8/26 - Ideas

I want to unpack and establish what makes an antihero. Clearly, an antihero is not the same as a villain. A villain is out for pure gain, has no regard for the law, and is completely self-centered. An antihero is a person who will do anything that is necessary to serve justice, in the end as long as it can be justice. While an argument can be made that an antihero has no regard for the law, they do to some extent because their ultimate goal is upholding the law in some sort of fashion whereas a villain has only vested personal motives for personal gain. An antihero wants what's best in the end no matter what it takes to get there. Murder and crime are acceptable is justice can be reached through it.

An antihero can be created through circumstance. When someone is forced into a position/situation, they can become tempted to use any means necessary in order to get a result quickly or to bring an end to something they were once or still passionate about. In a sense, an antihero is a selfish individual. While their ultimate goal is for the greater good, they don't mind being opportunistic or a bit greedy. Catwoman is a great example of the latter. Traditionally a diamond thief, she doesn't mind dipping into the bucket twice. She loves Batman but she also wants to fulfill her desire to steal. She is Batman's nemesis at times and also his partner when it is convenient for her. She knows where to draw the line when it comes to crime. While unlike the Joker who would commit genocide, she is would try to stop it. If it came to a situation of Catwoman stealing a diamond or saving Batman (her love interest), then she would probably find a way to do both. This is what I mean by dipping into the bucket twice. She isn't inherently evil, committing heinous crimes, however, she is greedy and wants to fulfill her desire.

An antihero is potentially above right and wrong, lacking the ability to see right and wrong. They may lack the ability to control their emotion and it can run rampant. Phoenix is a great example of this.

Examples of antiheroes:

Catwoman:


Spawn:


Wolverine:


Punisher:


Batman:


Phoenix:


Links:
These are some links I found interesting and explored during the process of thinking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antihero

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_antiheroes#Comic_books

http://www.answers.com/topic/anti-hero

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AntiHero


Ideally, this is something I would like to be something working towards my senior project or even a part of that project. I do have a very concrete character I want to work with who is an antihero. Her scenario is vague at this point and open to manipulation and new ideas, however.


Lastly, I would like to take a moment and share some videos I found interesting as I peruse this topic. Just a forewarning, these are things I found in old cartoons I used to watch so let's look at them, shall we?:



So why on earth would I place Seto Kaiba as an antihero? Once again, he pulls from all the classic antihero values. He's selfish and out for himself but at the same time upholds an overall sense of justice. He has no problem taking whatever measures he has to remove criminals and true villains, typically for his own gain. He also has no problem cooperating if he is to gain from their alliance. But like Catwoman, he knows where to draw the line. He's out for money, fame, and honor, not murder like some of the characters of this series.




Gary Oak?! Oh yes! I know it's lame to do a Pokemon reference but hear me out! Gary is many ways like Kaiba - he's a strong rival to the supposed hero but is willing to ally with their rival in order for the greater good. He enjoys seeing Ash lose but would never let the world end or some catastrophe happen in order to fulfill that desire. He has the Pokemon's best intentions at heart and wouldn't kill or hurt innocent people or Pokemon. It seems to me like Gary Oak fills the criteria for antihero quite well.