by Rauf Fadzilla
Personally, I’ve always been more interested in the darker side of life
and by the meaner characters that inhabit the fictitious worlds of popular
culture. It took a while, but it would seem that I'm not alone anymore (thank God).
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| Pix Credit: Retrorush.com, Marvel Comics The original anti-hero of the Marvel Universe...who strangely did not get an entry in the article below |
The verdict is in. Tough guys rule and dweebs drool. Judging from the trend that has steadily
progressed in recent years across all mediums of popular culture (movies, games, comics...etc), it would seem that we now prefer our heroes bloodier and towing the line between "good" and "bad".
So what the heck is an anti-hero anyway? Well, it’s a
character who is technically the good guy of the story but who does some seriously
bad guy stuff that’s out of the hero boundary which still doesn’t warrant the
character to be the villain of the story. Confusing huh? Think of it as a sort
of teacher that beats you up but means well.
I suspect that this shift may have something to do with the
nihilistic and more destructive tendencies of the world we live in today or
maybe we're just becoming more screwed up people, numbed by the usual gore and
violence presented on TV and in the news.
Whatever the reason, we've somehow become jaded with the
normal definitions of morality and are more into exploring the gray areas of
life.
Comics
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| Pix Credit: http://www.graphicshunt.com/tags/1/superman.htm |
Back in the day, we had Superman, Wonder Woman and Captain America
- super heroic individuals with unshakeable principles and a penchant for
brightly-coloured tights with the underwear worn over the pants (I could never
figure out why they did that). Interestingly, we also had emotionally dead heroes like Batman and Wolverine, tragic boy wonders like Spiderman and Robin, and good guys who are naturally aligned to complete opposites of all things right such as Lobo, Spawn, and Ghost Rider. So it kind of balances out somewhat
As for the heroes of the modern day era, we have Sandman’s Morpheus and Lucifer Morningstar.
Dark, complicated and brooding characters.
Sandman
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| Pix Credit: http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-sandman-tv-show-is-dead-for-now/sandman-morpheus |
Lucifer
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| Pix Credit: http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-novels/lucifer-vol-1-devil-in-the-gateway |
And who could forget Marv, the ultimate anti-hero bludgeoning
his way through the depths of Sin City - a town filled with nothing but
anti-heroes and bad men.
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| Pix Credit: http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/hushbatman-vs-marvsin-city/27028/ |
Anti-heroes can come in groups like the frail and flawed
cast of The Watchmen or in power packed individuals like gun-slinging gonzo
journalist Spider Jerusalem (modeled after Hunter S Thompson) in Warren Ellis'
graphic novel Transmetropolitan.
Spider Jerusalem embodies the anti-hero ethos as he battles
the corruption and abuse of power of two successive United States presidents in
a dystopian future city known only as 'The City".
Watchmen
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| Pix Credit: http://www.digitalbusstop.com/best-comic-book-movies/watchmen/ |
Transmetropolitan
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| Pix Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmetropolitan |
Even when I was a kid, I grew up on a heavy diet of X-Men
comic books and in the X-Men universe I got swept up in the story of Gambit who
was from a community of Thieves who were perpetually at war with another clan
called The Assassins.
Gambit
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| Pix Credit: http://marvel.com/universe/Gambit. |
And then there was Legion, the son of Professor Xavier.
Legion
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| Pix Credit: http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles/7/jean-grey-vs-legion/409504/ |
Legion was the baddest mutant on the planet and suffered
from his inherent psychokinetic abilities as well as severe multiple personality
disorder (for those of you who don't know, that's the same condition that many
of our staff writers get after too many cups of coffee).
Legion's different personalities triggered different powers
that drove him completely loony.
Film
Even classic detectives that we've grown to love have been
given the anti-hero rubdown in their most recent on screen depictions.
Observe:
Sherlock Holmes
Before: Played by Basil Rathbone as a stoic super-sleuth.
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| Pix Credit: http://www.toutlecine.com/images/film/0012/00123530-sherlock-holmes.html |
After: Played by Robert Downie Jr as some sort of Victorian
Jack Sparrow on land.
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| Pix Credit: http://markgorman.wordpress.com/category/movies/page/2/ |
There’s also the extremely sarcastic House, which was based
on Holmes.
The legendary James Bond AKA 007's interesting transition
manages to keep the charm but with an added sense of brutishness, danger and
meanness in his most recent portrayal by Daniel Craig (just look at him for
crap’s sake! He doesn't even need to hold the gun).
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| Pix Credit: http://listphobia.com/2011/03/12/10-top-fictional-special-agents-spies/ |
Not to forget, Riddick, the dark protagonist played by Vin
Diesel in the Chronicles of Riddick.
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| Pix Credit: http://io9.com/riddick/ |
The trend it seems continues to films outside the mainstream
such as the cult revenge flick from South Korea, Old boy which featured a main
character, Oh Dae-su on a homicidal path of destruction after being locked up in
a hotel room for 15 years by a rich psychopath.
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| Pix Credit: http://downloadmediafiremovie.blogspot.com/2010/04/mediafie-movie-oldboy-2003.html |
Games
Solid Snake (Metal Gear)
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| Pix Credit: http://listphobia.com/2011/03/12/10-top-fictional-special-agents-spies/ |
Snake, spy and commando extraordinaire from the game Metal
Gear Solid spares no one in his relentless pursuit of his mission's objectives.
When it comes to companies that are pushing the boundaries,
no other name is more popular (and more controversial) than Rockstar Games who
produced the video games Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt and Bully which allows the
player to control anti-heroes with questionable motives.
Rockstar Games
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| Pix Credit: http://www.giantbomb.com/rockstar-games/65-1194/ |
Manhunt
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| Pix Credit: wallpapers-diq.com |
Bully
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| Pix Credit: http://www.gamesmouth.com/2011/10/25/the-top-5-controversial-games/ |
Grand Theft Auto (GTA)
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| Pix Credit: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/rockstar-games/images/20218409/title/grand-theft-auto-iv-screencap |
These are just some of the numerous anti-heroes and
heroines. Attempting to cover them all in this one article would inevitably
lead to servers crashing and tech people throwing themselves off buildings, so
I'll stop here.
See if you can spot some more the next time you're out at
the movies or browsing the aisles of the bookstore.
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1 comments:
Anonymous said...
Bad is the new good? That's a lie! Bad is bad and good is good. That's how it's always been and that's how it'll always be.
On topic: I like every anti-hero there is. But I can identify with certain ones like the Punisher 'cuz I'm like them in terms of personality. Ever since I was younger, I been an anti-hero.
But back then, I was less anti-heroic. As I got older, my anti-heroism grew. And it was then that I could relate to certain other anti-heroes more, especially since they have revengeful sides and troubled pasts like I do.