History Main / VillainProtagonist

* Since it is called ''WesternAnimation/LaBalladeDesDalton'' the four desperadoes are in the spotlight as much as Luke if not more so and the film follows their attempts to become rich by [[GottaKillThemAll murdering all the members of the jury]] that sent their uncle to the hangman's noose. Luke simply gets dragged along and BlackComedy ensues.

* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': The main character is a serial killer who targets other murderers. Dexter is an AntiHero for most of the series; although he is a SympatheticMurderer, the conflict comes from him opposing a ''more'' villainous BigBad in each season. In the final season, however, Dexter's flaws finally catch up to him and he's portrayed as his own worst enemy, pushing him into becoming the villain of his own story.

* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': The main character is a serial killer who targets other murderers. Dexter is an AntiHero for most of the series, as although he is a murderer, the conflict comes from him opposing a ''more'' villainous BigBad in each season. In the final season, however, Dexter's flaws finally catch up to him and he's portrayed as his own worst enemy, pushing him into becoming the villain of his own story.

* ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'' is as pure an example of this trope as you can find, given that the [[QuirkyMiniBossSquad six lead characters]] are all the freak mercenary terrorists that Solid Snake must fight in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. It's also a subversion. Foxhound might be villains by the time ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', but they start out the comic as heroes working for the US government, and remain so right up until the very end, where they become heroes working against The Patriots, Metal Gear's version of the Illuminati.

* The ''Webcomic/VampireCheerleaders'' were meant to come across as group of [[HeroicComedicSociopath comedic sociopaths]], but wound up being perceived as this trope instead, [[http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/meet_the_parents_4 due to the severity]] of [[DudeNotFunny some of their actions.]] They officially became villains during the ''"Vampire Cheerleaders Must Die!"'' crossover which cast the ''Webcomic/ParanormalMysterySquad'' as [[HeroAntagonist heroic]] [[http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/bat_is_out_of_the_bag antagonists]], who were out to save Bakertown High [[http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/prom_aftermath from Lori and her Coven of vampires.]]

* One book in the ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'', Brokenstar's Cataclysm, follows the villainous Brokenstar from his birth to his rise as leader of [=ShadowClan=], killing his father and a kit to get the power he needs to brutally retaliate against [=WindClan=].

* ''Fanfic/BetterToReignInHeaven'' is written primarily from the perspective of Stanislaus Braun, and he's every bit as unrelentingly psychopathic and sadistic as he was in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', if not [[AdaptationalVillainy more so.]] In any case, he spends most of the story brutally torturing people and refusing to apologize or repent for any of it.
* The first chapter of ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/33994849/chapters/84549145 Watch Me Burn]]'' is written from Adrien's perspective, all the better to highlight how he finds it funny to overstep Marinette's boundaries and make her uncomfortable, then turn around and harass her as Ladybug until she loses her temper with him. The narration explicitly states that he loves the feeling of having power over her, and little things like Akumas are only noteworthy to him for providing more opportunities to emotionally abuse his girlfriend. The second chapter swaps to Ladybug's POV in order to show that Adrien is an UnreliableNarrator who doesn't even register that some of his actions (which he considers "fun ways to get a rise out of Ladybug") cross the MoralEventHorizon.

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'': Its protagonist is Gru. He's a villain, but he is not the best in the world. However, it's a point of pride for him that he's pretty close.

* ''WebAnimation/TheAnnoyingOrange'': Orange is a PsychopathicManchild who often [[LackOfEmpathy laughs at the brutal deaths of the foods he comes across]], makes his friends (especially [[NoRespectGuy Pear]]) the butt of jokes, [[MadBomber obsesses over explosives]], and makes sadistic jokes at others' expense. However, he is [[AdaptationalNiceGuy much nicer]] in the Cartoon Network series (not that it says much).

* The narrator of Music/WarrenZevon's "Mr. Bad Example". He starts out stealing from a church fund for widows and orphans, and only gets worse. The AxCrazy "Excitable Boy" would be another example.

* Many WebAnimation/YoutubePoop and {{Website/GoAnimate}} protagonists will murder, rape, and do all kinds of horrific things for little to no reason.

* The version of Creator/BillyMays featured in [=Nashmetal100=]'s WebAnimation/YouTubePoop videos is depicted as a downright {{Jerkass}}, being depicted as racist towards black people, Germans, and Mexicans in "The Billy Mays Dating Experience", constantly interrupting Anthony Sullivan's attempt to sell a product in at least two videos of his, and even going as far as to murder Vince Offer.

* The ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fan fiction ''Fanfic/TwoLetters'' deconstructs the "Saltinette" [[FandomSpecificPlot/MiraculousLadybug Fandom-Specific Plot]] (Marinette [[AccusationFic getting fed up with the rest of the cast bullying her or being incompetent]] by [[TookALevelInJerkass becoming an]] AlphaBitch) by [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerating]] said reaction and turning her into one of these. The second of the titular two letters is a NoteToSelf in which she gloats to her post-quitting-being-a-Guardian-{{Laser Guided Amnesia}}c self how she orchestrated the downfall of all the other heroic Miraculous holders in Paris and allowed her biggest bully to become a SketchySuccessor who is currently causing mayhem with a MonsterProtectionRacket, all to get even with a city full of ([[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness alleged]]) {{Ungrateful Bastard}}s. As for the amnesiac Marinette, she is [[DisproportionateRetribution perfectly happy with this]].

* ''Fanfic/CatarinaClaesMustDie'' follows Lady Henrietta Garland, the daughter of an Earl who is the reincarnation of a [[BullyMagnet heavily bullied]] {{Otaku}} that found solace playing the Otome Game ''Fortune Lover'', specifically watching HateSink bully Catarina Claes die horribly at the bad ends of Geordo and Keith's respective routes. When Henrietta gets her memories back and realizes she's in the world of ''Fortune Lover'', she looks forward to seeing Catarina punished and killed like in the game. The problem is that Henrietta is in the world of ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'', where Catarina had regained her own memories as a Japanese {{Otaku}} and is now an AllLovingHero LovedByAll. However, Henrietta refuses to accept these changes, and she will do anything to make Catarina pay for her "crimes".

* The titular gang of ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys'' are a CaperCrew of [[PredatorsAreMean predatory animals]]. After being caught trying to pull the biggest heist of their careers, they try to [[FalselyReformedVillain feign reformation]] so they can return to their criminal lifestyle. [[spoiler:They eventually reform for real to clear their names after being framed for a crime they didn't commit.]]

Sometimes (but not always), this villainous main character will even get the SympatheticPOV. On the other hand, it is not necessary for a villain to be sympathetic for them to be this trope. They simply need to be a villain whose morally reprehensible actions (however [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned]]) are in no way glossed over ''or'' justified within the context of the story. We are seeing the story from a villain's point of view. Villain Protagonists are also common in EvilVsEvil stories, where their nemesis is a VillainAntagonist.

* ''Fanfic/CatarinaClaesMustDie'' follows Lady Henrietta Garland, the daughter of an Earl who is the reincarnation of a [[BullyMagnet heavily bullied]] {{Otaku}} that found solace playing the Otome Game ''Fortune Lover'', specifically watching HateSink bully Catarina Claes die horribly at the bad ends of Geordo and Keith's respective routes. When Henrietta gets her memories back and realizes she's in the world of ''Fortune Lover'', she looks forward to seeing Catarina punished and killed like in the game. The problem is that Henrietta is in the world of ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'', where Catarina had regained her own memories as a Japanese {{Otaku}} and is now an AllLovingHero with HundredPercentAdorationRating. However, Henrietta refuses to accept that these changes, and she will do anything to make Catarina pay for her "crimes".

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'': Its protagonist is Gru. He's a villain, but he is not the best in the world.

* ''WebAnimation/GoryToons'' has the tendency of placing its characters into villainous roles for plot's sake. Eric Cartman, Cuddles, and Pop are the most prominent examples, but there's other recurring cases as well, including Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Kirby, and Splendid.