History AntiVillain / ComicBooks

* [[{{Shazam}} Black Adam]], traditionally seen as the bad guy to [[IAmNotShazam Captain Marvel's]] position of hero, made big changes under {{Geoff Johns}}. He led a team of anti-heroes including Atom Smasher and an at the time reformed Eclipso to over throw a dictator of Adam's ancestral home. Adam made himself the dictator, but used his super powers to enforce a system of even handed justice, personally executing super criminals to the cheers of millions; he also created treaties with China and Russia during [[FiftyTwo 52]] to further his nation's place in the world; built a ton of infrastructure, freed slaves, and battled organized crime; and created his own team of side kicks, his wife Isis and brother-in-law Osiris... [[OhCrap Then Osiris and Isis got murdered]]. Black Adam massacred a middle eastern country in a battle with a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Cyborg Angel of Death]] and then tried to wipe China off the map and ended up in a [[BattleRoyaleWithCheese fight with everybody]].

** [[GreenThumb Poison Ivy]] can be this from time to time, DependingOnTheWriter. She would gladly wipe every human being from the face of the earth to protect the natural world, but has had a number of significant PetTheDog moments. In particular, she has a soft spot for children and Harley Quinn. When she and Harley team up, she acts as her CoolBigSis (and [[LesYay maybe more]], again DependingOnTheWriter), and seeks to end her self destructive relationship with the Joker. As for the children, when [[BatmanNoMansLand the quake]] devastated Gotham, she took up residence in Robinson Park and adopted sixteen children who had been orphaned by the disaster. She cared for them like a mother, and even made a deal with Batman to grow food for the people of Gotham if he would let them be. After the city was rebuilt, the cops tried to evict her with a defoliant, and she was prepared to martyr herself for the park. But when one of the children was hurt she surrendered peacefully to get her medical aid. Even Batman acknowledges that deep down [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Ivy's still more human than plant]].

* Anarky from the ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' comics is a WellIntentionedExtremist, originally against corporations, but eventually turned his fight against TheMan in the form of government "Parasites." Of course, he's got a [[TheManIsKeepingUsDown long way to go]]. Even Batman acknowledges him as a force of good.

* Dr. Doom, arch enemy of the ''FantasticFour'', has been known to defend his actions on this basis from time to time, especially in regards to his iron-fisted rule over his [[{{Ruritania}} small Eastern European homeland]] Latveria. Considering Doom showed the Four the apocalyptic mess that the insane Prince Zorba made of the land after he took the throne, the Four were forced to agree that Doom would be preferable and help him retake the throne after Zorba orders a murderous purge of the population to thwart his predecessor. Mind you, the Four would have been more than willing to immediately take down Doom afterward if he hadn't installed mental inhibitors in them to force them to leave instead.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Sonic X}}'' comic book, Dr. Eggman is presented as a genuinely good person who, aside from ''really'' wanting to rule the world, has a strong sense of morals and is willing to do the right thing most of the time. In the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog other comic by Archie]], on the other hand, he's pretty much the exact opposite, as a ruthless tyrant.
* Two Edge in ''{{ElfQuest}}''. He's a ManipulativeBastard who [[spoiler: plays a generations long Xanatos Gambit to set two races at war]] but he has a hell of a FreudianExcuse [[spoiler: He was tortured into insanity by his mother after watching her kill his father]] and has a soft spot for children (boy children anyway and no, ''not'' in '''that''' way.) Ultimately [[spoiler: he does a HeelFaceTurn to an AntiHero]]

* Luke Skywalker's childhood friend Janek Sunber, aka Tank, joined the Empire and became a junior officer among its ground forces. He served with distinction and never placed himself above his soldiers, feeling [[ChainsOfCommanding responsible for their lives]], and even shared in menial labor that his fellow officers felt was beneath their rank. Through his natural talent as a leader and strategist, a scant handful of men survived what otherwise would have been a complete annihilation at the hands of enemy forces. Yet in the end, he was still an Imperial and conducted missions against Rebel forces, even infiltrating the Rebellion in an attempt to capture Luke and bring him to Darth Vader.

* Aside from TheJoker, nearly all of {{Batman}}'s RoguesGallery regulars is an anti-villain of some kind. Examples include:

** The Red Hood, formerly Jason Todd of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' (and ''ComicBook/TeenTitans''). He seems to waver between AntiVillain, JerkassWoobie, KnightTemplar, CompleteMonster, AxCrazy, and Tentacle Monster depending on [[DependingOnTheWriter who writes him]].

** Ultimate Magneto didn't really have so much complexity as he's been referenced criticizing his son for having 'feminine' powers and has been seen stabbing a mutant in the back for having a lame mutation (the mutation being to be an ape) despite said mutant being a leading cause in his freedom from a mental lock Xavier had put on him, keeping him in a forced life as a simple teacher and social worker.

* Anarky from the ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' comics is a WellIntentionedExtremist, originally against corporations, but eventually turned his fight against TheMan in the form of government "Parasites." Of course, he's got a [[TheManIsKeepingUsDown long way to go]].

** The Red Hood, formerly Jason Todd of ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}'' ([[TeenTitans and Teen Titans.]]). He seems to waver between AntiVillain, JerkassWoobie, KnightTemplar, CompleteMonster, AxCrazy, and Tentacle Monster depending on [[DependingOnTheWriter who writes him]].

** Mr. Freeze, providing the page picture at the time of this edit. Victor Fries was a scientist and a doctor whose wife, Nora, had a terminal disease. He put her in cryogenic stasis until a cure could be developed, but an "accident" that followed turned him into a mutant that can only survive at sub-zero temperatures. Afterwards, he dedicated himself to trying to find a way to save Nora and take his revenge on the people who ruined his life.
** The Red Hood, formerly Jason Todd of ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}'' ([[WMG/TeenTitans and Teen Titans?]]).
*** Jason was indeed a brief member of the [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Titans]]. It caused a minor freak-out when he visited the Hall of Fallen Titans, a memorial to all the dead members of their group: turncoats like Jericho and Terra made the cut, but he didn't (though to be fair to the Titans, they have a ''lot'' of dead former members to remember).
*** Jason seems to waver between AntiVillain, JerkassWoobie, KnightTemplar, CompleteMonster, AxCrazy, and Tentacle Monster depending on [[DependingOnTheWriter who writes him]].

** Ultimate Magneto didn't really have so much complexity as he's been referenced criticizing his son for having 'feminine' powers and has been seen stabbing a mutant in the back for having a lame mutation(the mutation being to be an ape) despite said mutant being a leading cause in his freedom from a mental lock Xavier had put on him, keeping him in a forced life as a simple teacher and social worker.

* Luke Skywalker's childhood friend Janek Sunber, aka Tank, joined the Empire and became a junior officer among its ground forces. He served with distinction and never placed himself above his soldiers, feeling [[ChainsOfCommanding responsible for their lives]], and even shared in menial labor that his fellow officers felt was beneath their rank. Through his natural talent as a leader and strategist, a scant handful of men survived what otherwise would have been a complete annihilation at the hands of enemy forces. Yet in the end, he was still an Imperial and conducted missions against Rebel forces, even infiltrating the Rebellion in an attempt to capture Luke and bring him to Darth Vader.

** Dr. Doom has some ''despicable'' moments that subvert this trope, mainly selling the soul of the only woman he loved to demons in order to gain mystic power and send the Richards children to hell. But depictions on Doom and what Doom should be like is a matter writers can't seem to agree on, and various people at Marvel make a point to declare stories about Doom they don't like as having not really been him, or simply file them under CanonDiscontinuity. Even his aforementioned rule of Latveria can go from a beloved kingship with happy citizens to a fearful populace run by an egotistical dictator. In other words- he's ''sometimes'' an AntiVillain. It [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the writer]].

* Spider-Man enemy Mr. Negative is a ruthless crime lord who runs drugs, weapons, prostitutes, illegal immigrants, protection... His alter ego, Martin Li, is a saintly billionaire who has dedicated his life to charitable pursuits. He feels this is necessary for the sake of balance - if a man who does great evil doesn't also do great good, his spirit will never know peace.

*** Jason was indeed a brief member of the [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Titans]]. It caused a minor freak-out when he visited the Hall of Fallen Titans, a memorial to all the dead members of their group: turncoats like Jericho and Terra made the cut, but he didn't.

*** Atrocitus is another one: you'd assume the leader of the Red Lantern Corps and the embodiment of Rage would be as clearcut a villain as you'd get: you'd be wrong.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Sonic X}}'' X comic book, Dr. Eggman is presented as a genuinely good person who, aside from ''really'' wanting to rule the world, has a strong sense of morals and is willing to do the right thing most of the time. In the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog other comic by Archie]], on the other hand, he's pretty much the exact opposite, as a ruthless tyrant.

** [[GreenThumb Poison Ivy]] can be this from time to time, DependingOnTheWriter. She would gladly wipe every human being from the face of the earth to protect the natural world, but has had a number of significant PetTheDog moments. In particular, she has a soft spot for children and Harley Quinn. When she and Harley team up, she acts as her CoolBigSis (and [[LesYay maybe more]], again DependingOnTheWriter), and seeks to end her self destructive relationship with the Joker. As for the children, when [[BatmanNoMansLand the quake]] devastated Gotham, she took up residence in Robinson Park and adopted sixteen children who had been orphaned by the disaster. She cared for them like a mother, and even made a deal with Batman to grow food for the people of Gotham if he would let them be. After the city was rebuilt, the cops tried to evict her with a defoliant, and she was prepared to martyr herself for the park. But when one of the children was hurt she surrendered peacefully to get her medical aid. Even Batman acknowledges that deep down [[CorwningMomentOfHeartwarming Ivy's still more human than plant]].

* The Red Hood, formerly Jason Todd of ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}'' ([[WMG/TeenTitans and Teen Titans?]]).
** Jason was indeed a brief member of the [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Titans]]. It caused a minor freak-out when he visited the Hall of Fallen Titans, a memorial to all the dead members of their group: turncoats like Jericho and Terra made the cut, but he didn't.
** Jason seems to waver between AntiVillain, JerkassWoobie, KnightTemplar, CompleteMonster, AxCrazy, and Tentacle Monster depending on [[DependingOnTheWriter who writes him]].

* The original version of Two-Face was portrayed this way. Because he would only commit crimes when his coin landed scarred-side up, he was only evil half the time, and when the coin landed face-up he would do good deeds. His portrayal gradually shifted away from this to BlackAndGrayMorality, where his "good side" merely became "less evil" and cowered under his dominant evil personality.

* Spider-Man enemy Mr. Negative is runs drugs, weapons, prostitutes, illegal immigrants, protection... His alter ego, Martin Li, is a saintly billionaire who has dedicated his life to charitable pursuits. He feels this is necessary for the sake of balance - if a man who does great evil doesn't also do great good, his spirit will never know peace.

* Adam Susan of ''VForVendetta.'' He's a Fascist dictator whose regime has killed countless people. However, he sincerely believes in Fascism and has some moments (particularly towards the end) that make him into an absolute [[TheWoobie Woobie]].

* [[spoiler: Ozymandias]] in ''{{Watchmen}}'' who had a plan for saving the world, by [[spoiler: killing half the population of New York]], which [[spoiler: actually succeeded]]. [[LeftHanging Maybe]].

*** Magneto suffered a very similar fate in the same overall storyline, although he did so without being as coldly darwinistic as Doom (though it's implied that his only concern, at least at first, was saving mutants, and that he was the reason the plague started in the first place).

* The Red Hood, formerly Jason Todd of Batman (and Teen Titans?).
** Jason was indeed a brief member of the Titans. It caused a minor freak-out when he visited the Hall of Fallen Titans, a memorial to all the dead members of their group: turncoats like Jericho and Terra made the cut, but he didn't.
** Jason seems to waver between Anti Villain, Jerkass Woobie, Knight Templar, Complete Monster, Ax Crazy, and Tentacle Monster depending on who writes him.
* Magneto of {{X-Men}} fame is a Holocaust survivor who has taken "Never Again" literally. A Well Intentioned Extremist who has frequently shown kindness and mercy towards his rivals, most of his victims tend to deserve it, such as the angry mob responsible for the death of his family. He has done more than one Heel Face Turn, and has a deep respect for arch-rival Charles Xavier. Most of his more murderous portrayals have been chalked up to Canon Discontinuity.
* Dr. Doom, arch enemy of the FantasticFour, has been known to defend his actions on this basis from time to time, especially in regards to his iron-fisted rule over his small Eastern European homeland Latveria. Considering Doom showed the Four the apocalyptic mess that the insane Prince Zorba made of the land after he took the throne, the Four were forced to agree that Doom would be preferable and help him retake the throne after Zorba orders a murderous purge of the population to thwart his predecessor. Mind you, the Four would have been more than willing to immediately take down Doom afterward if he hadn't installed mental inhibitors in them to force them to leave instead.
** Dr. Doom has some despicable moments that subvert this trope, mainly selling the soul of the only woman he loved to demons in order to gain mystic power and send the Richards children to hell. But depictions on Doom and what Doom should be like is a matter writers can't seem to agree on, and various people at Marvel make a point to declare stories about Doom they don't like as having not really been him, or simply file them under Canon Discontinuity. Even his aforementioned rule of Latveria can go from a beloved kingship with happy citizens to a fearful populace run by an egotistical dictator. In other words- he's sometimes an Anti Villain. It depends on the writer.
** Similarly, Dr. Doom turns out to be the only world leader in Marvel Zombies who actually managed to save his people from the zombies (by sending each of them to alternate worlds of their choosing via a jury-rigged dimensional portal), while staying behind to fight off the attacking zombie heroes and then, after being infected, destroying the machine so that even he can't go after his subjects once he's turned. He does this in part by using the weak and elderly as zombie bait, though, so even that Crowning Moment Of Awesome's grimly subverted by the means.
** Magneto suffered a very similar fate in the same overall storyline, although he did so without being as coldly darwinistic as Doom (though it's implied that his only concern, at least at first, was saving mutants, and that he was the reason the plague started in the first place).
* Black Adam, traditionally seen as the bad guy to CaptainMarvel's position of hero, made big changes under Geoff Johns. He led a team of anti-heroes including Atom Smasher and an at the time reformed Eclipso to over throw a dictator of Adam's ancestral home. Adam made himself the dictator, but used his super powers to enforce a system of even handed justice, personally executing super criminals to the cheers of millions; he also created treaties with China and Russia during 52 to further his nation's place in the world; built a ton of infrastructure, freed slaves, and battled organized crime; and created his own team of side kicks, his wife Isis and brother-in-law Osiris... Then Osiris and Isis got murdered. Black Adam massacred a middle eastern country in a battle with a Cyborg Angel of Death and then tried to wipe China off the map and ended up in a fight with everybody.
** Ozymandias in {{Watchmen}} who had a plan for saving the world, [[spoiler: by killing half the population of New York]], which actually succeeded. Maybe.
** In the movie version, he upgrades it to [[spoiler: killing half the population of ALL the world's major cities]], and removing the most effective nuclear deterrent.
* The Spider-Man character Puma serves in many ways as a Punch Clock Villain, only killing people he's hired to murder as a paid assassin. He originally crosses paths with Spidey after a mob boss hires him to murder the wall-crawler, but later on comes to Spider-Man's aid on several occasions. He only kills people he's paid to, and otherwise functions as a perfectly legitimate businessman in his day job, his major concerns being his own personal welfare and the needs of his people.
* While Mr. Gone cheerfully murders people and inflicts incredible anguish on TheMaxx and his friends, his stated intention is to instigate Julie's emotional catharsis and to set things right with his daughter, Sara.
* The {{Sleepwalker}} villain Spectra is first seen planning to steal a valuable synthetic diamond and sell it for drug money, until the diamond becomes involved in a Freak Lab Accident that imbues her with its light-based energies and gives her superpowers. While she initially seems poised to become a supervillain, she has apparently had a change of heart by the time Sleepwalker runs into her again, having taken to using her light-projecting powers to make an honest living, and only intervening to stop Sleepwalker when she thought he was a villain. Once the misunderstanding was sorted out, Spectra later helped Sleepwalker defeat the Ax Crazy Psyko.
* Anarky from the {{Batman}} comics is a WellIntentionedExtremist, originally against corporations, but eventually turned his fight against The Man in the form of government "Parasites." Of course, he's got a long way to go.
* Namor goes between this and AntiHero, sometimes in the same book. Sometimes in the same panel. Most (if not all) of the villain side comes from his loyalty to Atlantis above all.
Perhaps best summed up by his belonging to a super-secret group of good guys (the Illuminati) and a super-secret group of bad guys (Norman Osborn's inner circle) at the same time. And apparently not seeing the need to tell either group about the other. It's even been implied that at least once, he left a meeting with one group and went immediately to a meeting of the other group. Talk about blurring the lines!
* In the SonicXX comic book, Dr. Eggman is presented as a genuinely good person who, aside from really wanting to rule the world, has a strong sense of morals and is willing to do the right thing most of the time. In the other comic by Archie, on the other hand, he's pretty much the exact opposite, as a ruthless tyrant.
* Two Edge in ElfQuest. He's a Manipulative Bastard who plays a generations long Xanatos Gambit to set two races at war but he has a hell of a Freudian Excuse He was tortured into insanity by his mother after watching her kill his father and has a soft spot for children (boy children anyway and no, not in that way.) Ultimately he does a Heel Face Turn to an Anti Hero
* The original version of Two-Face was portrayed this way. Because he would only commit crimes when his coin landed scarred-side up, he was only evil half the time, and when the coin landed face-up he would do good deeds. His portrayal gradually shifted away from this to Black And Gray Morality, where his "good side" merely became "less evil" and cowered under his dominant evil personality.
* The Mock Turtle in Astr City has it all - frequently insulted by others, repeatedly denied the opportunity to be special, stealing from the rich in order to support a poor neighbourhood and not, as far as we know, ever actually killing anyone.
* Axeman Bone in Skaar, Son of Hulk. He may be a brutal warrior, but as he makes a point of expressing, at least he knows what he's doing (trying to unite his people and re-establish formal society on Sakaar) and when to stop, unlike the aimless and animalistic Skaar.
* In an old Atom comic, the title character encountered the 2-D Man, able to shrink on his horizontal axes, but not his vertical. Slowly shrinking on that axis, "dwindling away to nothing," in his own words, he stole the high-tech equipment he needed to save his life, and continue his research into a leukemia cure, using another product of the same accident that gave him his powers. When he's cured of his shrinking problem, the judge essentially gives him probation so long as he actually works on this cure.
* La Dama, a female crime lord and supposed nemesis of BlueBeetle. She's happy to stay a more or less regional mob boss, but at the start of the series is trying to gain a bit of control over the magic and metahuman communities as well. She figures out Blue Beetle's secret identity at the same time as he figures out that she is the aunt of his best friend Brenda, custodial after the suspicious death of her father. So they actually keep each other's secrets for a while. Throughout the series she's a mob boss, although any actual illegal activities fall out of the picture eventually, but she was never seen as all that bad to begin with and has definitely given Brenda a healthier home life than she had before.
* Geoff Johns has been working to turn former alien despot Sinestro into this. Formerly a rather one-dimensional villain obsessed with power and revenge, his Post-Crisis origin gave him a bit of humanity, so to speak, suggesting that he was the ruler of his planet out of necessity rather than choice. Then Geoff got hold of him, gave him a dash of Well Intentioned Extremist and a few gentle retcons, and now he's barely recognizable from his first appearances.
* Circuit Breaker in the Marvel Transformers Generation 1 comic. She hates all robots equally, regardless of faction, but given her origin, that's understandable. Megatron also tends to feign cooperation with the Autobots purely to make people think the Autobots are also evil, furthering Circuit Breaker's hatred. Also, she is shown to genuinely want to protect other humans, repeatedly risking her own life and being severely damaged to save an innocent bystander.
* Adam Susan of V For Vendetta. He's a Fascist dictator whose regime has killed countless people. However, he sincerely believes in Fascism and has some moments (particularly towards the end) that make him into an absolute Woobie.