Welcome back to my Movie Tropes, and we are now covering of the kinds of anti-heroes. Sorry the video is more involved with violent superheroes, but some of them are anti-heroes so it is pretty much fair game. This topic is of course, the classical violent anti-heroes, some say what they do feels relatable to use, as it represents what we want to do to those who would wrong us so severely. Deadpool was supposed to be a lighthearted anti-hero, but like I said in the previous post, he can also be a violent kind of anti-hero. Will Leitch demonstrates this when writing that Deadpool never hesitated to use guns in all his fights (Leitch, 2016). Some anti-heroes can use guns in their fights, and Deadpool is no different than those other anti-heroes that can use those guns to kill their enemies. At least Deadpool has a power, invulnerability, but there are anti-heroes and normal heroes that can bust up crime without them. In fact, the Punisher is an anti-hero that does not have powers. According to Jesse Allen, Punisher does not have any powers, but they have a costume to wear when they go out to fight crime (Allen, 2014). The Punisher is a normal guy because of the old origin story being a normal lawman until his family gets offed by a criminal or two and becomes violent towards criminals out of vengeance. He represents the depths we could sink to take vengeance on those who have wrong you, whatever is lowest depends on how severely you have been slighted. According to Chauncey DeVega, his true name is Frank Castle, a man who witnessed his family get cut down by the mafia, ad used his Marine skills to take his rage out on criminals (DeVega, 2019). If someone did something this heinous to us, we would do anything to get back at them hardcore for this. The Punisher’s actions are a reference to how dark our true desires of vengeance can be. Chauncey DeVega says that anti-heroes feel a lot more real than actual superheroes, as anti-heroes are essentially battling against their darkest selves (DeVega, 2019). Anti-heroes are much more relatable than heroes who we just look up to. Superheroes are a group of characters that we look up to, while anti-heroes are more of a kind of character that we can relate to in terms of how we feel and deal with our inner darkness. Some anti-heroes do what they do for understandable reasons such as their families’ death or just some nice bit of peace. DeVega was thinking that Frank Castle is doing what he wants with other criminals so he can get some peace for once, while his conflict wants peace in the middle of the fight (DeVega, 2019). Some anti-heroes have reasons for what they do, with the Punisher wanting just a bit of peace from the crime in this world. A little peace can be all we need in the world we live in today, especially after all the bad things that had been happening. The point is to see the good side, it will help work towards the peace. Not to mention, as I mention many times, the negative emotions can be a natural part of us deep down to our souls. However, according to DeVega, all of our darker emotions that go with our true nature can lead us to do things that can get us into a lot of trouble in society (DeVega, 2019). We can understand why anti-heroes do what they do, even though we and the heroes can’t be more accepting of it due to the nature of their actions, which are usually violent. That is all for this post on anti-heroes, join me next time in Movie Tropes on anti-heroes for the conclusion of the anti-hero trope.
Sources:
Allen, J. (2014). Marvel Comics and New York Stories: Anti-Heroes and Street Level Vigilantes Daredevil and The Punisher. Retrieved December 4, 2019, from https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1401&context=gc_etds.
DeVega, C. (2019, February 16). Why the Punisher is more relatable than Superman: “Anger is an easier feeling”. Retrieved December 4, 2019, from https://www.salon.com/2019/02/16/why-we-love-antiheroes-like-the-punisher-anger-is-an-easier-feeling/.
Leitch, W. (2016, February 12). Deadpool: A Superhero Who Makes Fun of Himself. Retrieved December 4, 2019, from https://newrepublic.com/article/129850/deadpool-superhero-makes-fun.
Film Blog on Movie Tropes 