am I the only one? I’ll add another vote for **The Dude** and ask if **Yossarian** counts? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/45 "2004-06-11T15:15:17Z")
> [@carterba](#): > > I kinda thought Gollum was the antihero protagonist of Peter Jackson’s _The Two Towers_. Am I the only one? You’re not. Gollum, books and movies, is the very definition of anti-hero. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/46 "2004-06-11T15:52:58Z")
In no particular order: Jack Burton - Big Trouble in Little China Snake Pliskin - Escape From NY El Mariachi - Desperado Jack Bauer - 24 Jules - Pulp Fiction Tyler Durden - Fight Club Dirty Harry/Man w No Name/Clint Eastwood - Good, Bad and the Ugly and a dozen westerns (he’s always the same character…punk) Ash - Evil Dead movies Scarface Han Solo (pre Greedo shooting first) ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/47 "2004-06-11T16:19:26Z")
This long and no mention of Raymond Chandler’s **Philip Marlowe**? One of my favorite characters of all, antihero or otherwise. Then of course there’s \*\*Gully Foyle \*\* from Alfred Bester’s **The Stars My Destination**. That boy wanted him some revenge. _“Vorga I kill you filthy!”_ ---
**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:** [June 11, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/48 "2004-06-11T16:20:37Z")
another vote for Alex DeLarge Count Dracula Peter Cushing’s portrayal of Victor Frankenstein two Vincent Price characters- Dr. Anton Phibes and Edward (Theatre of Blood) Lionheart and Lord Summerisle (The Wicker Man) ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/49 "2004-06-11T18:10:56Z")
What, nobody’s mentioned Richard III yet? ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/50 "2004-06-11T18:51:44Z")
In a vague sort or order… [Sir Harry Flashman](http://www.pangloss.ca/flashman/) Victor Franko (Dirty Dozen) Mr. Pink John Constantine Louis Mazzini (Kind Hearts and Coronets) Yossarian The Good, The Bad _and_ The Ugly Grimjack ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/51 "2004-06-11T19:54:47Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > A villian you like doesn’t count. Gollum and Lecter are not protagonists. I agree that Hannibal Lecter is not the protagonist in _Red Dragon_ or _Silence of the Lambs_, but he is in _Hannibal_. Lecter is the main character (along with Clarice Starling—but the book was named after him), and the main villian is Mason Verger. You end up liking him despite his being a serial killer because he ends up killing characters that you dislike even more. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/52 "2004-06-11T19:55:11Z")
> [@JoeSki](#): > > the brothers from Boondock Saints The McManus Brothers, Top of my list Not quite sure if he qualifies, but Vic Sage/The Question Izzy O’Toole (from the Question) Alex DeLarge Batman (Darknight Returns version) Captain Jack Sparrow Peace - DESK ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/53 "2004-06-11T21:58:27Z")
I forgot Johnny in Mike Leigh’s Naked And Tom Ripley…as played by John Malkovitch not that other guy! in Ripley’s Game, not the one that _did_ get a US release :(. (I can’t comment on the books.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/54 "2004-06-11T23:28:08Z")
Barry Lyndon – from the book and the movie! In both, he’s an opportunistic sonofabitch, but you still want him to win. One thing I noticed: He’s much, much more of a sonofabitch in the book, but the effect is much the same. My theory: Kubrick couldn’t make him that horrible and still keep a movie audience’s sympathy, because a book reader, putting more time and effort into constructing an imagined world, is readier than a movie viewer to sympathize or identify with a POV character. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/55 "2004-06-12T00:19:33Z")
Jack “Hacksaw” Bauer from **24** is clearly a hero, not an anti-hero. Sure, he’s a hero who plays by his own rules, but imho, he’s absolutely a hero. So is Mavra Chang, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/56 "2004-06-12T00:22:17Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Peter Cushing’s portrayal of Victor Frankenstein > > two Vincent Price characters- Dr. Anton Phibes and Edward (Theatre of Blood) Lionheart > > and Lord Summerisle (The Wicker Man) Hear, hear! Mad Science forever! ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/57 "2004-06-12T01:07:25Z")
> [@ElectricZ](#): > > Harry Lime from _The Third Man._ “In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed. But they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” > > EZ I’m not sure you can really call him an anti-hero. After all, he crippled a bunch of childern to make money. That’s more what a villian would do. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/58 "2004-06-12T02:10:34Z")
Garrett, from the _Thief_ games is a personal favorite of mine. He’s not Robin Hood, or any other likable rogue with a heart of gold. He doesn’t steal from the rich and give to the poor–he steals from the rich and pays his rent. He’s cynical, opportunistic, and downright antisocial. The nicest thing he’s done is blackjack some people so the fiance of one of his few friends could sneak out to elope (while stealing a wedding gift from the same house). Nevertheless, he’s saved the city from a murderous cult and killed a destructive deity. Of course, he mostly did it because they annoyed him… I suppose it doesn’t hurt that his internal monologues sound a hell of a lot like mine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/59 "2004-06-12T02:22:53Z")
I’m going to have to agree that Gollum is no hero. He may be a protagonist, but villains can be that as well, and that’s precisely what he is. Sure, at some point he does start to fall more in line with his happy go lucky “Hibbitses are our friends” type mentality, but up to the very end, he’s really being ruled by his own jealousy and greed and hunger for the ring. He has no intent on destroying it, but keeping it for himself. Virtually every step he took on the voyage with Frodo and Sam was for his own greedy little benefit and not that of the greater good. He “destroyed” the ring by accidentaly falling into a volcano…not a heroic act by any means. Most of mine have been named, but Guts from the manga/anime **Berserk** is by far one of the coolest bastards I’ve ever known. He’s on a quest to kill a ring of evil demons, but isn’t afraid of running through entire villages to get there, or leading innocent little children and their grandfathers to horrible deaths by undead. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665/60 "2004-06-12T04:25:49Z")
Hell Tanner in _Damnation Alley_. All of the three lead cops in _LA Confidential_ Peter Bondurant of \*American Tabloid and another couple of James Ellroy novels. Chili Palmer of _Get Shorty_ John Shaft of _Shaft_ Mike Hammer of a million Spillane books Hawk of the _Spencer_ series by Robert Parker Butch and Sundance Tyler from _Fight Club_ Jay Gatsby of _The Great GatsbyMad Max_ Alex in _A Clockwork Orange_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-anti-hero/249665.md?page=4)