Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-2059440-20160506190434/@comment-26884760-20160507171247

the problem comes when you have anti-villains or well-intentioned characters.. because they aren't seen as the "bad guys" even by the writers, the writers make an effort to make them morally complex and often say they are not evil.

take Magneto, he is a Holocaust survivor and believes mutants will suffer the same fate.. his fight is just, his methods may not be.. yet at his core he is neither hero nor villain.. yes in his early days he was more "evil" (because it was aimed at younger audiences and thus "evil mutants" was safer and less politically charged than what he became later in the comics).

there's also vigilantes like Punisher that are far too violent and cruel to be heroes (or even anti-heroes) yet are still driven by ideals that seem at odds with traditional villainy (like killing criminals to "make the world a better place") - in comics Punisher has made tortures so grotesque it is undeniable he's a psychotic, yet he is far from the cackling "evil-doer" of stage plays.

furthermore we have delusional characters like Frollo that are more obviously wicked but believe themselves to be doing good, thus in the insane morality Frollo made in his mind he was making the world a better place.. usually the traditional "evil-doer" or criminal seeks selfish gain, delusional types are not driven by these selfish desires but a warped reverse of the same drives heroes have (making the world better, protecting others, improving society etc).