The history of cinema is full of examples to follow, of characters with a granite moral capable of changing the world with his acts. Unfortunately, not all of us are that perfect and in the same way that this example shines with its own light to illuminate the lives of those who stray, we also have next to the example of those who do not want to follow the steps of that idyllic path and prefer evil, or just rudeness.
What is an antihero?
The genre of superhero movies has given us in the last 50 years a huge number of examples of what moral rectitude and actions have to be. Characters chiseled in the stone of virtue that rarely deviate from the established in their monotonous existences. So to have a good time, what better than to take a tour of the circus of the horrors of sins? Now, do you know exactly that he is an antihero?
If we go to any dictionary, we will find in the definition of antihero that it is that «character of a work of fiction that plays the same role of importance and prominence as the traditional hero, but that lacks its characteristics of perfection because it has the virtues and defects of a normal person”. Two classic examples of Spanish literature could be those of The Lazarillo de Tormes and Sancho Panza, the faithful squire of Don Quixote. So you can get an idea...
Superhero cinema has proliferated in recent years around these figures too, controversial and not exactly a good example for youth. So with the intention of remembering the most outstanding ones, in case you want to give yourself a movie marathon of a certain moral turpitude and unleashed instincts where those moral values that Marvel or DC characters remind us from time to time are put into question, here you have a small list of the ones that (we think) are the best.
The best anti-heroes in cinema (of heroes)
With all of the above on the table, we have gone to look for the genre of superheroes, what are they? those antiheroes who have starred in their own movies and that they are not, precisely, an example to follow. Paradoxically, it has been that imperfection that has made them popular idols. Here you have them.
Joker
Arthur Fleck has one passion in life: making others laugh. The problem is that society seems not to accept him and little by little it is pushing him towards a spiral of violence from which he will not be able to escape. Before him will be presented a single path that has only one way out: to become the Joker.
Watchmen
The year 2009 will be remembered for the the arrival of the first batch of great antiheroes to the world of cinema. Alan Moore's characters made the leap to the big screen thanks to Zack Snyder in a film that is already an icon among comic book fans, and a clear example of what main characters are that we cannot consider as examples of anything. Or maybe yes?
V de Vendetta
London is submerged in a kind of police regime where the iron fist is applied to the population. In the middle of that dark present the figure of a savior emerges that uses terrorist techniques to put an end to tyranny. Although it is true that this V is not exactly the best example to follow.
Darkman
Sam Raimi was already flirting in 1990 with superhero cinema inspired by comics with a film in which an accident leaves a scientist practically facelessor that you just discovered how to make faux fur. Although his values are noble, deep down what he seeks is revenge on those who caused him so much harm. And of course, that is not a feeling to be taken into account as a positive, right?
Logan
How is it possible that we consider a movie with Wolverine as an example of antiheroes? This is actually the case, at least in James Mangold's film, where un Wolverine run down has to face everyone and everything to protect a girl who seems to have special powers. The problem is that along the way she will make some decisions that will bring her closer to the abyss of darkness than to light.
Spawn
As in the case of Darkman, the anti-hero created by Todd McFarlane is moved by a pure instinct of revenge and in the 1997 film it becomes very clear. In this case we have a character, Spawn, who has made a pact with the devil that will lead him to gain some superpowers that will allow him to complete his Machiavellian plan.
Dredd
In a rather dark future of a society divided between rich and poor, the police must maintain order even if it is the agents themselves who cannot boast too much of virtues. In this case, the famous Judge Dredd, armed wing and executioner who passes sentence just before pulling the trigger.
Venom
An example that we all have fresh in our memory, thanks to two films that have increased his already enormous fame. Venom is a symbiote that is the clear example of what an anti-hero is because it is not possible to find a single virtue in him, even if he later faces the bad guys and kills them in the most violent way he can.
Suicide Squadron
DC found a vein in that of taking a group of comic book villains and putting them in front of a mission with a (seemingly) noble purpose. But nothing is further from reality because you only have to see the result of the two films that have been released (in 2018 and 2021) to understand that, Although "the monkey dresses in silk, the monkey stays".
Megamind
This Dreamworks Animation movie is wonderful because it shows us what happens when a villain kills the superhero and the city he protected is at his feet. After so much destruction, he seeks to create another opponent capable of fighting him, but along the way he will see that, after all, he will have no choice but to end up protecting Metro City from the beast he has manufactured.
Hellboy
This comic book character has some very interesting films behind him, although we we stayed with those of Guillermo del Toro. It is a kind of rather violent and wild half-demon who cannot erase his dark origins and whom he serves, with one stroke of the pen, although some of his actions may seem to pass for good.
Hancock
We come to another of the heroes who are neither noble nor are they sometimes moved by doing good just for the sake of it. Hancock is quite unpopular, lives in a permanent state of dissatisfaction and he is tormented by the way everyone sees him. The problem is that although he saves many lives, he causes real catastrophes that take him a long way from the image that we all have of what a superhero is.
Birds of prey
This is the same case that occurs with The Suicide Squad, where a series of villains from DC comics gather around the famous Harley Quinn. It does not matter how much it seems that they fight against evil, that after all they practically represent the same side of the coin of that evil that they say they fight. Too dangerous.
Guardians of the Galaxy
With the passing of the years and the films of the different phases of the UCM, all we have ended up thinking that it is a group of superheroes Nothing could be further from the truth. This gang of five (almost) failures is the best example of what anti-heroes are: misfits with distracted ways who, in this case, roam the galaxy doing what they can. Even if they end up doing good on the rebound.
Dead Pool
Surely this Marvel character was the first one that came to your mind when you read about the best anti-hero movies. Deadpool is a disturbed man with more or less special powers that he does not do good out of conviction, but out of pure revenge to make pay for all the torture he went through.