Welcome to the last post for the Anti-Hero trope, we will recap on the two types of anti-heroes discussed in the previous posts on the trope.  The types of anti-heroes we covered are the comedic kinds, such as Deadpool, and the violent ones, also Deadpool while also focused on The Punisher.  The first topic to recap is the comedic ones, and this would refer to Deadpool.  The best example would clearly be Deadpool.  While he is also a violent anti-hero, he fits this type because he has a hilarious tendency for commentary and cussing.  According to Will Leitch, Deadpool is the main character of his own movie and he knows this so well that he occasionally quips about it and provides commentary on the story (Leitch, 2016).  He has a tendency to curse and quip on things as commonly as he kills enemies in brutally, creative ways.  He also knows when to break the fourth wall in reference to his commentary and jokes.  Another point of the comedy bit is the fact that Deadpool was made to be a spoof on comic book superhero movies.  According to Will Leitch, Deadpool is a considered an anti-hero in some comics and movies as he is a parody of how normal people would react to having superpowers; he is a character that would use his powers to have some fun in his life, regardless if it is for good or evil (Leitch, 2016).  He is a parody of what people would normally do with powers if they somehow receive them.  It is normal for people to want powers and use them however they please, though it can be a problem if they use it for evil.  Thankfully there are those who would use them for good.  The second topic to cover with anti-heroes are the violent anti-heroes.  Speaking of which, Deadpool serves as one of the better examples of a violent anti-hero.  According to Will Leitch, Deadpool is also an example of a violent anti-hero because he never hesitated to use guns in all his fights (Leitch, 2016).  Deadpool had a lot of creatively brutal methods of taking down his enemies, some of them included the use of guns for some precision take down in ways that befits a violent anti-hero.  Of course, the Punisher is just as good an example of violent anti-heroes.  The Punisher is an anti-hero who was an ex-marine and uses those skills when a mafia killed his family and takes his rage and vengeance out on them and other criminals.  Thank you for sticking around during my posts presenting movie tropes on Anti-Heroes.  However, anti-heroes like him can have a reason for all the violent acts they have committed during their anti-hero career. DeVega offers Punisher as an example because he wants to find peace in his life for once, but always gets roped back in this carnage like this by his lust for vengeance and violence against criminals (DeVega, 2019).  He wants to find peace for once in the world despite his war on crime that he seeks to win at every turn.  This is basically a reflection of the darkness in our hearts, the dark desires we seem to have towards those who harm others or wrong them in any way.  While this darkness is a natural part of us, DeVega warns that it could make us do something that would be frowned upon by society, hence the theme of anti-heroes (DeVega, 2019).  These dark feelings anti-heroes wrestle with is what makes them anti-heroes in the first place, they do things that is on the murky side of the law.  That is the end of the posts on anti-heroes and the two types we discussed, it has been a wild ride at this point.  Find out what is next on the list of movie tropes next time.

Sources:

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.

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.

Welcome back to my Movie Tropes, and we are now covering of the kinds of anti-heroes.  This topic is “lighthearted” or comical anti-heroes, which are a funny mock-up of a typical anti-hero.  Remember the anti-hero introduction on the previous post mentioning Deadpool as a light-hearted anti-hero?  Deadpool is one of the lovable anti-heroes, in a way that they are charming and funny rather than just edgy and cool like the Punisher.  He is a crazy anti-hero who likes to spout out some quirky nonsense, being completely cool with a situation at hand, and doing some crazy, super-violent anti-hero antics like he always does.  According to Thomas Golianopoulos, Deadpool became a total celebrity in the world of comic book movies due to his wicked costume (inspired by Spider-Man) and his mocking sense of humor (Golianopoulos, 2016).  Deadpool is a famous comic book anti-hero due to his merc-with-a-mug-styled costume, which is already based on another popular comic book hero, as well as his tendency for savage roasts and sense of humor.  Deadpool is an anti-hero for a reason, he tends to deal with the bad guys in violent ways but likes to put in a witty banter or some snide references while occasionally breaking the fourth wall.  The video above this paragraph would provide some nice examples of Deadpool’s hilarious lines and moments in his first movie.  According to Will Leitch, Deadpool is clearly the main protagonist of his own movie and is constantly aware that he is the main protagonist of his own movie (Leitch, 2016).  The constant moments of self-awareness is a perfect example of moments where Deadpool claims the fourth wall as one of the victims of his violent rampages.  Fourth Wall jokes tend to land better when done so wisely and does not spoil the moment in a way that is less than humorous.  The anti-hero aspect of his personality comes out with his origin story, which is also based on another comic book hero, known this time as Wolverine.  Will Leitch describes it as Deadpool starting out as Wade Wilson, a violent vigilante who falls for some gal named Vanessa, only to be diagnosed with cancer and chooses to partake in an experiment to bring out his hidden powers in a desperate attempt to save himself from his cancer, only to become disfigured and invulnerable (Leitch, 2016).  Since then he had become the ultraviolent anti-hero who knows when to crack an entertaining joke.  The point of Deadpool as an anti-hero is that he is an extremely violent, mutant, super-soldier, while the comical part of his character is the constant commentary that he always spouts out throughout the movie.  Not to mention that he has a tendency to swear in the movie, sometimes as commonly as he butchers bad guys left and right.  Deadpool is also relatable in a way in what you want to do with your powers if you have them.  According to Will Leitch, Deadpool is a clever anti-hero who can use his powers for either good or evil, all he wants to do is just have fun with his powers (Leitch, 2016).  The thing about all this is that it is essentially realistic in how people could react to getting superpowers, basically doing what they want with their new-found powers, whether it was for good or for evil.  Deadpool, overall, is an anti-hero that is considered more humorous than the usual anti-hero.  Deadpool tends to be brutal and murderous with the bad guys, but also has a witty quip to dish out whenever he feels like and tends to make us laugh with him during the commentary.  Next time we discuss anti-heroes, we will cover the more violent and darker anti-heroes, though comical ones are just as violent if they happen to be Deadpool.

Sources:

Golianopoulos, T. (2016, Feb 07). Antihero artist, antihero character: Arts and leisure desk. New York Times Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1762871933?accountid=10705

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.

Welcome to my post, which explains a lot about movie tropes that are present in films.  The first few posts on this site will involve anti-heroes in comic book movies.  Anti-Heroes are basically a kind of hero that lies beyond the boundaries of what is considered acceptable.  While they have some fairly reprehensible means of achieving justice, they ultimately do such acts for a good purpose.  They are essentially an extreme version of a typical good-guy hero, always willing to sink to low depths to save the day.  Some of them have journeys that are different than their typically heroic counterparts.  For Ellen Siegelman’s instance, the standard story involves the hero leaving their mother to defeat a dragon while The Curious Incident’s Christopher leave his father to find his mother (Siefelman, 2005).  Christopher is considered an anti-hero according to the author of the book and review, as some people mistreat him due to his disability while there is a mystery revolving around the murder of a neighbor’s poodle with a fork.  As John McAteer would say, they do not follow the droning status quo of the law, but still have traits and did things that would portray them as “good people” (McAteer, 2017).  Anti-heroes may work outside the vale of what is seen as good by the normal populous, but that does not mean they are necessarily “evil” from the viewers’ perspective.  Just because they do some dirty business, does not necessarily mean they are bad guys since there is a benevolent purpose.  A lot of these heroes can be wronged in some way or form, like a group of people have ruined their public image or their life and the wronged heroes seek vengeance on their assailants.  John McAteer includes corrupt governments as one of those forces that drive anti-heroes to be considered outlaws (McAteer, 2017).  Governments can be a treacherous force as they hold more power than even high-ranking criminals and will do anything to keep the power and make anyone they do not like suffer in the process.  This can be a reference to how corrupt a figure or group of power can be in real life.  An anti-hero can be a dark, brooding, violent vigilantes such as the Punisher, or comical, equally violent anti-heroes such as Deadpool and the Suicide Squad.  There are some dark anti-heroes like the Punisher who, according to John McAteer, he is the ultimate vigilante, not even hesitating to kill bad guys on the spot in ways that other superheroes do not appreciate (McAteer, 2017).  A lot of anti-heroes tend to butcher bad guys rather than imprison them, this method is not the best method considering that there is a “No Killing” code with superheroes in comic books such as Batman, despite his parents’ murder.  They believe “No Killing” codes exist because killing the bad guys would make the killer hero no better than the villains, even if it makes the world a better place.  A lot of villains are known to kill for some purpose in terms of Mr. Freeze, or just for fun in terms of the Joker and Carnage.  Then there are lighter-hearted, comical anti-heroes like Deadpool and the Suicide Squad.  They tend to be like the darker ones but can have a little humor or light-hearted themes like friendships or vulgar humor.  Deadpool is more or less a parody to other superhero movies.  Deadpool is an anti-hero that is created by a nasty experiment Wolverine was put through, and therefore cannot be killed or injured in anyway, but with a vulgar and punny twist to him.  The Suicide Squad on the other hand are anti-heroes that are assembled from different imprisoned villains, according to John, they seem to rely on friendship to keep the squad together (McAteer, 2017).  Apparently, friendship is an important key to redemption and becoming a true hero.  Next time, topics on lighthearted anti-heroes such as Deadpool. There are examples of anti-heroes in a video I posted at the top of the post.

Sources:

McAteer, J. (2017, September 19). Suicide Squad, Deadpool, and the Rise of the Comic Book Antihero. Retrieved December 4, 2019, from https://www.equip.org/article/suicide-squad-deadpool-rise-comic-book-antihero/.

Siegelman, E. (2005). An Anti-Hero’s Journey. The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal, 24(2), 47-57. doi:10.1525/jung.1.2005.24.2.47

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
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The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

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• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
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• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.