Category:Vigilante

"Though some may call it revenge, I prefer to think of it as justice... over single-minded scientists and corrupt politicians."

- Clive

A vigilante is a villain who takes justice into his or her own hands and punish criminals (or at least people they perceive as criminals), often going against legal authorities to do so. Although vigilantes are often romanticized in fiction (such as Batman, Robin Hood, etc.), in reality, they sometimes tend to be remorseless and brutal killers or criminals.

These villains often think they are doing the world a favor by "taking care" of crime or things that displease them, usually through violence or murder (often believing they are "taking out the trash"). Most vigilantes view themselves as good people and often get annoyed or even furious at the hero's attempts at stopping them.

And this is what often makes them a source of trouble for heroes, who often see a dark mirror of what they could have been. Also, by ignoring the justice system, a vigilante could end up killing a wrongfully convicted person and thus take an innocent life or lives.

Vgilantes can be motivated by some of the following reasons:
 * Beliefs: Some vigilantes are motivated by the belief that the justice system is or will not punish criminals or do so sufficiently enough. Thus leading them to believe they must take "justice" into their own hands.
 * Revenge: Most commonly, vigilantes are motivated by revenge and pain. Some by criminals who wronged them personally and were not caught. Thus they sought out after them as revenge. Others can be motivated by revenge on people who aren't even criminals at all. Like people who simply bully or torment them or someone they love.
 * Delusions/Mental Sickness: Vigilantes can sometimes be spurred into a killing spree by a mental disorder (such as schizophrenia or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder). This can cause irrational behavior and cause them to believe people are doing bad things when in reality they're not.

'''A Pure Evil villain will never qualify as they are far beyond vigilantism, similar to redemption. More significantly, vigilantes will always keep “justice” alive by eliminating crimes no matter how sadistic and remorseless the vigilantes are, especially when you are supposed to symphatize with them despite which method they prefer.'''

For sake of this wiki, these page only features vigilantes who have little-to-no heroic traits. If you want to see more heroic examples of vigilantes, see here.