Line #20 NinetiesAntiHero/ComicBooks


1	!!The following have their own pages:
2	[[index]]
3	* NinetiesAntiHero/TheDCU
4	* NinetiesAntiHero/MarvelUniverse
5	[[/index]]
6	----
7	!![[Creator/ImageComics Image]]
8	Creator/ImageComics specialized in these for as long as the fad lasted.
9	* 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, with TV TalkingHeads commenting that while the spikes and chains are "totally gauche", trying to bring back capes is a bad idea.
10	* ''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 lethal powers which rip her clothes off whenever she uses them.
11	** The former, however, is a {{Reconstruction}} of this trope, since he's much more subtle and complex than many other examples.
12	* ''ComicBook/YoungbloodImageComics'' 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 [[ComicBook/Youngblood2017 the 2017 run]] making the public’s hatred of Youngblood (a few members excluded) a key plot point.
13	* ''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.
14	* ComicBook/{{Supreme}}, who eventually moved from a Nineties Anti-Hero ripoff of Comicbook/{{Superman}} into an affectionate {{homage}} to MediaNotes/{{the Silver Age\|of Comic Books}} Superman (largely because Creator/AlanMoore took control of the character).
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16	!!Other
17	* Creator/ValiantComics had a number of Nineties Anti-Heroes.
18	** ''Bloodshot'': Mobster Angelo Mortalli was framed by the Carboni crime family, forcing him to become a witness for the state. While under Federal protection, Mortalli was betrayed by his protectors and sold to Hideyoshi Iwatsu to become a test subject for Project Rising Spirit.
19	** ''H.A.R.D. Corps'': A group of [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam veterans]] who were revived from comas by a corporation who fits them with brain implants that give them psionic powers, and [[YourHeadAsplode explodes if they're killed or caught]]. One of them [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies dies in every other issue]], so they're always being replaced.
20	* Pretty much everyone in Dark Age arc of ''ComicBook/AstroCity'', as one might expect in a deconstruction of MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.
21	** The Pale Horseman [[KillItWithFire incinerates]] ''all'' criminals, whether it's murderers or shoplifting kids.
22	** Gloo is a mindless BlobMonster that fights crime by pulling "pranks" on its targets -- such as spraying [[AcidAttack flesh-melting "seltzer"]] or jamming eight {{Mooks}} [[FoldSpindleMutilation into a subcompact car]]. And it treats armed robbery and littering as equivalent crimes...
23	** The Blue Knight is a skeletal vigilante who hunts down and kills anyone associated with the criminal underworld, whether it's a mob boss or a {{Mook}} fencing stolen goods. He is eventually succeeded by the Blue Knight'''s''', a squad of armed vigilantes.
24	** Stonecold is a murderous vigilante with rock-solid armor and knuckledusters.
25	** Subverted by Hellhound, one of the first DarkerAndEdgier heroes. Despite having the demonic background, monstrous appearance, torn leather and chains costume, and [[DarkAgeOfSupernames "edgy" name]], is actually a NobleDemon who respected the [[TheCape Silver Agent]] and is friendly with the old-school heroes.
26	** By the end of "The Dark Age", the protagonists Charles and Royal Williams have become this in their obsessive quest to [[YouKilledMyFather kill the man who murdered their parents]].
27	* Joe Martin did a DeconstructiveParody of this in the one-shot comic book, ''Boffo in Hell'', starring the two main characters from his newspaper comic strip, ''Mister Boffo'' (although everyone and everything ''except'' these two were drawn in a more-realistic, superhero style); the title was a reference to ''Spawn''. In it, the government suspects that people are mean and violent because of self-esteem issues. As an experiment, they take a bunch of psychotics, [[TooDumbToLive give them a bunch of super-powers so that they'll feel "special"]] and then have them do community service among the public. Needless to say, it doesn't go as they planned. Earl Boffo, the dim-witted title character, winds up [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass gaining super-powers of his own (with a Spawn-like appearance to match) and - completely by accident - manages to subdue and kill the murderous anti-heroes]].
28	* The ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic introduced a full-blown Nineties Anti-Hero to the ''Doctor Who'' universe in the shape of Abslom Daak, Dalek Killer. He's a "[[ChainsawGood chainsword]]"-loving professional criminal and multiple murderer who was exiled by a future Earth society to a Dalek-occupied world to kill as many Daleks as possible before his inevitable death (although he turned out to be badass enough to survive). Of course, he first appeared in 1980 and in some ways was a deconstruction, so could be considered an UnbuiltTrope.
29	* ''ComicBook/{{Doom}}'' has the Doomguy going around and punching and/or shooting things... just because. He's also [[TalkativeLoon borderline psychopathic]]. What makes him stand out from the crowd is that he doesn't brood or snark, and is instead a LargeHam and a bit of a BoisterousBruiser. It's oddly endearing, enough so that [[VideoGame/BrutalDoom one of the most famous mods for the game itself]] is, in part, a RecursiveAdaptation of the comic Doomguy's personality.
30	* ''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, the story having been [[DivorcedInstallment originally meant as]] a ''Batman'' story), 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 another matter.[[/note]].
31	* ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'' parodied both the male and female versions of this trope in one of its "Meanwhile" stories.
32	* ComicBook/LadyDeath: She is a {{Stripperific}} DarkActionGirl with a {{BFS}} and the LegionsOfHell at her back and call, who coincidentally first appeared in print in 1991.
33	* ComicBook/MarshalLaw is an AntiHero who specializes in hunting heroes, though as he always says, "I haven't found any yet."
34	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
35	** After ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'' revealed that Boba Fett survived falling into the Sarlacc, Fett was given various one-shots and miniseries and basically acted like the Star Wars equivalent of this.
36	** Jedi Master Quinlan Vos' debut was in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' (just barely making the 90's cutoff) and was a textbook example with his appearances in ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic'' giving him a troubled backstory, a maverick personality with an excess of DarkSide aggression, [[DreadlockWarrior a rad hairstyle]], and a rather un-Jedi approach to warfare to the point he was even once literally advertised as a "[[SuperheroPackingHeat Jedi with a gun]]". In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' he experiences an AdaptationalPersonalityChange into a BoisterousBruiser, but falls back into this in ''Literature/DarkDisciple'' with his contact with the Dark Side [[FallenHero presented as a tragedy]] [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade instead of an edgy trait of badassery]].
37	** Then there’s Luke Skywalker’s great-great-great grandson Cade in ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'' who other than when his books were published (from 2006 to 2010) fits this pretty well. He’s gritty, constantly pushing the edge of the Dark Side, and works as a bounty hunter for part of the story. He dates and trains with a Sith lady Twi’lek as well. He has few qualms about killing or playing dirty when he needs to, though he manages not to go full on villain and does finally pay attention to ghost-Luke’s warning about what will happen if he doesn’t do something about the One Sith Empire.
38	* The Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles were originally like this: later versions made them more unambiguously heroic and less feral.
39	** The Turtles actually predate this as they came out in 1984. They were more of an AffectionateParody of the sort of work that Creator/FrankMiller and [[ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark Dave Sim]] were putting out at the time.
40	** Casey Jones was another parody. He was basically an angrier version of Raph if he didn't try to control his anger and he lacked the tragic backstory these characters generally have. Like the turtles, he also made his debut in The80s.
41	* ComicBook/WarriorNunAreala: [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter "Shotgun"]] [[BadassBiker Mary 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.
42	* In the Creator/DarkHorseComics superhero line ''Comics Greatest World'', ComicBook/XDarkHorseComics 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.
43	* ''ComicBook/TheTick'': Big Shot, who also appeared in the animated series, was originally introduced as a one-off character in the comic as someone hanging out at the vigilante table in the superhero club. While other vigilantes had complicated backstories, Big Shot's reasons for being a gun-wielding vigilante? "I just like to kill people."
44	* This trope hit ''ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2'' hard. A lot of the Autobots came off as gung-ho and violent; some who were already {{Blood Knight}}s, like Blades or the Dinobots, started killing downed opponents outright. Inexplicably, they also found ways to stick pouches and belts on robots, as well as redoing several of them with darker decos to be more grim and gritty--most notably, Sideswipe went from a red-painted BoisterousBruiser to a black-painted example of this trope.
45	* Inspired by various anti-heroes on this list, Chilean vigilante {{ComicBook/Diablo\|Chile}} is the TropeCodifier for [[ChileanMedia Chilean comic books]], wearing a BadassLongcoat and a CoolMask with an IrislessEyeMaskOfMystery, having [[GunsAkimbo plenty of guns]], being accompanied by his devilish tutor and having pages full of {{Gorn}}, especially when he summons TheLegionsOfHell.
46	* The source of the page image is [[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/blood-hunter/4005-102029/ Blood Hunter]], one such anti-hero who is also a vampire, from [[http://comicbookdb.com/title.php?ID=17752 Brainstorm]], one of the many independent publishers that emerged in the 90s. He first appeared in the indicatively titled ''Vamperotica'', but his solo comic was a one-shot.
47	* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
48	** ''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'', not mere tyrants, 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.
49	** Another pre-90's example from 2000 AD would be ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'', a brutal and demonic-looking alien AntiHero with esoteric powers, a gruff and misanthropic personality, a tragic background involving his dysfunctional family, and he leads a resistance against Torquemada's regime in a [[CrapsackWorld crapsack galaxy]] for selfish reasons instead of the freedom of the various alien species like a traditional SpaceOpera hero would do. However he's nowhere near as cruel as Torquemada and his inquisitors and terminators, and he slowly learns to care about Others thanks to Purity Brown. It helps that he's from the same creator as Marshal Law.
50	* ''ComicBook/{{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''.
51	* ''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. There's also Agent K, who is far more willing to resort to unethical actions to keep humanity safe, which is a stark contrast to his characterization from the more popular movies.
52	* 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.
53	* ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' irregularly featured issues of ''Radioactive Man'', Bart's favourite superhero. In one, Radioactive Man's arch nemesis Doctor Crab created a set of clones and one of them returned as an over-the-top mockery of a Creator/RobLiefeld designed character, bulging muscles, pouches and feet that are always blocked by the scenery and all. Radioactive Man commented that the clone was stronger, faster and more popular with both kids and marketing executives than him, alluding to the fact these kind of character were all the rage back then (the comic was actually published during The90s). Then he decided the best way to deal with his phony was by summoning his lawyer who proceeded to sue the ripoff to oblivion for numerous copyright infringements.
54	* ''ComicBook/{{Knightwrath}}'', first released in 2022, is a loving homage to mainstays of the genre like ''Spawn'' and ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'', featuring a former wimp who is transformed into a hulking monster after a near-death experience.

Context NinetiesAntiHero / ComicBooks