Line #67 Main/NinetiesAntiHero


1	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1296948275077660100
2	%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
3	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/BloodHunter https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/90sestcover_4454.jpg]]]]
4	[[caption-width-right:350:Everything that was wrong with [[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks comics in the '90s]] in one cover.[[labelnote:From the top:]] Title (if you can read it) includes "Blood"; Improbable blade; Torn cape; [[WolverineWannabe Wolverine knock-off mask]] that frames face; [[EyesAlwaysShut Squinty eyes]]; Gritted teeth; Improbable anatomy; Improbable muscles; [[HandCannon Improbably huge and just plain improbable gun]]; Lots of pouches; Huge boots; skulls and flames aplenty; [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Artist's signature on rubble.]][[/labelnote]]]]
5
6	->''"I don't help people, I kill them."''
7	-->-- '''Jack Cayman''', ''VideoGame/MadWorld''
8
9	'90s Anti-Heroes are the polar opposites of your typical [[MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] superheroes. Not only are they flawed, [[DesignatedHero they may lack]] any [[HeroWithAnFInGood heroic attributes]], apart from the fact that [[InvincibleHero they never lose]]. They appeal to the audience strictly due to being totally committed to... whatever the hell they're doing at the moment. They have no compunction about [[ThouShaltNotKill killing]] criminals and, indeed, this may extend to ''anyone'' who gets in their way; when confronted by classic archetypes, such as TheCape, they dismiss them as dupes and fools. To aid in this murderous work, '90s Anti-Heroes with superpowers tend to have superpowers of the directly lethal variety, usually these abilities are demonic or technological in origin, and ''never'' received through the idealistic good graces of ''anyone''. The '90s Anti-Heroes who lack supernatural abilities usually make up for it [[SuperheroPackingHeat by carrying guns]]. ''[[GunPorn Lots]]'' of guns.
10
11	Male N.A.H.s are easy to identify: ridiculously muscled, and [[TooManyBelts often wear lots of pouches]] or [[BadassBandolier bandoliers]]. There's a good chance he's either middle aged with lots of long, grey hair and [[PermaStubble beard stubble]], or [[CoveredInScars scars]], but either way, he's likely to be [[ManlyMan masculinity]] incarnate. He also probably has at least one eye that looks [[ElectronicEyes fake]], [[RuggedScar injured, or diseased]] and he carries a [[{{BFG}} ludicrously oversized gun]] or [[{{BFS}} sword]] which no mortal could possibly carry.
12
13	Female Nineties Anti-Heroes, like [[MostCommonSuperpower most]] female superheroes, have large breasts and small waists, but ''unlike'' most female superheroes, this is often taken to disfiguring extremes. They don't tend to [[{{Stripperiffic}} wear very much clothing]] (or if they do, it'll be typical superheroic [[PaintedOnPants barely-there "spandex"]] which showcases their exaggerated/inaccurate anatomy). But [[SuperheroesWearTights they still usually wear tights]] in some form. The ultimate extreme of the female version was the "BadGirlComic" subgenre, featuring ludicrously buxom, near-naked {{Dark Action Girl}}s, generally with some kind of supernatural nature or origin, hacking and pouting their way through plots designed solely to offer as much {{Gorn}} and FanService as possible.
14
15	Usually, they'll have [[DarkAgeOfSupernames gritty names at most two words long]] that [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast wouldn't be out of place on villains]], often [[MyNaymeIs creatively misspelled]][[labelnote:*]] 'Shade' becomes 'Shayde', etc[[/labelnote]] to appear more dramatic, because [[XtremeKoolLetterz poor literacy is kewl]], to make the character look [[TotallyRadical radical]], or to [[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope make them easier to trademark]].
16
17	In terms of characterization, they have one thing in common above all else. '90s Anti-Heroes are willing, if not outright eager, to use ''extremely'' violent methods and intimidation to solve their problems. As such, emotions are limited to further this goal: [[{{Angst}} brooding]], [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]], [[TheCynic cynical]], or just plain [[AxCrazy psycho]] are all common traits of the '90s Anti-Hero.
18
19	The one thing that keeps them out of villain status is typically because they're the story's {{Designated Hero}}es, and the stories they are in typically falls far on the cynical side of the {{Sliding Scale\|OfIdealismVersusCynicism}}. In a world with BlackAndGrayMorality, the heroes may earn their "hero" status simply by fighting villains who are even ''worse''.
20
21	Note that, in spite of the cynical-sounding write-up, this is not a [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools bad trope]]. It's just that, as with most DarkerAndEdgier fiction, it's very difficult to describe without making the whole premise sound inherently ridiculous.[[note]]This can make [[PoesLaw sorting out the parodies a little tricky]].[[/note]] Something of a DiscreditedTrope these days, as most of the original comic anti-heroes have been {{Retool}}ed or PutOnABus; more often you see parodies of this kind of character, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} being among the most famous, but they still come up occasionally in VideoGames. As for ''why'' the '90s produced so many of this type of Antihero, Check out the [[Analysis/NinetiesAntiHero Analysis Page.]]
22
23	If one of these is replacing an older more optimistic hero, you have an example of an AntiHeroSubstitute. It's also one of the stages of the superhero {{Reconstruction}}.
24
25	Commonly paired with SuperheroPackingHeat.
26
27	See also: SociopathicHero, ActionGenreHeroGuy, DesignatedHero and ByronicHero. Should not be confused with the HeroicComedicSociopath, who blatantly does bad deeds PlayedForLaughs. Generally, '90s Anti-Heroes tend to range from {{Unscrupulous Hero}}es to {{Nominal Hero}}es, though some can border on {{Villain Protagonist}}s. Many MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction works are to {{Magical Girl}}s in the 2010s what these were to {{superhero}}es in the 1990s.
28	----
29	!!Example subpages:
30
31	[[index]]
32	* NinetiesAntiHero/AnimeAndManga
33	* NinetiesAntiHero/ComicBooks
34	* NinetiesAntiHero/VideoGames
35	[[/index]]
36
37	!!Other examples:
38
39	[[foldercontrol]]
40
41	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
42	* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': Being a six-year-old NightmareFetishist, Calvin thinks these are the coolest comics ''ever'', though one Sunday comic shows that [[EveryoneHasStandards he does have his limits]].
43	-->'''Calvin:''' Oh no, Captain Napalm's [[BloodyHilarious getting his kidneys punched out]] with an ''I-beam!''
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Fan Works]]
47	* {{Reconstructed}} in ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls''. The Hunter fulfils the basic requirements, being a [[TheDreaded dreaded]], brooding, frosty, weary, and [[TheCynic cynical]] LightningBruiser who mainly deals with irredeemable folk via three methods: a [[SerratedBladeOfPain serrated cleaver]] to the face, a bullet to the head, and loads and loads of {{Gorn}}. Whereas {{deconstruction}}s criticise this CharacterArchetype as laughable, destructive and unlikeable, ''The Night Unfurls'' asserts that the Hunter isn't purely defined by being an unrelenting onslaught that leaves behind mangled corpses in his wake. He can take a breather, he can feel contentment, and most astoundingly, he is capable of being a constructive influence in the setting.
48	* {{Lampshaded}} in ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'' by ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, who -- after "ComicBook/OperationGalacticStorm", an ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' storyline published in 1992 -- ponders about the rise of a new breed of heroes who appear completely unconcerned with killing.
49	-->''"I'm thinking of stepping out, [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers Carol]]. This new age seems to be an age for killers--ComicBook/ThePunisher, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/USAgent. I've only killed one person in recent times. Flag-Smasher manipulated me into it. I didn't like it. I'm not a killer anymore."''
50	* Many of the Guardians from ''[[Fanfic/SuperSmashBrothersGuardiansArise Super Smash Bros.: Guardians Arise!]]'' fit this trope to a T. You have: a bunch of trigger-happy weapon-toting loose cannons (Pikana, Aly), mechanical limbs (Heather, who also packs a bloodthirsty SuperpoweredEvilSide), eagerness to use violence as a means to survive (Cameron, Golfer), sometimes disfigured individuals (Chester, KOR), rather grim and brooding mindsets (Traca, Golfer, Wrath) and some with edgy names (Heather ''Elektra Wolfon'', KOR).
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
54	* Sever (Creator/LucyLiu) from ''Film/BallisticEcksVsSever'', a gun toting DragonLady dressed in black leather with a perpetual KubrickStare on her face and on a quest for revenge against her corrupt former employees. She isn't above kidnapping a child in order to achieve her goal, and usually gives short and cold responses to someone like "IllKillYou" and "[[Film/RoadHouse1989 Pain don't hurt]]."
55	* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' features a particulalry hardcore Batman who has long since given up on his principles after twenty years of constant crime-fighting. FridgeBrilliance as the film is set in TheNewTens and he mentions being active for twenty years -- in other words, since the '90s.
56	* Parodied with Huntress in ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'', a former MafiaPrincess turned violent assassin who [[BadassBiker rides a motorcycle]] and vows revenge on the gangsters who [[YouKilledMyFather killed her family]]... and is also [[TheComicallySerious comically serious]], has NoSocialSkills, and has the mindset of a rebellious teenage girl who desperately wants to be taken seriously by those around her. She just comes off as [[{{Manchild}} grossly immature]] despite her genuinely lethal skills and athleticism, especially with her {{insisten\|tTerminology}}ce that people call her "Huntress" and not "the Crossbow Killer", and her cool, badass facade frequently cracks throughout the film. The only person who thinks she's legitimately cool is the AxCrazy {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Harley Quinn.
57	-->'''Black Canary:''' What the hell is up with this bow and arrow shit?\
58	'''Huntress:''' It's not a fucking bow and arrow, it's a crossbow! I'm not twelve!\
59	'''Black Canary:''' I love this chick. She's got rage issues.\
60	'''Huntress:''' ''I DON'T HAVE RAGE ISSUES!''
61	%%* ''Film/BlackScorpion'': The lead character is basically a female Batman (played by '80s model and '90s BMovie star Joan Severance) in a skimpy leather catsuit. %%needs more context on her methods
62	* Blade, the main protagonist of the ''Film/BladeTrilogy''. He's a [[{{Dhampyr}} half-human, half-vampire]] who hunts and kills other vampires with ruthless efficiency, wear black leather and sunglasses and has a short yet intimidating name. Interestingly, [[ComicBook/{{Blade}} the character]] actually predates the trend by close to two decades, having debuted in 1973.
63	* ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'': Riddick B. Riddick, who first appeared in the 2000 movie ''Film/PitchBlack'', is a morally ambiguous mass murderer who will kill anyone who gets in his path and is only good [[BlackAndGrayMorality in comparison to the enemies he faces]].
64	* Explored and parodied in ''Film/Deadpool2''. Much like a number of his comic runs, Deadpool's central conflict is whether a morally-compromised ProfessionalKiller who started life as a minor villain created by "[[Creator/RobLiefeld a guy too lazy to draw feet]]" in a '90s comic where [[EvilVersusEvil even the "heroes" were murderous psychopaths]] is actually capable of doing anything ''decent''. This is specifically why his antagonist is Cable, a muscle-bound, gun-toting {{cyborg}} soldier [[TimeTravel from the future]] with a [[AffectionateParody many-pocketed fanny pack]] coming out of the same source material, who has become so much DarkerAndEdgier due to a FreudianExcuse he even WouldHurtAChild. By the end, despite his failings, Deadpool manages to redeem both Cable's still innocent target, and to a lesser extent Cable himself, proving at least to some degree his heart can be in the right place.
65	* ''Film/TheDemolitionist'', a BMovie from 1995, is about a ruthless, revived cyborg woman (played by ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' [[MsFanservice sex symbol]] Nicole Eggert in a SpyCatsuit with added boob armor) with GunsAkimbo fragging anyone who gets in the way of her quest for vengeance against those who killed her. Essentially a [[RebelliousSpirit rebellious]] DistaffCounterpart of Franchise/RoboCop.
66	* Hakaider from the anime/tokusatsu series ''Series/{{Kikaider}}'' becomes this in the movie ''Film/MechanicalViolatorHakaider''.
67	* Mr. Furious in the movie ''Film/MysteryMen'' is a parody and subversion of these kinds of characters. He would very much ''like'' to be one, and tries his hardest to come up with a back story fitting this mold (with most of his proposed names being some combination of [[DarkAgeOfSupernames 'Phoenix', 'Dark', 'Dirk' and 'Steel']]), but is in fact ultimately a rather shy, gentle, and meek man called Roy. In fact, the realization that he's ''not'' one of these types is enough to prompt a moment of HeroicBSOD for him.
68	* Deconstructed and [[TakeThat satirized]] in ''Film/SmallSoldiers'' in the form of the Commando Elite, a group of toys given sentience via [[AIIsACrapshoot a military-grade microchip]] who invoke this trope in-universe. They are [[TheUnfettered willing to use whatever methods]] to find and destroy the Gorgonites (whose only crime was [[FantasticRacism not being human like them]]), including attacking bystanders who had no involvement with either side of the conflict, kidnapping and attempting to kill hostages, and [[ItMakesSenseInContext turning a girl's Gwendy dolls into killing machines]] with one of their fallen comrade's microchips. Chip Hazard, the Commando Elite's leader, repeatedly justifies their actions because the Gorgonites are "[[DesignatedVillain the bad guys]]" and they are "[[DesignatedHero the good guys]]".
69	* ''[[http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2012/08/01/mtvs-diggity-dave-says-james-holmes-called-him-before-dark-knight-massacre-did-his-sick-batman-spinoff-inspire-aurora-shooting The Suffocator of Sins]]'', directed by and starring "Diggity" Dave Aragon of ''Series/PimpMyRide'' fame, was to feature a DarkerAndEdgier Batman-[[{{Expy}} like]] vigilante who, based on trailers that were released for it, is strongly implied to be this trope, using firearms and mercilessly killing criminals while hunting down a Neo-Nazi villain. The film now seems to be in limbo following the 2012 Aurora Theatre massacre, whose perpetrator, James Holmes, seemed [[MisaimedFandom to have been inspired by it]].
70	* The Franchise/{{Terminator}}. More specifically, the one from 1991's ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', who is a [[HeroicBuild musclebound]], [[HellBentForLeather leather-clad]] cyborg with no hesitation against destroying anyone who got in the way of his directive, until he is ordered by [[KidWithTheLeash John Connor]] not to kill anyone, whereupon he starts gaining a conscience.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Literature]]
74	* ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'':
75	** Ace becomes one of these. On TV, she had been a rather messed-up but still quite bubbly and exuberant schoolgirl with a taste for explosives and chemistry. In the books, she became a hardened and gritty BloodKnight space marine. It was relatively mild compared to some examples of the time, but it was this trope nonetheless.
76	** Several of the Doctor's other companions in these stories were also quite close to the '90s Anti-Hero archetype, also being rather hardened and angsty space marine types.
77	* Parodied in ''Literature/TheManInTheCeiling'' by Jules Feiffer. Jimmy's friend Charley Beemer (who doesn't like capes) commissions him to draw his idea of a comic, which would feature a superhero named Bullethead, a weapon of death who drills through his enemies with his head, with lots of severed bodily parts to be drawn in detail (which the author refuses to show, since it's written for children).
78	* IN THE SUPERHERO SATIRE,''Literature/TalesOfTheAstonishingBlackSpark'', DEATHRAGE. HIS SUPERPOWER IS GUNS, HIS [[DeathByOriginStory PARENTS ARE DEAD]] AND THE CAPSLOCK KEY SEEMS TO BREAK WHENEVER HE SPEAKS. ALSO, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment HIS PARENTS ARE DEAD]].
79	* ''Literature/TheSupervillainySaga'' is a book starring a somewhat offbeat fellow, Gary Karkofsky, who finds a magic cloak and decides to become a supervillain. The book Deconstructs the '90s Anti-Hero and MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks by having Gary disgusted by heroes who kill and overly psychopathic villains. It also serves as a DeconReconSwitch because Gary, himself, is a well-written '90s Anti-Hero. The book, notably, treats LighterAndSofter superheroes significantly more sympathetically than most examples of the {{Capepunk}} genre.
80	* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' has Shadow Stalker, the loner vigilante who joined the Wards as an alternative to prison for nailing a man to a wall with a crossbow. She serves as a deconstruction of the CharacterArchetype, and is roundly despised as a thug, a bully and a petty sadist even by her own teammates.
81	** She only has one real friend [[spoiler:who later abandons her when she is sent to prison, believing that Shadow Stalker has failed her own SocialDarwinist philosophy, which is revealed to be nothing more than a JerkJustifications for her own love of violence. The two supervillains Shadow Stalker hates and targets, Grue and Skitter, both show far more compassion and empathy than she does.]]
82	* Rachel from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' may not look the part (being a pretty teenage girl), but fits it in terms of personality, being [[HotBlooded tempermental]], [[BloodKnight bloodthirsty]], and even a bit AxCrazy at times, to the point the other characters almost regard her as a TokenEvilTeammate.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
86	* An episode of ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' featured a comic book nerd becoming obsessed with the Ghastly Grinner, a violent '90s Anti-Hero type comic character who he thinks is the coolest thing ever. [[DeconstructedTrope That is until this character comes to life, and he comes to realize just how uncool violence really is.]]
87	* The obscure '90s comedy series ''Series/{{Bob\|1992}}'', starring Creator/BobNewhart, focused on a comic book creator of a Silver Age hero named "Mad-Dog", who was forced by his new employers in the '90s to reinvent his character into a hero of this fashion.
88	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
89	** In contrast to the more celibate and restrained Buffy, Faith loved drinking, fighting and having sex. She was also a more ruthless Slayer than Buffy, and temporarily became a villain after an AccidentalMurder.
90	** Spike came as close to a televised version of Lobo as you could get. He rode a bike, lived for battle, hated all forms of authority, smoked ciggies and listened to rock n' roll. His PopularityPower ensured the heroes would never kill him off, and Buffy eventually fell in love with him.
91	** Wishverse Buffy is what Buffy might be like had Todd [=McFarlane=] or Creator/MarkMillar gotten their hands on her. Unlike Faith, she's grim and pessimistic. And she's [[spoiler:killed by the BigBad as the episode's plot is about to be concluded.]]
92	%%zce* Parodied in ''Series/{{Community}}'' with "Kickpuncher", a series of [[StylisticSuck D-grade]] ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}''-style movies that main characters Abed and Troy watch [[{{MST}} primarily to make fun of]].
93	* An episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' has a comic book artist create a character named "[[DarkAgeOfSupernames True Night]]" who seems to be one of these. It has plot significance because the ways Night kills the other characters in the comic reflect murders the artist is committing in real life. In fact, if one looks at the episode a certain way, it can be viewed as a {{deconstruction}} of this trope and [[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]] comics in general.
94	* An episode of ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' features a comic book character ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QI0N5hv1yw The Dark Defender]]) based on Dexter's SerialKillerKiller self that is a ''perfect'' '90s Anti-Hero; "Stalker of the night, his blade of vengeance turns wrong into right..." The "real" Dark Defender, upon seeing a pin-up of the character, has the most satisfied smile on his face for all of three seconds before he shakes it off as absurd not for any moral reasons (Dex is a PoeticSerialKiller and ''proud of it''), but because, "[[AwesomeButImpractical Miami's too hot for all that leather]]". He does later have an IndulgentFantasySegue where he crashes the key moment of his "SuperHeroOrigin", kills the bad guys and saves his mother from being [[DeathByOriginStory hacked to gibbets with a chainsaw]]. In leather.
95	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
96	** The Ninth Doctor. Though he came much later he still follows the formula perfectly, dark past, broods a lot, comes dangerously close to killing his enemies (being stopped just short by a companion), makes sarcastic one liners frequently and he dresses in a black leather coat.
97	** The War Doctor, with Nine's leather jacket, a BadassBandolier and a more violent methodology. However he seems a deconstruction of this trope, he doesn't like how ruthless the other Time Lords are becoming and while prepared to destroy Gallifrey this is only a last resort, with the later Doctors disowning him for this. It is later revealed he hadn't actually destroyed Gallifrey but due to TimeyWimeyBall it is three regenerations later that the Doctor remembers this.
98	%%zce* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': Sylar, the BigBad of the first season, is this from Season 2 onwards.
99	* ''Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger'' has an episode that parodies ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' by altering things so that it started in America in the '90s and was ''then'' adapted into the Japanese ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and not vice-versa. We're shown an image of a "Powerful Rangers" comic book cover, and the Red Ranger an overmuscled character in keeping with the style of the time. The Powerful Rangers seen in person are complete jerks, too.
100	* In a serial of ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Cockroach Dopant]] runs a website where people list those that have wronged them for him to assassinate. While basically a glorified contract killer, he considers himself this trope, calls himself "Roachstar" and "the Dark Exterminator", and even has [[spoiler:and draws]] his own manga in-universe.
101	* Galadriel in ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'' is written like a 90' antihero because of the AdaptationalAngstUpgrade and AdaptationalJerkass and barely has any of [[BigGood the heroic attributes]] of her book and movie counterparts. She is a ByronicHeroine completely driven by her grief and revenge. She wears armor, is brooding and snarky, proud, the most badass warrior and... is a tyke bomb ready to explode any moment because none of those traits are good for her mental stability. She wears armor and wields a sword because [[BloodKnight she cannot stop fighting]], something she confesses to Halbrand. She has a toxic and self destructive behavior resulted from her trauma of losing her brother and husband to the Orcs and witnessing a devastating war that lasted for eons. She channeled all the resulted anger and hate at Sauron for centuries, until she ended up consummated by her obsession. In present, Galadriel is not even above threatening with genocide, and doesn't see nothing wrong with that.
102	* InUniverse example from ''Series/TheOfficeUS''. Recyclops, a character created and portrayed by Dwight for a corporate-mandated recycling initiative evolves over the course of five Earth Days from a bland mascot to a violent destroyer decked out in black armour and weapons.
103	* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' lampshades this by having a comic-geek-turned-supervillain threatening to push Chloe off a tall building and that it is "big in the '90s".
104	%%zce* Iron Enforcer represented this type of "super hero" in the first season of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeASuperhero''. Unfortunately for him, Creator/StanLee was not fond of this archetype, so he made him a villain instead.
105	* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess''. It's all there; stripperiffic costume, [[TheAtoner a dark, violent past]], [[XtremeKoolLetterz a name that is spelt with an "X"]], a distinct lack of compunction about killing her enemies, frequent brooding, sarcasm, and extreme badassery.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
109	* OlderThanFeudalism example: In ''Literature/TheBible'', we have [[Literature/SamsonAndDelilah the story of Samson]] in the Literature/BookOfJudges. While most Bible heroes had their flaws, Samson was characterized almost entirely by vengeance, and would often commit mass slaughter when something pissed him off -- but those slaughters were of Philistines, whom God wanted dead too, so it's all right. His other major point of characterization was a weakness for women, to the point of committing a TooDumbToLive blunder with Delilah. He even fired off a stereotypically-badass BondOneLiner at one point -- a possible English translation would be "[[ImprobableWeaponUser With an ass's jawbone]], I have made asses of my enemies."
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
113	* [[Wrestling/{{FMW}} Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling]] founder Atsushi Onita, along with his rivalsidekick and ''Shin'' FMW founder Tarzan Goto, who naturally got it started in 1989. Onita was more [[CloudCuckooLander cheery and off base than most examples]], with the trademark 'brooding' and willingness to destroy his own allies or even uninvolved bystanders to "make men out them" being Goto's trait but both were fond of [[GarbageWrestler extreme violence]] and believed everything up to landmines should be allowed in Puroresu. Onita also sometimes parodied top stars of "mainstream" Japanese promotions such as Wrestling/TheGreatMuta and also challenged kick boxers and mixed martial artists from K-1 and PRIDE Fighting Championships to face him in no rope exploding barbed wire death matches.
114	* The later top faces of FMW, Megumi Kudo, "First Son" Wrestling/MasatoTanaka and Hayabusa were less insanely violent, more subdued and socially adjusted faces who just happened to be in a very violent promotion. Though that changed for the latter when Kodo Fuyuki took control of FMW and declared he didn't want "superheroes" in his promotion, forcing Hayabusa to unmask and then putting the mask on a porn star to ruin his reputation. This caused the former Hayabusa to take on the name of [[OneLetterName H]] and become a delinquent who used the same tactics as the Fuyuki backed "Team No Respect". It was the less ironic face, Tanaka, who ended up being the one to personally defeat Fuyuki though.
115	* W*ING Kanemura from the rival promotion to FMW of the same name was initially a villain coming into FMW to invade but became a '90s anti-hero when ''[[EvilerThanThou another]]'' invasion from IWA Japan in the form of Victor Quinones's "Puerto Rican army" forced him to team up with the FMW Sekigun. Despite his HeelFaceTurn he still threatened his enemies with death, even when they [[FriendlyEnemy weren't really enemies]] such as when wrestlers from ECW like Wrestling/BallsMahoney came to celebrate FMW's success.
116	* Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam had MIKAMI, a high-risk aerial wrestler with a BadassLongcoat, paramilitary attire and a somber personality, who carried around the wrestling equivalent of a big weapon (in this case, a metal ladder, used to enhance his aerial moves) and was nicknamed "Suicide Boy". If this was not edgy enough, he was also the usual tag team partner of Tanomusako Toba, a kickboxer-wrestler who was into the porn business.
117	* While the Gangstas Wrestling/NewJack, Mustafa Saed and Wrestling/DLoBrown were initially part of a race bating angle (and Brown would continue to be in them with Wrestling/TheNationOfDomination and Thuggin And Buggin Enterprises), the former two would become '90s antiheroes when they jumped from Wrestling/{{SMW}} to Wrestling/{{ECW}} and their criminally violent tendencies were admired rather than feared, at least by the fans. Their opponents on the other hand...
118	* From 94 onward, Cibernético tended to be one whenever he made a HeelFaceTurn in Wrestling/{{AAA}}, as this was a "{{tecnico}}" who nonetheless killed off anyone who betrayed him ([[BackFromTheDead ever so briefly]]). Similar things can be said for his rivals Vampiro, Wrestling/LaParka, La Parka Jr and Mesías during their tecnico runs.
119	* When El Hijo Del Santo returned to Wrestling/{{CMLL}} from AAA, his long time nemesis Negro Casas had become an unironic tecnico and the two teamed together until September of 96 when Santo turned on him. As shocking as his FaceHeelTurn was though, it ''only'' worked in CMLL as Santo continued to be cheered everywhere else no matter what he did, making this a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor example. Even then, the CMLL fans [[RootingForTheEmpire gradually started cheering for him again]] too during and after a [[HumiliatingWager hair vs mask]] match with still tecnico Casas in 97, leading to Hijo Del Santo becoming this trope in CMLL too before eventually softening in September of 98.
120	* Late 90s [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] saw most of the [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] in this era act as such, with the charge being led by acts such as Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin (originally given a stoic gimmick but then grabbed the microphone at ''Wrestling/KingOfTheRing'' and became an anti-authority rebel), [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] (given a 1980s baby face gimmick ten years too late before he lashed out at the fans for disliking the gimmick and then targeted Austin), and Wrestling/DGenerationX (an {{Expy}} of the nWo with a more playful, less megalomaniac slant).
121	* The WWF trend was the direct result of having to compete with Wrestling/{{WCW}}, who hit on this concept with the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder. While the [=nWo=] were essentially just [[EvilIsCool popular villains]], the [[AHouseDivided Wolfpac]] formed as definite 90s antiheroes up until the FingerPokeOfDoom. The most successful aspects of the WWF's Wrestling/AttitudeEra were directly inspired by the [=nWo=], the Austin vs. [=McMahon=] feud, almost universally considered the key to the WWF's resurgence, is the [=nWo=] vs. WCW with the roles reversed. WWF also borrowed heavily from the growing underground success story known as Wrestling/{{ECW}} (Austin shared many traits with [[Wrestling/JimFullington The Sandman]], for instance) and allowed a number of wrestlers to develop their own grittier [[TheGimmick gimmicks]] but the need to change was a result of WCW's runaway success with the [=nWo=] angle.
122	* The No Limit Soldiers were a group of street-wise anti heroes formed in June 1999 by rapper Music/MasterP, partly to draw more hip hop listeners to watch WCW and partly to give his cousin Randy "Swoll" Thornton a break into the business (since he'd had no success since a stint with New Japan back in 1991). They ended up only lasting one month because their "street-wise anti heroes" ended up just acting like heels - particularly, Wrestling/CurtHennig formed the West Texas Rednecks to feud with them because ''they'' attacked him for no particular reason when he gave Master P's brother a birthday gift - which left audiences confused at best and [[XPacHeat liking the supposedly-heel Rednecks more at worst]].
123	* The head trainers of the Long Island Wrestling Federation's doghouse, Laithon, Lowlife Louie and [[Wrestling/NelsonErazo Homicide]], as well as many of the graduates, the most notable being Wrestling/LowKi, who went on to form a tag team known as "The Strong Style Thugs" with Homicide, who were openly cheered when they stole the JAPW tag team titles from The Hit Squad.
124	* Wrestling/{{Carl\|itoColon}}y was a late bloomer, as though he certainly looked like a '90s antihero when he debuted in the '90s, wrestled similarly to both The Rock and Stone Cold, ''and'' had a signature foreign object in the form of a shovel, he was a nice enough guy who simply had to resort to such tactics to save the family business (the Puerto Rican version of the World Wrestling Council) from La Familia Del Milenio. It wasn't until the mid 2000s that he became a complete jerkass too, such that he at one point hated getting baby face pushes because he felt someone who insults, spits on, and ''{{poison\|isevil}}s'' people shouldn't be cheered.
125	* The ongoing success of MMA (UFC in particular) in 2010 has seen a partial revival of this trope in WWE with the resurgence of the [[HeelFaceTurn newly-turned]] Wrestling/RandyOrton (especially when compared to his [[MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Hoganesque]] counterpart Wrestling/JohnCena).
126	* Referenced by Rory Mondo in Wrestling/{{CZW}}, where he complained that the baby face Danny Havoc went too far when he tried to light him on fire when the [[GimmickMatches match stipulation]] was barbed wire casket. Havoc responded that if Mondo didn't want to burn alive he shouldn't have kicked out. CZW did start in the 90s after all.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	%%[[folder:Roleplay]]
130	%%zce* The titular character of ''Roleplay/TheBalladOfEdgardo'' is a StockShonenHero that the narrator introduces as "Hot-blooded, hot-tempered, courageous, and always itching for adventure!" He then discovers to his dismay that ''literally everyone else'' has made brooding, antisocial edgelords and they all promptly laugh at him for making "such a naive and low-brow character". %%Simply being "brooding and antisocial" isn't enough to qualify.
131	%%[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
134	* Given the cyberpunk setting, the player characters in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' can be this since the game's rules include giving the character cybernetic body parts, edgy clothing and a variety of exotic weapons and deadly powers. Most Shadowrunners in-universe are also relatively amoral mercenaries, and many pay little heed to the lives of civilians (though spree killing is generally seen as StupidEvil).
135	* Many superhero games, such as ''TabletopGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'', forbid this through use of [[ExperiencePenalty Experience Penalties]] for killing. A character who is willing to kill will not be a functional PC.
136	* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' signature character Lucita y Aragon qualifies in concept, being a rebellious, vengeance-driven, attractive, [[CastingAShadow shadow-wielding]] assassin-vampire with a penchant for skimpy black leather, but in the associated novels, it [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the writer]] when she's an angry, spiteful ball of hate and when she's more subtle, reasonable and controlled.
137	* ''Chainsaw Warrior'' from Creator/GamesWorkshop was a '90s antihero from the '80s as the game came out in 1987. He's a grim and quiet bionic SuperSoldier who did black-ops for the US government until his retirement and now living in a rundown apartment in New York. When called back to action against the zombies, cultists, mutants and [[EldritchAbomination the Darkness]], he straps on a Laser Lance and whatever military hardware that Uncle Sam can provide him - including a trusty combat chainsaw.
138	* TabletopGame/{{Champions}} had the supplement ''Dark Champions'', published at the height of the craze in 1993, that allowed roleplaying any of these characters you wanted to create.
139	** It was subsequently dialed back in 2005 with ''Dark Champions: The Animated Series'', meant to emulate the lighter feel of the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse and the like.
140	* ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'':
141	** KNYFE has a stronger moral compass than the standard, but she's still a hard-drinking, hard-fighting, foul-mouthed commando who has lots of sex, is willing to kill her enemies, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking spells her name with a Y]] (it's a [[FunWithAcronyms backronym]] for bonus points). Early concept art even had her in black leather, per WordOfGod, although she tends to favour more sci-fi outfits in her primary design. In the Letters Page episode about her, Christopher even comments, "In case it's not obvious, she is a '90s character."
142	** The Xtreme Prime Wardens are an AffectionateParody of the whole thing, with a punk rock Argent Adept, Fanatic with a crucifix branded over one eye, Tempest in black leather and so on. Their entire world is covered in Mad Max vehicles and chains with pointless spikes on them.
143	* ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' 2nd Edition's Iron Age sourcebook is entirely dedicated to the trope, with rules for lethal damage (damage in M&M is otherwise non-lethal), DarkerAndEdgier character archetypes, and new additions to the ''TabletopGame/FreedomCity'' setting like the anti-hero team FORCE Ops and a Watchmen-inspired SuperRegistrationAct storyline.
144	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' did this in 1998 with their 3rd edition which was the bleakest iteration of the 40K franchise with the rot in the Imperium, the Eldar and their heroes at its highest level (plus the Squats became Tyrannid food and the few survivors Imperial slaves). The reason for this DarkerAndEdgier turn was the negative fan reaction to supplement book ''Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned'' which had darker artwork than the earlier ''Slaves to Darkness'' sourcebook but far lighter and more hopeful in fluff - with the Emperor being in his most heroic depiction as the New Man, the promise of a benevolent new god "The Starchild" and etc.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Web Animation]]
148	* Parodied in ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' with the [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/aprilfool10.html Xeriouxly Forxe April Fool's Joke]], where everyone gets a more spiky, angular design, more weapons, gritted teeth, XtremeKoolLetterz in their names, and angry faces. Except Homsar.
149	* VideoGame/{{Pico}}, the SeriesMascot of Platform/{{Newgrounds}}: His debut flash, InspiredBy UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} [[RippedFromTheHeadlines of all things]], features a squad of {{goth}} kids [[AxesAtSchool tearing up the school]], prompting Pico to grab the nearest assault rifle and pump them all with lead, whether they surrender or not. The majority of his Flashes embody the [[DarkerAndEdgier gratuitous edginess]] and VulgarHumour commonplace in late 90s / early 00s Internet media; his appearance in the ''VideoGame/{{Assassin}}'' series is about him gunning down an M-rated mockery of ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse''. While his default appearance doesn't exactly look the part, instead operating on TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior, certain Flashes will age him up into a closer example or pit him against an NC-17 counterpart named Piconjo.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Webcomics]]
153	* The overall look is parodied in ''Webcomic/CommanderKitty'', where after Nin Wah whispers to Zenith some ideas for CK's new threads, the android ends up designing for him [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2012/08/15/nin-wahs-agenda/ a bulky outfit with enough spikes and pouches to make Rob Liefield blush]].
154	* An issue arc of ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'' involves universe crosses between the "modern age" Spinnerette, her [[BadButt saccharine]] [[MediaNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks silver-age]] counterpart... and her '90s-era counterpart which plays every [[Creator/RobLiefeld Liefeldian]] transgression to parodic levels.
155	* ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes'' has a one-shot [[http://superredundant.com/?comic=172-blast-from-the-past comic]] where one of these gets frozen ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica''-style and wakes up in the present day as a FishOutOfTemporalWater.
156	* The titular ''Webcomic/WeaponBrown'' is a rare modern example played straight, [[PoesLaw if it isn't a dark comedy parody]]: mechanical arm, likes big guns, doesn't care about innocents, brutally kills his enemies, he's a DeadpanSnarker and his sidekick is a man-eating dog. Pretty much the whole webcomic is what happens if the characters from the various classic comic strip series are re-invented by Rob Liefeld and Mark Millar with a dash of Pat Mills and Garth Ennis.
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	[[folder:Web Original]]
160	* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': '90s Kid's ideal comic book hero is ''Bloodgun'', a faceless dude with a gun that shoots ''other guns''. Linkara himself mentions such heroes as "Gungun".
161	* Ashen the Vioblader (created by WebVideo/MattMcMuscles of ''Wha Happun?'', ''WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay'' and [[https://twitter.com/Krooked_Glasses Krooked Glasses]]) is the host of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1gEpQYEVsQ Edgelords]]'', a show that examines '90s anti-heroes (and a few edgy villains), and fits this trope to a T. Edgy-sounding name? Check. Glowing [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]]? Check. Has a ludicrously edgy-looking outfit on? Check. DualWielding a pair of axes that he uses to chop his enemies up? Big fat CHECK. Unlike other anti-heroes, he's also a parody of this trope and thus displays some humourously dorky moments, like [[{{Squee}} squeeing]] over an anti-hero's edginess, or having his show interrupted by a phone call from his mom.
162	* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic: Devil Boner!, introduced in his review of ''Film/SmallSoldiers'' (mentioned above under the Film section). He is a spiked-and-black leather-jacketed guy armed with a [[{{BFG}} Machine Gun]] [[SarcasmMode of Peace]] as well as the ability to pyrokinetically blow things apart with his mind, which is [[BlatantLies totally child-friendly]].
163	* Being a DeconstructorFleet for every superhero trope in existence, ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' naturally has a number of candidates, but Sophia "Shadow Stalker" Hess is probably the most deliberate example: "Edgy" codename and costume design, check. Relaxed attitude to using excessive force, check. [[NominalHero Not actually all that heroic on close inspection]], ''very'' check.
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Western Animation]]
167	* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' has Dinobot, a Gruff SocialDarwinist UnscrupulousHero with a [[RaptorAttack Velociraptor]] alt-mode and a large sword and a spinning weapon. He's characterised primarily as a NobleDemon ProudWarriorRaceGuy, however.
168	%%* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' with [[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/04/21/this-week-ben-10-met-a-rob-liefeld-version-of-himself/ this]].
169	* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' in which Timmy calls upon the help of several [[EraSpecificPersonality different versions of the Crimson Chin]] to defeat an escaped supervillain, including a bandolier-wearing, gun-toting "edgy" version of the Chin from the '80s. He's apparently the only version who ever got away with profanity, but was canceled because of it anyway. Interestingly, the ''actual'' '90s Chin is depicted as more of a {{grunge}} [[FadSuper rocker]].
170	* The Pack was an [[ShowWithinAShow (in-universe) live-action]] example in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''. The actors eventually turned into supervillains through a series of literal {{Xanatos Gambit}}s, complete with actual powers and an even more Dark-Age-ish look.
171	* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeExtreme'' has a very Rob Liefeld-esque feel in terms of character and weapon design, with some G.I.Joe Extreme members having a rather grotesque physique and lots of pouches. However, it's a bit of SubvertedTrope, as their characterization doesn't get more edgy than TotallyRadical dialogue and LeeroyJenkins tactics.
172	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'' spoofed it with Boomfist, who battles an idiot MadScientist in a futuristic CrapsackWorld. Though to be fair, he does respect Juniper's abilities and [[spoiler:makes a HeroicSacrifice]].
173	* The eponymous WesternAnimation/MajorLazer certainly has elements of this -- bonus points for his {{BFG}} being a literal ArmCannon.
174	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': In "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlss3E7JewelOfTheAisleSuperZeroes Super Zeroes]]", when the girls briefly decide to split up as separate superheroines, with Blossom taking on a Franchise/WonderWoman-ish persona and Bubbles dressing up as a cute Creator/{{Sanrio}}[=-=]inspired bunny girl, the sullen and quick-tempered Buttercup reinvents herself as "Mange", a [[ComicBook/{{Spawn}} brooding, shadowy character with glowing green eyes]] who only emerges at night -- thus, when trouble arrives in the middle of the day, necessitating several hours of awkwardly brooding on the couch until nightfall.
175	* While not exactly a superhero, Enzo/[[spoiler:Matrix]] in ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' is pretty much this trope to a T, as a foil to Bob's idealistic Silver Age-ish personality. He also serves as a partial {{Deconstruction}} of this type of hero. The events that made him this way [[spoiler:such as losing an eye, being trapped in games, hopping from system to system as a result, and then suffering at the hands of Megabyte, and all this after Bob had been trapped in the Web]] had left him as an emotional wreck who has difficulty adjusting to peace.
176	* ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' featured typical "Iron Age" character designs, but was otherwise not very edgy.
177	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'': Spoofed with Big Shot, a [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher-esque]] character who shoots up inanimate objects [[BerserkerTears while tears run down his face]]. After running out of bullets, he says [[FreudianExcuse "Why didn't you love me, Mom?"]] and collapses, sobbing, on Arthur. He's someone so obviously messed-up that ''[[CaptainOblivious the Tick]]'' tells him to 'seek professional help'. When next seen in "The Tick vs. The Tick," after Big Shot has done so, he's relatively well-adjusted and tries to convince the Tick and Barry to discuss their problems rationally. With emphasis on "relatively". He starts foaming at the mouth when he mentions how he used to solve all his problems with... ''violence'', and gives a rather, um, ''passionate'' outcry for Barry to "put it in the happy box!". In his final appearance in the show on "The Tick vs. Neil and Dot's Wedding", Big Shot goes on a shooting spree... with a camera, having channelled his enthusiasm for firearms into flash photography.
178	* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': While developed after the 1990s, Brock Samson is a semi-AffectionateParody of this {{trope}}.
179	* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainSturdy'', a {{pilot}} for a proposed series that aired as part of the ''WesternAnimation/WhatACartoonShow'', presents a subversion and parody of this archetype. The eponymous character, an aging Silver Age era superhero, watches as a '90s anti-hero type character demonstrates how a hero should approach criminals, and tells a hypothetical criminal to put his arms in the air. When the character is told "what if he has no arms?", the hero then does a 180 and [[StrawmanEmotional begins to mope about the hypothetical criminal's]] [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth misfortunates]]. Captain Sturdy already didn't have a high opinion of the '90s anti-hero character, but after this he especially became disillusioned with how the Union of Super Heroes are more concerned about avoiding offending people than doing what is necessary and pragmatic for the common good.
180	[[/folder]]

Context Main / NinetiesAntiHero