The Top Ten Anti-Heroes

10. Hellboy (Hellboy I and II)
Seems like this would be a no brainer; the dude is a demon. But he was raised by a wise old man who tried to impart upon him the virtues of being human. I don’t know if it worked, but so far Hellboy hasn’t destroyed the world. He’s a character with a conscience, but an ever lasting teenagers dis-respect of authority. Frankly, he’s a rather mild demon, throwing tantrums and the like when he doesn’t agree with his curfew. It is solely the character’s origins and his perceived destiny that make him an anti-hero. Without that demonic starting point, he might just be a loose-cannon cop movie.

9. Riddick (Pitch Black / Chronicles of Riddick)
The two Riddick films were excellent science-fiction. By no means were they Academy Award winners, both were thought provoking and well cast. The character of Riddick is the quintessential anti-hero. His origins are shrouded in mystery, stalked by the law and the unlawful, he is both prey and hunter, a perfect and simultaneous juxtaposition of dueling realties. He proves he has feelings, but has no qualms about killing. A close viewer will see that it becomes almost an act of pleasure. If not pleasure, then perhaps satisfaction. That’s about as anti-hero as it gets.

8. Corwin of Amber (Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny)
Corwin, one of the Nine Princes in Amber, hails from a family of anti-heroes and outright villains. Pitted in a fatal competition against his siblings, Corwin raises an army from across dimensions to march on his family’s/brother’s castle. But Corwin remains frosty through out the endeavor. Even when his brother puts out his eyes and throws him in the dungeon, Corwin, more or less, stays composed. His love’em and leave’em attitude, his daring-do and cut-throat swordsmanship reserve his place in the Top Ten of Bad Good Guys (or is it Good Bad Guys?) forever.

7. Wolverine
Old snarl butt himself. I’ve been reading X-men comics since I was 11 (which was a long time ago). I think Wolverine is the only character who’s gotten more interesting as time progresses. Of course, he was basically an empty canvass. Introducing generic “bad asses” with amnesia is pretty heavy handed. But I think the writers did okay with it. I mean, he didn’t end up a lost prince or king of the vampires did he? Anyway, Wolverine is a cold-blooded killer with a heart of gold. He’s a perfect, if predictable and somewhat unsophisticated anti-hero. The dichotomy of his personality, the need for efficiency in his function, a sadistic bit of savagery and the idea that he is still a feeling human, make his a pretty classic anti-hero.

6. Bobba Fett
Yes, I know he’s got cool Mandalorian armor. I know he’s got a jet pack, missiles and disintegration ray. But he’s also a bounty hunter; that is, he’s a fighter-type who hunts other sentients for money, regardless of their innocence or guilt. Sure, he does good when he gets the bad guys. But how does that weight against all the innocents he’s accidentally or intentionally disintegrated? He’s a clone of few words, but if we can believe Lucas’ expanded universe, and prequels, he’s the direct clone of the last of the Mandalorian warriors… which makes me wonder why the rest of the clone army doesn’t shoot better. Bob, as he’s known to his friends, later reaches an uneasy truce with Han Solor, as years of Coyote and Roadrunner antics. Bob is a great example of a bad guy being co-opted by public opinion, and being written in to fill the role he’s expected to have. 

5. Blade 
He is a vampire, after all. I mean, half vampire. His heart is in the right place. You know, stalk the night, jack the leeches, send them flying, bursting into hot cinders and ashes, flinging stakes and blasting shotgun shells filled with…whatever the hell he puts in them. For all his grim determination and brutal efficiency, he’s sorta got a heart of gold, or at least a soft spot for strays. Perhaps it’s that so many anti-heroes see themselves, or at least, how they could or should have been in the disaffected and disenfranchised. I know when ever I’m plotting major pseudo-villainy, I always feel a pang of sympathy for the victims of my plots, almost as if I could see it from their point of view…

4. Batman
Everyone’s favorite ego-maniacal pseudo-sociopath! Yes, the Batman is a true anti-hero. But I’m afraid his high-prioced rough and tumble antics are wearing a little thin these days. The last installment of Batman’s legend was a great flick, no doubt. But here’s the thing – putting “Xxtreme” in front of the Joker doesn’t really make for a better story. Don’t get me wrong. The last Batman movie was spectacular, well played, posted, and cut. But I was watching Xxtreme Joker more than I was watching Batman. The hero has actually in this case become too “anti.” Batman’s need to dispense justice is now totally overshadowed by his lunacy. Nevertheless, he’s a classic anti-hero will will likely never escape any listing “chaotic good” characters.

3. Alex (A Clockwork Orange)
His favorite pastimes are assault, rape and thievery. He certainly sounds like a villain. But in the novel A Clockwork Orange, Alex is “our humble narrator.” His apparent inability to tell right from wrong seems to stem from a sociopathic view regarding other humans as not-quite living things. I’m not making much of a case for the hero aspect am I? Well, in this context he’s our only point of reference for the world. While he seems atypical to us, he does have droogs who are more of less, just like him. Perhaps, in fact, he’s not an anti-hero, but more appropriately, just the main character…

2. Dexter comes in at a strong #2 on the top ten anti-hero list. I mean, he is a serial killer. It’s just that he kills the bad guys. His methods are gruesomely effective, his habit are typically fastidious and he’s desperately clever. He’d be a great hero, except that, you know, he chops people up. Nevertheless, for a sociopath, he manages to balance a job, family life and relationships reasonable well. For someone who is off and on again hunted by the FBI, he manages to “take care of business.” It’s Dexter’s ethical code that keeps him in our hearts as a merely misunderstood vigilante. He uses his code to curb, control, alleviate and justify his behavior. And from an absolute justice point of view, he’s absolutely correct. But then again, he’s using his code as a shield, a catch-all excuse that allows him to indulge in his more base behaviors. He is, after all, a serial killer.  

1. Achilles – “Sing oh Muse, of the mighty Achilles, whose wrath laid low so many great and noble heroes…” For my money, Achilles of Homer’s Iliad is the number one anti-hero of all time. Indestructible, or at least, invulnerable, unparalleled martial prowess and an ego to match, Achilles temper and self-centric world view cost the lives of many Greeks. Achilles fights for the Greeks, the invaders, looking to take troy by force of arms. The excuse for the conflict, Agamemnon’s wife Helen, is ostensibly justifiable. She was, according to their cultural tradition, the wife/property of Greek king, and Paris had no rights, legal recourse, or authority to take her, gods or no. Hector, the best of all Greek men, fought on the side of the Wrong. It is precisely because he had conscious knowledge of that fact, that he was the perfect man. He was honor bound to defend his family, his home and his people. When Achilles defeated Hector and his rage drove him to drag Hector’s corpse around, we see clearly what sort of monster we’re dealing with.

Remember, we as humans, have taken every step to make any and all things as complicated as we can. As writers, it’s our responsibility to draw upon that manufactured complication to create a believable or at least, opaque, tapestry of bullshit.  So, take a moment to consider your cyber-soldier character. To make him real, to give him more depth than just a barely-speaking killer of men, he’ll need a past, a present, and a future. We’ve talked about creating those pasts before, and in some cases, they aren’t relevant to the story you’re telling.

Let’s talk about your cyber-soldier’s present. It’s an action story, so he’s in the army? Or is he a marine? Or is there some new branch of the military for cyborgs? Maybe his past as a marine is why he’s a cyborg now. Maybe not – maybe he was so gung ho and such a perfect soldier, that he was selected out of hundreds of individuals. More likely, if fresh parts can keep the flesh fighting, he’s one of thousands of cyborg soldiers just hoping they finish their tours before they need any more “enhancements” to stay on the front line.

So, he’s not special. He’s just a guy. With a job and a maybe a family who eventually wants to go home. But he’s still more than just a camouflage Robo-cop. The army is a complicated thing. So, writer, exploit it. Where did cyber-soldier do basic? Don’t know anything about that? Look it up! To the interwebs! What’s his MOS (that’s military occupational specialty)? In this futuristic world, there might be new trainings available – like a professional anti-intrusion network specialist, or electromagnetic heavy-weapons specialist. Think about it.

So, the characters present is derived from his past, his future, from his present. Looking into the layers of any society, the opportunity for unique and memorable characters becomes apparent.

Taking the exercise one step further, perhaps we could throw away all the assumptions that come with the word “hero.” What about a main character who is a coward? There’s no excuse for hacking out an archetype good-guy or bad-guy.

While emanations of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” and the inherent myth cycle that resides in all cultures can be seen in the standard fantasy plot, one must ask themselves, how many magic swords are there? I’ve personally never come across a magic sword, (though admittedly my collection is rather small) let alone a Chosen One.

Seriously though, a good fantasy novel is getting hard and harder to come by, and I wonder why. Even the vaunted Harry Potter suffers from a formulaic sickness, being the Chosen One who will slay…what’s his name. Anyway, I think the fundamental failing of fantasy is the Chosen One syndrome. It’s often argued that the Chosen One is more interesting to audiences than Schlomo the Shit-cart Boy, who was killed by a runaway shit-cart. Granted. But isn’t it the job of the writer to make Schlomo more interesting? Dare I say, to make him a hero?

What say, Schlomo was indeed killed by a runaway shitcart. But in the stinky conflagration that followed (no one really knows where the flames started – a torch or candle most likely) Schlomo’s son, Bertrand Schlomo Gorp (who would in later years become known as Bert the Unlucky) was injured and orphaned and raised in a priory. His childhood injury, broken bones in his right foot, were treated by the best healers his rather backward village had to offer. Thus, they had mended rather poorly. Until the age of 18, Bert the Unlucky limped about the priory, sweeping and cooking and cleaning dishes, tending gardens. Bert the Unlucky, earned his dubious honorific when he failed to pass the examinations required to become a full fledged member of the holy order which he served.

Now, Bert the Unlucky, a pious and rather naieve, if well educated soul, set off into the world, seeking his fate.

See? Isn’t that some much more satisfying than the son of a king who has a powerful magic sword and rides dragons?

In the scene we were about to shoot, he had to, essentially, look like a bad-ass and drop a match. He tucked his prop-weapon into his belt. Squinted his eyes to get into character, and grudgingly waited for me to give him the OK so he could dash out on set and look tough.

I took one look and stopped him in his tracks.

“What are you doing?” said I.

“This is a take.” replied the Tom Cruise wannabe.

“I know, but I asked what *you* are doing. Specifically, I want to know what ghetto-gansta rap video you learned that from.” I gestured to prop 9mm Baretta tucked into his jeans.

“What?” He looked stunned.

Just then, the AD was yelling for quiet on set and places and all the stuff they tend to yell before a take. I shook my head and pulled the pistol from Dong Johnson’s shorts and said “Look, you put a loaded gat in your boxers, and I guarantee you’ll shoot your shit off.”

“No way,” he scoffs, “they do it all the time on TV.”

The AD yells again, and I’m starting to loose my patience with Dong. “Look, Bucky, where the did your character learn to fight?”

He shrugs. “I dunno.”

“No, seriously, we need to know, and we need to know now. I didn’t read the whole script because I thought it stunk. Where did your character learn to use guns? The army? Is he an ex-cop? Is he just a street kid with a grudge? Is he ex-special forces? Is he some muddy-minded wiseguy? What?”

He shrugs at me. In my mind, I’m racing through all the slang terms we used in film school to take about actors. Goddamned Meat Puppets almost escapes my lips before I catch myself and ask, sharply “Who would know?”

“I guess the writer.” says Dong, still not convinced that a moron with a loaded pistol shoved down his pants is uncool.

The dilemma crystallizes when I realize the writer is also the director. Which means, right about now, he’s goddamned busy. But, I have a job to do, and I’m not going to let some stone-skulled meat puppet make the shot look bad if I can help it. So, I haul Dong Johnson and his faux-firearm over to the director, ignoring the AD’s protests and foul looks from the DP.

I said “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to know where this character learned to fight. What’s his background?”

The writer/director looks at me and shrugs. “I dunno.”

In my mind, I saw the stalled bus on the train tracks, the train rocketing towards it, the screeching of the wheels, the sparks flying, the screaming of passengers. In the sky above the moon swung to block out Brother Sun and airplanes fell from the sky.

“What?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

I nodded my head slowly, shoved the prop-pistol back into Dong Johnson’s crotch and walked back to wardrobe staging opened a beer and lit a cigarette.

The moral of this sordid tale is know your characters. Inside and out. Know where they went to school. Know who their first crush was. Know if they like Chinese food. Know if they went to college. Know if they wanted a pony as a child. Know if they’ve ever broken a bone. Know if they like rough sex. Know if they hate dogs. Know if they like to dance. Know if they are allergic to peanuts. Know if they pee in the shower. Know if they clip their toenails daily. Know if they think it’s okay for a man to get a manicure before a date. Know if they are pot smokers. Know if they like fat girls. Know if they played fire as children. Know if they eat meat. Know if they love to eat shrimp because they like the feeling of power that comes from devouring a whole living creature in one bite. Know if they are a feminist. Know if they are the sort of feminist that doesn’t know anything about feminism. Know if they have tattoos. Know when the got them and where and with who. Know every goddamned thing there is to know about your characters, so you never, ever, have to be the douche-bag who shrugs lamely and says “I’m not sure where the person I invented was born. Or if they’re married. Or if they like to eat Cheetos.”

I know for some folks this seems like a tall order. What do you mean I have to be the biographer for all my characters? Well, I mean just that. That’s what writers do, what good writers do. They are thorough and understand their subjects, their topics, their pawns and players, on a fundamental level.

I was introduced to a surefire method in college. Dungeons and Dragons geeks know all about this one, though to be fair, you’ve got to swap the name of their warhorse or magic sword for something a little more tangible.

Describe your main characters bedroom, from floor to ceiling, without naming your character. Describe the carpet. The furniture, the bedside lamp, the books on the nightstand, the books hidden on the topshelf of the bedroom closet. Describe the things in the top drawer of their dresser. Describe the statues, trophies, knick knacks they have laying around. Describe their laptop computer’s screen saver. Describe their shoes, how many, what kinds, what conditions. Describe what they see out of their window every morning when they wake up.

Know you know everything there is to know about your character.

I know my shelves are lined with books about writing. One topic that’s never well enough addresses for me is the Hero / Anti-Hero. Popular media is rampant with bad-ass tough guys with that one redeeming quality. Are these dudes pinnacle examples of the literary craft? Probably not. But they draw us in, make us what to know more.

A good character can pull even the worst plot through the muck and get it on its feet again. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we follow Indy on another exciting, but somewhat predictable whirl wind adventure. In fact, by the tank chase through the desert, we’d seen all the tricks the filmmakers had available – but we *love* Indy, so we watched him battle his way through another legion of very Stormtrooper-esque Nazis.

A good character should never be confused with a Good Character. Luke Skywalker is a good character. Bobba Fett, with only three damn lines, is a Good Character. So what makes ‘em good vs. Good? Well, the best characters have a bit of the baddies in them.

The Anti-Hero, grim faced and of questionable morality, but stern ethics, is a literary entity that I think the average reader can more readily identify with. I mean, even on our best days, sometimes we call in sick to work, lie about eating the last cookie, or slip a stop-light.

I don’t see the “hero” archetype ever living up to its expectations in a realistic setting, so perhaps there is actually only the Anti-Hero?

Consider Hector from the Illiad. This dude was considered by his contemporaries and the listeners of the tale for centuries to follow, as the pinnacle of the ancient Greek arête. The best man. He defended his home, family and whiney brother with his life. Hector knew that Paris was an adulterer, had absconded with a king’s wife and brought an incredible doom to Troy, but he defended him anyway. He’s a hero for his defense of King and Country, but a bit of an “anti” for intentionally choosing the wrong side.

Maybe this isn’t the best example of an anti-hero. How about Dirty Harry? A loose-cannon cop with a bad attitude and “the biggest handgun made by man.” He’s a police officer, ostensibly out to do good, out to keep the streets safe for Little Janey and Little League Pete. At the same time, he’s as destructive as a force of nature and a fearless gun fighter who’s put more than a few baddies six feet under. A good guy we want to fear. James Bond, essentially an SAS thug with expensive tastes. He’s saving the world, no doubt. But he’s also been licensed by MI6 to kill at his discretion.

What’s the difference between a Hero’s Fatal Flaw, and an Anti-Hero’s Redeeming Quality? Well, staying with the Anti-Hero, it’s usually something “cool,” something we admire. The Wolverine from Marvel comics is a perfect example. He’s on the good guy’s team, but he’s not really very good. In fact, he’s a cigar smoking, beer swilling brawler, who’d just as soon knife ya as look at ya. Corwin, from Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles is another great example. He’s charming and suave, yet cold hearted enough to lead an entire shadow population to their deaths ascending Mount Kolvir, his justification being quite simple: they are from a Shadow World, Amber is the only one true City.

In more contemporary media, I suppose Anakin Skywalker could be considered an Anti-hero. He’s a Jedi, but treads dangerously close to the Dark Side, forever tempting powers he simply cannot understand. But here’s the failure in the character: he’s got nothing we want. He’s emotionally unbalanced, suffering from an unrelenting Oedipal complex and constant badgering from his foster-family (the Jedi Order). He’s a killer. He’s a powerful force user. But… he’s lacking that something special. It’s as if he was designed to be an anti-hero, but can’t fulfill the “cool” part. He lacks that suave, debonair charm. Sure, he wears black and has a bad boy attitude, but ultimately, he chooses to murder the Jedi Order’s young students. Perhaps he’s more of a Fallen Hero, or dare I say it, never even achieved that Hero status?