Line #26 AntiHero/MarvelCinematicUniverse


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4	->''"You think the four of you can save New York? You can't even save yourselves."''
5	-->-- '''Stick''', questioning the importance of ''{{Series/The Defenders\|2017}}''[[note]]ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, ComicBook/JessicaJones, ComicBook/LukeCage, and ComicBook/IronFist[[/note]]
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7	There are {{Ideal Hero}}es, [[HeelFaceTurn redeemed villains]] and other [[GoodFeelsGood card-carrying]] [[TheCape heroes]], but due to [[DarkerAndEdgier the nature]] of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, it shouldn’t be a surprise that a lot of these good guys stand out as [[AntiHero the ones who have many character flaws and darker aspects in their personality]].
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10	[[AC:Films, by Release Date]]
11	* Most of the Avengers stand out as this, and many eventually become {{The Atoner}}s:
12	** Tony Stark aka ''Film/IronMan'' falls under this category, even though this version of Tony is much, [[AdaptationalHeroism much nicer]] than his flawed comic book counterpart. Tony is more prone to selfish actions than most of his teammates. He is shown to be a WellIntentionedExtremist, and his mistakes plague him especially in [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron Age of Ultron]] and [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar Civil War]].
13	** The Incredible Hulk, also known as Bruce Banner from the [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 2008 movie of the same name]]. Due to his [[HulkingOut wrathful nature]] which leads him to [[TheDreaded become feared by almost everyone around him]], he appears to be rather aggressive compared to the other Avengers.
14	** Agent Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (first appearing in ''Film/IronMan2'') is also an AntiHero, especially prominent in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', where she has a lot of red in her ledger that she's trying to wipe out by being an amoral spy.
15	** Hawkeye despite being a loving FamilyMan has committed numerous crimes and is technically a ProfessionalKiller.
16	** Pietro and Wanda Maximoff aka Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch from ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' are the most villainous Avengers to this date, they willingly joined HYDRA out of hatred of Tony Stark and then joined Utron the killer titular robot. Not until more half way though the movie do they HeelFaceTurn to Avengers. Wanda in particular is EasilyForgiven by Cap and other Avengers despite all she's done.
17	* Nick Fury, [[BigGood the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a 'Level 10' agent, and campaigner for the Avengers Initiative]], is one, especially in ''{{Film/The Avengers\|2012}}''. He's a practical, levelheaded man who's ultimately fighting for the good side, but he's also a [[TheChessmaster pragmatic manipulator]] and [[GuileHero isn't above deceiving]] [[ManipulativeBastard or lying to The Avengers]] to achieve his goals, [[spoiler:such as when the team discovers that he was keeping secrets about using the Tesseract to develop weapons of mass destruction. Even Captain America became appalled with him.]] This drives a lot of the conflict with him - he keeps secrets and lies to the heroes' faces, and feel no shame about it whatsoever.
18	* In the ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy\|2014}}'' movie, the eponymous superheroes are a straight-up bunch of anti-heroes, with the team being made up of thieves, career criminals, and assassins.
19	** [[DiscoDan Star-Lord aka Peter Quill]] grew up in space to become an intergalactic outlaw and scavenger. In hindsight, he starts off as a self-serving outlaw and a bit of an asshole although he eventually chooses to step up for true blue unselfish heroism — with a side of whatever (and whoever) he can get his hands on.
20	** Gamora is a Zehoberei woman taken in and modified by Thanos to be a warrior in his service. She has a FreudianExcuse -- [[BrokenBird her family was murdered in front of her and then she was adopted and raised as an assassin by the one responsible for her parents' death]], so it’s no surprise someone coming out of that would be so cold and emotionally reserved. She later has a HeelFaceTurn, turning against her former compatriots and employers to protect the masses of the galaxy from certain doom.
21	** Drax the Destroyer is a man who [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge has been on a rampage]] ever since his family was killed by Ronan. He seeks vengeance against the Kree Accuser, and joins the team when they convince him to not make them his latest victims in exchange for them luring Ronan nearby for Drax to kill. Eventually, Drax realizes that how someone who obsesses with vengeance can not only cause problems, but also make no friends at all, and starts to question his actions. Come ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', he starts to [[TookALevelInCheerfulness soften up]] and even thinks of his team as family.
22	** [[AnimalSuperhero Rocket]] [[AlienAnimals Raccoon]] is a bounty hunter with a penchant for heavy weaponry and bombs. He's one of the more violent and unfriendly members of the team. It helps that he is the TokenEvilTeammate.
23	** [[GentleGiant Groot]] is a mobile, sapient tree-like alien who serves as Rocket's friend/transportation. He has spent some time kidnapping and/or impaling people for money as Rocket's accomplice. Despite this, he is the TokenGoodTeammate of the team.
24	* Loki is an ExBigBad who turns into this starting from ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld.'' Having killed numerous innocents in [[{{Film/The Avengers\|2012}} Avengers]] he is distrusted by everyone with the sole exception of Frigga [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas his mother]]. When she is killed, he becomes a NominalHero by joining Thor and Jane only to avenger her, but still selflessly risks his life to save them both. He then tricks them and leaves, taking the opportunity to seize the throne. At the end of ''Film/ThorRagnarok,'' he becomes a classic AntiHero in the same vein as Valkyrie [[spoiler:when he arrives with reinforcements JustInTime to save Asgardians from Hela's UndeadMooks. And in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar,'' he dies in a HeroicSacrifice.]]
25	* Bucky Barnes [[spoiler: aka the Winter Soldier is [[DesignatedVillain unwillingly]] [[BrainWashedAndCrazy example]] due to HYDRA's influence, he has come close to killing certain Avengers e.g like Black Widow and Nick Fury and even after his HeelFaceTurn back to good is distrusted by almost everyone with the exception of his best friend Steve Rogers and a few Wakandains. The Russo brothers enjoyed Bucky's character [[WordOfGod because]] they could get away with pushing his dark side further any other hero]].
26	* In the ''Film/AntMan1'' film, Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man II) is a former thief trying to go straight by helping Hank Pym. This, of course, turns out to involve committing another heist, albeit one that will save lives. Although he has his record, several people admire him for robbing a company that robbed others, including Hank.
27	* In the ''Film/{{Deadpool\|2016}}'' film, Wade Wilson is this trope played straight. He cares about his friends and loved ones, but is also a murdering psychopath who kills others for profit. He describes himself as a bad person who gets paid to beat up worse people. His central arc for ''Film/Deadpool2'' is him grappling with the question of, given all his failings, if he's actually capable of doing anything decent.
28	* In the ''Film/{{Doctor Strange\|2016}}'' movie, the titular character starts out as a self-centered glory hound who wouldn't do anything too difficult for fear of staining his perfect record to a selfless champion who is [[spoiler:willing to endlessly lose against Dormammu in obscurity to spare Earth and the rest of the Multiverse from the fiend]].
29	* M'Baku from the ''Film/{{Black Panther\|2018}}'' movie is another example. Despite wanting what's best for Wakanda, he is a strict isolationist because he fears the outside world and becoming overdependent on vibranium. And [[spoiler:he will not commit to overthrowing a king just because he's asked but may change his mind later]].
30	* In ''Film/{{Black Widow\|2021}}'', Yelena Belova becomes this after the events of ''Endgame'' when she's [[spoiler:recruited by Valentina and is tasked with avenging Romanoff by targeting Barton. Both of them are completely unaware of the true circumstances and are doing this for their own profit.]] Melina is also this [[spoiler:as she helps invent the subjugation chemical that is used to brainwash the children who are widows (including Yalena), though she is convinced by Romanoff to turn on the Red Room and destroy it.]]
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32	[[AC: TV Series, by Air Date]]
33	* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''
34	** Melinda Qiaolian May, highly experienced agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as an AcePilot and weapons expert, is firmly on the side of good, but she occasionally does some less-than-heroic things, such as mercilessly beating up the imprisoned and combat-incapable Ian Quinn after he shoots Skye. To be fair, he ''did'' shoot Skye.
35	** Daisy Johnson[[labelnote:MISC. INFO]] who is called Skye by her peers and Quake by others[[/labelnote]] started off as the one shown to have ulterior motives for joining S.H.I.E.L.D. in the beginning. After her much needed CharacterDevelopment, she is now a good guy, but don’t expect her to pull any punches in achieving her goals.
36	** [[DarkIsNotEvil Robbie Reyes, aka the second Ghost Rider]] (first appearing in [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E1TheGhost Episode 67: "The Ghost"]]) happens to be absolutely brutal in his methods, even torturing and executing his victims after they've already been subdued. However, Reyes only kills those who truly deserve it. The innocent are spared even if they attack him, [[spoiler:as shown when Ghost Rider spares Quake even though she doesn't think of herself as a good guy]].
37	*** His predecessor, [[BadPowersGoodPeople "Johnny Blaze," aka the first Ghost Rider]] (appearing in [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E6TheGoodSamaritan Episode 72: "The Good Samaritan"]]) is even more ''ruthless''. As a matter of fact, he happens to have passed the Spirit of Vengeance onto Robbie, who calls him the Devil, but he did resurrect Robbie and pull Gabe from the wrecked car.
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39	[[AC: Creator/{{Netflix}} Shows]]
40	* ''Series/Daredevil2015''
41	** Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil is a morally ambiguous hero from the get-go, described as being "one bad day away from permanently crossing a line". The very first scene with Daredevil has him brutally beating his enemies, yelling at the victims to run, and then finally turning to the last guy and continuously punching him in the face. Matt is still officially opposed to killing, and even comes to blows with his old master Stick over it. He also suffers a moral breakdown over whether or not to kill Fisk for all the death the crime lord has caused. Helps that he is of the GoodIsNotSoft flavor. Although, to be fair, Matt is less flawed than most anti-heroes.
42	** [[KnightOfCerebus Frank Castle, aka The Punisher]] is the UnscrupulousHero type, with the entire season juggling if he's this or a NominalHero. He targets criminals, but unlike Matt seeks to kill them. He also has one hell of a temper, and is not afraid to unleash it (non-lethally) on people who get in his way. Likewise, Frank has zero qualms in using dark methods to make a point.
43	** [[DarkActionGirl Elektra Natchios]] is an assassin, but is hunting members of a criminal organization that doesn't care if they destroy entire cities.
44	* In ''Series/JessicaJones2015'', the titular character is the GoodIsNotNice kind. She does not consider herself a hero and, as far as she's concerned, has given up on the hero career a long time ago, trying to distance herself from problems not involving hers. She is rough, rude, abrasive and antagonizes everyone, and does not trust anyone at face value. Jessica does, however, feel empathy for victims of injustice, and will begrudgingly help them - much more readily if they have been affected by Kilgrave. She goes to extreme lengths to help Hope - [[MindRape Kilgraved]] into shooting her own parents in an elevator - be found innocent of her crime, and sees it as her job to stop Kilgrave from ruining any more lives. Her methods are pragmatic and risky when not outright destructive or harmful to others, and killing Kilgrave is never something she has a problem with, aside from collateral damage. In short, Jessica stands a stark contrast to Matt Murdock, who is overall a much more polished example of a hero.

Context AntiHero / MarvelCinematicUniverse