Evil protagonists from fiction - or 'Examples of how to play the bad guy without being a total jerk'

[Eltab]

Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Jayne from Firefly/Serenity, kind of a comic precursor to Amos.

 

[Campbell]

I think Jackson Teller from Sons of Anarchy is really interesting case of this in motion. Jacks is thoughtful, honorable charming, and wants to leave the world better than he found it. He is also manipulative, vengeful, self destructive, and thoroughly capable of wanton violence at a moment's notice. Despite a genuine desire to be a good man Jacks always chooses to lean in to his worst impulses when things get hard. He's also devoted to his friends, family, and club. He's a friend we would all want to have, but he's not a good dude at all.

 

[Manbearcat]

I think Jackson Teller from Sons of Anarchy is really interesting case of this in motion. Jacks is thoughtful, honorable charming, and wants to leave the world better than he found it. He is also manipulative, vengeful, self destructive, and thoroughly capable of wanton violence at a moment's notice. Despite a genuine desire to be a good man Jacks always chooses to lean in to his worst impulses when things get hard. He's also devoted to his friends, family, and club. He's a friend we would all want to have, but he's not a good dude at all.

I gotta say, if this is true (that we all deeply want this guy as our friend/in our corner while simultaneously knowing his persistence is a damaging influence on notions "the common good"), its as much a commentary on the performative pretensions of our "civilization impulses" as it is our aspirations to transcend our baser, monkey instinct. And I think the through line of the first commentary (humans are overwhelmingly self-interested cowards governed by rote evolutionary programming) has much more say (and will continue to have more say) on human trajectory than the latter.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I gotta say, if this is true (that we all deeply want this guy as our friend/in our corner while simultaneously knowing his persistence is a damaging influence on notions "the common good"), its as much a commentary on the performative pretensions of our "civilization impulses" as it is our aspirations to transcend our baser, monkey instinct. And I think the through line of the first commentary (humans are overwhelmingly self-interested cowards governed by rote evolutionary programming) has much more say (and will continue to have more say) on human trajectory than the latter.

Well, you're a little glowing nugget of positivity. SPEND YOUR SAVINGS ALL, WE'RE OFFICIALLY DOOMED!

 

[Manbearcat]

Well, you're a little glowing nugget of positivity. SPEND YOUR SAVINGS ALL, WE'RE OFFICIALLY DOOMED!

What I actually meant to say was:

Bikers...


...cool

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

What I actually meant to say was:

Bikers...


...cool

Yeah, we're still doomed
Honestly, I'd say Moorcock is good for a few anti-heroish incarnations of the EC. Hawkmoon is pretty brutal at times. Erekose wipes out an entire race. Corum ALSO wipes out an entire race (humanity in this case) just for revenge, though he seems to be pretty loyal to his allies (the few that he ever has).

 

[Bohandas]

Giving the Devil a robot isn't exactly evil though is it?

And not seeing where he actually sold any of the kids as food (the kids all seemed alive and un-eaten so it could have just been an elaborate scam).

Still have Bender CN.

I just realized that I left out Bender's use of slave labor in A Pharaoh to Remember

 

[Flamestrike]

I just realized that I left out Bender's use of slave labor in A Pharaoh to Remember

Im not saying he's a nice guy, but he's also acted out of altruism and even self sacrifice before as well (although he's generally selfish). Not enough for me to make him CE (like Rick Sanchez or Roger the Alien) both of whom regularly engage in murder, genocide, rape, child abuse and worse.

His 'Kill all Humans' persona was a bit much, but that was an alternate version so I'll give him a pass for that!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, cop movies from the 70s play very differently today. See also The French Connection.

Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry.