History NinetiesAntiHero / ComicBooks

* ComicBook/{{Vampirella}} started being depicted this way during the 90s. More emphasis was placed on her struggle with her {{Bloodlust}}, her already revealing outfit was drawn as even skimpier and she [[LetsYouAndHimFight frequently came to blows with other heroes she crossed paths with before teaming up with them]]. Vampirella's friend, ally and occasional enemy, Pantha also fit this trope in the 90s; she wore a very revealing outfit just like Vampirella, had a vicious temper, was an AnimalThemedSuperbeing, had WolverineClaws and a tragic past of killing numerous people including her own son.

* In the Creator/DarkHorseComics superhero line ''Comics Greatest World'', ComicBook/{{X}} filled this role. He was at least willing to give you one warning, a vertical slash across the face. If the X across your face or an image of your face was completed, however, he killed you. No exceptions. He was willing to do whatever it took to cleanse the city of Arcadia of its crime and corruption.

** ComicBook/SpiderGirl has [[EvilTwin April]] [[CloningBlues Parker]], that is simply a jerk version of main protagonist with the powers of Venom. She fits this trope perfectly, right to the point that a woman she once saved from bandits runs away, because she is more violent than they are. Oh, and she [[spoiler:killed Tombstone]] too.

* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'' started being depicted this way during the 90s. More emphasis was placed on her struggle with her {{Bloodlust}}, her already revealing outfit was drawn as even skimpier and she [[LetsYouAndHimFight frequently came to blows with other heroes she crossed paths with before teaming up with them]]. Vampirella's friend, ally and occasional enemy, Pantha also fit this trope in the 90s; she wore a very revealing outfit just like Vampirella, had a vicious temper, was an AnimalThemedSuperbeing, had WolverineClaws and a tragic past of killing numerous people including her own son.

** Cable spun-off an alternate counterpart, [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey a.k.a. X-Man]], from the ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse''. Despite being a monstrously powerful LivingWeapon with [[DependingOnTheArtist (usually)]] excessive HeroicBuild for a 17-year-old, an occasional HairTriggerTemper, a willingness to violate ThouShaltNotKill and MindOverManners if necessary, he was often depicted as an absolutely {{Adorkable}} FishOutOfWater, who was a FriendToAllChildren and mostly interested in enjoying life in a world that was a utopia by comparison to the CrapsackWorld he'd left and who would much prefer to be left alone -- [[ChronicHeroSyndrome in between being unable to resist stepping in to help people.]] Hell, he was even buddies with (and a protege of) Spider-Man.

* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} became a version of this in TheNineties and lasting until ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. He grew his beard out to adopt a FatherNeptune look, and lost one of his hands and had it replaced first by a hook and then by a form-changing magical water-hand. He also adopted a more aggressive attitude on behalf of Atlantis. These changes were actually very well-received by much of the DCU's fanbase, and is considered an implementation of this trope that actually worked, as the goal of Peter David's revamp was to essentially [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap rescue Aquaman from the scrappy heap]] that ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' had [[AudienceColoringAdaptation left him in]]. Unfortunately, years later, much of the general public is ''still'' unaware of the revamp, and [[AdaptationalWimp still picture poor Arthur as he was in Superfriends]]. One thing that saved Aquaman from the negative qualities of the 90s anti-hero is that the book was often ''funny'', and while he might have had more of an edge, he didn't take himself too seriously either. Because, you know, Peter David.

* ComicBook/WarriorNunAreala: [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter "Shotgun"]] [[BikerBabe Mary]] [[BadassGay Delacroix]], who was created specifically [[RedOniBlueOni to complement]] the protagonist [[IdealHero Shannon Masters]]. Though Delacroix has many elements that other examples of the archetype (as can be read and seen [[http://www.comicvine.com/shotgun-mary/4005-48249/ here]]) such as her disdain for authority (particularly the Catholic Church for its disapproval of homosexuality) and her [[SuperheroPackingHeat preference for guns]] (with blessed bullets) to fight demons and other supernatural threats, she is a LighterAndSofter downplayed example and also a mild subversion in that she is more a KnightInSourArmor rather than an [[UnscrupulousHero Unscrupulous]] [[NominalHero Hero In Name Only]] like others on this list.

* ''ComicBook/MenInBlack'' has Wolf, formerly a man in black himself ([[XtremeKoolLetterz Agent X]]), now a rogue superhero. The costume, BeastMan behavior and NonHumanSidekick Peter don't help. Agent K, as well, might not look the part, but he's pretty much an evil fascist, quite a shock from people who enjoy the much-more-popular movie adaptation.

** ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', despite being a JudgeJuryAndExecutioner working for a dystopian police state, is actually a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] (or an UnbuiltTrope), since [[HiddenDepths his character is much too layered]] beneath the gruff exterior to ever qualify as one. The judges of the Mega-Cities do have total power over life and death, but they're still genuinely ''cops'', meaning they have to adhere to standards such as fairness and "the punishment must fit the crime". However, the way in which he's depicted in ''Magazine/HeavyMetal Dredd'' (published in 1993) is a straight example. Metal Dredd solves ''every'' problem with his Lawgiver pistol, to the point where he'll happily blow the legs off jaywalkers or beat anyone who looks at him funny into a coma. If his version in the ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' continuity was that much of a RabidCop, he would have already been executed by InternalAffairs for abuse of power.

** ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', despite being a JudgeJuryAndExecutioner working for a dystopian police state, is actually a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], since [[HiddenDepths his character is much too layered]] beneath the gruff exterior to ever qualify as one. The judges of the Mega-Cities do have total power over life and death, but they're still genuinely ''cops'', meaning they have to adhere to standards such as fairness and "the punishment must fit the crime". However, the way in which he's depicted in ''Magazine/HeavyMetal Dredd'' (published in 1993) is a straight example. Metal Dredd solves ''every'' problem with his Lawgiver pistol, to the point where he'll happily blow the legs off jaywalkers or beat anyone who looks at him funny into a coma. If his version in the ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' continuity was that much of a RabidCop, he would have already been executed by InternalAffairs for abuse of power.

** ComicBook/{{Cable}}, of the New Mutants, X-Force, and the ComicBook/XMen was a major influence in every example who came after. Tragic and mysterious past? Check. {{BFG}}s coming out the ass? Check. A "badass" look that used to be reserved for villains? Check. His first appearance was even in 1990. Over time, though, he's been developed into a more heroic[=/=]complex character, somewhere between MessianicArchetype and AGodAmI.

* ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' by Creator/RobLiefeld. Initially playing this trope as straight as an arrow, later runs thoroughly deconstructed the people that would be part of such a team, as well as the public’s perception of them, with the 2017 SoftReboot making the public’s hatred of Youngblood (a few members excluded) a key plot point.

** ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', despite being a JudgeJuryAndExecutioner working for a dystopian police state, is actually a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], since [[HiddenDepths his character is much too layered]] beneath the gruff exterior to ever qualify as one. However, the way in which he's depicted in ''Magazine/HeavyMetal Dredd'' (published in 1993) is a straight example. Metal Dredd solves ''every'' problem with his Lawgiver pistol, to the point where he'll happily blow the legs off jaywalkers or beat anyone who looks at him funny into a coma. If his version in the ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' continuity was that much of a RabidCop, he would have already been executed by InternalAffairs for abuse of power.

** During Creator/GrantMorrison's run on ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', in one alternate universe Lois Lane, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen created a device that would allow the user to create a super-powered Tulpa. They wanted to create TheCape, however the executives thought this trope would have more wide-market appeal, and deliberately attempted to invoke it.

* ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' by Creator/RobLiefeld.

** Koryak, Aquaman's son with an Inuit woman named Kako was a straighter example of this. He was arrogant, hot-tempered, prone to violence and was a rival/foil to Garth, the original Aqualad. Koryak did mellow out later on after he unwittingly caused a war between Atlantis and the sea god Triton and was banished from Atlantis by his father.

** Koryak, Aquaman's son with an Inuit woman named Kako was a straighter example of this. He was arrogant, hot-tempered, prone to violence and was a rival/foil to Garth, the original Aqualad who was as different from Garth in terms of personality as you could get. Koryak did mellow out later on after he unwittingly caused a war between Atlantis and the sea god Triton and was banished from Atlantis by his father.

* ComicBook/LadyDeath: She is a {{Stripperific}} DarkActionGirl with a {{BFS}} who coincidentally first appeared in print in 1991.

** During Creator/GrantMorrison's run on ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', in one alternate universe Lois Lane, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen created a device that would allow the user to create a super powered Tulpa. They wanted to create TheCape, however the executives thought this trope would have more wide-market appeal, and deliberately attempted to invoke it.

* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} became a version of this in TheNineties and lasting until ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. He grew his beard out to adopt a FatherNeptune look, and lost one of his hands and had it replaced first by a hook and then by a form-changing magical water-hand. He also adopted a more aggressive attitude on behalf of Atlantis. These changes were actually very well-received by much of the DCU's fanbase, and is considered an implementation of this trope that actually worked, as the goal of Peter David's revamp was to essentially [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap rescue Aquaman from the scrappy heap]] that ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' had [[AudienceColoringAdaptation left him in]]. Unfortunately, years later much of the general public is ''still'' unaware of the revamp, and [[AdaptationalWimp still picture poor Arthur as he was in Superfriends]]. One thing that saved Aquaman from the negative qualities of the 90s anti-hero is that the book was often ''funny'', and while he might have had more of an edge, he didn't take himself too seriously either. Because, you know, Peter David.

* Jack T. Chance, who first appeared in 1992, was the PsychoPartyMember for the Green Lantern Corps. He was the only Green Lantern allowed to kill, and confined to his homeworld, which was a WretchedHive so horrible, that every Lantern that was sent there was killed within a week.

* The ''Franchise/XMen'' have featured plenty of these throughout its run, among them one who was possibly the single greatest TropeCodifier, Cable.

** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} (created by none other than Liefeld himself) started out as a villain, then moved into AntiHero territory, and when [[MyRealDaddy a non-Liefield writer got a hold of him]] became more of an AffectionateParody. As with Cable, Deadpool ''also'' has guns coming out his ass. [[AssShove It involves an awful lot of lubricant]].

** Cable spun-off an alternate counterpart, [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey a.k.a. X-Man]], from the ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse''. Despite being a monstrously powerful LivingWeapon with [[DependingOnTheArtist (usually)]] excessive HeroicBuild for a 17 year old, an occasional HairTriggerTemper, a willingness to violate ThouShaltNotKill and MindOverManners if necessary, he was often depicted as an absolutely {{Adorkable}} FishOutOfWater, who was a FriendToAllChildren and mostly interested in enjoying life in a world that was a utopia by comparison to the CrapsackWorld he'd left and who would much prefer to be left alone - [[ChronicHeroSyndrome in between being unable to resist stepping in to help people.]] Hell, he was even buddies with (and a protege of) Spider-Man.

** ComicBook/SpiderGirl has [[EvilTwin April]] [[CloningBlues Parker]], that is simply a jerk version of main protagonist with the powers of Venom. She fits this trope perfectly, right to the point that a woman she once saved from bandits run away, because she is more violent than they. Oh, and she [[spoiler:killed Tombstone]] too.

* A strange example is Deathlok the Demolisher, who was created well over two decades before the heyday of the trope. Each of the various versions of Deathlok have very 90's Anti-Hero traits to them: he is always a dead man resurrected as a cyborg (cyborgs being common in 90's comics), and turned into an unliving cybernetic weapon that uses huge guns as it's primary method of offense. Usually however the plot often involves Deathlok's ''unwillingness'' to succumb to his programming and kill wantonly, instead struggling to non-lethally dispatch his foes.

* ComicBook/{{Spawn}}, quite possibly the most popular Nineties Anti-Hero. [[DarkAgeOfSupernames Edgy one-word name]], grim-n-gritty {{backstory}} (an assassinated mercenary damned to Hell and sent back as a soldier of Satan), killing bad guys who were slightly worse than him, and written and drawn by Todd [=McFarlane=]. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn The character became less]] of a typical example of this trope as the series went on, however. The first issue of Spawn had a little parody of the trope's common appearance. Entertainment TV TalkingHeads commenting that while the spikes and chains are "totally gauche", trying to bring back capes is a bad idea.
* ''ComicBook/TheDarkness'' and ''Comicbook/{{Witchblade}}'' both exemplified this trope. The former is a former mafia hitman who becomes a living vessel of the world's dark energies, complete with an army of flippant, happy-go-lucky demons who delight in every opportunity to torture someone; the second is a pornolicious detective with powers both lethal and which rip her clothes off whenever she uses them.

* ''ComicBook/MenInBlack'' has Wolf, formerly a man in black himself ([[XtremeKoolLetterz agent X]]), now a rogue superhero. The costume, BeastMan behavior and NonHumanSidekick Peter don't help. Agent K, as well, might not look the part, but he's pretty much an evil fascist, quite a shock from people who enjoy the much-more-popular movie adaptation.

* By late '94, the ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' office had [[FollowTheLeader decided]] they ''also'' wanted in on that action. Enter Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, the [[TokenHeroicOrc kindest and most open-minded member]] of a splinter tribe of Amazons... which meant she was ''still'' a HotBlooded {{Jerkass}} several magnitudes more violent than Diana on her worst day. Artemis' tenure as Diana's AntiHeroSubstitute was a lot shorter, lasting only about six issues (and a handful of cameos in Justice League titles and the like) before she was killed off. A while later, she was resurrected, become a part-time demon slayer, and ultimately mellowed out into a regular member of Diana's supporting cast.

* ''Cyberfrog'' (1996) by Creator/EthanVanSciver is about a cybernetically-enhanced mutant frog who goes around violently murdering various criminals as well as alien menaces, such as a race of WickedWasps that want to invade the Earth to implant humans with their spawn. Think ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' meet ''ComicBook/ThePunisher''.

* ComicBook/HolyTerror: As one of the individuals who influenced the Dark Age of Comics, it was the natural evolution of Creator/FrankMiller that he would eventually create a Dark Age Anti-Hero of his own in the form of "The Fixer". He is a BloodKnight so [[AxCrazy psychopathic]] that even the darkest iterations of Batman (of which he is a CaptainErsatz), including even those by Miller himself, would seem saintly by comparison. This is demonstrated with The Fixer's slaughter of the Al-Qaeda cell [[spoiler:in the underground of Empire City]] with a multitude of guns, ranging from pistols to bazookas, as well as a chemical weapon of some sort ([[MoralEventHorizon and yes, you read correctly]]). Granted, the setting tries to justify his methods in that he is fighting a terrorist group who is orchestrating an act of war, rather than the typical mobsters and other criminals that would be the purview of the justice system to try and punish[[note]]and to what extent either the military and/or law enforcement should be involved in addressing terrorism is [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment another matter of debate]][[/note]].

** ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' is NOT an example of this trope in his mainstream incarnation, since [[HiddenDepths his character is much too layered]] beneath the gruff exterior to ever qualify as one. However, the way in which he's depicted in ''Magazine/HeavyMetal Dredd'' (published in 1993) is a straight example. Metal Dredd solves ''every'' problem with his Lawgiver pistol, to the point where he'll happily blow the legs off jaywalkers or beat someone who looks at him funny into a coma. If his version in the ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' continuity was that much of a RabidCop, he would have already been executed by InternalAffairs for abuse of power.

** ComicBook/{{Venom}}. First there was the "black suit" Spider-Man, basically a textbook example of this trope before its time. This was caused by an alien Symbiote bonding to him, which he later removes. It then bonds to another man, Eddie Brock, becoming Venom, designed to be an EvilCounterpart of Spider-Man. That would have all been well and good, except Venom proved to be something of an EnsembleDarkHorse, and entered his peak of popularity during the peak of this very trope's popularity, and thus Venom was given his own comic and re-worked into one. Then they have Venom's symbiote give birth to a second one, which bonded with a SerialKiller to become Carnage, an evil(er) counterpart of ''Venom''. This opened the floodgates at this point: Venom's symbiote gave birth to ''five'' more symbiotes, but all but one of them fused into a single one. The fusion bonded with a police officer to become ''another'' 90's anti-hero Hybrid. Meanwhile, Carnage's symbiote ''also'' gives birth, the resulting symbiote binding with ''another'' another police officer to become '''''yet another''''' anti-hero, Toxin. Since then, however, the original Venom symbiote has exchanged hands a few times and and its then-current host was a normal AntiHero. ''All'' of this is subverted later on with the symbiote jumping back to Eddie; but at this point Venom is now trying to become just a regular hero.

* ''Cyberfrog'' (1996) by Creator/EthanVanSciver is about a cybernetically-enhanced mutant frog who goes around violently murdering various criminals as well as alien menaces, such as a race of WickedWasps that want to invade the Earth to implant humans with their spawn. Think ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' meet ''ComicBook/ThePunisher''.

* The second-tier Marvel superheroes ''ComicBook/DarkHawk'' and ''ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}}'', both of whom had their heyday in the early 1990s, are downplayed examples of this trope. While they have strange and bizarre appearances, neither one was especially dark in their tone, at least compared to titles like ''Spawn'', or the other characters that exemplify the Nineties Anti-Hero.\\
\\
''Darkhawk'' was about a kid who followed in his policeman father's footsteps by fighting crime with the mysterious alien armor he had obtained, while simultaneously keeping his NuclearFamily from falling apart. At one point he finds a journal of his father's, the last entry stopping with him and his partner preparing to go in pursuit of a hit-and-run driver before seeking medical attention for his victim. Chris refers back to this several times to remind himself to take a harder edge, before discovering the journal had a stuck page, in which his father hesitates, calls an ambulance, and makes sure the old woman who was hit survives.\\
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''Sleepwalker'' was about an alien from another dimension that became trapped in a human's mind and manifested to fight crime while he was asleep, carrying on the similar role he had carried in his home world. There were, both in the letter columns of the old ''Sleepwalker'' comics and more recent web postings, positive responses from fans who ''liked'' the fact that Sleepwalker wasn't a violent antihero.
* A strange example is Deathlok the Demolisher, who was created well over two decades before the heyday of the trope. Each of the various versions of Deathlok have very 90's Anti-Hero traits to them: he is always a dead man resurrected as a cyborg (cyborgs being common in 90's comics), and turned into an unliving cybernetic weapon that uses huge guns as it's primary method of offense. Usually however the plot often involves Deathlok's ''unwillingness'' to succumb to his programming and kill wantonly, instead struggling to non-lethally dispatch his foes.
* ComicBook/GhostRider: The various holders of the mantle have had varying degrees of this with most having Demonic/Infernal derived powers received via a DealWithTheDevil ([[{{Expy}} Actually]] [[SatanicArchetype Mephisto, but you get the point]]) and [[HellBentForLeather leather clad]] [[BadassBiker biker]] outfits, complete with [[ChainedByFashion chains]] and [[SpikesOfVillainy spikes]]. The most blatantly exaggerated example is Vengeance who can see [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vengeance_(comics) here]].
* At the end of the "Omega Effect" ''ComicBook/ThePunisher''/''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' crossover, Daredevil [[DefiedTrope defies]] and {{deconstruct|edTrope}}s this to Frank Castle's partner, Rachel Cole.
-->'''Rachel:''' You know what gives me strength? My ''loss''. [[NotSoDifferent We're alike that way, I imagine.]] Admit it: ''nobody'' who's a stranger to that particular pain could ''ever'' be as driven as us.\\
'''Matt:''' ''Never...'' [[ShutUpHannibal *throws one of his sticks at a wall so hard behind her]] [[SwordPlant it plants in it*]] [[{{Beat}} ...]] Don't you ''ever'' say that to me again. That is a ''repellent'' statement. It is a ''vomitous insult'' to every cop -- every ''fireman'' -- every soldier ''alive'' who steps up to fight for those who can't! ''I am sorry'' for your ''loss''! But if you ''genuinely believe'' that only the ''death'' of a ''loved one'' can motivate a human being to take up a ''cause''... then get your ''[[TakeThat pathetic, cynical ass]]'' out of my ''way'' so I can ''do my job''!
* Penance in the MarvelUniverse, originally the happy-go-lucky character Speedball, is a strange version of this. After believing himself responsible for the death of 612 people in ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', he designs a costume in dark colors designed to give himself constant pain with 612 spikes. This was intended seriously, but having happened long after the 1990s, is treated like a parody in most of his appearances outside ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}''.
** And even ''in Thunderbolts'', he's not taken very seriously. [[DarkerAndEdgier While much of the cast is too deeply mired in their own psychoses to notice that anyone else exists]], the few teammates who do interact with Penance generally express disgust at what they see as his "[[{{Wangst}} adolescent self-pity]]". Very tellingly, he's sent to see a psychologist!
* Speaking of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', he definitely fits this trope [[DependingOnTheWriter when written by certain authors]]. He's vacillated between a somewhat reasonable vigilante fully willing to abide by other heroes no-killing rules during team-ups, to an frothing lunatic who'll murder jaywalkers (retconned into being due to drugs he was exposed to without his knowledge), to being a serial killer who uses his family's deaths as a justification for the endless war he wages to sate his bloodlust.

* The ''Franchise/XMen'' have featured plenty of these throughout its run:
** ComicBook/{{Cable}}, of the New Mutants, X-Force, and the ComicBook/XMen was a major TropeCodifier. Tragic and mysterious past? Check. {{BFG}}s coming out the ass? Check. A "badass" look that used to be reserved for villains? Check. His first appearance was even in 1990. Over time, though, he's been developed into a more heroic[=/=]complex character, somewhere between MessianicArchetype and AGodAmI.
** According to [[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/comics/xbooks/main-faq/part4/section-2.html the rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks FAQ]], Creator/RobLiefeld originally designed him as a villain, but later reused the original design when he was asked to create a "New Leader". Not too long after, though, he returned to the original plan and created Stryfe, while still maintaining Cable in his position.
** Cable's leadership was also a catalyst in giving the existing members of the New Mutants a 90's Anti-Hero look, even though many of them did not have the personality traits.
** Not long after Cable's introduction, Liefeld followed up with Feral and Shatterstar, who were basically 90's Anti-Hero expies of Wolfsbane and Longshot respectively.
** ComicBook/{{Bishop}}, another X-Man that followed the pattern of being a huge, muscled fellow with big guns in a CrapsackWorld BadFuture.
** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, of the ''ComicBook/XMen'', had his personality largely unchanged, but despite having been nicknamed "Slim" his whole life suddenly developed a chest that pro wrestlers would find intimidating. His personality ''has'' changed later though. During Creator/GrantMorrison's ''New X-Men'' and especially after, he became pretty much Nineties Anti-Hero despite the fact that it started in 2003.
** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} (created by none other than Liefeld himself) started out as a villain, then moved into AntiHero territory, and when [[MyRealDaddy a non-Liefield writer got a hold of him]] became more of an AffectionateParody. As with Cable, Deadpool ''also'' has guns coming out his ass. [[AssShove It involves an awful lot of lubricant]].
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} went from being a complicated, interesting character in the 80's to "stabby stabby stabby!" in the 90's. It took "Enemy of the State" and "Wolverine: Origin" stories to restore his former glory.
** There's an obscure ''ComicBook/XMen'' character named "Random", who started out as a recurring character for the second incarnation of ''ComicBook/XFactor'' and can turn his arm into a gun. In ''ComicBook/GenerationHope'' #15, Pixie calls him "Johnny '90s". What's generally forgotten in later appearances is that Random is a shapeshifter who was [[YoungerThanTheyLook actually a 13-year-old kid when first introduced]], and took the form of a muscular giant with gun-arms because it's what he thought a badass was ''supposed'' to look like.
** ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} was turned ''into'' a 90's antihero in-universe. For most of her decades-long publication history, Betsy was demure and preferred to use her psychic powers to win fights rather than engaging physically. All that changed when she was [[FreakyFridayFlip body-swapped]] with the Japanese assassin Kwannon and gained her martial arts skills, cold-but-aggressive personality, overt sexuality (her previous modest costumes were replaced by a leotard and thong), and willingness to kill. Ninja!Psylocke became ''the'' 90's antiheroine, even though she had been around much longer and the new incarnation was a totally different character in all but name.

* Creator/ImageComics specialized in these for as long as the fad lasted:
** ComicBook/{{Spawn}}, quite possibly the most popular Nineties Anti-Hero. [[DarkAgeOfSupernames Edgy one-word name]], grim-n-gritty {{backstory}} (an assassinated mercenary damned to Hell and sent back as a soldier of Satan), killing bad guys who were slightly worse than him, and written and drawn by Todd [=McFarlane=]. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn The character became less]] of a typical example of this trope as the series went on, however. The first issue of Spawn had a little parody of the trope's common appearance. Entertainment TV TalkingHeads commenting that while the spikes and chains are "totally gauche", trying to bring back capes is a bad idea.
** ''ComicBook/TheDarkness'' and ''Comicbook/{{Witchblade}}'' both exemplified this trope. The former is a former mafia hitman who becomes a living vessel of the world's dark energies, complete with an army of flippant, happy-go-lucky demons who delight in every opportunity to torture someone; the second is a pornolicious detective with powers both lethal and which rip her clothes off whenever she uses them.
*** The former, however, is a {{Reconstruction}} of this trope, since he's much more subtle and complex than many other examples.
** ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' by Creator/RobLiefeld.
** ''ComicBook/{{Shadowhawk}}'' was an Creator/ImageComics title about a successful, [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules scrupulously honest]] African-American attorney who refused to fix a case for an organized crime outfit and, in revenge, was kidnapped by them and dumped after being given an injection of the AIDS virus... which prompted him, in a fit of rage and desire to try and make some sense out of the world, to don [[PoweredArmor exoskeletal armor]] and start brutalizing thugs as a vaguely Batmanish vigilante. The suits got more and more elaborate as the disease took its toll, to help compensate for his weakness, but he ended up dying of the disease anyway. Apparently even series creator Jim Valentino ''hated'' the character, and killed him off purely out of spite. Why he even bothered with the whole affair in the first place is anyone's guess. That may be why the second Shadowhawk ended up so... different.
** ComicBook/{{Supreme}}, who eventually moved from a Nineties Anti-Hero ripoff of Comicbook/{{Superman}} into an affectionate {{homage}} to UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} Superman (largely because Creator/AlanMoore took control of the character).

* Creator/DCComics
** Rorschach and The Comedian of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' are probably the joint {{Trope Codifier}}s. Unfortunately, [[MisaimedFandom nearly everyone failed to realize that they weren't supposed to be sympathetic characters,]] and things just deteriorated from there. This may have been a natural progression; in his history of superheroes/autobiography ''Supergods'', Creator/GrantMorrison says:

** Franchise/{{Superman}}
*** During Creator/GrantMorrison's run on ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', in one alternate universe Lois Lane, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen created a device that would allow the user to create a super powered Tulpa. They wanted to create TheCape, however the executives thought this trope would have more wide-market appeal, and deliberately attempted to invoke it.
*** During ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman, Franchise/{{Superman}} had an AntiHeroSubstitute in the form of the Eradicator, one of the four replacement Supermen who appear after he dies. He's portrayed as a negative version of the trope, finding himself being lauded by Guy Gardner, [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame which makes him question things]], and chewed out by Lois Lane and ComicBook/{{Steel}} for using the S-Shield and causing death and destruction in its name.
*** At the climax of the story Superman briefly becomes a NinetiesAntiHero following his resurrection. Since his powers are taking longer to regenerate than the rest of him, Superman storms the villain's lair with two large guns and bandoliers, an all black suit, and a mullet. Thankfully it doesn't last, except unfortunately the mullet.
*** In the ElseWorld story ''ComicBook/SupermanAtEarthsEnd'', Superman is portrayed as this, being depowered and having to rely on huge guns, being a lot more willing to kill, and drawn to be overtly muscular and with huge pouches.
** After having his back broken in ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}, Batman is replaced by Jean-Paul Valley a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Azrael}}, a character with no compunctions about killing. Azrael is chosen by Bruce, who is then chewed out by Nightwing over it, and Bruce himself admits it was one of his worst mistakes. Azrael, especially his time as Batman, was written as a TakeThat towards those who wanted Batman to act more like ComicBook/ThePunisher, though he was still written as a sympathetic deconstruction, in that he is shown to suffer from mental illness from his [[DarkAndTroubledPast brutal upbringing]] by the Order of St. Dumas' Program rather than being a TautologicalTemplar {{Jerkass}} like many other examples of this archetype were. From the moment after he meets and befriends psychiatrist Brian Bryan, Valley becomes more of reconstruction of the trope.
** By late '94, the ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' office had [[FollowTheLeader decided]] they ''also'' wanted in on that action. Enter Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, the [[TokenHeroicOrc kindest and most open-minded member]] of a splinter tribe of Amazons... which meant she was ''still'' a HotBlooded {{Jerkass}} several magnitudes more violent than Diana on her worst day. Artemis' tenure as Diana's AntiHeroSubstitute was a lot shorter, lasting only about six issues (and a handful of cameos in Justice League titles and the like) before she was killed off. A while later, she was resurrected, become a part-time demon slayer, and ultimately mellowed out into a regular member of Diana's supporting cast.
** ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} became a version of this in TheNineties and lasting until ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. He grew his beard out to adopt a FatherNeptune look, and lost one of his hands and had it replaced first by a hook and then by a form-changing magical water-hand. He also adopted a more aggressive attitude on behalf of Atlantis. These changes were actually very well-received by much of the DCU's fanbase, and is considered an implementation of this trope that actually worked, as the goal of Peter David's revamp was to essentially [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap rescue Aquaman from the scrappy heap]] that ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' had [[AudienceColoringAdaptation left him in]]. Unfortunately, years later much of the general public is ''still'' unaware of the revamp, and [[AdaptationalWimp still picture poor Arthur as he was in Superfriends]]. One thing that saved Aquaman from the negative qualities of the 90s anti-hero is that the book was often ''funny'', and while he might have had more of an edge, he didn't take himself too seriously either. Because, you know, Peter David.
** ComicBook/TheAuthority represent an entire Justice League of Nineties Anti-Heroes. They are, however, unusually idealistic for their kind, as part of their remit is to "make the world a better place". [[KnightTemplar Their methods,]] however, seem to involve copious amounts of ultra-graphic violence (no ThouShaltNotKill for them), ruthless cynicism towards their enemies, and disdain for opposing points of view -- they once overthrew the government of the United States.
** ComicBook/BlackAdam: He was never this in the original Fawcett owned [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] comics, but under DC's revival has [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes portrayed as this archetype]], being someone [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor who has joined and fought alongside the Justice League as many times as joining battles against the league]], depending on whether which side benefits his own goal to regain the power of Shazam from Billy Batson [[KnightTemplar to enact justice as he sees fit]].
** In 1994, DC turned ComicBook/DoctorFate into an Anti-Hero named Fate who was a grave robber and had melted Dr. Fate's helmet into a knife.
** Around 1994, Guy Gardner, a roughnecked, "macho" member of the Franchise/GreenLantern Corps, was reinvented as "Warrior," with ridiculously huge muscles, tattoos all over his body, and the ability to form his arms into any kind of weapon he could think of, mainly gargantuan guns. Rumor has it that the reinvention was the result of writer Beau Smith writing the pitch as a joke and accidentally having it approved. He eventually reverted to his old (but still roughnecked) Green Lantern persona after the fad played itself out.
*** WordOfGod in the letter column was that after Guy lost his briefly-used Qwardian ring, Beau wanted to reinvent Guy as an Indiana Jones/Race Bannon type globe-trotting adventurer, no powers had or required. This did not get approved.
** Jack T. Chance, who first appeared in 1992, was the PsychoPartyMember for the Green Lantern Corps. He was the only Green Lantern allowed to kill, and confined to his homeworld, which was a WretchedHive so horrible, that every Lantern that was sent there was killed within a week.
** ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, was in part a savage denouncement of Nineties Anti-Heroes, and was one of the things that caused the changeover from UsefulNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}} to UsefulNotes/{{the Modern Age|of Comic Books}}. One of the themes of the comic was the classic generation of superheroes fighting the violent "modern" heroes. Of course, the "classic" heroes shared some of the blame as well; many became just-as-violent {{Knight Templar}}s attempting to deal with it. The "face" of the anti-heroes, Magog, is practically every [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]] stereotype rolled into one cybernetic, sacrilegious package (though Waid and Ross admitted a certain fondness for him due to how over-the-top he was). [[spoiler:In a brilliant twist of idealism, Magog realizes how screwed up he is, turns himself in, renounces violence, and is one of the people left alive at the end; in the prose novelization of the story, he becomes the Dean of Students at Paradise Island!]]
*** Magog himself was able to pull a CanonImmigrant, and was introduced in the Main DCU in a JSA storyline. In 2009 he got his own solo series, which is something of an AffectionateParody of the old school Nineties Anti-Hero. His RoguesGallery includes an insane homeless man with mind control powers and a silver haired woman who talks like a 1980s valley girl.
** SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}} was [[WordOfGod created to parody]] this sort of character, even though he came out of the early 80s. Later played straight at times after he got a lot of MisaimedFandom popularity.
** The late eighties and early nineties had the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' sister team, the "Team Titans," who were this to the point that one of them took to calling himself Deathwing.
*** Though that probably doesn't count since adopting the Deathwing identity marked the character's descent into villainy.
** Likewise, in Franchise/TheDCU, Jason Todd (Batman's second Robin) has been a Nineties Anti-Hero type ever since he came BackFromTheDead. Amusingly, he was absent for the entire decade.
** Every number one issue of a Creator/MilestoneComics (Defunct and now owned by DC) book was written like one... and then every issue from then on subverted it. Unfortunately, this had the effect of painting the comics as "me too" and never caught a foothold (save ComicBook/{{Static}}, who had his own [[WesternAnimation/StaticShock animated series]].)
** The Chase Lawlyer version of ''Comicbook/{{Manhunter}}'' from DC and ''Nightwatch'' from Marvel, both of whom were [[FollowTheLeader rather shameless rip-offs]] of ''Spawn''.
* Creator/MarvelComics
** The second-tier Marvel superheroes ''ComicBook/DarkHawk'' and ''ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}}'', both of whom had their heyday in the early 1990s, are downplayed examples of this trope. While they have strange and bizarre appearances, neither one was especially dark in their tone, at least compared to titles like ''Spawn'', or the other characters that exemplify the Nineties Anti-Hero.\\

** A strange example is Deathlok the Demolisher, who was created well over two decades before the heyday of the trope. Each of the various versions of Deathlok have very 90's Anti-Hero traits to them: he is always a dead man resurrected as a cyborg (cyborgs being common in 90's comics), and turned into an unliving cybernetic weapon that uses huge guns as it's primary method of offense. Usually however the plot often involves Deathlok's ''unwillingness'' to succumb to his programming and kill wantonly, instead struggling to non-lethally dispatch his foes.
** ComicBook/GhostRider: The various holders of the mantle have had varying degrees of this with most having Demonic/Infernal derived powers received via a DealWithTheDevil ([[{{Expy}} Actually]] [[SatanicArchetype Mephisto, but you get the point]]) and [[HellBentForLeather leather clad]] [[BadassBiker biker]] outfits, complete with [[ChainedByFashion chains]] and [[SpikesOfVillainy spikes]]. The most blatantly exaggerated example is Vengeance who can see [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vengeance_(comics) here]].
** At the end of the "Omega Effect" ''ComicBook/ThePunisher''/''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' crossover, Daredevil [[DefiedTrope defies]] and {{deconstruct|edTrope}}s this to Frank Castle's partner, Rachel Cole.

** Penance in the MarvelUniverse, originally the happy-go-lucky character Speedball, is a strange version of this. After believing himself responsible for the death of 612 people in ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', he designs a costume in dark colors designed to give himself constant pain with 612 spikes. This was intended seriously, but having happened long after the 1990s, is treated like a parody in most of his appearances outside ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}''.
*** And even ''in Thunderbolts'', he's not taken very seriously. [[DarkerAndEdgier While much of the cast is too deeply mired in their own psychoses to notice that anyone else exists]], the few teammates who do interact with Penance generally express disgust at what they see as his "[[{{Wangst}} adolescent self-pity]]". Very tellingly, he's sent to see a psychologist!
** Speaking of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', he definitely fits this trope [[DependingOnTheWriter when written by certain authors]]. He's vacillated between a somewhat reasonable vigilante fully willing to abide by other heroes no-killing rules during team-ups, to an frothing lunatic who'll murder jaywalkers (retconned into being due to drugs he was exposed to without his knowledge), to being a serial killer who uses his family's deaths as a justification for the endless war he wages to sate his bloodlust.
** ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
*** ComicBook/{{Venom}}. First there was the "black suit" Spider-Man, basically a textbook example of this trope before its time. This was caused by an alien Symbiote bonding to him, which he later removes. It then bonds to another man, Eddie Brock, becoming Venom, designed to be an EvilCounterpart of Spider-Man. That would have all been well and good, except Venom proved to be something of an EnsembleDarkHorse, and entered his peak of popularity during the peak of this very trope's popularity, and thus Venom was given his own comic and re-worked into one. Then they have Venom's symbiote give birth to a second one, which bonded with a SerialKiller to become Carnage, an evil(er) counterpart of ''Venom''. This opened the floodgates at this point: Venom's symbiote gave birth to ''five'' more symbiotes, but all but one of them fused into a single one. The fusion bonded with a police officer to become ''another'' 90's anti-hero Hybrid. Meanwhile, Carnage's symbiote ''also'' gives birth, the resulting symbiote binding with ''another'' another police officer to become '''''yet another''''' anti-hero, Toxin. Since then, however, the original Venom symbiote has exchanged hands a few times and and its then-current host was a normal AntiHero. ''All'' of this is subverted later on with the symbiote jumping back to Eddie; but at this point Venom is now trying to become just a regular hero.
*** Kaine. [[http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100128135717/marveldatabase/images/7/74/Peter_Parker_%28Kaine%29_%28Earth-616%29_0001.jpg Seriously, just look at him.]] (At least he was [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap salvaged]] in ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl''.) And in the 2012 ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' comic series written by Chris Yost, Kaine is now reluctantly (the reluctant part coming in with his regularly proclaimed ambition to move to Mexico and drink margaritas on the beach for the rest of his life. No one really believes him) trying to be more of a traditional super-hero and move away from this motif altogether, as part of an attempt to live up to his 'brother' Peter, who he considers to be generally a far better person, and to be an example to his MoralityPet [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Aracely]], usually coming off more as a KnightInSourArmour. On top of that, he is aware that he used to be an awful person. Moreover, he believes wholeheartedly that he still is, simply telling Aracely to leave it at the end of his solo series when the residents of Houston (including his girlfriend) freak out and reject him after [[OneWingedAngel his transformation into]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide a giant spider monster]] in order to destroy Shathra and save lives, and she tries ShamingTheMob.
*** ComicBook/{{Morbius}}. Edgy leather gimp suit, magical demonic powers, slaughtering bad guys by the dozen, less moping and more badass-itude and even more exaggerated 90's villains to fight with... Only aversion might be that the 90's comic made him more generic handsome.
*** The entire plot of ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' sees Doc Ock [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker]]'s body and using it to become a darker, more "badass" version of Spidey. He even has a black and red costume that was originally designed by Alex Ross for the [[Film/SpiderMan1 first movie]] (since MovieSuperheroesWearBlack). The entire thing is a bit of an IdiotPlot, since it requires all of Spider-Man's friends and teammates somehow not realizing that Peter Parker has been replaced. But like Azrael was to Batman, it ends up being a deconstruction; as Doc Ock slowly loses control over the situation until he's forced to concede that Peter Parker is, in fact, the "superior" hero.
*** ComicBook/SpiderGirl has [[EvilTwin April]] [[CloningBlues Parker]], that is simply a jerk version of main protagonist with the powers of Venom. She fits this trope perfectly, right to the point that a woman she once saved from bandits run away, because she is more violent than they. Oh, and she [[spoiler:killed Tombstone]] too.
*** One of Spider-Man's lesser villains, Cardiac, was one of these.
** The "Winter Soldier" mega-arc by Ed Brubaker in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' subverts a lot of these tropes. When Cap's sidekick ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}} turned out to be NotQuiteDead after all, he was revived as a brainwashed assassin with a cyborg arm; it could have been really stupid, but it wasn't. Then, when Bucky took over as Captain America, he seemed poised to be a GrimAndGritty alternative to the more traditional model, with much made of him carrying a gun -- however, Bucky almost never uses the gun, and in fact tries overcome his past and be a more traditional superhero.
** The ''Franchise/XMen'' have featured plenty of these throughout its run:
*** ComicBook/{{Cable}}, of the New Mutants, X-Force, and the ComicBook/XMen was a major TropeCodifier. Tragic and mysterious past? Check. {{BFG}}s coming out the ass? Check. A "badass" look that used to be reserved for villains? Check. His first appearance was even in 1990. Over time, though, he's been developed into a more heroic[=/=]complex character, somewhere between MessianicArchetype and AGodAmI.
*** According to [[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/comics/xbooks/main-faq/part4/section-2.html the rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks FAQ]], Creator/RobLiefeld originally designed him as a villain, but later reused the original design when he was asked to create a "New Leader". Not too long after, though, he returned to the original plan and created Stryfe, while still maintaining Cable in his position.
*** Cable's leadership was also a catalyst in giving the existing members of the New Mutants a 90's Anti-Hero look, even though many of them did not have the personality traits.
*** Not long after Cable's introduction, Liefeld followed up with Feral and Shatterstar, who were basically 90's Anti-Hero expies of Wolfsbane and Longshot respectively.
*** ComicBook/{{Bishop}}, another X-Man that followed the pattern of being a huge, muscled fellow with big guns in a CrapsackWorld BadFuture.
*** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, of the ''ComicBook/XMen'', had his personality largely unchanged, but despite having been nicknamed "Slim" his whole life suddenly developed a chest that pro wrestlers would find intimidating. His personality ''has'' changed later though. During Creator/GrantMorrison's ''New X-Men'' and especially after, he became pretty much Nineties Anti-Hero despite the fact that it started in 2003.
*** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} (created by none other than Liefeld himself) started out as a villain, then moved into AntiHero territory, and when [[MyRealDaddy a non-Liefield writer got a hold of him]] became more of an AffectionateParody. As with Cable, Deadpool ''also'' has guns coming out his ass. [[AssShove It involves an awful lot of lubricant]].
*** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} went from being a complicated, interesting character in the 80's to "stabby stabby stabby!" in the 90's. It took "Enemy of the State" and "Wolverine: Origin" stories to restore his former glory.
*** There's an obscure ''ComicBook/XMen'' character named "Random", who started out as a recurring character for the second incarnation of ''ComicBook/XFactor'' and can turn his arm into a gun. In ''ComicBook/GenerationHope'' #15, Pixie calls him "Johnny '90s". What's generally forgotten in later appearances is that Random is a shapeshifter who was [[YoungerThanTheyLook actually a 13-year-old kid when first introduced]], and took the form of a muscular giant with gun-arms because it's what he thought a badass was ''supposed'' to look like.
*** ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} was turned ''into'' a 90's antihero in-universe. For most of her decades-long publication history, Betsy was demure and preferred to use her psychic powers to win fights rather than engaging physically. All that changed when she was [[FreakyFridayFlip body-swapped]] with the Japanese assassin Kwannon and gained her martial arts skills, cold-but-aggressive personality, overt sexuality (her previous modest costumes were replaced by a leotard and thong), and willingness to kill. Ninja!Psylocke became ''the'' 90's antiheroine, even though she had been around much longer and the new incarnation was a totally different character in all but name.
** ''Nightwatch'' from Marvel (as well as the Chase Lawlyer version of ''Comicbook/{{Manhunter}}'' from DC), both of whom were [[FollowTheLeader rather shameless rip-offs]] of ''Spawn''.