Rooting for the bad guy

A

alec

White heterosexual male
Orderite
There seem to be a ton of (psychological, stylistic, literary) reasons why some people root for the bad guy rather than the hero of the story, and I'm sure they're all equally interesting, but that is not the point of this thread.
No, in this thread I would like to know which bad guys/antiheroes charmed their way into your heart and (if possible) which scene/chapter/adventure/monologue/crime won you over.

I'll start with these three:

[1] Kerghan (from the game Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magic Obcura)
You learn a thing or two about Kerghan during your adventures in the world of Arcanum, but the information is limited to some anecdotes and diary entries. It's really only at the very end of the game that Kerghan is given a chance to elaborate on his personal philosophy, and how! Listen to him making perfect sense (for a necromancer):



[2] Pinhead (from the Hellraiser franchise)
If Pinhead is the guy you get to meet in hell, then I want to go to hell the day I die. I saw the original movie when I was 10 years old and since that day I've loved everything about the Cenobites and their leader. How can you not? Just listen to the guy. Some of his lines will tear your soul apart:



[3] A.J. Raffles
Raffles and his sidekick Bunny (aka Harry Manders) are like the bizarro versions of Sherlock Holmes and Watson: they were invented by E.W. Hornung, who was in fact Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, and they're just as charismatic and entertaining as the famous detective and his helper, but they're criminals. I've included Raffles on this list, not because of a specific scene or story or quote, but for the simple fact that he is the most sophisticated, charming and intelligent gentleman thief you'll ever meet. Sure, the stories are dated and not on the same level as the Holmes stories, but there's something about an amateur cracksman in a tuxedo who's trying to lift a door out of its hinges with just some WD-40 and the light of a small piece of candle that totally thrills the fuck out of me. I devoured these stories as a kid and loved the artwork that accompanied them. In fact, I think it was largely the atmosphere of the illustrations (always dark or foggy) that made my imagination run wild:

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Runner-up would be:

Apocalypse (from the movie X-Men: Apocalypse)
I only just saw this movie the other week, but I immediately liked the guy when (fairly early in the movie) he delivers these impressive lines:



Fuck yes!

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So what about you guys? Any Joker aficionados who want to share their favorite Joker moment? Anyone rooting for the brain bugs in Starship Troopers? And where are the Moriarty fans? Discuss.
 
Lannisters. Jaime and Cersei clearly understand Westerosian politics far better than pretty much every other major player in the War of Five Kings. Plus, despite all that they've done, you can't help but respect them.

I'm probably one of the few people who want them to absolutely wreck Jon and Danaerys's shit.


(I also rooted for the machines in The Matrix, however I don't think that should be in the same category, as they aren't brilliant villains, so much as the plot being written so poorly that they are the only ones who actually make sense)
 
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Anton Chigurh comes to mind. Hard to point at any one specific scene though. It's all pretty good. But this one I guess:
 
I pretty much am on the side of the army when it comes to THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL in both its original form as well as the army. You don't get to complain about humanity and its barbarian nature when you are threatening genocide from your oh-so-superior moral position.

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I also side with just about everyone but the "good guys" in CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION. I've got to say that the human race is some of the most ungrateful despicable murderous scum in the world and the only people who actually deserved a happy ending were the guys who don't get it.

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I'm also a fan of the Archduchy of Zeon in all of its incarnations with the general view of, yes, they're awful but I hate the Earth Federation even more. I'm pretty much always on Char Aznable's side, too, even though he's a backstabbing douchebag.

He pretty inspired the protagonist of my novel, Lucifer's Star.

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Oh and I support the First Order of Star Wars as well, just because I sympathize with them against the TREACHEROUS RESISTANCE!
 
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I remember watching Jaws the first time and when the
shark is blown up in the end I was like "aww...". I wanted the shark to go on eating folks, it was cool. :smile:
I still like sharks and marine biology, the ocean etc.
 
I usually root for the bad guys when the story makes most if not all the "good guys" Mary Sues, I.E. Star Wars and The Empire.
Why do i give a shit for the sassy "underdog" resistance when they can't possibly die and have no flaws but an infinite fleet? I want to see how the Empire is away from the lines, their armies' organization, their problems, not the old cast once again.
 
Making a list would go on for a while, considering most of my favorite films have a blurred lines between *good* and *bad* guys or at least charismatic or sympathetic villains.
 
Commodus? Really?

Edit: Some suggestions:
Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) in Heat
The kingpin in The Usual Suspects
 
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SuAside said:
Commodus? Really?
Click to expand...
I simply like the actor, he did a great job, so I enjoyed the scenes when ever Commodus had one of his mental brakedowns, which made him a complicated character. Everyone can look up for the always honorable hero.
 
Prepare to be astounded by my origninality!

The Joker.

Also I really love Ramsay Bolton.

And The Comedian.

those are the antiheroes and villains I always tend to think off when i try to decide my favorite :)
 
After killing Liam Neeson, I started rooting for Darth Maul, he seemed like the only person who wanted to put a terrible movie to rest.
 
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Okay, I like Satan as a concept, but he has had shitton of iterations and is basically a carte blanche - he can be anything you want, really, when you look at how he was represented in various forms of art throughout history.

One of his versions - or rather, representations of Devil - which I love is Mephistopheles from Goethe's Faust (Part 1, at least). Mephisto isn't Satan per se, but you get the picture.

“I am the spirit that negates.
And rightly so, for all that comes to be
Deserves to perish wretchedly;
'Twere better nothing would begin.
Thus everything that that your terms, sin,
Destruction, evil represent—
That is my proper element.”


There are numerous translations of the work in English, so some parts sound better in one translation that the other etc. I guess the same goes for basically any language. This particular quotes is taken from Goodreads and I don't know who the translator is, but as far as I recall, I read a different translation back in the day.




Edit:


I don't know if that is proper, but God of the Old Testament is quite a villain. And a rather cool one, gotta love him.
 
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Talking about angels and that shit. Well, there is one that you should definetly add to your list.



*best scenes, and spoilers.
 
I'm gonna take the easy way out and sag a vast majority of the cast of Metal Gear, especially Ocelot, Big Boss and Solidious. In fact, I couldn't really call then bad guys in the traditional term.

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance has me rooting for all sides as in I don't want them to get what they achieve (great Korean film btw).
 
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