History MisaimedFandom / ComicBooks

** Rorschach also wins some audience sympathy for being much more proactive than any of the other "superheros", who are alternatively useless / unmotivated / disassociated from humanity / mass-murderers.

* 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 whose 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.

** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermac_%28cartoon%29 Super-Mac]] by Victor Weisz, a parody of HaroldMacmillan, was especially so. Maybe he shouldn't have compared him to a ''superhero'', of all things.
* A more innocent example than most, but the rapid transformation of ''Franchise/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. [[TropesAreNotBad The franchise has become pretty popular since becoming a franchise too]]
* This is a massively common trope in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}''. {{Magneto}}, despite being both a [[MasterRace mutant supremacist]] and a PersonOfMassDestruction who has caused rather a lot of death and destruction, is often painted as a [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor sympathetic character]] due to the fact that he was a childhood victim of the Nazis.

* BrianAzzarello was surprised and disturbed to find that the [[CompleteMonster violent, amoral homicidal rapist and torturer]] [[ComicBook/OneHundredBullets Lono]] had a devoted fan following.
* Likewise, many readers find his ''LexLuthorManOfSteel'' making an excellent argument for why LexLuthor is a hero, or at least believing that it brings up some intriguing GrayAndGreyMorality and humanistic traits to the character because he honestly thinks that he is a hero and Superman is a villain. Many also agree with Lex's arguments against Superman's LawfulGood ChronicHeroSyndrome, which sees him rescuing Toyman from an angry mob, in this story a [[KickTheSonOfABitch pedophile who had just (seemingly) blown up a daycare centre.]] Except for the fact that it is ''strongly, strongly'' implied that ''Lex himself'' blew up that centre, and is behind a bunch of other horrible things in the comic, and the real point of the story is that Lex is not only the CompleteMonster he always was, he's deluded and insane to boot.

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker - mas-murderer, torturer, CompleteMonster, MonsterClown, and has a MASSIVE fanbase.
** It must be noted, and this goes for many popular monstrous characters, that there is a difference between enjoying the character's appearance in the story (which, one must imagine, the creator wants you to do unless stated otherwise), and the kinds of interactions they bring, and seeing their crimes and psychopathy as something to be cheered on and supported or thinking the villain might be a cool dude to know, which is the main idea of this trope.

* The rapid transformation of ''Franchise/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.
* This is a massively common trope in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}''. {{Magneto}}, despite being both a [[MasterRace mutant supremacist]] and a PersonOfMassDestruction who has caused rather a lot of death and destruction, is often painted as a [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor sympathetic character]] due to the fact that he was a childhood victim of the Nazis. The same has been done with other villainous characters such as Emma Frost, who has a past history of lacking MindOverManners in regards to her telepathic powers and various criminal schemes. More recently, the X-Men in general have taken to reacting to [[FantasticRacism anti-mutant bigotry]] by becoming increasingly racist themselves. This is only compounded by the fact that some of their number, notably Wolverine, have a history of alternating between being [[AntiHero anti-heroes]] or [[AntiVillain anti-villains]].

* Everybody loves ''{{Deadpool}}'' because he's a loveable fourth wall breaking ninja Spider-Man. Except that he's not like Spider-Man and the whole point was that he tries to be a hero (and idolizes Spider-Man) but his psychopathic tendencies and love of killing get in the way. While the character has gotten better over the years, he retains homicidal tendencies, and is generally only barely an AntiHero at best.

* {{Catwoman}}, too, especially since Michelle Pfeiffer popularized her in ''BatmanReturns''. It's hard for many people to resist viewing her as a strong feminist figure when she's actually quite selfish and sociopathic, with only scattered PetTheDog moments - and, in TimBurton's movie, a psychologically frail, tortured individual who really doesn't feel good about herself.

* Everybody loves ''{{Deadpool}}'' because he's a loveable fourth wall breaking ninja Spider-Man. Except that he's not like Spider-Man and the whole point was that he tries to be a hero (and idolizes Spider-Man) but his psychopathic tendencies and love of killing get in the way.

* This is a massively common trope in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}''. Magneto, despite being both a [[MasterRace mutant supremacist]] and a PersonOfMassDestruction who has caused rather a lot of death and destruction, is often painted as a [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor sympathetic character]] due to the fact that he was a childhood victim of the Nazis. The same has been done with other villainous characters such as Emma Frost, who has a past history of lacking MindOverManners in regards to her telepathic powers and various criminal schemes. More recently, the X-Men in general have taken to reacting to [[FantasticRacism anti-mutant bigotry]] by becoming increasingly racist themselves. This is only compounded by the fact that some of their number, notably Wolverine, have a history of alternating between being [[AntiHero anti-heroes]] or [[AntiVillain anti-villains]].

* Catwoman, too, especially since Michelle Pfeiffer popularized her in ''BatmanReturns''. It's hard for many people to resist viewing her as a strong feminist figure when she's actually quite selfish and sociopathic, with only scattered PetTheDog moments - and, in TimBurton's movie, a psychologically frail, tortured individual who really doesn't feel good about herself.

* Everybody loves ''ComicBook/Deadpool'' because he's a loveable fourth wall breaking ninja Spider-Man. Except that he's not like Spider-Man and the whole point was that he tries to be a hero (and idolizes Spider-Man) but his psychopathic tendencies and love of killing get in the way.

** ''VForVendetta'', particularly the movie, spread the misconception that GuyFawkesDay [[DidNotDoTheResearch celebrates Guy Fawkes, the plucky rebel]], instead of celebrating the fact that ''England narrowly averted a terrorist attack on the capital.'' It's like thinking [[TheWarOnTerror September 11th]] is an American holiday honoring Osama Bin Laden.

* This is a massively common trope in ''{{Comicbook/X-Men}}''. Magneto, despite being both a [[MasterRace mutant supremacist]] and a PersonOfMassDestruction who has caused rather a lot of death and destruction, is often painted as a [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor sympathetic character]] due to the fact that he was a childhood victim of the Nazis. The same has been done with other villainous characters such as Emma Frost, who has a past history of lacking MindOverManners in regards to her telepathic powers and various criminal schemes. More recently, the X-Men in general have taken to reacting to [[FantasticRacism anti-mutant bigotry]] by becoming increasingly racist themselves. This is only compounded by the fact that some of their number, notably Wolverine, have a history of alternating between being [[AntiHero anti-heroes]] or [[AntiVillain anti-villains]].

* Some people read ''KingdomCome'' just because they like the [[NinetiesAntiHero Antiheroes]]. This is 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.

* TheJoker - mas-murderer, torturer, CompleteMonster, MonsterClown, and has a MASSIVE fanbase.

* Catwoman, too, especially since Michelle Pfeiffer popularized her in ''BatmanReturns''. It's hard for many people to resist viewing her as a strong feminist figure when she's actually quite selfish and sociopathic, with only scattered PetTheDog moments - and, in TimBurton's movie, a psychologically frail, tortured individual who really doesn't feel good about herself.

** Maybe because in retrospect of the fall of the Iron Curtain, Ozy's plan is entirely idiotic and unneccessary, so Rorschach's plan to turn him in is the ''reasonable'' action, as opposed to the "what the hell?" it was in historical context.

** ''VForVendetta'', particularly the movie, spread the misconception that GuyFawkesDay [[DidNotDoTheResearch celebrates Guy Fawkes, the plucky rebel]], instead of celebrating the fact that ''England narrowly averted a terrorist attack on the capital.''

* 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.

* 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 [[Literature/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]].

** Goths seem to treat Jhonen as their king, despite him constantly insulting them and his own hatred of the association. With that said, he doesn't necessarily hate Goths, but he doesn't care for catering specifically to them.
* 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]].

* This is a massively common trope in ''{{Comicbook/X-Men}}''. Magneto, despite being both a [[MasterRace mutant supremacist]] and a PersonOfMassDestruction who has caused rather a lot of death and destruction, is often painted as a [[FaceHeelRevolvingDoor sympathetic character]] due to the fact that he was a childhood victim of the Nazis. The same has been done with other villainous characters such as Emma Frost, who has a past history of lacking MindOverManners in regards to her telepathic powers and various criminal schemes. More recently, the X-Men in general have taken to reacting to [[FantasticRacism anti-mutant bigotry]] by becoming increasingly racist themselves. This is only compounded by the fact that some of their number, notably Wolverine, have a history of alternating between being [[AntiHero anti-heroes]] or [[AntiVillain anti-villains]].

** It got to the point that Magog, who existed exclusively as a self-righteous TakeThat aimed at 90's antiheroes (ComicBook/{{Cable}} in particularly), was given his own book that played his over-the-top attempts at badassery straight. The title itself was cancelled pretty quickly and Magog ended up being killed off shortly after it ended.

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

* Likewise, many readers find his ''LexLuthorManOfSteel'' making an excellent argument for why LexLuthor is a hero, or at least believing that it brings up some intriguing GrayAndGreyMorality and humanistic traits to the character because he honestly thinks that he is a hero and Superman is a villain. Many also agree with Lex's arguments against Superman's LawfulGood ChronicHeroSyndrome, which sees him rescuing Toyman from an angry mob, in this story a KickTheSonOfABitch pedophile who had just (seemingly) blown up a daycare centre.]] Except for the fact that it is ''strongly, strongly'' implied that ''Lex himself'' blew up that centre, and is behind a bunch of other horrible things in the comic, and the real point of the story is that Lex is not only the CompleteMonster he always was, he's deluded and insane to boot.

* Likewise, many readers find his ''LexLuthorManOfSteel'' making an excellent argument for why LexLuthor is a hero, or at least believing that it introduces some intriguing GrayAndGreyMorality to the character because he honestly thinks that he is a hero and Superman is a villain. Many also agree with Lex's arguments against Superman's LawfulGood ChronicHeroSyndrome, which sees him rescuing Toyman from an angry mob, in this story a KickTheSonOfABitch pedophile who had just (seemingly) blown up a daycare centre.]] Except for the fact that it is ''strongly, strongly'' implied that ''Lex himself'' blew up that centre, and is behind a bunch of other horrible things in the comic, and the real point of the story is that Lex is not only the CompleteMonster he always was, he's deluded and insane to boot.

* Likewise, many readers find his ''LexLuthorManOSteel'' making an excellent argument for why LexLuthor is a hero, or at least believing that it introduces some intriguing GrayAndGreyMorality to the character because he honestly thinks that he is a hero and Superman is a villain. Many also agree with Lex's arguments against Superman's LawfulGood ChronicHeroSyndrome, which sees him rescuing Toyman from an angry mob, in this story a KickTheSonOfABitch pedophile who had just (seemingly) blown up a daycare centre.]] Except for the fact that it is ''strongly, strongly'' implied that ''Lex himself'' blew up that centre, and is behind a bunch of other horrible things in the comic, and the real point of the story is that Lex is not only the CompleteMonster he always was, he's deluded and insane to boot.

* German comic ''NickKnatterton'' was made as this, since author Manfred Schmidt considered comics a primitive art form. The fans took it straight and liked it.