History DesignatedHero / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats'': Heathcliff, to the point of being a borderline VillainProtagonist. The series repeatedly emphasises the fact that he's the neighborhood bully, from its intro song, to multiple episodes that show him antagonizing nearly everyone from the fishstore owner, and even Spike, oftentimes without provocation. But he's shown to be [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold a "good guy" beneath it all]] in his more heroic moments.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': The Loud sisters fall into this whenever they're thrown the JerkassBall. Lincoln is by no means a saint either, but we're rarely if ever supposed to see him as being in the right when he does something selfish. When his sisters do so, on the other hand, they rarely if ever face repercussions for it. Quite a few episodes have them being completely oblivious and/or ignorant of the abuse they put Lincoln through and typically getting away with it. They also often meddle in Lincoln's life, sometimes to suit their own needs, which can have negative consequences for him and can be very intrusive, not respecting his privacy. "The Sweet Spot", "Sound of Silence", "Sleuth or Consequences", "Brawl in the Family" and "No Such Luck" are notable episodes that elicited this reaction (and it doesn't help the latter episode's case that Chris Savino himself chastised fans on Facebook for defending Lincoln). Thankfully, after Season 2 the writers seem to have finally stopped throwing Lincoln and his sisters the JerkassBall.

* This trope is one of the '''''many''''' reasons why ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' has become universally despised by fans. While none of the cast are particularly likeable (save for Norville and possibly Fred), the titular protagonist manages to be the ''worst'' jerk in a WorldOfJerkass and is seen by many as an arrogant, narcissistic, judgmental, cynical, and borderline sociopathic InsufferableGenius with a black and white, misanthropic view on the world. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her attacking Daphne for no reason even though the two are supposed to be childhood friends, she gets Fred framed for the murders after accusing him with no evidence and feels ''zero'' guilt for this outside of worrying it will make her look bad if he's exonerated, generally treats everyone around her (Particularly Norville) like dirt, and never takes responsibility for her actions. Meanwhile her ''one'' redeeming quality, her intelligence and detective skills, is an InformedAbility at best as she spends more time spontaneously soapboxing about sociopolitical issues rather than solving mysteries and her "detective skills" involve either blackmailing others for information or having Fred and Norville do the investigative work for her. While she's meant to be portrayed as a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while dealing with being treated like an outcast, many found it impossible to sympathize with her because of what a thoroughly obnoxious {{Jerkass}} she is, and instead find it cathartic when she is scorned, disliked, and treated as an outcast.

* This trope is one of the '''''many''''' reasons why ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' has become universally despised by fans. While none of the cast are particularly likeable (save for Norville and possibly Fred), the titular protagonist manages to be the ''worst'' jerk in a WorldOfJerkass and is seen by many as an arrogant, narcissistic, judgmental, cynical, and borderline sociopathic InsufferableGenius with a black and white, misanthropic view on the world. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her attacking Daphne for no reason even though the two are supposed to be childhood friends, she gets Fred framed for the murders after accusing him with no evidence and feels ''zero'' guilt for this outside of worrying it will make her look bad if he's exonerated, generally treats everyone around her (Particularly Norville) like dirt, and never takes responsibility for her actions. Meanwhile her ''one'' redeeming quality, her intelligence and detective skills, is an InformedAbility at best as she spends more time spontaneously soapboxing about sociopolitical issues rather than solving mysteries and her "detective skills" involve either blackmailing others for information or Fred and Norville do the investigative work for her. While she's meant to be portrayed as a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while dealing with being treated like an outcast, many found it impossible to sympathize with her because of what a thoroughly obnoxious {{Jerkass}} she is, and instead find it cathartic when she is scorned, disliked, and treated as an outcast.

* This trope is one of the '''''many''''' reasons why ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' has become universally despised by fans. While none of the cast are particularly likeable (save for Norville and possibly Fred), the titular protagonist manages to be the ''worst'' jerk in a WorldOfJerkass and is seen by many as an arrogant, narcissistic, judgmental, cynical, sexist, racist, ableist, and borderline sociopathic InsufferableGenius with a black and white, misanthropic view on the world. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her attacking Daphne for no reason even though the two are supposed to be childhood friends, she gets Fred framed for the murders after accusing him with no evidence and feels ''zero'' guilt for this outside of worrying it will make her look bad if he's exonerated, generally treats everyone around her (Particularly Norville) like dirt, and never takes responsibility for her actions. Meanwhile her ''one'' redeeming quality, that is her intelligence and detective skills, is an InformedAbility at best where most of her "detective skills" involve either blackmailing others for information or spontaneously soapboxing about sociopolitical issues while Fred and Norbert do investigative work for her. While she's meant to be portrayed as a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while dealing with being treated like an outcast, many found it impossible to sympathize with her because of what a thoroughly obnoxious {{Jerkass}} she is, and instead find it [[CarthaisFactor cathartic]] when she is scorned, disliked, and treated as an outcast.

* This trope is one of the '''''many''''' reasons why ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' has become universally despised by fans. While none of the cast are particularly likeable, the titular protagonist is seen by many as an arrogant, narcissistic, judgmental, cynical, sexist, racist, ableist, and borderline sociopathic InsufferableGenius with a black and white, misanthropic view on the world. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her attacking Daphne for no reason even though the two are supposed to be childhood friends, she gets Fred framed for the murders after accusing him with no evidence and feels ''zero'' guilt for this outside of worrying it will make her look bad if he's exonerated, generally treats everyone around her (Particularly Norville) like dirt, and never takes responsibility for her actions. Furthermore, she manages to be the ''worst'' jerk in a WorldOfJerkass: she's more racist, sexist, and obnoxious than Fred, more manipulative and self-entitled than Norville, and more judgmental and mean than [[TheBully the popular girls]], while sharing none of their redeeming qualities like Fred's genuine (if ''severely'' misguided) attempts at showing empathy, Norville's warm personality, or the popular girls' body positivity and [[EveryoneHasStandards unwillingness to mock mental health issues]]. Meanwhile her ''one'' redeeming quality, that is her intelligence and detective skills, is an InformedAbility at absolute best where most of her "detective" "skills" involve either blackmailing others for information or spontaneously soapboxing about sociopolitical issues while Fred and Norbert do investigative work for her. While she's meant to be portrayed as a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while dealing with being treated like an outcast, many found it impossible to sympathize with her because of what a thoroughly obnoxious {{Jerkass}} she is, and instead find it cathartic when she is scorned, disliked, and treated as an outcast.

* This trope is one of the '''''many''''' reasons why ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' has become universally despised by fans. While none of the cast are particularly likeable, the titular protagonist is seen by many as an arrogant, narcissistic, judgmental, cynical, sexist, racist, ableist, and borderline sociopathic InsufferableGenius with a black and white, misanthropic view on the world. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her attacking Daphne for no reason even though the two are supposed to be childhood friends, she gets Fred framed for the murders after accusing him with no evidence and feels ''zero'' guilt for this outside of worrying it will make her look bad if he's exonerated, generally treats everyone around her (Particularly Norville) like dirt, and never takes responsibility for her actions. Furthermore, she manages to be the ''worst'' jerk in a WorldOfJerkass: she's more racist, sexist, and obnoxious than Fred, more manipulative and self-entitled than Norville, and more judgmental and mean than [[TheBully the popular girls]], while sharing none of their redeeming qualities like Fred's genuine (if ''severely'' misguided) attempts at showing empathy, Norville's warm personality, or the popular girls' body positivity and [[EveryoneHasStandards unwillingness to mock mental health issues]]. Meanwhile her ''one'' redeeming quality, that is her intelligence and detective skills, is an InformedAbility at absolute best where most of her "detective" "skills" involve either blackmailing others for information or spontaneously soapboxing about sociopolitical issues while Fred and Norbert do investigative work for her. It's to the point that she earned an article on the [[https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Velma_Dinkley_(Velma) Villains Wiki]], a website that normally doesn't allow Designated Heroes at all, because while she's meant to be portrayed as a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while dealing with being treated like an outcast, many found it impossible to sympathize with her because of what a thoroughly obnoxious {{Jerkass}} she is, and instead find it cathartic when she is scorned, disliked, and treated as an outcast.

** Huey, Dewey and Louie also qualify in shorts such as "Donald's Snow Fight", where Donald makes a dick move by crashing his sled into their snowman and them, but ends up [[AndIMustScream freezing alive]] and they don't show any remorse for putting him in that state, and "Soup's On", where after getting no dinner for not washing up, they use pretend to cry to milk Donald's sympathy, steal the food, and convince Donald he's dead.

** This trope is one of the many reasons why Brian is such a divisive character. While yes, he does have every right to be annoyed by the people around him and [[JerkassHasAPoint he does make a few good points here and there]], there are [[TheFinickyOne many]], [[{{Hypocrite}} many]] ''[[InsufferableGenius many]]'' [[KnowNothingKnowItAll different]] [[Jerkass reasons]] why he's a BaseBreakingCharacter.

** The main character himself, Peter, is supposed to be a BumblingDad [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold with a heart of gold]]. However, it can be kind of hard to see him that way. For example, one episode has him trying to save a beached whale only to kill it. The same episode also has him cooking ''his own kids'' (he puts Chris in the microwave, Stewie in the fridge and Meg in the microwave, which [[YourHeadAsplode causes her head to explode]]). Both times, he is never called out for his actions and [[KarmaHoudini he ultimately gets off scot-free]].

* This trope is one of the '''''many''''' reasons why ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' has become universally despised by fans. While none of the cast are particularly likeable (with the exception of [[OnlySaneMan Norville]]), the titular protagonist is seen by many as an arrogant, narcissistic, judgmental, cynical, and borderline sociopathic InsufferableGenius with a black and white, misanthropic view on the world. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her attacking Daphne for no reason even though the two are supposed to be childhood friends, she gets Fred framed for the murders after accusing him with no evidence, generally treats everyone around her (Particularly Norville) like dirt, and never takes responsibility for her actions. Even though she's meant to be portrayed as a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while dealing with being treated like an outcast, many found it impossible to sympathize with her because of what a thoroughly obnoxious {{Jerkass}} she is, to the point that she earned an article on the [[https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Velma_Dinkley_(Velma) Villains Wiki]].

** Lois is treated as [[WomenAreWiser the only sane person in a family that as dysfunctional as the Griffins]] but she's done tons of horrible stuff too. For example, she's slept with tons of people behind Peter's back (she even slept with Meg's boyfriend in one episode). "Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q" has her criticize Brenda for staying with someone as abusive as Jeff but [[{{Hypocrite}} she should talk considering that she's married to an abusive and incompetent]] Manchild with an IQ that could rival [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Patrick Star's]] or [[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Ed's]].

* Many characters on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' have a tendency to slip into this territory but here are the biggest ones:

** The main character himself, Peter, is supposed to be a BumblingDad [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold with a heart of gold]]. However, it can be kind of hard to see him that way. For example, one episode has him trying to save a beached whale only to kill it.

** The series is clearly trying to get viewers to sympathize with Candy’s situation and see her in the right but she constantly comes across as arrogant, egotistical and unreasonable. A prime example is when Santa offers her a compromise giving her a position with all the power and responsibility she desires with the sole proviso that someone else with better people skills (particularly with children) acts as the figurehead of the company, she turns this down using a PrecisionFBomb purely because she doesn’t get to be the face of Santa Inc.

*** The Galactic Monsters arc is a prime example. Despite Zs Skayr being on Anur Phaetos and plotting to take over the galaxy, [[BystanderSyndrome Ben's only concern is getting off the planet]]. Meaning that had he not been forced to stay on the planet longer than he wanted to, he would have left [[KarmaHoudini Zs Skayr undefeated and still scheming]]. This is thankfully rectified in the episode "It's a Mad, Mad Ben World", where after getting Dr. Psychobos to fix his and Ben 23's Omnitrixes, he opts to stay and help defeat Mad Ben.

** The Galactic Monsters arc is a prime example. Despite Zs Skayr being on Anur Phaetos and plotting to take over the galaxy, [[BystanderSyndrome Ben's only concern is getting off the planet]]. Meaning that had he not been forced to stay on the planet longer than he wanted to, he would have left [[KarmaHoudini Zs Skayr undefeated and still scheming]]. This is thankfully rectified in the episode "It's a Mad, Mad Ben World", where after getting Dr. Psychobos to fix his and Ben 23's Omnitrixes, he opts to stay and help defeat Mad Ben.

** One of the more infamous examples happens in the episode "Mime for a Change". A freak accident involving a truck full of bleach turns Rainbow the Clown into Mr. Mime, who begins to drain Townsville of all color and sound. The girls managed to return the town and Rainbow to normal, but when he thanks them for bringing him back to his senses, the girls [[DisproportionateRetribution beat him to a pulp and send him to prison]] even though it was painfully clear he was NotHimself. Uniquely, this is an EnforcedTrope moment: According to WordOfGod, they originally wanted to give him the PetTheDog ending everyone thought he deserved, but ExecutiveMeddling refused to let the [[DesignatedVillain "bad guy"]] be a KarmaHoudini (they evidently didn't know the meaning of SplitPersonality) -- so the staff deliberately invoked EsotericHappyEnding as a public TakeThat against said executives. The issue apparently got cleared up as he is seen attending the girls' birthday party in a later episode.

* This trope is one of the '''''many''''' reasons why ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' has become universally despised by fans. While none of the cast are particularly likeable (with the exception of Norville), the titular protagonist is seen by many as an arrogant, judgmental, cynical, and borderline misanthropic InsufferableGenius. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her attacking her friend Daphne for no reason, she accuses her stepmother and later Fred of being responsible for the murders despite having no evidence, and generally treats everyone around her like dirt. Even though she's meant to be portrayed as a girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance while dealing with being framed for murders she didn't commit, many found it impossible to sympathize with her because of what a thoroughly obnoxious {{Jerkass}} she is.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' and ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'' crossover, ''Bravo Dooby Doo'', Mystery Inc are treated as the good guys when they leave Johnny tied to a tree in the woods at the request of his mean aunt who disliked him because he was an embarrassment to their family. Johnny might be stupid and a bit annoying, but that hardly justifies such a cruel action.