“ | The protagonist doesn't have to be likable or moral or a good guy... He just has to be interesting! | „ |
~ George R. R. Martin |
“ | The era of games has begun. It's time to start a game where I am the main character. Where I will unify my soon-to-be empire. A game that will bring me a glorious ending. | „ |
~ Kuroto Dan |
A villainous protagonist, or protagonistic villain is a character who is the central focus of a story but isn’t the hero of its story. In short, these villains are the main characters of their own stories. Due to them being the protagonists of the story (and in many cases, knowing their motives) the audience commonly and mistakenly nickname them "Anti-Heroes".
Light Yagami, Zim, Trevor Philips, Eren Yeager, Walter White, Milton's Satan, The Crusader, Thomas Shelby, Arthur Fleck, Tony Soprano, Sasuke Uchiha, Saul Goodman, Tony Montana and Michael Corleone are prime examples of villain protagonists.
Villainous deuteragonists and tritagonists fall under this category too.
There can be more than one villainous protagonist in a same story, but each one has to share the same amount of screen time in order to qualify. In video games, any playable character(s) can qualify (e.g. Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Philips, who are the protagonists of Grand Theft Auto V and Daniel Lamb and Leo Kasper, who are the protagonists of Manhunt 2). Also, former protagonists who became antagonistic villains (usually due to a tragic event in their life) can also be included, given that they played a large part in the story, even if they no longer function as heroes. (e.g. Darth Vader, Rex Dangervest, Nolanverse's Two-Face). The same applies to antagonists that protagonize their own stories (Joker, Yoshikage Kira, Poison Ivy ); reedmed or on-off villains who used to oppose the heroes but later joined the heroic cause (Zuko, Vegeta, Plaknton , Omni-Man, Beerus and Bowser) and even in more rarer cases overreaching protagonists who were planning everything from behind. (Calypso, Leo Kasper and Shinigami King)
Such characters can be found in almost every work of fiction, however, they are quite uncommon in works aimed for children, as these protagonists are usually meant to convey moral values. Examples of children's entertainment protagonist villains are: Wario, Megamind, Mr. Krabs, Brain, The Grinch, Felonius Gru and The Once-Ler.
Some can be falsely seen as the "protagonist hero" as they are seen on the cover of the movie/book and there for the reader/watcher are being lured to believe that the character is the main hero of the story, while they are in fact the main antagonists. One example is Chip Hazard from Small Soldiers.
These characters are rarely Pure Evil, because it is very unlikely and odd for a leading character to actually be that evil, due to most protagonists being anti-villains , grey zoned , villains by proxy, redeemed, sympathetic, and/or On & Off. (e.g Ainz Ooal Gown, Dexter Morgan, John Wade, Alucard etc).
In addition, protagonists that are villainous usually set the villainy standards in their story. However, protagonists can still be Pure Evil if they have no redeeming or sympathetic qualities, know right from wrong, and the surrounding characters are visibly distressed or repulsed by their actions, thus meaning that they meet the criteria (e.g. Patrick Bateman, Louis Bloom, Frank Underwood, Light Yagami, Kurt Kunkle, King Richard III, Quentin McNeil and Henry). In addition, horror works and exploitative medias often feature purely evil protagonists who are meant to be feared as mascots of their own franchise (e.g. Chucky, Michael Myers, Sweet Tooth and Alan Yates).
They are the exact inverted opposite of heroic antagonists.
All items (5408)
- Yertle the Turtle
- Ymir (Smite)
- Ymir Fritz
-
- Yodonna
- Yogostein
- Yoko Minato
- Yolandi
- Yomiel
- Yondu Udonta (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Yonggary
- Yoru
- Yosemite Sam
- Yoshikage Kira
- Yoshikazu
- Yoshimoto Imagawa (Koei)
- Yoshino (Kessen)
- Yoshino (Metal Slug)
- Yoshitaka Nakabayashi
- Young Eun
- Young Plague Doctor
- Young Xehanort
- Yrel
- Yua Yaiba
- Yuan Shao (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
- Yuckie Duck
- Yuji Sakai
- Yukari Yakumo
- Yukiteru Amano
- Yukiya Naruse
- Yume Hasegawa
- Yumie Takagi
- Yuno Gasai
- Yuri Briar
- Yuri Nakamura
- Yuri Orlov
- Yurine Hanazono
- Yurius
- Yusuf Amir
- Yuuichi Katagiri
- Yuuka Kazami
- Yuuki Kagurazaka
- Yuuma Azawa
- Yuya Fungami
- Yvoone Criddle
- Z (Undocumented)
-
- Zach Dempsey
- Zach Hamilton
- Zach Nolan
- Zachary Devon
- Zachary Hale Comstock
- Zaktan
- Zam Wesell
- Zamsher
- Zan Partizanne
- Zangief
- Zanrelot
- Zaphod Beeblebrox
- Zaram
- Zarina
- Zebra (Toriko)
- Zechs Merquise
- ZECT
- Zeeba Zeeba Eata
- Zeke Brown
- Zekk
- Zekrom (Pokémon)
- Zelda the Great
- Zephyr (One Piece)
- Zeref Dragneel
- Zero (Katana Zero)
- Zero (Metal Gear)
- Zeta (Angry Birds)
- Zeus (God of War)
- Zhang Chunhua
- Zhang Jiao
- Zhin
- Zhu Bajie
- Zig
- Zilla
- Zim
- Zobek
- Zodiac (Dark Reign)
- Zoe Rivas
- Zoe Tate
- Zofia
- Zoila Diaz
- Zola Axberg
- Zombie Kittens
- Zombie Vegetables
- Zombie Warrior
-
- Zombies (Happy Tree Friends)
- Zombies (Plague Inc)
- Zombies (Plants vs. Zombies)
- Zombies (Zombie Tsunami)
- Zorran
- Zs'Skayr
- Zuko (Avatar)
- Zuko (Netflix)
- Zyuoh The World
- Zé do Caixão