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Anime & Manga
"Friends or foes? That's something... you'll have to decide on your own!"
— Luffy, One Piece
"Glorification is only fitting for those in the light. Shadows shall proceed down the necessary path."
— Blaster Dark Revenger, Cardfight!! Vanguard
Kid: What do we do, Isaac? They want to be saved.
Isaac: Those who would make good people cry... (eye twinkle with Audible Gleam)... deserve no mercy.
Isaac: Those who would make good people cry... (eye twinkle with Audible Gleam)... deserve no mercy.
— Braiger, first episode
"Over the aeons, your proclamations of 'peace' always seemed pointless. You must admit you love the smell of battle."
— Unicron to Optimus Prime, Transformers: Armada.
Comic Books
"It doesn't matter if there is an edge, or if we occasionally cross it. As long as the innocent are protected, our cause is just."
— Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: Hearts of Darkness
"You're not the hero we want, you're the scumbag we need."
— Emily Preston to Deadpool, Deadpool Vol. 3 #1
"The media likes to portray me as a senseless killer. I would point out that I am a very sensible killer."
"Back off, Pollyanna! I don't have time for fairy tales. Maybe I'm not your idea of a hero... but there's no Santa Claus, either."
— Darkdevil, Spider-Girl #12: Duel With Darkdevil
I'm not a damn hero. At my core, I'm still a warlord.
—Aja Oba/John, Infinitum: An Afrofuturist Tale
Films — Animation
"Huh. You're not a traditional bad guy, but you're not exactly a good guy either."
— Phyllis to Batman,The LEGO Batman Movie
Krypto: Your owner's a hero too?
Anubis: Anti-hero. It’s basically exactly like a regular hero, except way cooler. You make up your own rules, and then you break ’em. Also you can ignore most moral and ethical conventions because no one can stop you.
Krypto: Yeah, that sounds a lot like a villain.
Anubis: Anti-hero.
Krypto: If he's anti a hero, then... isn't he a villain?
Anubis: Admit he's an anti-hero or Black Adam will destroy you!
Krypto: Very villain thing to do.
Anubis: It's a fine line, not gonna lie.
Anubis: Anti-hero. It’s basically exactly like a regular hero, except way cooler. You make up your own rules, and then you break ’em. Also you can ignore most moral and ethical conventions because no one can stop you.
Krypto: Yeah, that sounds a lot like a villain.
Anubis: Anti-hero.
Krypto: If he's anti a hero, then... isn't he a villain?
Anubis: Admit he's an anti-hero or Black Adam will destroy you!
Krypto: Very villain thing to do.
Anubis: It's a fine line, not gonna lie.
Films — Live-Action
"I may be a bastard, but I'm not a fucking bastard."
— Seth Gecko, From Dusk Till Dawn
James Gordon: Why is he running, Dad?
Commissioner Jim Gordon: Because we have to chase him.
James Gordon: He didn't do anything wrong.
Commissioner Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.
Commissioner Jim Gordon: Because we have to chase him.
James Gordon: He didn't do anything wrong.
Commissioner Gordon: Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.
"We're dicks! We're reckless, arrogant, stupid dicks. And the Film Actors Guild... are pussies. And Kim Jong Il... is an asshole. Pussies don't like dicks because pussies get fucked by dicks. But dicks also fuck assholes, assholes who just want to shit on everything. Pussies may think they can deal with assholes their way, but the only thing that can fuck an asshole is a dick. With some balls. The problem with dicks is that sometimes they fuck too much or fuck when it isn't appropriate. And it takes a pussy to show them that. But sometimes, pussies get so full of shit that they become assholes, themselves. Because pussies are only an inch and a half away from assholes. I don't know much in this crazy, crazy world, but I do know that if you don't let us fuck this asshole, we are going to have our dicks and our pussies... all covered in shit."
— Gary Johnston, Team America: World Police
"If wearing superhero tights means sparing psychopaths, then maybe I wasn't meant to wear 'em. Not everyone monitors the hall like you."
— Deadpool to Colossus, Deadpool (2016)
Peter Quill: What should we do next: Something good, something bad? Bit of both?
Gamora: We'll follow your lead, Star-Lord.
Peter: A bit of both!
Gamora: We'll follow your lead, Star-Lord.
Peter: A bit of both!
Anna Valerious: Some say you're a murderer, Mr. Van Helsing. Others say you're a holy man. Which is it?
Gabriel van Helsing: It's a bit of both, I think.
Gabriel van Helsing: It's a bit of both, I think.
I've seen angels fall from blinding heights
But you yourself are nothing so divine
Just next in line
But you yourself are nothing so divine
Just next in line
Literature
"One of the coldest, most evil souls I have ever encountered once told me that the reason I fought so hard to do what seemed right was that I was terrified to look within me and see the desire to cease the fight and do as I would, free of conscience or remorse.
And now I could see that he had been right."
And now I could see that he had been right."
"How can I even explain? I’ve seen the worst of the worst. I want to protect each and every one of you from it. The system won’t stop them, not all on its own."
Arthur: Killing little girls, possessed or no, hardly strikes me as your average good-guy behavior.
Kayla: Who the feck said anything about being good guys? Good guys are comic books and popcorn movies. They're feckin' fake. We don't do the right thing, Arthur. We do the necessary thing. How the feck have you not figured that out yet?
— Anti-Hero, by Jonathan Wood
It wasn't the noblest path, but Brad wasn't the noblest person. He was an ambitious guy who could predict the future.
Live-Action TV
"I may be on the side of the angels, but don't think for one second that I am one of them."
— Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock
Elena Gilbert: Why won't you let anyone see the good in you?
Damon Salvatore: 'Cause when people see good, they expect good. And I don't wanna live up to anyone's expectations.
Damon Salvatore: 'Cause when people see good, they expect good. And I don't wanna live up to anyone's expectations.
Hart: Do you ever wonder if you're a bad man?
Cohle: No, I don't wonder, Marty. World needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door.
Cohle: No, I don't wonder, Marty. World needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door.
Music
"Whatever happened to all the heroes?
All the Shakespearoes?
They watched their Rome burn
Whatever happened to the heroes?
Whatever happened to the heroes?
No more heroes anymore
No more heroes anymore"
— The Stranglers, "No More Heroes"
"Now, here I lie in my own blood, and strangers cry for me
I'm prepared to meet the gods, I wish they'd let me be
I don't deserve their sympathy, I know who I am
My soul is death and misery
I am an evil man"
— Amon Amarth, "The Hero"
"Yo, it's three thousand thirty
I want y'all to meet Deltron Zero, hero, not no small feat
It's all heat in this day and age
I'll raid your grave, anything it takes to save the day"
I want y'all to meet Deltron Zero, hero, not no small feat
It's all heat in this day and age
I'll raid your grave, anything it takes to save the day"
— Deltron 3030, "3030"
"Hunting high and low to seek revenge
Brand new moral code, got made reluctant renegade
Leaving empty souls when he avenged
Evil spirits flowed, he drank the blood like lemonade"
Brand new moral code, got made reluctant renegade
Leaving empty souls when he avenged
Evil spirits flowed, he drank the blood like lemonade"
— Morcheeba, "Blood Like Lemonade"
"Like a demon leads the youth
We are terrible in truth
No time to falter, no turning back
When we come under attack
There is no question as with a friend
We have our honor to defend
We're on fire but on a leash
We only ever wanted peace!"
We are terrible in truth
No time to falter, no turning back
When we come under attack
There is no question as with a friend
We have our honor to defend
We're on fire but on a leash
We only ever wanted peace!"
— Judas Priest, "Never The Heroes"
"Stay in the lines, don't make a scene"
Heroes try to tell us what's right
But when push comes to shove, you'll know what I mean
I'm ready to start a fight
I'm gonna be the anti-hero
Feared and hated by everybody
I'm gonna be the anti-hero
So I can save you when the time comes!
Heroes try to tell us what's right
But when push comes to shove, you'll know what I mean
I'm ready to start a fight
I'm gonna be the anti-hero
Feared and hated by everybody
I'm gonna be the anti-hero
So I can save you when the time comes!
— Sekai no Owari, "Anti-Hero"
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
—Taylor Swift, "Anti-Hero"
Video Games
"Look at you, you're one of the Six Heroes, and you're threatening a child."
— Iron Tager, towards Hakumen, Blazblue Cross Tag Battle
"I see and feel the evil
My hands will crush 'em all
You think you have the answer
I'll laugh and watch you fall
Black hearted evil
Brave hearted hero
I am all, I am all I am"
"We're not the good guys. We're not even close to being the good guys. But today, we're going to save the world."
— Athena, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, Last Hope trailer
"Good men mean well. We just don't always end up doing well."
— Isaac Clarke, Dead Space 3
"Men have this idea that they can fight with dignity, that there is a proper way to kill someone... it's absurd. We need that idea, to endure the bloody horror of murder. You must destroy this idea. Show them what a messy, terrible thing it is to kill a man, and show them that you relish in it. Shoot to wound, then execute the wounded, burn them, take them in close combat. Destroy any preconceptions as to what a man is and you become their personal monster... when they fear you, you become stronger, you become better."
— The Jackal, Far Cry 2
"That is the end of this war. That is the responsibility I took when I swore to be a superhero. It is the first price I have to pay to become my ideal. There's no need to talk about the obvious outcome. Emiya Shirou will turn his mind to steel, and become a superhero."
— Shirou, Fate/stay night bad end #30: Mind of Steel
"You both have childlike ideals. Believing in simplicity and shouldering the role of a criminal for the sake of that ideal. Turning yourselves into the greatest evil to eliminate all the small evils in this world. You and Kiritsugu act like the saviors we call 'anti-heroes'."
— Kotomine, Fate/stay night
"There was no glory in this. I hadn't asked for this crap. Trouble had come to me in big dark swarms. The good and the just were like gold dust in this city. I had no illusions. I wasn't one of them... I was no hero."
Spawn: Your angel of death awaits.
The Joker: You can't kill me! Heroes have moral codes!
Spawn: Who said I was a hero?
The Joker: You can't kill me! Heroes have moral codes!
Spawn: Who said I was a hero?
Markus Kruber: Blimey, bit exciting hereabouts, isn't it sir?
Victor Saltzpyre: The world seethes with challenge for righteous souls!
Markus Kruber: I don't mind that, sir. Just wish it'd leave me alone for a bit, if you follow.
Victor Saltzpyre: The world seethes with challenge for righteous souls!
Markus Kruber: I don't mind that, sir. Just wish it'd leave me alone for a bit, if you follow.
Web Animation
"In R-rated movies, the good guy only kills in self-defense. RR-rated movies are allowed to blur the line. Man, I saw this one RR-rated movie where the good guy stepped on a rabbit. He didn't kill it, but, later on, he wished he did! The good guy! That's messed up, man!"
— Strong Bad, sbemail "rated"
Web Comics
VRISKA: I only ever wanted to do the right thing no matter how it made people judge me, and I don't need a magic ring to do that....
VRISKA: And you don't have to 8e a good person to 8e a hero.
VRISKA: You just have to know who you are and stay true to that.
VRISKA: So I'm going to keep fighting for people the only way I ever knew how.
VRISKA: 8y 8eing me.
VRISKA: 8y 8eing me.
— Vriska Serket, Homestuck
Gear: ...Shooting people in the back isn't very heroic, you know.
Benzene: Steffi's the one who believes in things like heroics. Which is why I need to protect her from people like you.
Benzene: Steffi's the one who believes in things like heroics. Which is why I need to protect her from people like you.
Web Original
"There has always been something of the bizarre about the Torchwood team but until now it has just been the most collection of flawed and sexually corrupt human beings ever to have been assembled in one environment. To have the man who cannot die heading the organization and the man who died and lives on as their Chief Medical Officer seems to fit somehow. A true bunch of grotesques."
— Joe Ford
Web Video
"It is the purpose of the anti-hero to fight against, and thus reveal the hypocrisy of humanity."
— Ninja07Keaton, YouTube
Ralsei: Welcome, heroes...!
Vegeta: Okay, we'll use that word loosely.
Vegeta: Okay, we'll use that word loosely.
— Renegade for Life: Vegeta Plays Deltarune
Western Animation
"Discord may be reformed, but he's not that reformed."
—Spike the Dragon, who is kind of right, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
"And, well, he's not a villain, Summer, but he shouldn't be your hero."
— Morty (about Rick), Rick and Morty
"You may not like the way I do things, but I get things done!"
— Rouge the Bat, Sonic Prime
Real Life
"In judging policies we should consider the results that have been achieved through them rather than the means by which they have been executed."
— Niccolò Machiavelli, letter to Piero Soderini
"James Bond is a blunt instrument wielded by a Government Department. He is quiet, hard, ruthless, sardonic, fatalistic."
"Yes, I do; though a very flawed hero. An anti-hero, perhaps. He is not a particularly likeable man in many ways. He remains rather cruel, a bully, riddled with bitterness and insecurity — and yet he loved, and showed loyalty to that love and, ultimately, laid down his life because of it. That’s pretty heroic!"
"When I was cast as Galadriel, I was so excited about exploring this element of her – that she's not a saint, and she's from a family that has caused a huge amount of damage, and she realizes that she can only fully be in control of the side of her that could be twisted towards evil, as seen in the Third Age with Frodo. To show that side of her and for Adar to really... She's the closest to speechless she could ever be because he really truly sees her. It was really exciting to have what we were exploring with Galadriel, that she was not perfect, and she had this darkness inside of her and we have that come to a peak, which is what that scene felt like."
— Morfydd Clark on Galadriel
"The anti-heroes are central to these television shows, and people are really getting behind them, even though they're not necessarily the most moral characters. So I'd say that I've become more familiar with the character who's obviously very flawed but gets you on their side — you have complicated feelings about them. But I think I saw the story too much from this character's perspective to perceive any flaws."
—Pedro Pascal, when asked for Oberyn Martell's influences
