History Main / NominalHero

** Aria T'Loak is a crimelord who allows slavery, drug running and pretty much anything else as long as it doesn't undermine her power. She is however willing to aid Shepard to some extent, and seems none too fond of Ardat-Yakshi or the Collectors. Probably both [[PragmaticVillainy for practical reasons]] and [[EvenEvilHasStandards on principle]].

In terms of sympathy, the character can range from a CompleteMonster whose only admirable quality is that the villain they oppose is marginally worse than they are, to a JerkassWoobie who might be very sympathetic indeed if they only cared about anything other than themselves. In either case, if heroes of this sort are the most prominent or the only people worth cheering for, the work may risk DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.

* ''{{Gundam 00}}'' has two; Hallelujah Haptism, the SuperpoweredEvilSide of ReluctantWarrior Allelujah Haptism, and Nena Trinity in the second season by virtue of being against [[CompleteMonster Ali Al-Saachez]] and [[BigBad Ribbons Almark]], who are much, ''much'' worse than her.
* ''Anime/{{Gantz}}'' features a number of these. Several of the Osaka members are sadists who get off on hurting defenseless aliens who just happen to be their enemies. For the most part they could care less about their own team mates and even threaten to kill innocent people who simply irritate them. One is a serial rapist who rapes female aliens before murdering them in order to avoid being imprisoned for rape. Basically they are CompleteMonster who just happen to be fighting for the good of mankind.

* Reaver from ''VideoGame/FableII'' and ''[[VideoGame/FableIII III]]'' dances on the line between this and being a CompleteMonster. He attempts to double cross the hero at least twice and only helps the hero because [[spoiler: the BigBad proceeds to double cross him when Reaver attempts to turn the hero over to him.]]

** Eugene Greenhilt swore a BloodOath to defeat Xykon the Sorcerer because the latter killed his mentor, but he was the one who muttered "yeah, whatever," afterwards. He was a horrible father, an inattentive husband, and the small amount of interest he has in Xykon being defeated is only because that oath he swore is keeping him from resting. He's only ''barely'' inside heaven in the afterlife. Note that when his son Roy died and went to heaven, Roy was able to get much further inside heaven because unlike Eugene, he actually gave a damn and did everything he could to fulfill the family oath.
** Belkar Bitterleaf is an unapologetic HeroicComedicSociopath with no actual redeeming qualities. At one point, [[TheHero Roy]] claims that the only reason he keeps Belkar around is to keep him from using his abilities to become a full-blown CompleteMonster. Belkar's StupidEvil antics are entirely deliberate on his part, as he finds being his own personal MookHorrorShow is not only entertaining but also an effective way of gaining XP. Later, he shifts to a more subdued TokenEvilTeammate role, and gains an actual MoralityPet of sorts, his RightHandCat, Mr. Scruffy.

* ByronicHero Lelouch vi Britannia from ''Anime/CodeGeass''.

* [[CuteWitch Marisa Kirisame]] from ''{{Touhou}}'' is mostly motivated by the prospect of magical artifacts to loot. [[{{Vampire}} Remilia Scarlet]] is more interested in maintaining her power than actually fixing Gensokyo's problems (and she's not the harmless kind of vampire).

* Yarol, the Venusian sidekick in C.L. Moore's ''NorthwestSmith'' stories, is heavily implied to be this. The narration never specifies his enormities, but hints that his [[{{Bishonen}} angelic beauty]] belies his absolutely evil nature.

* In the ''MetalGear'' series, Meryl, Psycho Mantis, and Liquid [[InformedAbility claim that]] Solid Snake is a SociopathicHero who enjoys combat and killing, with the latter two telling him that he's far worse then they are. However, Psycho Mantis and Liquid are mass murdering psychopaths attempting to 'kill as many people as possible' and bring on a Darwinist 'warrior's paradise' respectively, which makes their attacks on him border on HypocriticalHumor and possibly UnreliableNarrator as well.

Fictional heroes tend to be a diverse bunch, but most have one thing in common: a morally positive motivation. Even morally questionable heroes usually are at least partially motivated by a genuine concern for others, desire for justice, belief in playing by the rules, etc.

* ByronicHero Lelouch vi Britannia from ''CodeGeass''.

* Tony Soprano from ''TheSopranos'' is a con artist, a thug, a womanizer, a thief, a murderer, an extortionist, and an adulterer - and yet somehow it's nearly impossible not to sympathize with him. The only things separating him from a VillainProtagonist are his genuine love for his family, kindness to his friends, and occasional pangs of guilt and moments of vulnerability. Oh, and the fact that his friends (and enemies) are even worse than he is.

* Grom Hellscream and Illidan Stormrage of ''WarCraft'': the first is an amoral BloodKnight and the other is a subject obsessed with demonic power.

* In the [[Series/{{Sherlock}} 2010 BBC modernization]], Sherlock Holmes [[{{Lampshade}} describes himself]] as a "[[SociopathicHero High-Functioning Sociopath]]", and cautions Dr. Watson, "Don't make people into heroes, John. Heroes don't exist, and if they did, I wouldn't be one of them," showing not only that his motivations are not those of a typical straight hero, but also that he has a very cynical worldview.

* Yarol, the Venusian sidekick in C.L. Moore's Northwest Smith stories, is heavily implied to be this. The narration never specifies his enormities, but hints that his [[{{Bishonen}} angelic beauty]] belies his absolutely evil nature.

* NobleDemon Hiei from ''YuYuHakusho''.

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* Magna-Defender is like this in ''PowerRangersLostGalaxy''. He may assist the rangers taking down a monster or two and want to take down Scorpious, but he's only does it for the revenge. This definitely becomes clearer when he tries to destroy Terra Venture because it might destroy Scorpious. Although he gets better, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath near the end]].

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* Voiree Misallo from ''{{8 Bit Gamers}}''. Though firmly on the side of good after a religious experience and a genetic examination revealing her to be born with a semi-sociopathic defect, her motivation mostly has to do with wanting to avoid hell, keep her boyfriend, and remain friends with her TrueCompanions.

* In ''MassEffect2'':

* In [=ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's=] YouTube ''FanFic/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' sketches, this trope is played around with. {{Wolverine}} [[{{lampshade}} says to]] [[Comicbook/{{Watchmen}} The Comedian]], "[[{{Dissimile}} You kinda remind of myself at your age ... except I've got ethics... and I'm not a sociopath... or a rapist... you know what, maybe you remind me of someone else.]]"

* The Daemoness in ''{{Sacred}}: Underworld''. At the start of the game she gets stabbed in the back by her master, Anducar, and has a prophetic vision that working alongside the other heroes is her best chance of getting revenge.

* Array from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/41687/Chronicles-of-Harmony%27s-End Chronicles Of Harmony's End]]. He represents Order, and therefore opposes Discord on principle rather than morality.

* ByronicHero Lelouch vi Britannia from CodeGeass.

* AffablyEvil Alucard from {{Hellsing}}
* NobleDemon Hiei from YuYuHakusho

* In SamAndMaxFreelancePolice, Max. considers it a compliment to be called a grade-A sociopath, and was even dubbed the most terrifyingly dangerous force in the universe by ''the villain'' in the video games. The only thing that really seems to keep him in line is his less sociopathic partner.

* Voiree Misallo from ''8 Bit Gamers''. Though firmly on the side of good after a religious experience and a genetic examination revealing her to be born with a semi-sociopathic defect, her motivation mostly has to do with wanting to avoid hell, keep her boyfriend, and remain friends with her TrueCompanions.

* Grom Hellscream and Illidan of ''WarCraft'': the first is an amoral BloodKnight and the other is a subject obsessed with demonic power.

* {{Sacrifice}} the player takes the role of Eldred who use to be a tyrant on his own world, then when his own people turn against him he summoned the demon Marduk to defeat them, then Marduk proceeded to destroy everything else. He is really regretful of having to kill a dragon, but is ok with slavery.
* The Daemoness in {{Sacred}}: Underworld. At the start of the game she gets stabbed in the back by her master, Anducar, and has a prophetic vision that working alongside the other heroes is her best chance of getting revenge.

* In AnsemRetort, the only difference between Axel and the villains he fights is that the villains want to destroy all of humanity at once while Axel would prefer to do it one person at a time.

'''Second Note:''' NoRealLifeExamplesPlease

* In the first three ''{{Fallout}}'' games, an evil player character could be seen as this, since you have the freedom to blow of civilian’s heads with absolutely zero provocation, enslave children and nuke entire cities. However, this is somewhat moderated by the main story pitting you against complete monsters who want to wipe out the vast majority of the remaining human race. With ''New Vegas Caesar’s Legion'', the player has the option of becoming a full - blown VillainProtagonist, as they bring the region under the grip of a nation of {{Complete Monster}}s who endorse rape, slavery, child molestation and murder for public entertainment.

* In ''GodOfWar'', Kratos, to the point that, particularly after the first game, many consider him an outright VillainProtagonist, even worse than the people (or gods) he's trying to kill.

* Spoony (The character, not Noah Antwiller) is a sleazy pervert and a confirmed rapist as both The Nostalgia Critic and The Nostalgia Chick found out the hard way. The Chick herself is a sociopath with no qualms when it comes to tormenting and manipulating her best friend.

* [[TheSopranos Tony Soprano]] is a con artist, a thug, a womanizer, a thief, a murderer, an extortionist, and an adulterer - and yet somehow it's nearly impossible not to sympathize with him. The only things separating him from a VillainProtagonist are his genuine love for his family, kindness to his friends, and occasional pangs of guilt and moments of vulnerability. Oh, and the fact that his friends (and enemies) are even worse than he is.
* {{Dexter}} is at the far, dark end of this to the point where he could fairly be considered simply a likeable VillainProtagonist, being a SerialKiller who was disciplined at a young age to channel his sociopathy toward killing other evildoers.

* In the [[{{Sherlock}} 2010 BBC modernization]], Sherlock Holmes [[{{Lampshade}} describes himself]] as a "[[SociopathicHero High-Functioning Sociopath]]", and cautions Dr. Watson, "Don't make people into heroes, John. Heroes don't exist, and if they did, I wouldn't be one of them," showing not only that his motivations are not those of a typical straight hero, but also that he has a very cynical worldview.
* In ''Father Ted'', Father Jack Hackett is a violent, selfish, perverted alcoholic and flashbacks suggest he was once a bullying fire and brimstone preacher and a paedophile. The only thing keeping him from being a VillainProtagonist is that his alcoholism usually renders him too docile to harm anyone. And sometimes it does the exact opposite.
* Over the course of his development, Kerr Avon in ''BlakesSeven'' varies from TokenEvilTeamMate to a JerkWithAHeartOfGold but loses all sympathetic qualities towards the end of Series 4 when he tries to kill Vila in cold blood. He's still fighting the LawfulEvil Federation but he only cares about saving himself.

* Magna-Defender is like this in PowerRangersLostGalaxy. He may assist the rangers taking down a monster or two and want to take down Scorpious, but he's only does it for the revenge. This definitely becomes clearer when he tries to destroy Terra Venture because it might destroy Scorpious. Although he gets better, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath near the end]].

->According to a loose enough definition of 'hero', we qualify. Well, more or less. The point is that good deeds were ''done'' and ''we'' were nearby.

* ''StarWars'' ''TheOldRepublic'' Lord Scourge a Sith Lord who is a companion to the Jedi Knight class, he sides with the Jedi to stop the [[OmnicidalManiac Sith Emperor]] from destroying the entire galaxy. In the back story he was responsible for [[spoiler: Revans capture and the Exiles death because he saw that they would fail in defeating the Emperor.]]

* In ''{{Hexen}} II'', two of the heroes are the Assassin (who wants to prove she can kill the most powerful and best protected being on the planet) and the Necromancer (who has a problem with Eidolon being more feared than him).

* In the first ''[[TheStreetFighter Street Fighter]]'' film, Takuma "Terry" Tsurugi is a brutal and pitiless man. He sells a girl into slavery and kills her brother when they're not able to pay him for services rendered, and he's not above sacrificing innocents that he's not directly helping. He avoids VillainProtagonist territory by fighting against {{Yakuza}}, whom he despises, and working to protect the good guys, even though he does so for his own reasons. In the VideoGame version, he's portrayed in a somewhat more positive light.

* Force. Some characters become heroes because they literally aren't allowed to be anything else. Maybe they're on an ExplosiveLeash or are a CosmicPlaything, but when they fight for the side of good, it's only because it's their only option other than perhaps death.
* Other motivations. Not all {{Nominal Hero}}es need to have a good motivation, or one that makes any sense to others. They might be a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} or have BlueAndOrangeMorality.

This type of hero is rarely averse to working alone, with other heroes, or for the BigBad, if they think it is in their interest. Being a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor is no big deal, because from their point of view, they never really switched sides, just tactics. When working for a villain, it will usually be as a DragonWithAnAgenda, PsychoForHire, or TheStarscream; this character will betray the villain the moment the villain's plans interfere with their own. On a team of otherwise conventional heroes, they'll often be in an EnemyMine, SociopathicHero, or TokenEvilTeammate role. Other heroes may only work with them because they could use all the help they can get, or specifically to keep an eye on the HeroInNameOnly, so that they don't become a more serious threat.

* Guts of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' during his phase as the vengeance-obsessed Black Swordsman was very much this. An utterly ruthless warrior who cared about nothing except killing demons, and would not lift a finger to help innocents caught in the crossfire, considering them small fry without the strength to truly live, and in many cases, he could be seen as even more horrifying than the Apostles that he was driven to kill. Only after finding Casca again has he been able to move out of this territory, though he still has to deal with a particularly nasty EnemyWithin that represents who he used to be.

* In ''{{Manga/Bleach}}'':

* In ''{{LightNovel/Baccano}}'', the Rail Tracer [[spoiler:(Claire Stenfield)]] [[spoiler: saves a train and its passengers from being hijacked from two enemy factions, all the while [[HighHeelFaceTurn winning the heart]] of a [[TheSpeechless silent beauty]]. Nevermind that he's a trained mafia assassin who brutally murders dozens of people from both factions and [[BreakTheCutie tortures]] a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld little boy]].]]

* ''{{Anime/Gantz}}'' features a number of these. Several of the Osaka members are sadists who get off on hurting defenseless aliens who just happen to be their enemies. For the most part they could care less about their own team mates and even threaten to kill innocent people who simply irritate them. One is a serial rapist who rapes female aliens before murdering them in order to avoid being imprisoned for rape. Basically they are CompleteMonster who just happen to be fighting for the good of mankind.

* From ''{{Comicbook/Watchmen}}'', the Comedian: a laughing thrill-killing BloodKnight torturer, rapist, war criminal and all-around PsychoForHire.

* In ''{{Film/Hulk}}'', it's not entirely clear (until possibly the end) if the title character really knows and/or understands what he's doing.

* In ''{{Braveheart}}'', Steven the Irishman seems to have only joined the Scots because he'll be able to kill Englishmen, not to help the Scots get freedom.

* In the [[{{Sherlock}} 2010 BBC modernization]], Sherlock Holmes [[{{Lampshade}} describes himself]] as a "[[SociopathicHero High-Functioning Sociopath]]", and cautions Dr. Watson, "Don't make people into heroes, John. Heroes don't exist, and if they did, I wouldn't be one of them," showing not only that his motivations are not those of a typical straight hero, but also that he has a very cynical worldview.

* Grom Hellscream and Illidan of ''{{WarCraft}}'': the first is an amoral BloodKnight and the other is a subject obsessed with demonic power.

* {{Sacrifice}} the player takes the role of Eldred who use to be a tyrant on his own world, then when his own people turn against him he summoned the demon Marduk to defeat them, then Marduk proceeded to destroy everything else. He is really regretful of having to kill a dragon, but is ok with slavery.

* In [=ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's=] YouTube ''FanFic/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' sketches, this trope is played around with. {{Wolverine}} [[{{lampshade}} says to]] [[{{Comicbook/Watchmen}} The Comedian]], "[[{{Dissimile}} You kinda remind of myself at your age ... except I've got ethics... and I'm not a sociopath... or a rapist... you know what, maybe you remind me of someone else.]]"

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' features a few:

* Franchise/{{Rance}} is the probably earliest example in videogames. Being a SociopathicHero [[BlackComedyRape rapist]] motivated by a QuestForSex is [[{{Jerkass}} only the tip]] of a [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist very large iceberg]].

* ''TheExpendables'' as a whole only fought the likes of pirates and dictators because they were [[PrivateMilitaryContractor paid to do so]].

* ''TheExpendables''