Line #29 AllGirlsWantBadBoys/ComicBooks


1	----
2	* Parodied in ''ComicBook/AlanFord'': Mr Duls is an incredibly rich, handsome and successful business man, but he's also madly in love with Miss Boia [[note]] "Boia" means executioner, but in this case indicates a terrible jerk [[/note]], who vehemently rejects his love because the only thing she seeks in a man are villain credentials, to the point of throwing herself at a random crook who sought refuge from the police in her apartment [[AbhorrentAdmirer with such vehemence the poor guy actually begged to be arrested.]] Mr Duls decides to take the secret identity of the Centurion, a centurion-themed supervillain with hi-tech gadgets and [[NobleDemon a high moral code]] just to win Miss Boia.
3	* ''ComicBook/DeathTheHighCostOfLiving'': Sexton complains that his classmate Theo is the type of asshole to cruelly kill kittens, but all the girls think he's "sex in blue jeans".
4	* Played with in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour''; Sue Storm is endlessly pursued by bad boy AntiHero Prince Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner of Atlantis, who isn't exactly shy about letting her know that he has the hots for her, but consistently turns him down in favor of geeky, slightly clueless Reed Richards. Needless to say, the two men don't exactly have a warm friendship. Depending on who's writing her, Sue reacts to Namor's attentions with either barely-concealed sexual attraction (which is closer to the spirit of the trope, although she nevertheless continues to spurn him out of her unwavering love for Reed) or outright irritation. Interestingly, sometimes Reed ''is'' on the bad-boy side, though when Reed is bad, it tends to be more of an OOCIsSeriousBusiness or IDidWhatIHadToDo moment than him being 100% a Bad Boy.
5	* Janet Van Dyne aka Characters/TheWasp zigzags this. Originally she fell for and married [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank]] due to his ScienceHero compassion but he eventually has SanitySlippage and they divorced though they still slept together later even when he was more of an AntiHero. In ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'' Jan finds herself attracted to [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]! [[CrackPairing Of all people]] and even makes out with him - this turns out to be a ruse though and she does actually find his AntiVillain behaviour repellent. Oh and her most recent lover? [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]].
6	* Downplayed in ''ComicBook/GothamCityGarage''. [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara Gordon]] finds [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Jason Todd]], leader of rival biker gang the Red Hoods, cute. [[Characters/NightwingDickGrayson Dick Grayson]] protests Jason isn't cute. He's scum.
7	-->'''Dick:''' And this one at the head of the pack, he's gaining on me with eyes ready to kill. It's Jason Todd-- you know, the lifer? The kid raised in the gang?\
8	'''Kara:''' Yeah, we've met. He's cute.\
9	'''Dick:''' '''I'm''' cute. '''He's''' the kind of scum who thinks the word scum is a compliment.
10	** Played straight in ''ComicBook/Supergirl2011'' #35 as Kara's thought boxes while watching in awe as Jason is a being a MookHorrorShow strongly suggest she's getting a bit turned on by his display.
11	* The reason so many of the females in Characters/{{Batman\|TheCharacter}}'s rogues gallery (and superteams) wind up having so much subtext with him. For the villain females, he's just good enough to spark that bit of "I could have something better" but definitely dark enough and bad enough to be similar. The same is true in reverse for the hero females... he's a hero, obviously, but of a different variety than the primary-colored icons they're otherwise surrounded by.
12	** Batman is also an example of this trope inverted; he tends to go for Bad Girls (Characters/{{Catwoman\|SelinaKyle}}, [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]], [[Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul Talia Al-Ghul]], etc). [[spoiler:In fact, this tendency was enough to convince him in "Batman RIP" that the woman he was becoming attracted to was TheMole out to betray him to the bad guys -- she was a bit too nice for him...]]
13	** Depending on the writer, this is the definition of Characters/{{Harley Quinn\|TheCharacter}}'s attraction to [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]].
14	** The ComicBook/New52 has good girl [[ComicBook/Batgirl2011 Barbara Gordon]] surprisingly form a relationship with complete bad boy and violent AntiHero [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Jason Todd]]. It’s short lived though as [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Babs goes back to Dick]] soon after.
15	* ComicBook/BlackWidow, with the two exceptions of NiceGuy [[Characters/MarvelComicsMattMurdock Daredevil]] and to a lesser extent [[Characters/MarvelComicsClintBarton Hawkeye]], the rest of her love interests are Anti-Heroes: Red Guardian, [[Characters/MarvelComicsBuckyBarnes Winter Soldier]], ComicBook/IronMan and even massive BloodKnight [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]]. Taken even in further in ''ComicBook/Marvel1602'' [[spoiler: as Nat is the DarkMistress of [[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]]]]. Ironically averted in Nat’s 2020 series as the James father of her child (though it wasn’t a normal pregnancy) is a completely innocent man even compared to Clint or Matt.
16	* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsMattMurdock Matt Murdock]]'s law partner Foggy Nelson ended up losing his wife Debbie to Micah Synn, a corrupt TarzanBoy, [[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization in spite of him attempting to rape her]].
17	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Spider-Man]] zigzags as a HeroWithBadPublicity which causes many women to find him hot. Characters/{{Black Cat\|MarvelComics}} in particular is in love with him precisely for how dashingly dangerous he is and actually finds his NiceGuy secret identity Peter Parker painfully dull. Subverted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsGwenStacy Gwen Stacy]], who love Peter due to his AllLovingHero [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan compassion]].
18	** The [[PaintItBlack black]] [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Symbiote Suit]] Spidey wore seems to invoke this, as Black Cat adored it and got Peter a cloth version after he got rid of the Alien Costume just because she liked how bad he looked in black. Even ComicBook/SheHulk admits she thought Spidey looked sexy in the black suit.
19	** Shriek’s attraction to [[Characters/MarvelComicsCletusKasady Cletus Kasady]] is a quite literal case of InLoveWithYourCarnage.
20	** [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender flipped]] with Spidey himself as he finds himself falling for bad girls like Characters/{{Black Cat\|MarvelComics}} or [[Characters/SilverSableAndTheWildPack Silver Sable]]. Even Mary Jane at the time of her introduction was the partying bad girl compared to the prim and proper Gwen Stacy. Averted with villainess Adriana Soria aka the Spider Queen who selected Peter as her mate, as Spidey was disgusted by her and repeatedly rejected the Queen’s advances which ''[[NotGoodWithRejection really]]'' pissed her off.
21	* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'': The original five have this kind of thing going on. [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna]] could choose between the nice and shy Aqualad, funny Kid Flash, dashing Robin, and badboy Speedy. Guess who did wind up with her. Note, back then, Dick Grayson was pretty clean cut. Now, all girls flock over his dark looks, messy hair, and issues with his daddy (Bats).
22	** It still bears noting that while Dick copies his mentor's dark look, he is otherwise remarkably well-adjusted (for a superhero anyway), and gets along well with literally every single superhero in the DCU, which is something even Superman isn't always capable of doing.
23	** In most modern stories, one of the biggest reasons Dick is a ChickMagnet of extreme proportions is actually because of his NiceGuy charm. This even extends back to his days as Robin, when he was something of a ChivalrousPervert.
24	* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
25	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]] is an interesting example of this trope. The very first guy we see her pursuing is [[Characters/XMen70sMembers Colossus]], a guy who is [[NiceGuy anything]] [[GentleGiant but]] [[IncorruptiblePurePureness bad]]. However, after they broke up, all her next relationships have been with guys who are either [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold jerkasses]] ([[Characters/MarvelComicsIceman Iceman]]), [[LovableRogue scoundrels]] (Characters/StarLord), [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim both things]] (Wisdom), or [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk outright villains]] (Seth). Even her first crush at school was a jerkass, and the only reason she gave up on him was because the guy turned out to be anti-semitic as well.
26	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]] surprisingly invokes this more than a few times. While she is attracted to good men like Forge and [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T’Challa]], she’s also flirted with [[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]], has {{U\|nresolvedSexualTension}}ST with [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]], had sex with [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]], had a relationship with the arrogant [[Characters/MarvelComicsQuicksilver Quicksilver]] in ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' and briefly became the DarkMistress of {{Dracula}}.
27	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]], while a boy scout in general, definitely fits the 'troubled aloof stoic' bad boy criteria, and is the first to point out he's dangerous to be around. Even before his recent descent into AntiHero badassery, he's had a steady stream of women pursuing him, including [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsMadelynePryor Madelyne Pryor]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsPsylocke Psylocke]], and [[Characters/MarvelComicsEmmaFrost Emma Frost]].
28	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]] obviously has a thing for men as immoral as herself. She’s slept with [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]], BigRedDevil Azrael ([[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]]‘s dad) and in ComicBook/UltimateMarvel even [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]. PlayedWith though as Mystique‘s OneTrueLove is her wife Destiny who’s quite a passive non-violent person though still a supervillain.
29	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]] appears to go for the bad boys, or more villains trying to become heroes. Faced with a choice between gentle, earnest Joseph and slick charmer Gambit, with whom she already had a highly dysfunctional relationship, she chooses Gambit. Then Magneto comes into the picture, a reformed villain, and Gambit seems the better choice over him, but she chooses Magneto. [[spoiler: Averted later, as Rogue HappilyMarried Gambit.]]
30	*** In the ''ComicBook/UncannyAvengers'', series, [[Characters/MarvelComicsDeadpool Deadpool]] seems to be another added to the list. Things seemed to be happening between her, and the sweet Johnny, but needless to say it never got far. Meanwhile, Deadpool's the one she starts getting closest to. In the recent chapter, she makes her move on him, as he tries on three separate occasions to deter her, which she shrugs off. He warns her that he digs her too much to ruin her, which he would do. She flies him above the city, and [[TheBigDamnKiss kisses him]]. Deadpool notes that she absorbed his crap, and she deserves better, but she says it doesn't bother her. Finally, he warns her of all the sick stuff in his head, saying she just likes him because she doesn't know him. She kisses him again. She does see bad things inside his mind, but comments that after Red Skull, Deadpool being in her head is cleansing. He says that's the most romantic thing anyone ever said to him, before they share a much longer kiss. [[spoiler: When Rogue marries Gambit, Deadpool interrupts their honeymoon and has some {{U\|nresolvedSexualTension}}ST with Rogue. Wade himself in a break from his usual jokiness admits he’s genuinely jealous of Gambit. They all part on good terms though.]]
31	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsEmmaFrost Emma Frost]] definitely falls under this, as she’s had relationships with a parade of bad dudes such as Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club, Cyclops during his FallenHero days and [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]]. The irony is Emma in one comic actually criticises the aforementioned Rogue for her quote “poor taste in men”... ''look who’s talking''.
32	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]] also fits the bill. He has a seemingly endless number of women after him, and he's a more straight-up bad boy. [[PlayingWithATrope Although]] compared to his ComicBook/UltimateXMen counterpart Logan is genuinely a good man [[HiddenHeartOfGold at heart]] which Jean and Mariko do take note of.
33	** It's apparently genetic. Wolverine's son [[Characters/WolverineSupportingCharacters Daken]] has this as well. Both women and men are attracted to his bad boy status, even without him using his powers to seduce them.
34	** Logan's mother had an affair with scruffy, ugly, alcoholic and violent Thomas Logan. Her actual husband, John Howlett, was much nicer and TallDarkAndHandsome, but when the two die in the same incident, Logan's mother mourns Thomas, not John.
35	* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', Fiona Fox performs a FaceHeelTurn because she prefers Sonic's AlternateUniverse EvilTwin Scourge over the real hero.
36	** Many female characters have shown some form of attraction towards Shadow the Hedgehog by now, even if he hasn't had a real girlfriend.
37	* In ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'', the gender-flipped version applies. Laid-back Clark Kent is head-over-heels for sharp-tongued, moody army brat [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] and ignores cheerful, flirtatious blonde Cat Grant and sweet, caring GirlNextDoor [[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Lana Lang]]. Of course, Lois's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold]] turns out to be far sweeter than those of either of the other two, so Clark's probably just very perceptive.
38	* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'', the titular heroine tends to fall for dark, troubled, moody guys who often turn out to be abusive or outright villainous. Finally, [[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 in a story]] Kara declares she's sick of bad boys and wants a real relationship with someone nice and dependable.
39	* Parodied in ''ComicBook/WidgeyQButterfluff'', where the closest the comic's SugarBowl setting has to a bad boy is [[PokeThePoodle poodle-poking]], [[BadButt overgrown juvenile delinquent]] Buster, and Widgey still finds herself inexplicably attracted to him.
40	* Discussed in ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMysteryGillen'' when Kid Loki gets jealous of the attention his BFF shows WalkingShirtlessScene Daimon.
41	-->'''Loki:''' What is ''wrong'' with the pair of you?\
42	'''Leah:''' Bad boys. Everyone loves a bad boy.\
43	'''Loki:''' I'm a bad boy!\
44	'''Leah:''' Not ''actual'' boys.
45	* [[Characters/MarvelComicsThorOdinson Thor]] is another [[GenderInvertedTrope male]] example as he’s a heroic BoisterousBruiser who often can’t help but be attracted to the wicked VainSorceress [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheEnchantress Amora the Enchantress]] who also [[VillainessesWantHeroes has the hots for him]] and is often very hesitant to to actually kill him, trying instead to get lure him over to her side — with little success.
46	* [[Characters/TheMightyThorGiants Hela]] is head over heels in love with the HeroKiller Mad Titan [[Characters/MarvelComicsThanos Thanos]] himself with his nihilistic necromania pushing all the right buttons for her as the Goddess of Death. Except Thanos’s heart belongs strictly to his “[[TheGrimReaper lady]]” and so he ultimately rejects Hela [[NotGoodWithRejection much to her outrage]].[[spoiler: Even after getting killed by his daughter [[Characters/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyModern Gamora]], Hela seeks to resurrect Thanos, completely convinced they’re soul mates.]]
47	* Subverted in ''ComicBook/SinCity'' with Shellie. She dumps the abusive boyfriend Jackie Boy and goes for the much nicer Dwight [=McCarthy=]. Readers know Dwight's no angel either, as he even killed a former FemmeFatale girlfriend in a previous issue but he's still a far cry from the misogynistic scumbag that Jackie-Boy was.
48	* ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'' has a truly MindScrew case of this, as in Issue #48 Betty Ross says she actually prefers Bruce’s bad boy Joe Fixit SplitPersonality persona over his troubled good guy identity since Joe accepts Betty in her Red-Harpy form while Bruce couldn’t stand to see her like that. She also points out it’s not technically cheating since its still Bruce’s psyche. Ironically Joe is the one to tell her they’re not right for each other, and while Betty does seems to love Joe, she’s still furious and disgusted to learn Joe left Bruce’s persona in hell at the mercy of The Leader and she soon leaves him after they have sex (in their HumanoidAbomination forms).
49	* Mentioned in ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' as the reason for Kathryn O'Brien's failed marriage to certified sociopath and CIA agent William Rawlins ("failed" here meaning his chopper wasn't lifting off fast enough from the Taliban tribesmen he'd just double-crossed, so he dumped his wife in their midst to be gang-raped as a distraction) and her being attracted to other bad boy types like [[ComicBook/Hitman1993 Tommy Monaghan]] and, well, Frank. Frank sometimes has this effect on women, in one case even scoring with a MafiaPrincess while working for them in disguise and eliminating their rivals (she wasn't happy when she found out who he really was).
50	* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'':
51	** ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': Subverted. Poey is a drug dealer and is described as dark and troubled. However, she is perfectly aware of the trouble he may cause and even uses it to her advantage when her boyfriend gets caught up with a super gang. She laments that the only reason that they are together is that they are both troubled people.
52	** Betty Ross was a borderline [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] {{jerkass}} who had no qualms about dumping and belittling Bruce, but after he goes on a rampage through Manhattan as [[Characters/MarvelComicsBruceBanner The Hulk]] killing over 800 civilians while declaring his love for her, she decides to take him back with the official Marvel website directly attributing it to her being [[InLoveWithYourCarnage "aroused by his darker side"]].
53	** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'':
54	*** [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]] flat out tells Wolverine that, regardless of Xavier's belief in redemption, she doesn't trust him or want him at the Mansion: he's been scarred by the horrors of his DarkAndTroubledPast and his work as a former government assassin, and she can't read his mind to confirm her obvious suspicions that he's not nearly as committed to Xavier's cause as he pretends to be. Wolverine doesn't really have to say much else: two panels later, they're making out and she's in bed with him in the next issue. This didn't last, because when she did find out his reasons for joining, she attacked him violently and stuck with Scott from then on.
55	*** Storm's original lover was Amahl Farouk, who would go on to become FromNobodyToNightmare villain the Shadow King. Later Storm begins a romance with Wolverine, seeing him as a Replacement Goldfish to Farouk (something she doesn't realize until her reunion with her former lover). After Farouk's death, Ororo declares that she is "done with bad boys".
56	*** {{Gender Inverted\|Trope}} example, as Characters/{{Dazzler}} is a bad girl and the polite [[Characters/MarvelComicsAngel Angel]] fell in love with her.
57	* ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel2015'': A female medical technician catches sight of Darth Vader without his mask, and becomes convinced that he showed her his face intentionally; furthermore than she and ''she alone'' can see the ''real man'' [[DracoInLeatherPants beneath the armor and evil]]. She even breaks into his meditation chamber to make an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove - after which Vader [[TheFarmerAndTheViper runs her through with his lightsaber]] without a second thought, then calls the maintenance crew to dispose of her corpse.

Context AllGirlsWantBadBoys / ComicBooks