History Main / HorrifyingHero

* The eponymous character of ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'', as befits the most iconic NinetiesAntiHero to survive out of the '90s. First, there's the look; taller than a human and prone to towering ominously over others, with a [[BadassCape hugely collared, blood-red, shroud-like tattered cape]] framing a jet-black bodysuit adorned with SpikesOfVillainy and bedecked with writhing chains. Eerie green eyes that glow with {{hellfire}} stare out of a blank-featured mask, brooding at all before him, while fingers grow into razor-sharp claws. Then you see how he fights; using [[CombatTentacles chains]] and bare limbs to tear his opponents apart and rip off limbs, or emotionlessly [[SuperheroPackingHeat gunning them down]]. Then you find out he's a HumanoidAbomination; a walking, rotting, undead corpse with [[TheSymbiote a living demon]] serving as his ([[ClingyCostume fiercely protective]]) costume and with enough BlackMagic to wipe out armies singlehandedly.
* Also the eponymous character of ''ComicBook/GhostRider''; not much scarier than a leather-clad demonic biker with a {{Flaming Skull|s}} for a head that can wield {{Hellfire}} and destroy any evil character just by looking into their eyes and visiting every ounce of pain they've inflicted upon the innocent onto them.
%%* ''Comicbook/SwampThing,'' definitely.
* ''Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}}'s'' Comicbook/ManThing. Provoking fear is an explicit part of Man-Thing's powers: those that fear him burn at his touch.[[note]]To be more specific, he has intense empathetic abilities that cause him to be drawn to strong emotion, and if said emotion is negative and violent, it will provoke him to both attack and secrete an immensely potent acid. It is unclear how he would react if he ran into a normal person who had an expected, conventional fear response to his monstrous visage, but considering Man-Thing is generally a hero, one suspects his first response would not be 'Melt the poor schmuck'.[[/note]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' is the demon who was supposed to bring about the Apocalypse, and he probably would have become a straight EldritchAbomination if not for being raised like a human. He's personable enough that he isn't treated like the abomination he is, but underneath it all he was still by his very nature ''supposed'' to be evil.
* Although he can pass for human, the aptly-named Doc Horror from ''ComicBook/{{Nocturnals}}'' probably fits under this trope, being a creature from another dimension who escaped to our world. His teammates definitely qualify, as they include a wraith, a pyrokinetic swordsman, a [[FishPeople fish woman]], a flesh golem/gunfighter and [[CreepyChild his daughter]], who carries around a collection of [[CreepyDoll possessed toys]].
* The Tattered Man from the obscure one-shot comic of the same name is a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent spirit of vengeance]] whose body is composed of the tattered clothing worn by Jews who died in a concentration camp. The strands of clothing act as CombatTentacles that he uses to impale violent criminals.
* [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]], famous for wearing a carnivorous [[TheSymbiote alien symbiote]] with {{Lovecraftian superpower}}s as a costume, thinks of himself as being one of these. As Anti-Venom, he expresses shock that a {{Mook|s}} is more terrified of [[DeadPersonImpersonation the Wraith]] than of him.
* During the ComicBook/{{AXIS}} event, ComicBook/{{Carnage}} was one of the villains affected by the inversion spell, which made heroes turn evil and villains turn good. While he is driven by an urge to do good, he's still brutally violent and is largely terrible at hero work.
* As a spirit of vengeance who could teach even ComicBook/GhostRider a thing or two, ComicBook/TheSpectre hunts down evildoers who [[KarmaHoudini escaped justice]] and uses his vast magical powers to inflict nightmarish deaths and [[FateWorseThanDeath worse-than-deaths]]. Turning a villain's body into cheese but [[AndIMustScream leaving his mind intact]] and then loosing the villain's trained rats to have dinner? ''That was in the LighterAndSofter ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' cartoon series.'' When he gets ''serious,'' he's even more cruel.
* Aside from facing [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything general hatred just for how they were born]], many of the {{mutants}} in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse have either powers or an appearance that terrify anyone not on their team (and even some that are). A lot of these end up becoming Morlocks, living in sewers and such, and the go-to targets for the latest "test" of a mutant genocide without wiping out a bunch of beloved main and secondary characters.

* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' mainstay The Hanged Man definitely qualifies, being a silent black spectre whose only features are a burlap sack on his head and a noose around his neck.
* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
** ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'': Nemesis is a powerful demonic alien with BizarreAlienBiology. He is a BloodKnight AntiHero as well, but he's positively heroic compared to his genocidal arch-enemy Torquemada, leader of TheEmpire.
** ''ComicBook/{{Shakara}}'': Shakara is a menacing KillerRobot with glowing red eyes, chains and spikes all over his body, and weapons for hands. In most other stories, he'd probably be either the villain himself or a robot mook for the hero to defeat, but he's simply the instrument of revenge against the evil aliens who wiped out his creators.
* DC's ''ComicBook/CreatureCommandos'' include Frankenstein's monster, a werewolf, a (pseudo)vampire, and a woman with snakes for hair, and occasionally a possibly sapient combat robot. The robot is the least creepy of the lot.
* ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk is an unfortunate victim of this trope, due to his traditionally low intelligence and bad temper. He has a tendency to lash out in incredibly destructive rampages whenever anything angers him, which is pretty much anything. It doesn't help that he's subject to a smear campaign by the U.S military, who make him look even more bestial than he really is, and follow him around to try and capture him even when he seeks out solitude.
* ComicBook/TheDarkness is the living embodiment of primal darkness and chaos with the power to summon demons and tendrils that can tear humans in a variety of ways. Typically, it has sought criminals and warlords to serve as vessels so it can remain in position of powers, though its current host Jackie Estacado is a NobleDemon mobster that tries to do good in his way (preventing his power from falling into ''worse'' hands).
* ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': For the same reasons as regular Nightcrawler, only with the addition that not only does Kurt look like a devil, he also breaths out smoke whenever he teleports, making him look even ''more'' sinister.
* ''ComicBook/{{Hillbilly}}'' has a downplayed example in its main character, Rondel, a grim WitchHunter with unnerving [[BlackEyesOfEvil pitch-black eyes]]. His weapon of choice is a gigantic butcher knife taken from the Devil's own kitchen.

* Though not horrifying to the audience, the hulking green ogre Franchise/{{Shrek}} certainly is to the humans he meets. He enjoys acting the stereotype of a foul man-eating monster to scare people, and he does a good job of it. He causes a panic wherever he goes, and nearby human warriors spend a good deal of time trying to slay him like heroes in stories usually do to ogres. His main motive in scaring people away is peace and quiet, and once he starts to come out of his shell, everyone gets to know him and [[TheTamingOfTheGrue becomes less afraid of him]]. In fact, one of his frustrations in [[WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter the fourth movie]] is that he's undergone BadassDecay: he's a BumblingDad and a beloved member of the community, and he longs for the days when everyone used to be afraid of him.

* James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and Mike Wazowski from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' are monsters whose job it is to scare children, though Sulley is more talented at it (while Mike [[AwesomenessByAnalysis understands the principles of scaring]] but isn't good at doing it himself).

* Kudou Denji from Creator/TsutomuNihei's ''{{Abara}}'' who is a Gauna--which is some serious BodyHorror and a taste for human flesh.

* Once he's in mourning, [[Creator/DanteAlighieri the poet]] of the ''Literature/VitaNuova'' scares off all men who see him because his face is as dead as a ghost's. Dante alludes to the fact that in his mourning he was not quite alive and that only [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman the lady]] he mourned could restore him, with no confirmation as to exactly what he was in that time.

->''"There are few who'd deny, at what I do, I am the best\\
For my talents are renowned far and wide\\
When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night\\
I excel without ever even trying\\
With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms\\

I have swept the very bravest off their feet\\
Yet year after year, it's the same routine\\
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams\\
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King\\
Have grown so tired of the same old thing"''

* ''Film/{{Venom}}'' has the titular symbiote, a BlobMonster alien that binds to hosts and gives them monstrous BioArmor and HorrorHunger. Thankfully, it likes its host Eddie Brock, and Eddie wants to do the right thing.

** [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Mephiston, Lord of Death]] is generally considered a hero, but he's certainly a bit more... odd looking than the usual [[RatedMForManly appearance]] of Space Marines.

* In ''FanFic/TheBridge'', say you're an [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Equestrian native]]. You see a giant PillarOfLight shoot out in front of your capital city and a forty story tall, razor clawed, multi-fanged, [[{{Franchise/Godzilla}} giant dinosaur]] with sharp spines down its back appears from the light and promptly starts mauling another giant creature that was on the attack. Congrats, the dino is the good guy.

* [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby]] in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11083953/4/Of-Red-Petals-and-Black-Feathers Of Red Petals and Black Feathers]]''. She merged with [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Fiddlesticks]], a fear demon, when she was young, and now she barely shows emotion, has the ability to [[SupernaturalFearInducer induce fear in others]] (and just generally has an aura of creepiness even when she isn't using her powers), has trouble speaking (eventually revealed to be the result of brain damage caused by the merger), has NoSocialSkills, can summon hordes of crows to tear enemies apart, and has a crow that follows her around. However, she is still a good person who wants to help others, only uses her powers against bullies, monsters, and criminals, and genuinely wants to be friends with people.

* Cameron Vale, the hero of ''Film/{{Scanners}}'', is a socially maladjusted telepath who speaks in a CreepyMonotone voice. Even as the stakes of the story become increasingly personal to him, he seems to barely care, and is really just going along with everything because it's something to do. The heroine of the movie even describes him as "barely human" at one point.
* ''Film/{{Phenomena}}'' stars a teenage Creator/JenniferConnelly as a CreepyChild with [[PestController psychic command over all insects]]. She uses her gift to try to track down a SerialKiller who has been terrorizing her school, and she's unambiguously heroic -- but the movie also emphasizes just how unsettling her powers, and even her general demeanor, are to [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer the people]] around her.
* ''Film/{{Venom}}'' has the titular symbiote, a BlobMonster alien that binds to hosts and gives them monstrous BioArmor and HorrorHunger. Thankfully, it likes its host Eddie Brock, and Eddie wants to do the right thing.
* All cinematic versions of ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', a BigRedDevil who was raised by humans to be good. The posters for ''Film/Hellboy2004'' and ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' both stress the "Believe it or not, he's the good guy" angle.

* [[BadassPreacher Abel Nightroad]] from ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' is secretly a [[LovecraftianSuperpower Crusnik]], a technologically-augmented monster that can [[FoodChainOfEvil feed on vampires the way vampires feed on humans]]. He looks human most of the time, but [[OneWingedAngel when it's time to get serious...]]

* James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and Mike Wazowski from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' are monsters whose job it is to scare children.

** Kaiman is actually [[spoiler: a human who became a brutal magic-user/gang leader (and currently trying to become a ''devil''); fortunately Kaiman is now his own person thanks to magic resurrection]] while the guy in his mouth is [[spoiler: the "Curse" of a [[MuggleBornOfMages seemingly non-magical magic-user]] "pre-Kaiman" betrayed and murdered (ditto on having his own body back)]].
** Pretty much every "heroic" character can be fairly horrifying given [[CrapsackWorld the setting]]. That kindly, enthusiastic doctor who's so much like [[Film/PacificRim Dr. Newt]]? He made a magic door out of ''magic-user body parts'' (magic-users are indistinguishable from normal humans except for [[spoiler: a tiny devil-shaped tumor in their brains]]).
* [[spoiler: Eren]] becomes this in this ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' after [[spoiler:gaining the ability to transform into a Titan]]. He may be on their side, but that doesn't stop most people from being terrified the first time around.

* Franchise/{{Godzilla}} himself, particularly in his most anti-heroic incarnations. He's a gigantic, mutant dinosaur who shoots atomic fire from his maw, yet he's nowhere as dangerous as beings like King Ghidorah or Space Godzilla. Downplayed, though, as his more heroic incarnations usually stress his awe-inspiring dinosaurian majesty, while the most overtly horrific versions of the character - such as ''Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack'' and especially ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' - also present him as unambiguously evil.

* ''Film/{{Phenomena}}'' stars a teenage Creator/JenniferConnelly as a CreepyChild with [[PestController psychic command over all insects]]. She uses her gift to try to track down a SerialKiller who has been terrorizing her school, and she's unambiguously heroic - but the movie also emphasizes just how unsettling her powers, and even her general demeanor, are to [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer the people]] around her.

* Cú Chulainn, the young hero of the Ulster Cycle of Myth/CelticMythology, particularly of the ''Literature/TheCattleRaidOfCooley''. Though he is portrayed as being as {{Bishonen}} as a teenaged [[FightingIrish Irish]] [[FieryRedhead ginger]] can be, he is a descendant of either the [[TheFairFolk Tuatha Dé Danann]] Lugh or the Fomorians, a monstrous race from the mythic prehistory era of Ireland. Though he is heroic and stalwart, and generally perceived as a good guy, his defining mystical characteristic is his ability to transform into various disfigured superpowered abominations through the use of his warp-spasm. After [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry he transforms]], he becomes an [[HumanoidAbomination utterly horrifying]] [[TheBerserker berserker]] that slaughters anything in his path, friend and foe alike. Even ''out'' of his warp spasm, he is described in the '' Táin'' as having multi-colored hair, four multicolored dimples in each cheek, seven pupils in each eye, one of which is sucked deep into its socket and the other hangs out of its socket, and seven clawed fingers and toes on each hand/foot.

* Some PlayerCharacter races in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' are weird enough, although rarely to the point that they can't function socially. But some sourcebooks allow you to either [[HollywoodEvolution evolve]] yourself into an EldritchAbomination, implant EldritchAbomination flesh into yourself, or just plain be an EldritchAbomination-- one sourcebook has a ''Good [[BrainFood Illithid]]''. Either way, the result is… disturbing. There is the Dragon disciple class which allows you turn yourself into a half dragon. 4e allows you to play as a war golem, living mass of crystals or Minotaur.

* Krieg the Psycho, the second DLC character in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2''. As if looking like a slasher movie villain and having the most agressive style and most gruesomely disturbing abilities of all Vault Hunters weren't enough, [[TalkativeLoon he doesn't really help his case when he tries talking.]] While driven by bloodlust, his original personality is still present if passive and does his best to steer his murderous side away from the innocent and unarmed. Even his crazy side actively helps the Vault Hunters by fighting alongside them, and is even ready to put his life at risk for his allies - best emphasized by some of his quotes when reviving teammates ("You're in my spot !") and his ability Redeem The Soul that instantly revives an ally at the cost of downing him ("You don't die, I DIE !"). The dormant sane fragment of his mind even threatens to take over them and kill their body should someone undeserving be hurt in their rampage.

* The eponymous character of ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'', as befits the most iconic NinetiesAntiHero to survive out of the '90s. First, there's the look; taller than a human and prone to towering ominously over others, with a [[BadassCape hugely collared, blood-red, shroud-like tattered cape]] framing a jet-black bodysuit adorned with SpikesOfVillainy and bedecked with writhing chains. Eerie green eyes that glow with {{hellfire}} stare out of a blank-featured mask, brooding at all before him, while fingers grow into razor-sharp claws. Then you see how he fights; using CombatTentacles and bare limbs to tear his opponents apart and rip off limbs, or emotionlessly gunning them down. Then you find out he's a HumanoidAbomination; a walking, rotting, undead corpse with [[TheSymbiote a living demon]] serving as his ([[ClingyCostume fiercely protective]]) costume and with enough BlackMagic to wipe out armies singlehandedly.

* Cú Chulainn, the young hero of the Ulster Cycle of Myth/CelticMythology, particularly of the ''Literature/TheCattleRaidOfCooley''. Though he is portrayed as being as {{Bishonen}} as a teenaged [[FightingIrish Irish]] [[FieryRedhead ginger]] can be, he is a descendant of either the [[TheFairFolk Tuatha Dé Danann]] Lugh or the Fomorians, a monstrous race from the mythic prehistory era of Ireland. Though he is heroic and stalwart, and generally perceived as a good guy, his defining mystical characteristic is his ability to transform into various disfigured superpowered abominations through the use of his warp-spasm. After [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry he transforms]], he becomes a [[TheBerserker berserker]] that slaughters anything in his path, friend and foe alike. Even ''out'' of his warp spasm, he is described in the '' Táin'' as having multi-colored hair, four multicolored dimples in each cheek, seven pupils in each eye, one of which is sucked deep into its socket and the other hangs out of its socket, and seven clawed fingers and toes on each hand/foot.

* ''Literature/CreatureOfHavoc'': The titular creature is a hulking, spiny, fanged, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] powerhouse of a MonstrousHumanoid, [[spoiler:[[ReforgedIntoAMinion created from a human captive]] by the BigBad via BalefulPolymorph]]. All the same, it becomes instrumental in saving the land from a depraved SorcerousOverlord and can do some good for bewildered citizens along the way.

* Music/TheRollingStones' "Sympathy for the Devil" subverts this. The singer is {{Satan}}, but he probably represents humanity. As it turns out, [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters we're the really horrifying ones]].

* In the early runs of ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon'', some interpretations of [[LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonRed Red]] had him as a [[OurLichesAreDifferent lich]] controlled by a very large number of bickering spirits. Later protagonist [[LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonHeartGold Ao]] would be a walking anomaly that glitched the world around her, and it was speculated that her presence in Johto was the reason why Pokemon in the area didn't act the way they usually did.

* Shrek, from William Stieg's original picture book of the same name, may be even more of a Horrifying Hero than he is in TheFilmOfTheBook, since he doesn't have a hidden nice-guy side to him and the entire story is about how foul and scary he is.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the Skull Knight, who is an undead, skeletal knight riding a HellishHorse. His speech is rendered in the manga the same way as the speech of the demonic Apostles or the Godhand. More than one character who has met him has been absolutely terrified to be in his presence, and at least once he was mistaken for an avatar of Death itself. Despite all this, he is the closest thing the series has to a BigGood, and has been nothing but heroic in his deeds (at least, that the readers have seen). He also literally eats the resident [[ArtifactOfDoom Artifacts of Doom]] for breakfast.

* ''VideoGame/EiyudenChronicleHundredHeroes'': A 109th hero has been announced as this trope, and his design will be voted upon by backers of [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rabbitandbearstudios/eiyuden-chronicle-hundred-heroes the Kickstarter campaign]] tomorrow, as per its 11th update.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' stars TheGrimReaper himself, though he's actually ''less'' scary than [[EnfantTerrible Mandy, an ordinary (but ruthless) grade-school girl]].