Why We Love Anti-Heroes | Wealth of Geeks

I am going to ask you a question that will make you feel like you’re in tenth-grade English class again. Who is the real villain in Shakespeare’s Macbeth? Any guesses? Anyone? Beuller? Beuller?

One could make a convincing argument that the villain of Macbeth is Macbeth. After hearing a prophecy that he is to become king, he commits a series of murders to secure his fate. You could also argue that the villains in Macbeth are the three witches whose prophecy set the events in place that led to the murder of King Duncan.

If you had asked me when I first read Macbeth, I would have said that the real villain of Macbeth is the high school English teacher that made us read this instead of letting us watch Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Without a doubt, the general consensus of Shakespeare’s stans is that the big bad wolf of the Macbeth Cinematic Universe is none other than Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to go down the path of murder. Eventually (spoiler alert), things get out of hand, and Macbeth starts murdering people without her knowledge, including the wife and children of their associate, Macduff. After a sleepwalking stint that would put even Mike Birbiglia to shame, she has a self-inflicted “accident” off camera, but the damage she’s inflicted on those around her has already been done and ultimately leads to the demise of her husband at the end of the play.

Wow, that was a pretty good summary! Eat your heart out, Sparknotes. 

While Lady Macbeth is arguably the evilest mind in the play, she also has some human qualities. The guilt she felt when she learned of the death of Macduff’s wife and child was so deep that she hallucinated an image of blood on her hands. Most supervillains don’t feel guilt — Thanos could have cleared double those numbers before breakfast and slept like a baby that night. Perhaps Lady Macbeth isn’t a villain; maybe she’s something more complex.

Lady Macbeth is considered one of the first examples of an Anti-hero or a protagonist that lacks the traditional qualities we expect from a conventional hero or heroine. She’s among the first of her kind, but certainly not the last, as the number of anti-heroes in media has only increased in the centuries following. And now we’re done talking about Shakespeare (I swear!) because the anti-hero trope has developed and expanded to include some of the most famous characters of all time (and one killer song by Taylor Swift.)

Heroes vs. Anti-Heroes vs. Villains

We all know what a hero looks like. A hero is courageous, kindhearted, and selfless. Always puts the needs of others before their own needs. A hero always makes the right decisions just in the nick of time. A hero has a cape that billows heroically in the breeze and has never had a bad hair day — not even once. Clark Kent, Harry Potter, and Captain America are all heroes.

We all know what a villain looks like. A villain is the guy hiding in the shadows, mashing his together, muttering “mwahaha.” He kicks puppies for fun and takes candies from babies just because it’s Thursday. Lex Luthor, Lord Voldemort, and Thanos are all villains – and they relish the title.

So what does an anti-hero look like? Is it just a mix of both?

They have a saying about greatness as it applies to heroes: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” This is a quote from a play called Twelfth Night written by…never mind. Anyway, I believe a correlation can be made here with some slight adjustments for anti-heroes. Some are born evil and turn good. Some are born good and slowly turn bad. And others are hurricanes of chaos with short stints of humanity.

Do I have examples of each of these categories? Of course, I do! Thanks for asking. And since you stuck with me through not one but two Shakespeare references, I’m going to reward you with a fun one. My personal favorite anti-hero: Deadpool.

What Does an Anti-Hero Look Like?

Deadpool, also known as “Merc with a Mouth” Wade Wilson, has been gracing the Marvel Comics world since his debut in the early nineties. He’s a former mercenary with super strength and regenerative abilities (meaning he essentially can’t die), and he’s also worked alongside one of the greatest comic book teams in history: the X-Men. This alone would qualify one as a superhero, but as Wade says in his 2016 movie starring Ryan Reynolds: “I may be super, but I’m no hero.”

He’s immature, violent, and only cares about one person: his partner, Vanessa. But he cares deeply and authentically about her. Human traits like that make Wade no villain. Wade leaps into action to save her when she’s in danger, leaving his violent and immature ways behind him (mostly). Deadpool is the poster child for a bad guy who became good because of love. But he’s not a hero, either. Alexa, play “Lover.”

Or They Can Look Like

Now let’s talk about someone that started out good and turned bad. There’s no better example of a downward spiral from “Mr. Rogers” to “Scarface” than one Walter White of a little show called Breaking Bad. A sweet, kindhearted father and high school chemistry teacher is diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Refusing to put his wife and children through financial hardship due to his terminal illness, he begins selling meth alongside his former student Jesse Pinkman.

Of course, the story is filled with twists and turns leading to Walter becoming a drug kingpin, and what’s worse… he’s good at it. Sure, a lot of people die because of Walter’s actions, both directly and indirectly. Ultimately his family gets torn apart, and…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but things don’t turn out well for him.

But Walter wasn’t born a villain. He started his journey towards crime due to circumstances he couldn’t control. It makes the viewer ask themselves how they would handle the situation if their health and family were on the line. Personally, I would start with a lemonade stand or a go-fund-me and would only resort to dealing meth as a last resort.

Or How About

Another example of a great antihero in modern media is Pedro Pascal’s turn as the titular character in The Mandalorian. Also known as Din Djarin, the character was inspired by another of history’s great anti-heroes: Clint Eastwood’s “The Man With No Name,” who appears in some of his earlier Spaghetti westerns such as A Fistful of Dollars. Much like this outlaw, the Mandalorian conceals a significant part of his identity — in this case, his face — which creates a mysterious and stoic air surrounding him. While being “mysterious” isn’t a stereotypically heroic trait, we still find ourselves rooting for both heroes at the end of the day.

The rise of the anti-hero has led to some of the most impactful characters in the history of television, movies, games, and comics. These pivotal characters include The Grinch, GOT’s Jaime Lannister, The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon, and Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent (especially in her solo movie.) So, why do we love these characters so much?

Why Do We Love Those Characters So Much?

I was getting to that!

In short, we love antiheroes because they reflect the duality of man – how both good and bad traits combine to create a relatable, more human character. As much as we love Superman, it’s unfair to expect everyone to be Clark Kent, a beacon for truth, justice, and the American way.

Not everyone can be Captain America, fighting alongside the troops without getting a scratch. Not everyone can be Harry Potter, conquering the darkness through the power of friendship. But there is one thing everyone can be: flawed. This is what connects us to anti-heroes and to the rest of the world: being accepting of flaws, laughing at them, and seeing heroic traits anyway. While seeing and relating to the flaws of fictional characters is a great way to pass the time, in a perfect world, we would also extend that same grace to ourselves — and each other.

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.