History Main / ClassicalAntihero

* [[Characters/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballGumballWatterson Gumball Watterson]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' is unathletic, not the sharpest tool in the shed, and lacks maturity, yet he's also bitterly self aware and snarky, all traits that make him as likely to cope with the WorldOfWeirdness he inhabits as likely he is to get in over his head.

* Cody in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama''. First season, Cody was a standard hero, but developed less heroic traits in the third season.

* The Dude from ''Film/TheBigLebowski''. Despite being the movie's protagonist, he's an unemployed, drunken, stoned slacker and screwup. He's hopelessly out of his league when it comes to dealing with the KudzuPlot he's thrown into, and in the end, [[ShaggyDogStory very little of what he does ultimately matters]]. But, he doesn't care; "the Dude abides."

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' franchise:
** Travis Touchdown, of ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', a porn-obsessed Otaku without anything resembling a social life. He's also a NominalHero, however, eagerly slaughtering opponents and rarely showing any remorse for his killings.
** ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2'', meanwhile, deconstructs this by giving him more of a moral compass as well as an animal magnetism that puts him back closer to being a classical hero by the end of the game.
%%Administrivia.ZeroContextExample* Raiden is largely considered to be this in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', though he becomes more of a JerkAss Antihero in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.
* ''VideoGame/LesterTheUnlikely'' from the SNES game of the same name starts out as such a wimp that [[ArtificialInsolence he'll refuse to drop off even short ledges]] and will initially run screaming from every new enemy, even ''tortoises''. He does become more heroic about halfway through the game, however.

* Captain Martin Walker for most of the beginning of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' comes off as one of these. His actions only cause disaster for both him and the people of Dubai. [[spoiler: As the game goes on though it becomes more and more clear that he is actually a delusional VillainProtagonist desperately trying to be the hero of a situation far out of his control.]]
* James Sunderland of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' easily meets the criteria. He's a sweet man who still loves his late wife Mary and misses her dearly, but he's also nervous, unconfident, emotionally tormented, and [[spoiler:to his shame, SecretlySelfish, as the emotional neglect and abuse he suffered from Mary while she was dying drove him to smother her with a pillow]].

* Though he more commonly plays the part of {{Sidekick}} than TheHero, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]] could fit the bill insofar as being a LovableCoward whose flaws are made more prominent than those of his IdealHero brother, Mario. In particular, [[VideoGame/LuigisMansion the times he has]] [[VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon to go it alone]] portray him without the series' trademark superpowers (which in his case are usually better than Mario's).

%% * Sebastian Castellanos and Juli Kidman from ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin''.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', Zelda is this in the memories, in contrast to most of her previous incarnations. She feels more and more unsure of herself as time goes on, is thought of as a failure by many of Hyrule's people, and is unable to develop her powers until it's almost too late. These factors lead her to resent [[ChildProdigy Link]] initially, although they eventually bond.
* Dante the main protagonist of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' and his successor and [[spoiler: nephew]] Nero.
** Dante is a [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]] and often rude demon hunter who has difficulty associating with normal people due to his [[IAmAMonster demonic heritage]]. Nonetheless, Dante has a big heart and takes his job as a protector of humanity from evil demons seriously and shows his compassionate side where it counts such as thanking Trish for helping defeat Mundus or talking Lucia out of committing suicide.
** Nero is a self-loathing [[UnevenHybrid quarter-demon]] and couples [[spoiler: uncle's]] sarcasm with a little more swearing. Despite this, he is devoted to his girlfriend Kyrie and is a more kind hearted person than he lets on.

* ''ComicBook/DonaldDuck'' as envisioned by Creator/CarlBarks in his Ducks' comics stories refashioned Donald into one. He's still the perpetually hot-tempered, easily angered, self-destructive BornUnlucky duck from the cartoons, but his flaws only heighten the moments when he shows nobility, courage, selflessness, and above all persistence that made him into at times a tragic figure. Donald's pettiness and passion for short-sighted schemes and his self-pity makes his capacity for goodness all the more surprising, unexpected and real when it comes up in stories like ''Vacation Time, Lost in the Andes, The Golden Helmet''.

-->''"In the earliest material, Peter Parker was a ''dick'', [[UnbuiltTrope and that went on long after the mugger got turned in]]. His immediate response after Ben was killed? [[AngstWhatAngst Keep on going with the show business]] until Jameson starts going after him. His first couple saves are at least in part about [[ItsAllAboutMe His Good Name]]...and even once he starts going after criminals on [[OnlyInItForTheMoney a consistent basis it's initially only for photography money]]. He takes stupid chances. He's desperate for cash...[[ProtagonistCenteredMorality He fakes pictures of Sandman and Electro with the flimsiest of moral justifications]]. He's got a chip on his shoulder the size of Queens and [[HotBlooded can barely begin to control his temper]]. He'll lash out at people on suspicion or anger alone, and in some early stories he just plain gave up or ran away until he learned his lesson or circumstances changed...[[JerkassWoobie and even if we can't blame him with all he goes through, he's often far afield of anything resembling ''likeable'']]...[[CharacterDevelopment But he changes]], [[TookALevelInKindness so completely]] many seem to forget [[BigGood he was ever anything other than the official co-saint]] of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse alongside [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]]...He grows, he shifts, he learns lessons [[AesopAmnesia and forgets them]] and [[TheDeterminator falls and picks himself back up]], and he never stops pushing forward. He takes on the responsibility of becoming the Man he claims to be, that others need him to be, [[ReluctantHero even if he doesn't consciously realize it at first]]...that's what makes him [[TheEveryman an everyman]] we can all relate to, because [[HumansAreFlawed no one ever stops growing up]]. It's what differentiates him, makes him real, compared to Superman or Batman or the FF or Captain America."''

* Although Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} is usually considered a classic example of TheCape, when she starts out her career she is an inexperienced, naive, temperamental teenager full of doubts and insecurities who is not even sure of wanting to be a hero and makes tons of mistakes which she has learn from them.
* Comicbook/{{X 23}}. When she first appears, Laura is plagued with doubts about herself. She's prone to bouts of suicidal depression, practices SelfHarm, questions whether she's "real" or worthy of life because she's a clone, accepts her role as a killer and that it devalues her compared to people like Wolfsbane, has a strained relationship with her father figure as a result, wonders whether she even has a soul, (and even asks Comicbook/GhostRider to use his Penance Stare on her) and believes she deserves punishment for the things she did under the Facility's control. Over time, she comes to accept that she had no control over what the Facility made her do, (especially when the Trigger was involved) accepts that being a clone doesn't mean she's not a "real" person and comes to value her own life, and adopts a ThouShaltNotKill attitude, using lethal force only as a last resort.
%%* ComicBook/DylanDog.
%%* ComicBook/{{Empowered}}.
%%* Dave from ''Comicbook/KickAss''.
%%* [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown]].
%%* ComicBook/GastonLagaffe

* ''Anime/Manga/Re:Zero'':

* ''Anime/Manga/Re: Zero'':

* Lily Bart from Edith Wharton's ''House of Mirth''. Let's see: fails at anything and everything she tries her hands at? Check. Only ever succeeds at alienating the few people who genuinely do care about her? Check. Is a whiny, insufferable {{Jerkass}} with an entitlement complex bigger than Brazil? Check. [[spoiler:Dies at the end]]? Check.

%%Administrivia.ZeroContextExample* James Sunderland of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' easily meets the criteria.

** PlayedStraight with Tidus from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''. Much of his development revolves around him overcoming this. He's plagued by his inferiority complex over his dad, is completely clueless about all the politics around him, and even considers himself the outsider of the group. Come the third act, he and Yuna end up having SwappedRoles, and Tidus declares himself the true lead.

** PlayedStraight with Tidus from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''. Much of his development revolves around overcoming this. He's plagued by his inferiority complex over his dad, is completely clueless about all the politics around him, and even considers himself the outsider of the group. Come the third act, he and Yuna end up having SwappedRoles, and Tidus declares himself the true lead.

Nowadays, an AntiHero is usually thought of as ([[UsefulNotes/CommonlyMisusedWords when people don't confuse the term as synonymous with villain]]) an [[HairTriggerTemper angry]], [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids bitter]], [[HatesEveryoneEqually misanthropic]], [[BloodKnight violent]], [[SociopathicHero sociopathic]] badass, but this is a recent enough development to be known as a NinetiesAntiHero. For much of history, the term ''antihero'' referred to a character type that is in many ways the opposite of this.

* The ''Film/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' version of Spidey is portrayed as very much a kid in an adults' world (albeit that the actual adults are [[DysfunctionJunction just as bad as he is in their own ways]] and consistently getting in over his head, to the point where in his first solo film most of his problems boil down to Tony grounding him after having to bail him out of a failed rescue.

** Cloud Strife of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is a variation of this trope. Over the course of the game, he suffers from crippling self-doubt and insecurity, tons of angst and guilt, and as a kid, he was a loser and a failure. A [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] as his crippling lack of self-worth ends up making him mentally fragile thus [[spoiler:he failed to achieve his dream of becoming a SOLDIER]], [[FromBadToWorse and]] [[spoiler:is susceptible to Mako poisoning, in contrast to Zack, an actual SOLDIER who is immune to its effects, leaving him an EmptyShell that has to be taken over by the Jenova cells or Sephiroth to be mobile]], but [[ReconstructedTrope reconstructed]] that by the end of the first game, he learns to accept who he is, growing to be a capable leader and [[spoiler:can resist Sephiroth's influence as shown in the [[ZeroEffortBoss Zero Effort]] PostFinalBoss]].

%%Administrivia.ZeroContextExample* Cloud Strife of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', although he pretends to be a prick.

* Early ''Franchise/SpiderMan'', explicitly designed to be the first superhero with personal and internal conflicts besides super-villains and criminals. Spidey's runaway success was a major part of why such depictions came to be the [[TropeCodifier typical depiction of a hero]].

* Rei Kiriyama from ''Manga/MarchComesInLikeALion'' starts the story rife with personal problems, socially detached, and barely able to take care of himself.

* Ichika Orimura from ''Literature/InfiniteStratos'' is brave, honest, quick to forgive, always wants to see the good in people and puts the needs of his friends above his own. Unfortunately, he isn't very bright, always jumps into conclusions and gets his ass kicked on a regular basis. His attempts to save his friends usually end with his friends saving ''him'' instead.
* Sota Mizushino from ''Anime/ReCreators'' starts the series with low self-esteem, is more interested in anime and video games than on the real world and [[spoiler:is burdened with the guilt of indirectly causing his best friend's suicide]].
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is loaded with these, being an homage to American super hero comics with more manga-esque character focus:
** It's most obvious with its protagonist Izuku Midoriya; he's helplessly neurotic, socially awkward and at the constant receiving ending of bullying due to his FictionalDisability of not having a superpower in a world where EveryoneIsASuper, yet is so obsessed with heroes and the idea of being one that this sheer passion and determination alone gives him the opening he needs to receive his CallToAdventure. It surprised absolutely nobody when the author revealed that his favorite superhero was Spider-man.
** His mentor All Might is also an example, though its less blatant - while he presents himself in a very [[TheCape idealized, Superman-esque light]], it's quickly revealed to be largely a facade he puts on in order to inspire others and hide his fear of failure. It's not that he isn't noble or genuine, he just knows it's what's best for the the burden he bears as the country's symbol of peace.
** Endeavor's character arc turns him from a NinetiesAntiHero into one of these. He's hyper-competent at his job and is in some respects ''better'' than All Might (he does his own detective work and he proves a much better teacher to Izuku) and even at his worst he never neglected the 'saving people' part of his job, but his obsession with surpassing All Might (who has no idea Endeavor considers him a rival) turned him cold, bitter, and abusive to his family. After he gets a reality check, he starts trying to rebuild his personal life, but has a difficult time owing to his [[NoSocialSkills lacking social skills]] and some of the people he's hurt being unwilling to forgive him, creating the very real possibility that he will never be able to reunite his family and will have to live apart from them despite genuinely wanting to atone and make up for lost time as a father.
* Denji, the titular ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', is immature, lecherous, and selfish, and only joins the devil hunting team to guarantee himself a comfortable life (and to hit on Makima). However, it's not hard to understand how he ended up like this, considering that he has spent his life not so much living as '''surviving''' trying to work off a back-breaking debt to the {{Yakuza}}, with zero positive figures in his life aside from his canine devil companion, Pochita.

* Hiccup Haddock from ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' is physically frail, rubbish in a fight and would rather solve problems by talking than punching. As the son of a Viking chief, this leaves him about as out of water as a fish can get. ''Everyone'' worries what will happen if he ever has to become chief himself - not least Hiccup himself. [[TookALevelInBadass And then]] he becomes the first and best DragonRider amongst the Vikings...

* Marinette from ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' is a clumsy, shy, and unconfident junior high school student, who has the ability to transform into the superheroine Ladybug.
* Gumball from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' is unathletic, not the sharpest tool in the shed, and lacks maturity, yet he's also bitterly self aware and snarky, all traits that make him as likely to cope with the WorldOfWeirdness he inhabits as likely he is to get in over his head.

* Lincoln Loud in ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' is an unathletic, rather [[OnlySaneMan ordinary boy in a family with ten extremely diverse sisters]], who despite being [[JackOfAllStats all-around skilled at what they can do]] still feels [[MasterOfNone inadequate at how much better they are]] and more often than not has allowed his own selfish ambitions get in the way of his relationships with his family. Despite this, he genuinely loves all of his siblings, tries to set things right, and will take the fall if need be.

** Butters Stotch. Despite having better morals and being much nicer than the four main boys, he fails at being a traditional hero because he's a bit pathetic and ineffective.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Arguably much of the cast qualifies, as every character is shown to be flawed in some way, but Pearl stands out in particular. While ultimately a heroic figure, she's hindered by [[HeroicSelfDeprecation a massive inferiority complex]] and [[BrokenBird some pretty serious psychological baggage]] (much of it surrounding [[spoiler: Rose Quartz's true identity as Pink Diamond, and her role in helping her fake her death]]), and screws up pretty seriously at multiple points. Still, she's shown to be a genuine hero to her fellow Crystal Gems, and of course to Steven.

* The ''entire'' Mane Seven of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' are this to varying extents. At the start of the series (just to put it as short as possible) Fluttershy a LovableCoward with zero self-confidence, Rainbow Dash an arrogant [[TheSlacker slacker]], Rarity a self-absorbed drama queen, Applejack as stubborn as a mule, Pinkie Pie has ''crippling'' abandonment issues, Twilight Sparkle is a neurotic shut-in who gets ''way'' too worked up over things, and Spike is an immature DoggedNiceGuy. That said, their good qualities far outweigh their bad and countless episodes are dedicated to them learning lessons or [[CharacterDevelopment changing for the better]].

->''"Do those without doubt even exist? And if they do, does that lack translate to strength? I have come face-to-face with doubt time and time again. My own. As well as the doubt harbored within the strong. We struggle and doubt and struggle again. If abandoning such doubt is the way of the samurai then samurai I am not. For I refuse to leave such things behind. To the bitter end I remain nebulous and ill-defined. For that is who I am. "''

->''"I'm just doing the best I can to save you."''
-->-- '''Joe Lamb''' in response to a DamselInDistress, ''Film/Super8''

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Commander Shepard can be played this way in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', as it's possible to fail multiple loyalty missions and lose squadmates if the wrong decisions are made. Regardless of player's choice, Shepard becomes this in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', given that Shepard loses allies and fails some missions. [[HurtingHero The effect of holding the fate of the galaxy in his/her hands is very noticeable.]]