History MisaimedFandom / ComicBooks

** Vasquez has also mentioned on more than one occasion how awkward it was receive to receive fanmail from young children that enjoyed ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' and subsequently started reading his decidedly ''not'' child-friendly [=JtHM=] comics.

** Vasquez has also mentioned on more than one occasion how awkward it was receive to fanmail from young children that enjoyed ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' and subsequently started reading his decidedly ''not'' child-friendly [=JtHM=] comics.

** Vasquez has also mentioned on more than one occasion how awkward it was receive fanmail from young children that enjoyed ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' and subsequently started reading his decidedly ''not'' child-friendly [=JtHM=] comics.

** Several readers have idolized either Rorschach and [[spoiler:Ozymandias]] for their political beliefs whether it be Rorschach's [[PrinciplesZealot refusal to compromise his values]] or [[spoiler:Ozymandias's]] [[TotalitarianUtilitarian willingness to sacrifice millions to achieve world peace]]. Moore's own take seems to be that we're not supposed to ''like'' either of these characters; they are {{antihero}}es or {{antivillain}}s at best. Both of them take their respective ethical philosophies to unjustifiable extremes that render them callous to the actual human suffering depicted in the comic. A balanced ethical perspective, ''Watchmen'' suggests, needs to consider ''both'' the categorical imperative and utilitarianism, and since they're intrinsically contradictory stances, it can't take either of them to extremes.

* In ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', an '80s superhero deconstruction, Creator/AlanMoore heavily based the character Rorschach on 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 "laughable," and he wrote Rorschach as his own take on what an Objectivist hero would probably be like, a short, ugly, murderous sociopath. Despite this, readers saw Rorschach's uncompromising persona as endearing, and he became the most popular character of a landmark comic series. Additionally, as pointed out on the UnbuiltTrope page, Rorschach and the Comedian were intended to deconstruct the NinetiesAntiHero, and ended up popularizing it instead. Apparently, the series's beginning with the horrific death of the Comedian and ending with [[spoiler:the even more horrific death of Rorschach]] wasn't enough to make people realize that ''these were not admirable characters''.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' in general isn't necessarily immune to this. Mark Waid's Justice League story ''Tower of Babel'' was designed to criticize the character's [[CrazyPrepared prep time paranoia tendencies]] by [[spoiler:showing that he'd secretly been thinking up ways to kill or incapacitate his Justice League allies for years, only to have them fall into the wrong hands, thus placing the entire world in jeopardy]], but unfortunately all some fans came away with was "BATMAN'S THE SMARTEST, MOST BAD ASS HERO EVER!!!" Of course, it falls into similar territory as the Punisher, only ''more'' justifiable: every superhero has at least one mind-controlling villain, at least one villain with the same power(s) as the hero, and at least one instance of losing their way and going at least a ''little'' too dark. Knowing what you'd do if you had to fight one of your teammates is ''common sense.'' (Now, actually writing the manual and failing to keep it out of the bad guys' hands is another story.)

* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' has an in-universe example: The Sons of the Batman, a group of vigilantes inspired by Batman using incredibly violent methods against mostly petty criminals (ie, stopping a three card monte game with napalm, pumping a couple shotgun shells into a shoplifter[[note]]And cutting off the fingers of the poor clerk, for not defending the store.[[/note]]). Needless to say, when Batman finally meets them, he sets them straight.

* Xavin has a huge following among ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}''' LGBT fandom because of their perceived transgender or genderfluid identity, despite the fact that even under Creator/BrianKVaughan's pen, the series presents Xavin as an arrogant, controlling asshole who emotionally blackmails Karolina into an arranged marriage, inadvertently reignites a war that wiped out most of Karolina's people, and treats Karolina and her friends in a condescending manner.

* V from ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', to the point where the live action adaptation made it so that he was obviously meant to be the hero. V 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.
** ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', particularly the movie, spread the misconception that Guy Fawkes Day honors 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]] honors Osama Bin Laden.
*** While we're on the subject, Fawkes was not an anarchist, as depicted in the novel, but a radical Catholic who disliked the Protestant king and wanted to wipe him and the rest of the Protestant government out in one fell swoop in order to restore the Pope as the authority in Britain. Yet, because of ''V for Vendetta'' and Alan Moore's probably-deliberately ironic use of Fawkes's image to depict an anarchist rebel rather than a Catholic nationalist, most Americans and even some British people think of him as one.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' in general isn't necessarily immune to this. Mark Waid's Justice League story ''Tower of Babel'' was designed to criticize the character's prep time paranoia tendencies by [[spoiler:showing that he'd secretly been thinking up ways to kill or incapacitate his Justice League allies for years, only to have them fall into the wrong hands, thus placing the entire world in jeopardy]], but unfortunately all some fans came away with was "BATMAN'S THE SMARTEST, MOST BAD ASS HERO EVER!!!"

** Furthermore, [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/Dykes_to_Watch_Out_For_%28Bechdel_test_origin%29.jpg the original comic]] (which appeared in a collection called ''Dykes to Watch Out For'' and was described by the author as "a little lesbian joke") was more about compulsory heterosexuality in media - obviously, it's next to impossible to find a movie that depicts a romantic relationship between women if there's barely any movies that depict them in ''platonic'' relationships. That most people don't know this ''really'' speaks about the degree of mis-aiming that's occurred.

* ''Comicbook/{{Icon}}'' was written by the late great Dwayne McDuffie and had a massive big name fan in the form of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The problem: Dwayne McDuffie ''did not like'' Clarence Thomas, calling him Scalia's Lapdog among other insults. It was to a point the fandom of Justice Thomas gave McDuffie ''writers block'' with the question of if he was just giving Scalia and the black neoconservative movement quotes (as Icon was written as a conservative hero to contrast with a younger, liberal partner in Rocket).

** The emergence of comics like ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'', with its BewareTheSuperman concept, also tends to put Batman in a better light in this storyline, given just how dangerous a lot of heroes could be if they really wanted to be.
** It's really a problem of the lesson itself being flawed. Every hero ''ever'' has been {{brainwashed}} at least once. (Also, for every hero, there's villains with the same power set, there's clones and alternate versions, etc.) They've ''all'' at least once been very happy for their supporting casts being able to figure out how to stop them or someone ''like'' them. Batman ''has Superman's blessing'' to keep some Kryptonite. The idea that suddenly, having an idea of what you'd do if Spellbinder looked one of the League in the eye for two seconds makes you a borderline villain was ''never'' going to fly.

*** Magog even got Misaimed Fandom ''from his creators.'' Waid and Ross tried to design his costume to include everything they hated about 1990s costumes, but ended up kinda liking it. The character also gets a clear shot at redemption.

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

* This happens with a lot of "satire" characters where the author "exaggerates" them just by taking all the elements that people seem to like in other shows and lumping them together without actually exaggerating anything. We've seen this in reverse with films like ''Film/SuckerPunch'', intended to "parody" exploitation literature but garnering reactions as if they were genuine because, well, the creators forgot the part where they make the thing they're parodying more ridiculous or extreme than the source material.

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' in general isn't necessarily immune to this. Mark Waid's Justice League story ''Tower of Babel'' was designed to criticize the character's prep time paranoia tendencies by [[spoiler:showing that he'd secretly been thinking up ways to kill or incapacitate his Justice League allies for years, only to have them fall into the wrong hands, thus placing the entire world in jeopardy]], but unfortunately all some fans came away with was "BATMAN'S THE SMARTEST, MOST BAD ASS HERO EVER!!!"
** The emergence of comics like ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}, with its BewareTheSuperman concept, also tends to put Batman in a better light in this storyline, given just how dangerous a lot of heroes could be if they really wanted to be.

** Furthermore, [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/Dykes_to_Watch_Out_For_%28Bechdel_test_origin%29.jpg the original comic]] (which appeared in a collection called ''Dykes to Watch Out For'' and was described by the author as "a little lesbian joke") was more about compulsory heterosexuality in media - obviously, it's next to impossible to find a movie that depicts a romantic relationship between women if there's barely any movies that depict them in ''platonic'' relationships. That most people don't know this ''really'' speaks about the degree of mis-aiming that's occurred.

* This happens with a lot of "satire" characters where the author "exaggerates" them just by taking all the elements that people seem to like in other shows and lumping them together without actually exaggerating anything. We've seen this in reverse with films like ''Film/SuckerPunch'', intended to "parody" exploitation literature but garnering reactions as if they were genuine because, well, the creators forgot the part where they make the thing they're parodying more ridiculous or extreme than the source material.

** A lot of the unintended heroism of the character stems from the writers not really understanding their own context. A murdering vigilante in real life is unambiguously a bad thing, but in a world where even the heroes rack up body counts in the dozens or hundreds per year, the villains are worse, and the only punishment you get for burning a hundred people to death is a month of brooding from Batman and six weeks in a revolving-door prison, being the one guy at least attempting to solve problems permanently gives you a lot more social utility than murdering criminals would in the real world.

* In the infamous ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'', 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 [[StrawCharacter 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 ''Literature/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]].