Category:Antiheroes

Anti-Hero is the opposite of an Anti-Villain; while the Anti-Villain plays a villain's game, but for a noble cause, the Anti-Hero often fights on the side of good, but with selfish motives. This category has its own template infobox.

Anti-Heroes (also spelled Anti Heroes or antiheroes) are heroic characters who lack several heroic qualities compared to the original heroes of fiction and folklore – these popular characters can be rude, selfish, disloyal, obnoxious, violent, criminals or even killers in nature, but will still fight on the side of good, whether they are willing, or forced to.

They are not as kind, noble or heroic as other heroes, but they are ultimately the hero of their stories in spite of their unusual attitudes. Simply put an Anti-Hero is a hero with bad qualities who never stops functioning as the hero; he/she saves the day despite having a bad attitude, being a bungler, being selfish, etc.

However, they don't have to be selfish, rude, or precisely criminal all the time; they can be polite and nice in nature, due to the fact they may not be good or evil, but in between the two alignments. Another possible case is that they can treat their enemies without using any hostility, and tend to treat them fairly and with equality and kind-heartedness, which by their own accord, is obviously an unusual trait to have in a hero. They also can be in the center of being in the Grey Zone, depending on their alignment (though an Anti-Hero is not necessary in the Grey Zone and can be outrightly good). Alternatively, characters that are meant to be seen as heroes in universe or out, but are not really all that good, such as Heroes by Proxy, are usually this.

One thing almost all Anti-Heroes have in common is that they live by the philosophy "the ends justify the means", meaning they employ harsh or even villainous methods in order to reach their goals.