10 Greatest Anti-Heroes In Comic Book Movies

The more inundated cinema becomes with superhero movies, the more we are seeing the less squeaky-clean elements of comic book heroes making it to the screen. Even a well-loved character like Iron Man was once an arms dealer and Batman’s more self-destructive qualities were played up in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Yet these characters might as well be kid-friendly cartoon characters compared to the fully-fledged anti-heroes of the genre. By anti-heroes, we mean those characters of the proper morally-grey kind. We’re not counting troubled heroes like Wolverine or characters with dark pasts like Black Widow as anti-heroes, as their values are now firmly on the side of good. Even though Wolverine does a get a bit claw-happy from time to time. In this article, we'll take a look at those characters who are complex souls, too bad to be good guys but too good to be bad guys. Those whose crime-fighting strays into the criminal or who only play on the side of the heroes for their own means. Read on for our list of the 10 best anti-heroes from comic book movies and as always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section and let us know if we missed anyone. 10) Harry Osborn Though the character from the comics isn’t often described as such, Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is best summed up as an anti-hero. While he begins the series as Peter Parker’s loyal best friend, after he believes Spider-Man killed his father Norman he becomes obsessed with Spidey’s downfall, something that is complicated when he finds out that his enemy and his best friend are one and the same. In Spider-Man 3, he is given the, let’s say, ambitious story arc of becoming a fully-fledged villain as the New Goblin then becoming good again as he gets amnesia, before going bad again and then good again just in time to fight at Peter’s side and then die at the climax. He might not have the neatest character trajectory ever, and he isn’t as badass as the other characters on this list, but an anti-hero is surely defined by their murky morals, and there aren’t many comic book movie characters who switch sides as much as James Franco’s Harry Osborn. 9) Suicide Squad Suicide Squad isn’t even out yet, but we have a pretty good feeling that the group will deserve their placement as some of the best comic book movie anti-heroes of all-time. The movie will see several DC supervillains – including Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Boomerang, Killer Croc and Enchantress – being forcibly recruited into the service of the US government to combat an even greater threat (possibly Jared Leto’s Joker?). The idea being that they are more expendable than proper good guys. Hence the name that Will Smith’s Deadshot gives them in the trailer - the Suicide Squad. Thanks to a great marketing campaign, Suicide Squad is increasingly rising up the list of most anticipated upcoming superhero films. The cast is stellar and can hopefully be trusted not to water down their villainous characters into mere good guys. Combined with Deadpool, 2016 is clearly a great year for comic book movie anti-heroes. 8) Marv Sin City, based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, is a film full of darkness. This may be because it is filmed in monochrome but also because of the murky material. The best of the depraved bunch of characters, however, is surely Marv, who is tremendously played by Mickey Rourke in the Robert Rodriguez/Miller/partially Tarantino directed movie. With his intimidating look, seven foot tall stature and a heavily scarred face and flattop, he cuts a mean figure. He’s like Frankenstein’s Monster as played by Arnold Schwarzenegger or, as Miller describes him, “Conan in a trenchcoat.” More than that, though, he is an effective archetype of the hard man with a heart of gold. Marv is only pressed into action when Goldie, a prostitute who treated him well despite his face, is murdered – and he is framed for it. Marv might have a bigger softer side than most other anti-heroes on this list, then, but cross him at your own peril. 7) John Constantine Alan Moore’s fan-favourite demon hunter from Liverpool has yet to find his feet on screen. Last year, Matt Ryan played the character in TV series Constantine, but sadly that was axed after 13 episodes (bar a guest spot on Arrow). Before that, Keanu Reeves played a Hollywood-ized take on the character in 2005’s Constantine. It’s far from perfect, but if you ignore the disregard for the source material it can be enjoyed. As with the comics, Constantine is an exorcist who banishes demons back to hell in the hope of saving his own soul, as he is dying from lung cancer. He’s the classic anti-hero; a cynical, brooding guy who might be fighting the good fight but he’s only doing so for personal gain. If you can get past Keanu Reeves being, well, Keanu Reeves, then it is still a decent portrayal of the character and may well be the only movie version we get for a while yet. 6) The Punisher It’s easy to forget that The Punisher is a Marvel creation, as the gun-toting vigilante is so far removed from the family-friendly majority of the company’s characters. Still, Marvel haven’t shied away from the character on screen. Three movies have been made starring the Punisher – in 1989, 2004 and 2008, respectively – and he is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Daredevil season two. The Punisher’s popularity is probably largely to do with how different he is to Marvel’s usual output. Real name Frank Castle, the Punisher’s family was killed by the mob, so he took it upon himself to, well, punish all criminals by any means necessary. He gets the job done, but his extreme methods means he crosses the line into criminality himself. Despite the three movies under his belt, none have really nailed him, which is why he doesn’t feature higher on this list. Hopefully Jon Bernthal can rectify this when he appears in Daredevil. 5) Judge Dredd A similar character to the Punisher in means and method is Judge Dredd. A rare example of a British-created superhero making it big, the character appeared in a misguided 1995 movie starring Sylvester Stallone and then again in a fan-acclaimed film with Karl Urban, simply titled Dredd, in 2011. Unusually for a comic book hero, catching criminals is actually his job. Dredd hails from the futuristic Mega-City One where he is part of a force of street judges, who act as judge, jury and executioner to the city’s criminals. To Dredd, things are black and white – if the perp is guilty, then they deserve to die. A faceless instrument of the law, one of the crimes of the Stallone film is that he took off his helmet. Thankfully, the newer film fixed this and Karl Urban made a terrific Dredd. Though we have to say, Stallone probably had the better jawline… 4) Catwoman Another anti-hero who has had mixed success on film is Catwoman. Despite the varying quality of the character, though, Batman’s love interest on the wrong side of the law is still the best comic book movie anti-heroine. In Batman Returns, Selina Kyle is portrayed as a mousy secretary driven to insanity by her murderous boss Max Shreck (Christopher Walken). Though she falls for Bruce, the pair can never have a happy ending as they are basically both too messed up. Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman did actually end up with Bruce, however, in The Dark Knight Rises. In that film, Selina was happy to work alongside Batman, but she didn’t get along with his no-killing rule. One version we would rather didn’t happen is Halle Berry’s Catwoman in 2004. A solo Catwoman film could have been awesome with either Pfeiffer or Hathaway in the role, but Berry's version is simply terrible and is hardly the same character. 3) Rorschach Watchmen is the definitive take on anti-superheroes, as part of what it does is explore the less wholesome reasons why people would become costumed crime-fighters. Doctor Manhattan was caught in a tragic scientific accident and then used as a propaganda tool. For Nite Owl, it’s a juvenile fantasy/mid-life crisis. And the Comedian just wanted an excuse to butcher people. Rorschach – as brilliantly played by Jackie Earle Haley in Zack Snyder’s 2009 film - is the most compelling of Watchmen’s anti-heroes, though, as he is such a fascinating psychological case. He is absolutely committed to cleaning up his city, but due to an increasing revulsion at the criminal classes he becomes a zero-tolerance vigilante. His costumed alter ego also completely overtakes his own personality to the extent that he sees his mask as his real face. Make no mistake, this guy is nuts, but he is the only one of the Watchmen to stick to their values. 2) V The third and final Alan Moore creation on our list, we have the vigilante known only as V. The movie of the graphic novel, V For Vendetta has had a huge cultural impact, with V’s mask inspiring hacktivist group Anonymous. However, we shouldn’t forget (just like the 5th of November) the man beneath the mask. The character is a fascinating one. One the one hand, he is a freedom fighter, the selfless figurehead of a repressed and mistreated population. On the other, he is an ultra-violent terrorist, hell bent on completing his personal vendetta. Similar to Rorschach in a way, he is a madman, but V’s staunch principles make him an honourable soul, even if his methods are extreme and his psyche damaged. A large part of the movie character’s success is down to Hugo Weaving, who does a fantastic job of making V both virtuous and vengeful just through the vicissitudes of his voice (all right, we’ll stop now). 1) Deadpool Who else could be the best comic book movie anti-hero then the Merc with a Mouth himself? Though X-Men Origins: Wolverine did its best to murder the character’s chances at a successful big-screen version, Deadpool has blazed his way back into cinemas recently with his very own movie. Ryan Reynolds was always the perfect choice for the part, but now he has a movie with the matching tone and confidence to showcase Deadpool in all his foul-mouthed, crude-humoured, R-rated glory. Like a lot of other characters on this list, Wade Wilson is insane. This doesn’t leave him with a thirst for vengeance though, but instead a total disregard for reality, as he never takes anything seriously. He doesn’t care for rules to the extent that he even breaks storytelling conventions by forever smashing down the fourth wall. The opposite of other popular, more wholesome heroes, like Spider-Man or Captain America, the barnstorming success of Deadpool shows that people love a good anti-hero.