My Relationship with the Anti-Hero

I'm a big fan of heroes. I looove them, in fact. Superman. Thor. Captain America.  And I don't mind the "dark hero" either. Batman, maybe, fits this definition. Wolverine. T.V.'s Buffy? Characters whose past and troubled "edge" have be-smudged their heroic qualities, but haven't managed to negate them. Both the hero and the dark hero are clearly noble, courageous, self-sacrificing. They portray characteristics we can count on and admire.  

But to be honest, while I adore heroes, there is a special place in my affections for the anti-hero. 

What's an anti-hero, you ask? Well, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary says an Antihero is "a main character…who does not have the usual good qualities that are expected in a hero; a protagonist or notable figure who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities." 

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't like all types of anti-hero. Often, the anti-hero is clearly a villain - a villain who we are told to align ourselves with and root for. I think of shows like Breaking Bad or movies like Natural Born Killers, where the audience is meant to be on-side with characters who are utterly morally corrupt. I avoid stories where I'm manipulated into rooting for a straight-up bad guy.

No, the type of anti-hero I find myself drawn to is the fallen character, who, despite his (or her) moral corruption, may not be utterly unredeemable.  A character who evokes my sympathy by being his own worst enemy - who does right in spite of, and at times against, his own nature. 

I'll throw some definitions at you, if you're still with me:

"An anti-hero is a flawed hero, and therefore, much more interesting than the more traditional heroes. They can be working on the side of good, but with a tragic flaw, or a horrible past, or for reasons that are selfish and not entirely "pure." They can also be working for the side of evil, but with hidden intentions or other underlying complexities." (Urban Dictionary)

"The anti-hero is often a reluctant hero who does not consider himself capable of accomplishing the goal. He might be selfish, addicted, corrupt, sullen, or disaffected… in many cases, the anti-hero dies at the end of the story, even while overcoming his faults." (WiseGeek).

"The anti-hero is a kind of protagonist, who has aspects of the morality we've traditionally come to associate with the antagonist. An antihero is a protagonist who is as flawed or more flawed than most characters: he is someone who disturbs the reader with his weaknesses yet is sympathetically portrayed, who magnifies the frailties of humanity." (Writer's Digest)

Even Wikipedia gives a nod to this definition, acknowledging "the term is sometimes used more broadly to cover the flawed or part-villanous hero, in the literary tradition of the Byronic hero."

Ah, the Byronic Hero. Here it is, in the words of Lord Byron (from The Corsair)

"He knew himself a villain—but he deem'd
The rest no better than the thing he seem'd;
And scorn'd the best as hypocrites who hid
Those deeds the bolder spirit plainly did.
He knew himself detested, but he knew
The hearts that loath'd him, crouch'd and dreaded too.
Lone, wild, and strange, he stood alike exempt
From all affection and from all contempt. "

I read somewhere that if there's a chance he can be redeemed, he's an anti-hero. If not - villain. I like this.

With this type of anti-hero, we get a picture of someone imperfect - who is capable of great evil - but who is "human", just the same. We feel for him, because the human experience can be painful or difficult, and we relate. And we root for him to change because ultimately, that is humanity at its finest - acknowledging our own darkness or fallen nature and then, somehow, finding undeserved redemption and becoming something new. 

I think of Monroe, in Revolution - and Miles, too, for that matter. Loki, in Thor II. Riddick, in Pitch Black. Or a number of Joss Whedon characters: Spike, in the old Buffy series, Mal and Jayne in Firefly, and of course, Dr. Horrible in the classic Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog.

 These are characters who are completely Selfish. Angry. Hard. Callous. Somewhat…unbalanced. At least, at the start they are. But during the course of their journeys, although they are still, in many ways, selfish and hard, they also somehow defy their nature and do the impossible - display self-sacrificing courage and humanity.  

For example, in battle, Loki - whose motivations of course, are not selfless, nevertheless risks his life to save not only his brother, but also the woman his brother loves. In Pitch Black, Riddick is persuaded to re-enter the dark, killer-creature inhabited valley to rescue some shipmates, at his own peril. And, of course, Spike sacrifices himself for the world. 

I find these characters resonate with me, perhaps, because I find the character who does good in spite of his fallen nature a more moving picture, maybe, than the one who does good because he simply is good.

On the other hand, if you'd ask me who I'd rather have come to my rescue, I'd go with Superman, please. While the anti-hero is fascinating and relatable, I'd prefer my rescuers to be reliable.