Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 1151607" data-attributes="member: 463">The grasping merchant who enjoys cheating his customers?  The jar-head mercenary who loves to fight and kill, but doesn't kill women and children?  The leader of the pirates or brigands who steals from innocent travellers, but only kills those who resist?  Any noble-but-evil antagonist with redeeming qualities probably fits.  I saw a Western, Firecreek, a few days ago, with a band of desperadoes led by Henry Fonda as the baddies, opposing James Stewart as a milksop Sheriff.  The Henry Fonda character was somewhat evil but clearly had sympathetic qualities - it made for a very strong finale, after Fonda's men had murdered someone, with Fonda having shot and wounded Stewart, standing over him and begging him to give in so Fonda didn't have to kill him, and Stewart struggling to reach his gun.  Even Darth Vader might count - he was clearly evil, he just as clearly wasn't _all_ evil.The best examples are from non-fantasy genre fiction though, the nasty people who clearly _aren't_ depraved fiends.  The cruel headmaster at the Victorian boarding school - he beats the boys black & blue but he doesn't b*gg*r them.  The grasping banker who forecloses on the poor farmer's mortgage.  A million romantic portrayals of mafiosi, from The Godfather onwards.  Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.</blockquote>