Now you Hate him, now you don't. ;)

The Absolute Anti Hero

I want to be completely honest about this post. How did I actually get to this topic anyways?

The first, and most obvious, thing I did is this. I used the unflattering search engine called Google. (No, I don't mean to be rude, but Google does give brutally honest answers at times.)

And I had before me a list of some of the most fascinating people who have shamelessly managed to puzzle us every time. Most of us will stand by the fact that as far as heroes and villains are concerned, most movies are categorized like this:

1. There's a hero who shows off, there's a villain who gets kicked real bad.
2. The opposite happens i.e the villain stamps on the skull of a dying emotional (patriotic?) hero.
3. No hero, no villain. Everybody is a winner!
4. A Doomsday-type of film, where everyone ends up -well-doomed.

Yeah A Justin Bieber Type Apocalypse, it's plausible

But we forget, that in this constantly developing branch of entertainment, there are characters who step into the shoes of the hero, but never really live up to the characteristics of a true hero. They are the ANTI HEROES. Neither are they agreeable, honest, brave, courteous and kind nor are they patriotic, handsome, virtuous, idealistic or noble. In fact, they are absolutely the opposite and yet they stand out, because even if we don't acknowledge it, we all love a share of someone who is grounded in reality. Who has flaws, and problems and is yet triumphant.

Whether he is a supporting act, or a protagonist, he is still a hero. So let's have a look at his illustrious history.

Shakespeare's Anti Heroes

Whether Shakespeare actually ever wrote about anti-heroes is a debatable topic. Most men often consider his characters to be classical tragic heroes. However, I think there is a difference between them. Shakespeare's anti-hero acts out of his own will and (more often than not) brings about his own downfall. But his tragic hero is a target of worldly (or unworldly) circumstances and usually dies anyways. 

Macbeth for instance is awfully greedy, power-hungry and -let's face it- easily manipulated. The root of the anti-hero's vices is his own feverish brain. So when Macbeth, knee deep in guilt and gore, says :

The Famous Banquet Scene

"I am in blood 

Stepp'd so far, that should I wade no more, 

Returning were as tedious as go o'er."

He is pretty convinced of his own wrong-doings. He fights with his evil genius for a while, but he cannot stop the villain in his mind from taking control. But what makes Macbeth a hero too, is his unstoppable courage and resolve. He goes into battle nevertheless and dies by a sword; remarkably a hero's death. Thus he is, the quintessential anti hero. 

However, I would not classify Hamlet as an anti-hero despite his faults in behavior. The surrounding environment and his insecurity are what actually drive him to do what he did. Unlike Macbeth, he stayed true to himself till the end. He wore a mask of madness, but deep within he was perfectly in his senses.

Literature's Minion - The Coming of The Byronic Hero

I haven't read John Milton's Paradise Lost, but hey, even a baby knows about God and The Devil. While Lucifer (better known as Satan) is 'heralded' as a fallen angel, few know that he is also the world's oldest anti hero. And Milton's voluminous book makes sure Lucifer finds his own place in the underworld too. After all, a hero always finds his place.

Fallen Angel?

The name Byronic Hero originated from Lord Byron's literary work, which gave us a passionate yet ill-tempered short cut to an anti hero. Authors went on to write about Byronic heroes too.

Charlotte Bronte got the world thinking (and women sighing) after her depiction of Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. A man, torn in frustration over the fate of his mad wife, his own love affair and his near-fatal accident, are what makes this anti hero tragically perfect. Bronte's own sister, Emily was not further behind in her portrayal of Heathcliff, perhaps one of the most destructive and dangerous literary creations till date.

It's quite a pity that Twilight took a reference from Wuthering Heights. While Stephanie Meyer struggles to make an anti hero out of Edward, the latter has already succeeded in becoming the world's most bold and extraordinary novel AND I cannot name a book which portrays an anti hero better.

Mystery fiction lovers will definitely agree that Sherlock Holmes is another category of anti hero by himself. He is definitely the most profound, yet brilliant (bordering on sardonic) anti hero the world has ever known. I'm a self-confessed non-follower of Sherlock (yes, I know all you Sherlock fans, I will pay for this) but this is one man who certainly gives me the goosebumps.

I would also categorize Boromir (of the Lord of The Rings trilogy) and The Lannisters (A Song Of Ice and Fire) as anti heroes. And by now, you know why.

The Lannisters Send Their Regards?

                                             

The First Love of our Childhood - Comic Books, Animated Movies and Anime

How unfair would it be to miss out on the mysteriously superb Batman! For everyone out there who has skipped the 'I-wanna-be-a-superhero' stage of life, you missed out on A LOT. Most superheroes are the stereotypical winners. But some of them come with a blend of tragedy. 

Let's take for instance the ferocious yet 'well-meaning' Wolverine. A slightly more debatable option is the Black Widow.  One of my favorites is The Hulk! How can you not admire this huge green giant who is also largely kind-hearted. Among the X-Men comics, I'd vote for Magneto (despite all) as an anti hero too. 

Wolverine and The Hulk

                                         

I won't delve into the details of Animated Movies. But to name a few of the anti heroes that Disney has come up with -I know it's still a big injustice to this category -but here we go. The best known is The (soft-hearted) Beast, followed by an admirable Timon, Peter Pan's Tinker Bell, a charismatic Flynn Rider and - wait for it - the one and only Donald Duck.  

Don't you antagonize me!

                                                       

Anime is not a topic I would like to discuss here, as most of the work in this category is unknown to a major audience (including myself). But there is one anti hero I cannot miss, and partly because I must be the only female (that I know of) who enjoyed watching this show. Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z never fails to amaze me. He's the only brilliant candidate I could think of. 

The Anti Hero on The Silver Screen (And well the TV too)

Movies have given us some of the most intelligent (and comical) anti heroes till date. In fact, it very much started off with adaptations of classical novels. But now it has evolved into a list of splendid characters, some of which I am still unaware of, YET. 

Fight Club's Tyler Durden to begin with. How can we forget Oskar Schindler? And let's not overlook the famous Severus Snape from Harry Potter. Or the ambitious Zuckerberg from The Social Network. 

OR the dashing Jay Gatsby from Fitzgerald's book on New York's flashy society. All this to name a few. (I can't keep going on, this could fill books!)

The traditional definition of an anti hero got a twist with the introduction of Jack Sparrow. We all know him, we all love him unconditionally. We all will walk the plank for Johnny Depp's adorably crazy pirate. He is a generation apart from every other anti hero we know, because he does all the right things in the wrong way. But the man's got his heart in place (well, not in a jar at least, phew to that). 

Saavy? 

                                                    

Another memorable character is Ellen Page's Juno, who despite being an indifferent teenager, is an absolute sweetheart. Modern anti hero qualities flood through this coming-of-age film, where Juno deals with an incorrigible mistake - pregnancy. And lets not forget her love for gross horror films. But she wins your heart anyways.

It would be wrong to conclude this list without mentioning our TV anti heroes. From a chilling Dexter Morgan to the hilariously AWESOME Barney Stinson, the sitcoms have never been far from entertaining us with these contemporary anti heroes. 

That pretty much summarizes my take on the Anti Hero. What began as a steady development of idealistic perfect heroes soon grew into a bunch of characters who are SO WRONG in half the things they do. But nowadays, the reason why film-makers, authors and playwrights harvest anti heroes is because we, as spectators, have grown tired of watching the 'good' men. Success does not only come to virtuous people. It comes to real people and real people have deficiencies. As do our anti heroes. 

To conclude, we all know how much we love the badass. I mean, he never fails to steal the show does he? ;)