History MisaimedFandom / ComicBooks

* In the '80s superhero deconstruction ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', AlanMoore heavily based the character Rorschach off of Steve Ditko's objectivist superheroes, specifically The Question and Mr. A. However Moore had no affinity for their ideology, calling Mr. A "an absolute insane fascist" and objectivism as "laughable". So he wrote Rorschach as his own negative spin on what an objectivist hero would probably be like, a short and ugly social outcast. Despite making Rorschach out as an insane murderous sociopath, readers saw Rorschach's uncompromising persona as endearing. As a result Rorschach became the most popular character of a landmark comic series. Additionally, Moore later attributed the Watchman as being responsible for kicking off the the modern age creation of countless other terrible "grim and gritty" anti-heroes. Thus pushing Moore further to his current state of insanity.

* In the '80s superhero deconstruction ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', Alan Moore heavily based the character Rorschach off of Steve Ditko's objectivist superheroes, specifically The Question and Mr. A. However Moore had no affinity for their ideology, calling Mr. A "an absolute insane fascist" and objectivism as "laughable". So he wrote Rorschach as his own negative spin on what an objectivist hero would probably be like, a short and ugly social outcast. Despite making Rorschach out as an insane murderous sociopath, readers saw Rorschach's uncompromising persona as endearing. As a result Rorschach became the most popular character of a landmark comic series. Additionally, Moore later attributed the Watchman as being responsible for kicking off the the modern age creation of countless other terrible "grim and gritty" anti-heroes. Thus pushing Moore further to his current state of insanity.

* In the 80's superhero deconstruction, the ''{{Watchmen}}'', Alan Moore heavily based the character Rorschach off of Steve Ditko's objectivist superheroes, specifically The Question and Mr. A. However Moore had no affinity for their ideology, calling Mr. A "an absolute insane fascist" and objectivism as "laughable". So he wrote Rorschach as his own negative spin on what an objectivist hero would probably be like, a short and ugly social outcast. Despite making Rorschach out as an insane murderous sociopath, readers saw Rorschach's uncompromising persona as endearing. As a result Rorschach became the most popular character of a landmark comic series. Additionally, Moore later attributed the Watchman as being responsible for kicking off the the modern age creation of countless other terrible "grim and gritty" anti-heroes. Thus pushing Moore further to his current state of insanity.

* ''{{Lobo}}'' started as a generic mercenary before being retooled by creator Keith Giffen as a parody of eighties "grim and gritty" heroes in a series of mini-series books. Needless to say, Lobo became a big hit with fans who took the satire at face value.

* Apparently, we were supposed to agree with the Pro-Registration side in ''CivilWar''. JoeQuesada stated that the Pro-Regs were right, anyway. Seriously. We were expected to like Cap's side ''at first'' (that's why they showed the Pro-Regs as complete bastards), but eventually side with Iron Man. It didn't work. Most writers in Marvel hate Iron Man these days, making him out to be a fascist crazy instead of a troubled man who thought he was doing what had to be done to keep the SHRA from becoming worse. Mark Millar also stated that the pro-regs were right and that he thought every right-thinking person should agree with him. This is ironic because, at the time, everyone was criticizing Millar for [[DesignatedVillain making the "pro" side so ludicrously unsympathetic]]. As one reviewer noted, [[http://www.thexaxis.com/misc/mightyavengers1.htm "If the readers all think Iron Man's a villain, and he wasn't meant to be... well, maybe the writers and editors misunderstood what they were putting out".]]

* BrianAzzarello was surprised and disturbed to find that the [[CompleteMonster violent, amoral homicidal rapist and torturer]] [[OneHundredBullets Lono]] had a devoted fan following.

* Some people read ''KingdomCome'' just because they like the [[NinetiesAntiHero Antiheroes]]. This is [[CompletelyMissingThePoint missing the fact]] that ''KingdomCome'' was written as a criticism of that kind of character. Others miss the idea that a big part of the story is that Superman and the new League trying to bring about world peace works horribly [[spoiler:and ends up getting everyone nuked,]] and wholeheartedly support/condemn them as SilverAge nostalgia.

* Most of the characters in ''{{Watchmen}}'' have some pretty serious problems, however Rorschach was written as a total murderous sociopathic fascist with almost no redeeming qualities in an attempt to show what real comic book heroes would be. Guess who ended up being the most popular and loved character?

*** The film's portrayal of Ozy as a sneering DevilInPlainSight didn't help matters either.

* V from ''VForVendetta'', to the point where the live action adaptation made it so that he was obviously meant to be the hero. V, it should be noted, is a fanatical terrorist who's main motives are revenge and his methods include physical and psychological torture (of both enemies ''and allies''), bombing of public monuments, and brutal murder. An argument can be made for a case of ALighterShadeOfGrey, given that V is also a charming and charismatic NobleDemon and his enemies are a brutal, genocidal and largely irredeemable fascist regime, but V was intended to be a lot more ambiguous than many ultimately view him as being.

* The problem largely stemming from him being the most interesting character. The others that could be as interesting never get the time.

* Most of the characters in {{Watchmen}} have some pretty serious problems, however Rorschach was written as a total murderous sociopathic fascist with almost no redeeming qualities in an attempt to show what real comic book heroes would be. Guess who ended up being the most popular and loved character?

* V from ''VForVendetta'', to the point where the live action adaptation made it so that he was obviously meant to be the hero. He's a fucking anarchist terrorist for god's sake! Yes, he's the lesser of the two evils, but his main motives are revenge and his methods include torture and brutal murder. It was meant to be ambiguous!

* Some people read ''KingdomCome'' just because they like the [[NinetiesAntiHero Antiheroes]]. This is [[CompletelyMissingThePoint missing the fact]] that ''KingdomCome'' was written as a criticism of that kind of character.Others miss the idea that a big part of the story is that Superman and the new League trying to bring about world peace works horribly [[spoiler:and ends up getting everyone nuked,]] and wholeheartedly support/condemn them as SilverAge nostalgia.

* In the infamous ''[[JackChick Chick Tracts]]'', readers are ''supposed'' to agree with everything the protagonists say, but there is a significant "fandom" that finds the over-the-top nature [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]]. In addition, on first reading them, many people assume that they are intended as a parody. [[PoesLaw They are serious.]]
** The sheer number of times he has [[StrawmanPolitical Straw Secularists/Liberals]] (especially in schools), such as the dystopia in "Last Generation" which has the security and language of [[NineteenEightyFour Oceania]], the religious politics of ''LeftBehind'', and the social politics of Straw Liberal states, with a touch of "concentration camps" for parents who discipline their children -- it makes it difficult for one to accept them as serious arguments unless one realizes that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps there are more extreme people out there]].

** Mr. Natural ended his series in an insane asylum as his former followers commented about how he was impossibly out of touch with the world. What does ''that'' tell you about R. Crumb?
** And then there's his satirical race-related comics. (There's a very thin line between ''parodying'' racism and ''being'' racist.) Crumb's over-the-top satires of American prejudice, "When the Niggers Take Over America" and "When the Goddamn Jews Take Over America," which appeared back-to-back in the last issue of his ''Weirdo'' magazine in 1993, subsequently appeared without authorization on hate-group websites.

** While true, it is done for two reasons: Is simple human psychology to align with what we see as the "protagonist" and correct morality in any type of discussion and to sanitize/justify their actions, double so in such a CrapsackWorld; The second is that Alan Moore work ([[FanDumb regardless what fans may cry]]) didn't age well, is equally an allegory for politics in his age with all the grace of a shotgun in the face and, for this Troper at least, had a more meningful, enjoyable and all around superior adaptation in the movie.
** It also helps that V, arguably, is ALighterShadeOfGrey; yes, he's a ruthless anarchist terrorist, but he's also a charming and charismatic NobleDemon who comes to freely acknowledge he has no place in the better world he's trying to create and grooms what he views as a more worth successor, and is only a ruthless anarchist terrorist in the first place because the [[PuttingOnTheReich fascist government]] experimented upon and tortured him to the point of insanity. Said government is also almost entirely made up of amoral, hypocritical, self-righteous and largely irredeemable scumbags. While ambiguity may have been the intention, in the finished product it's not exactly hard to support one over the other.

** Embracing the satirist (or impressionist) is an intelligent tactic that most politicians should at least pretend to embrace. Laugh along with the scorn and you're the fun-loving dude who can laugh at himself. Express distaste, even at an awful, unfunny portrayal, and you're the scowling buzzkill with a stick up your ass.
** Politicians were often invited to appear on RoyalCanadianAirFarce, a show which took no sides and made fun of everyone equally, on all sides of the political arena. It was generally considered an honour to be invited.
* The rapid transformation of ''TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' into the sort of MerchandiseDriven juggernaut it was originally meant to parody had a lot to do with this. The creators and later licensees seem to have decided to run with the misaimed version instead of trying to fight it.
** Of course, that fandom mostly came from the TV series, which was entirely intended as such, so it's not so much Misaimed Fandom as it is ExecutiveMeddling that took.
* Apparently, we were supposed to agree with the Pro-Registration side in ''CivilWar''. JoeQuesada stated that the Pro-Regs were right, anyway. Seriously. We were expected to like Cap's side ''at first'' (that's why they showed the Pro-Regs as complete bastards), but eventually side with Iron Man. It didn't work. Most writers in Marvel hate Iron Man these days, making him out to be a fascist crazy instead of a troubled man who thought he was doing what had to be done to keep the SHRA from becoming worse.
** Mark Millar also stated that the pro-regs were right and that he thought every right-thinking person should agree with him. This is ironic because, at the time, everyone was criticizing Millar for [[DesignatedVillain making the "pro" side so ludicrously unsympathetic]]. As one reviewer noted, [[http://www.thexaxis.com/misc/mightyavengers1.htm "If the readers all think Iron Man's a villain, and he wasn't meant to be... well, maybe the writers and editors misunderstood what they were putting out".]]
* Some people read ''KingdomCome'' just because they like the [[NinetiesAntiHero Antiheroes]]. This is [[CompletelyMissingThePoint missing the fact]] that ''KingdomCome'' was written as a criticism of that kind of character.
** Others miss the idea that a big part of the story is that Superman and the new League trying to bring about world peace works horribly [[spoiler:and ends up getting everyone nuked,]] and wholeheartedly support/condemn them as SilverAge nostalgia.

* Rorschach from ''{{Watchmen}}'' was intended to be a {{deconstruction}} of the objectivist superheroes created by Steve Ditko, most notably TheQuestion and Mr. A: the embodiment of all that is repellent about Ditko's worldview and, at the same time, all that is noble about it. Rorschach is [[KnightTemplar intelligent and uncompromising to evil with absolute moral integrity]], but is a completely AxCrazy [[KickTheDog dog kicker]] insane brand of character as a result. He is delusional and paranoid, but sometimes [[ProperlyParanoid properly so when no one else is]]. He is a loner, unfettered by society's restrictions, but an ugly person with disgusting habits and prejudices who constantly rejects those who try to help him, and so on. Far too many readers and creators overlooked his more unsavory aspects and saw him as unambiguously heroic and unambiguously ''cool'' (or, most strangely, [[DracoInLeatherPants unambiguously ''sexy'']]... which he is not). As a result, Rorschach (along with the Batman of ''DarkKnightReturns'') became the template for the less nuanced (and far more glorified) DarkAge NinetiesAntiHero. AlanMoore is known to deeply regret this; he never intended for Rorschach to be a role model and is reportedly disgusted when he receives fan-mail containing variations of the sentiment "Our society needs people like Rorschach."
** It probably doesn't help that Rorschach [[spoiler:turns out to be ''right'' about a plot going on]], so rather than coming off as an overly violent paranoid, he [[spoiler:seems more like the [[OnlySaneMan only person who can see]] what's going on and [[CassandraTruth has to convince his friends about it]].]] He's also the only person really driving the story for the first half of it, so he ends up being the viewpoint character to an extent.
** The comic-book Question had a brief story where he read ''{{Watchmen}}'', noted Rorschach's similarity to himself, and decided to give the former's methods a try. It ended with an escaped criminal, a badly bruised Question, and the conclusion that "Rorschach sucks" as a role-model. It's something of a TakeThat to everyone who missed the point.
** This is especially true of the [[{{Shipping}} shippers]] who like to pair him off with Dan, among others, completely missing the part where he's completely fucked up about love and sex and could ''never'' have that kind of connection with anyone.
** Although, a lot of fans love/respect Rorschach not so much for his violent behavior but for his superhuman dedication to the morals he does adhere to. When he becomes the only main character who is unwilling to [[spoiler: cover up Adrian's genocide]], it's really hard not to like him if only for that one singular moment.
** Which makes Rorschach perhaps the ultimate comicbook example of StrawManHasAPoint
** Rorschach also arguably benefits from hindsight and TheGreatPoliticsMessUp; when the book was written, it was considered a lot more likely that the Cold War would end in some kind of conflict between the superpowers, most likely involving some kind of nuclear exchange. As such, Ozymandias' actions, if still terrible, a lot more understandable, since he was trying to avert a seemingly inevitable nuclear holocaust which would result in the extinction of humanity, which contemporary readers could more easily relate to; under such circumstances, Rorschach's subsequent actions look a lot more ruthlessly pig-headed. Of course, the Cold War ended up ending relatively peacefully, and the fear of nuclear eradication became much less in later generations than it was at the time, meaning that Ozymandias' actions look a lot more unnecessary -- and thus, a lot more terrible -- while Rorschach conversely begins to look a lot more level-headed.
*** But we never had Dr Manhattan. Much of the conflict from ''Watchmen'' was caused by Dr Manhattan. He had allowed America to conquer Vietnam, advanced their technological prowess greatly, and caused the Soviets to stockpile heavily on nuclear warheads, resulting in the CrapsackWorld that is ''Watchmen''.
*** It doesn't matter how many nukes we have. [[NoKillLikeOverkill It just means we can destroy the world several more times over.]] So, it's highly likely that history would've repeated, just with more nukes lying around unused. All the paranoia many writers (Alan Moore included) had about the world ending due to more hawkish policies taking over proved to be very wrong.
* Similarly, a number of ''2000AD'' readers seemed to miss the satire of ''JudgeDredd'' and thought that this sort of extreme law enforcement sounded like a good thing. So did SylvesterStallone in interviews concerning TheMovie. Clearly, a 6 month -- 2 year sentence for littering will solve America's problems.
** Even the writers of ''JudgeDredd'' don't know how to deal with the undertones of fascism. Some like to work around it, downplaying the fascist undertones by putting Dredd against monstrous villains who are worse than Dredd/The Judges due to their genocidal actions; others play it depressingly straight (most notably the opening stories as part of the over-reaching "Democracy" arc of the late 1980s/90s). Others try and make Dredd the literal lesser evil ''via'' portraying his fellow Judges and supervisors as being worse than him.
** It's worth noting that the ''much'' LighterAndSofter film went even further and made the Judges predominantly LawfulGood, with Dredd himself being a mildly LawfulStupid example who is actually [[WhatTheHellHero called out on it]] early on in the film. Stallone ''may'' have been referring exclusively to the film canon, or [[DidNotDoTheResearch he just hadn't read any of the original comics.]]
* Also V from ''VForVendetta'', to the point where the live action adaptation made it so that he was obviously meant to be the hero. He's a fucking anarchist terrorist for god's sake! Yes, he's the lesser of the two evils, but his main motives are revenge and his methods include torture and brutal murder. It was meant to be ambiguous!
** Although there is certainly a lot of ambiguity, this MisaimedFandom is perhaps helped along by the fact that V is ALighterShadeOfGrey to a large extent, in that for all that he's brutal, vicious and driven by revenge, he's still a charismatic NobleDemon who fully recognizes that he's a monster who has no place in the better world he's trying to create and actively grooms a more worthy successor, whereas the fascist government he opposes is genocidal, largely composed of self-righteous, hypocritical, venal and grasping bastards who fully represent the banality of evil, and who are for the most part largely irredeemable. And V's only the way he is because the government made him that way. The reader's sympathies are clearly groomed to be more on V's side than Norsefire's so, if Alan Moore had ''hoped'' to make the conflict ambigious, then he failed pretty badly.
** The only difference between [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters a Terrorist and a Freedom Fighter]] is whether or not he's on your side. I'm pretty sure England thought of [[GeorgeWashington George Washington]] as a terrorist at the time of the Revolutionary War.
* This happened to R. Crumb ''a lot'' -- most notably with his iconic "Keep On Truckin'" character/pose, which was adopted by many rock-loving hippies as their "mascot," as it were. The truth was, Crumb was ''making fun'' of rock music lovers, who in his eyes were doing "The Dance of Cultural Death" (as he put it). He even explained it in a comic in The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book and told his (probably now disillusioned) hippie fans: "KEEP ON TRUCKIN', SCHMUCKS!". (This was followed by Mr. Natural remarking: "Don't forget, Bob, that it was the compassion, the loving forgiveness, that they found so appealing in your cartoons, that made you so popular, that got you laid, that earned you a living. Keep it in mind!")

** Although there is certainly a lot of ambiguity, this MisaimedFandom is perhaps helped along by the fact that V is ALighterShadeOfGrey to a large extent, in that for all that he's brutal, vicious and driven by revenge, he's still a charismatic NobleDemon who fully recognizes that he's a monster who has no place in the better world he's trying to create and actively grooms a more worthy successor, whereas the fascist government he opposes is genocidal, largely composed of self-righteous, hypocritical, venal and grasping bastards who fully represent the banality of evil, and who are for the most part largely irredeemable. And V's only the way he is because the government made him that way. The reader's sympathies are clearly groomed to be more on V's side than Norsefire's.

* FrankMiller [[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guns-Are-For-Cowards/125540797485215 has been quoted as saying]] what he [[TheDarkKnightReturns portrays Batman as saying]]. Seeing as how FrankMiller has also [[AllStarBatmanAndRobin portrayed Batman as a sadistic psychopath]], quoting Miller's version of Batman as though it were Miller himself might not exactly be all that fitting.