Line #12 DracoInLeatherPants/MarvelUniverse


1	!!Franchise/MarvelUniverse
2	* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has received treatment of this nature from the fans. He is a complex EvilOverlord with a strong (if warped) sense of nobility and a tendency towards frequent badass [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Awesome Moments]], but he is still a villain. For example; the image of 'Doom as benevolent dictator' partially stems from a one-off book, ''Emperor Doom'', in which Doom manages to conquer the Earth and begins to make numerous improvements in how things are run; this book is often used to reinforce the impression that Doom would be a great and benevolent leader if he managed to take over. However, he manages this largely by brainwashing the entire planet into accepting his rule (goodbye, freedom of thought and dissent); and he ultimately gives it up and lets the heroes defeat him because he gets bored, suggesting that he's ultimately not as interested in 'making the world a better place for all' as many would like to think. And yet some create an exaggerated ideal of how noble and ''benevolent'' . His vanity, insecurity, egomania, and brutality tend to be underplayed or ignored and writers who attempt to stress Doom's less-attractive qualities can be rejected vitriolically. Doom so embodies this characteristic that people actually brush off his actions in ''Avengers: The Children's Crusade'' where he [[spoiler: kills the teenage Cassie Lang and takes the credit for Avengers Disassembled and House of M]] or the story ''Unthinkable'' where he [[spoiler: murders his ex-love for demonic power and again attacks the Richards family, including possessing Valeria and casting little Franklin Richards bodily into ''Hell'' - just to hurt the patriarch.]]
3	** Doom is also an ''enormous'' beneficiary of this thanks to fans of his RunningTheAsylum who greatly emphasize his few positive traits while massively downplaying his many negative ones and portraying him as a sort of [[HobbesWasRight enlightened tyrant]] who would have brought peace and prosperity to the world a long time ago [[ReedRichardsIsUseless if not for that meddling Reed Richards]]. Stories portraying Doom in this way are almost too numerous to count (there have been novels!)
4	** He does also, rarely, benefit from situations that have passed the GodzillaThreshold where he ends up saving the day (purely for his own benefit) because his enemy-of-the-moment is something even worse than him.
5	* ''ComicBook/IronMan'': Ironically, ever since ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'' and ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', Tony Stark's popularity has '''exploded''' among the fangirls. Granted, this may have something to do with the release of TheMovie, but the seemingly insane fannishness predates even that... but not by much, since while he was always popular ''before'' ''Civil War'', he was a relatively obscure figure compared to the HouseholdNames of the ComicBook/XMen and ComicBook/SpiderMan, [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys so, yeah.]] What makes Tony's ascension so amusing is how he was crafted ''from the very start'' to have this effect on readers, being an ArmsDealer sold to readers during the arms dealer-hating UsefulNotes/TheSixties as a hero.
6	* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': A very...''unusual'' form of this happens with Loki. While he certainly has a lot of fangirls, a lot of people tend to ignore his more heinous acts in the comics by the fact that he's not ''nearly'' that much of an asshole in the original [[Myth/NorseMythology mythology]], and was basically turned into a villain by years of translations and adaptations [[RonTheDeathEater that ignored his positive traits and played up his negative ones]]. There's a large number of people who dislike this, and complain about the fact Loki is sometimes depicted as being a CardCarryingVillain. Ironically, [[Creator/StanLee Stan]] and [[Creator/JackKirby Jack]] did write some issues based on actual stories which had Loki in a much more positive light, being based ''before'' he turned on Thor. Note also that Loki has been receiving a ''lot'' more of this in recent years as a byproduct of his [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse successful adaptation]] to the silver screen.
7	* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': Frank Castle is an extreme [[VigilanteMan Vigilante]] AntiHero at best and a VillainProtagonist at worst, brutally murdering criminals without any remorts or giving them a chance to face consequences by the law. He often clashes with other superheroes like ComicBook/SpiderMan and ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} over not believing in the system. However, the Punisher appeals to some fans as killing bad guys and "doing what has to be done" what other superheroes won't dare to do. He even has fans in real-life police and military thanks to being a high-decorated war veteran, ignoring that his action after the war are highly criminal and immoral as he's mostly [[VigilanteMan playing Judge, Jury and Executioner in one person]]. His creator Creator/GerryConway even expresses shock of Frank appealing to real-life cops as he [[MisaimedFandom never was intended to be a hero or a symbol for justice]].
8	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
9	** ComicBook/{{Venom}}. The alien symbiotes' "costumes" are emotionally striking in ''very'' different ways to different people and it's not fully certain whether they are Draco In Leather Pants, in which the characters' brutal acts are handwaved or rationalized, or if it's just their sex appeal. Venom's (Eddie Brock's) NeverHurtAnInnocent [[HeroicVow vow]] helps with the leather pants-ing. Though that still ignores that Brock HAS killed innocent people if they were in his way.
10	** ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, however, there is no excuse for. He was even a serial killer before getting the symbiote.
11	** Peter's MeanBoss at ''The Daily Bugle'' J. Jonah Jameson is an odd case. Fans usually side with Spidey whenever he acts like an UngratefulBastard and unfairly makes accusations against the hero. (Usually.) However, if there is even a hint that Jonah has been kidnapped, hurt, conned, or - God forbid - killed, fans never fail to send in mail showing support, concern, or outrage, whichever is appropriate. (It seems that Jonah is a thorn in the hero's side that fans just ''don't'' want to see go away.) Jolly Jonah has a few things going for him, namely that he's often a great source of comedy (ranging from suffering LaserGuidedKarma to being TheScrooge), used the ''Bugle'' to crusade for everything from honest governance (by exposing the corruption of governments and organized crime figures) to the rights of marginalized populations (both real-world ones like gay and Black people, as well fictional ones like [[ComicBook/XMen mutants]]) and has a HiddenHeartOfGold, which all make him a lot more likable and nuanced.
12	** ComicBook/NormanOsborn has his fair share of, hum, "enthusiastic" fans; raging from fans trying to excuse his crimes and despicable attitude by over-emphasizing his [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse tragic backstory]], blaming the accident for the damage it did to his brain, or the kinky fans who fantasize about him and his random rendevouz (see "Sins Past" [[labelnote:*]]Thankfully retconned[[/labelnote]], or how he seems to have gotten a little more... active with the ladies ever since he returned from the dead). In parts to blame could also be his live-action portrayals in ''Film/SpiderMan1'' and ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', which heavingly lean into the SplitPersonality aspect of the character, depicting "the Goblin" as Norman's SuperpoweredEvilSide, while Norman's more villainous aspects as a CorruptCorporateExecutive and an [[AbusiveParents abusive father to Harry]] are [[AdaptationalNiceGuy heavingly downplayed in the adaptation]], more fitting the view some comic fans have of him.
13	* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'':
14	** ComicBook/DarkReign gave Bullseye and Mac Gargan (Venom III) fangirls, thanks to the HoYay they had with Daken (you can read more on him below). For that matter, the ComicBook/DarkAvengers as a whole got this treatment from fans and Dark Avengers was a popular book. Hell, some fans say ComicBook/NormanOsborn did a better job as "top cop" than ComicBook/IronMan.
15	** Also, Moonstone. Even though she's a therapist who used to make her patients off themselves for fun and stole her superpowers from another patient, a lot of fans like her ManipulativeBastard nature, and because, well, they find [[MsFanservice her damn sexy]]. These fans tend to brush off or otherwise ignore that, unlike other characters who are all but endorsed as Leather Pants wearers by the writers themselves, Moonstone is consistently portrayed as a SmugSnake who [[BigBadWannabe greatly overestimates her own competence]] and becomes a one-trick pony with no cards to play when her usual ManipulativeBastard gambits fail.
16	** Baron Zemo, like Dr. Doom above, is an example of a Draco caused by writers RunningTheAsylum who fell in love with the character and genuinely began to buy his own sell. The original Baron, Heinrich Zemo was a stock NaziNobleman archetype, while the Zemo of ''Thunderbolts'' was Heinrich's son Helmut, a LegacyCharacter whose original goal was AvengingTheVillain. He originally created the Thunderbolts for this purpose, until he and his team all began BecomingTheMask and liking the idea of being heroes. Since that series Zemo has become much more of a WellIntentionedExtremist who, like Doom above, is written as being so enlightened that he probably ''could'' bring about a peaceful era if only the heroes of the Marvel Universe (and his own ego) would stop getting in his way.
17	* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'':
18	** Wolverine's son {{ComicBook/Daken}} gets a lot of this, even though he kills his lovers (both men and women) for shits and giggles. Doesn't help that his justification is [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} his father's]] [[DisappearedDad absence from his life]]. Fans who identify with his [[WellDoneSonGuy misplaced rage]] against said father, or the position [[SpotlightStealingSquad said father fills]] on his team, or maybe just like the idea of an [[NoBisexuals explicitly bisexual]] [[{{Expy}} version]] of their favorite badass, flock to him in throngs. In the first issue of his 2010 ongoing [[spoiler: it's strongly suggested that Daken raped a female assassin sent to kill him]]. [[BrokenBase Fandom has broken into three parts]] - those who deny it [[spoiler: saying he just mocked her before delivering the killing blow]], those who are disgusted by it and... some [[UnfortunateImplications really sick individuals]] saying that [[spoiler: she deserved it]]. [[http://io9.com/5807707/why-wolverines-smelly-son-shows-the-true-dark-side-of-the-romantic-hero This article]] argues convincingly that Daken is a deliberate deconstruction of this character trope: he's the dark romantic hero ''without'' a wounded soul to protect.
19	** Wolverine's ArchEnemy, ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}}, is an even more storied and flagrant Leather Pants recipient, despite being one of the most singularly deserving characters of the Complete Monster label. From [[WouldHitAGirl brutally murdering Wolverine's girlfriends]] to [[ManipulativeBastard playing on the above Daken's daddy issues]] to pit him against Wolverine and get him killed, to ''[[EatsBabies literally eating babies]]'', if there's a horrible act you can imagine there's a good chance Sabretooth has committed it. And yet, in spite of this truly heinous history, the character has been the recipient of ''multiple'' attempts to reform him, first as a VillainProtagonist who happened to be ALighterShadeOfGrey and then making him good outright via AWizardDidIt during the ''ComicBook/{{Axis}}'' storyline. Sabes has since reverted to his usual abhorrent personality, but given the above attempts and others it's a safe bet that it's a matter of time before the Bullpen tries foisting a Leather-Pantsed Sabretooth on readers again.
20	* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
21	** Without a doubt, though, the ''archetypal'' X-Men Draco is Magneto, largely thanks to Creator/ChrisClaremont transforming him from standard ranting AxCrazy SuperVillain into a [[TheExtremistWasRight sane]], [[AffablyEvil polite]], eloquent and [[WickedCultured cultured]] WellIntentionedExtremist, as well as a [[FreudianExcuse Holocaust survivor]] determined to prevent mutants from suffering the same fate as the Jews, who regretted having to fight the X-Men and even joined them for a while. He was also rendered ProgressivelyPrettier, with a deaging incident or two, that turned him from [[EvilMakesYouUgly typically villainously ugly]] to a SilverFox (he even has a six-pack), even ultimately getting a white-haired attractive pretty-boy clone (believed for a time to be a deaged and innocently amnesiac Magneto) called Joseph who ended up hooking up with Rogue. As a result, Claremont's characterisation became the predominant one for Magneto, with more classically villainous moments being [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] as his powers driving him insane, outside influence, etcetera. He even joined the X-Men for good in ''ComicBook/HouseOfX''.
22	*** However, as of ''Magneto: Not A Hero'' revealed in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the resurrected Joseph, a) just because he's changed his methods does not mean he has changed his goals, b) he doesn't give a damn about 'hero' or 'villain' - "There is just what I want and how I'll get it." In other words, he's not gone soft, as such - he's just more of a hardcore AntiHero[=/=]AntiVillain these days.
23	*** Even the more typically villainous incarnation in ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', usually on the Heel side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, is played as a sympathetic and cool TragicVillain by deeply charismatic CoolOldGuy Creator/IanMcKellen, and in the new timeline, by the similarly charismatic, [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys and handsome]], Creator/MichaelFassbender. This, plus the emphasis put on his backstory, and a hefty dose of EvilIsCool, means that he has a ''lot'' of fans.
24	** Madelyne Pryor, the clone of Jean Grey, gets this as well. Part of it may be thanks to her initial portrayal as a [[BadassNormal strong-willed]], [[ActionGirl capable woman]], with an entire story arc set to establish that she was in fact ''not'' the reincarnation of the person she looked like ([[Creator/ChrisClaremont author's]] original intent notwithstanding). Part of it is '''definitely''' due to the [[MoralEventHorizon abandonment by her husband]] [[ExecutiveMeddling to lead another superhero team with said lookalike on it.]] Either way, people like to focus on the WomanScorned aspect of her characterization and not look at the part where a DrunkOnTheDarkSide Maddie threatened the life of half a dozen innocent children...[[OffingTheOffspring Including her own]].

Context DracoInLeatherPants / MarvelUniverse