History Main / VillainProtagonist

* Ling Xiaoyu from ''Anime/TekkenBloodVengeance'' is probably ''the'' most heroic example of this trope ''ever'', seeing that she was only in it because her target is a hottie. After her opponent goes out of her way to save her life following a showdown, she pulls a HeelFaceTurn and allies herself with her so they can get to the bottom of what their superiors are really up to.

* Ling Xiaoyu from ''Manga/TekkenBloodVengeance'' is probably ''the'' most heroic example of this trope ''ever'', seeing that she was only in it because her target is a hottie. After her opponent goes out of her way to save her life following a showdown, she pulls a HeelFaceTurn and allies herself with her so they can get to the bottom of what their superiors are really up to.

* Riddick is a much darker character in ''Film/PitchBlack'' than in [[Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick subsequent movies]] (where he's more of an AntiHero), partly because this film is the story of his redemption. While the first half treats him more as an antagonist, Riddick's opening monologue and the increasing focus on him for the latter half make it quite clear that it's as much his story as Carolyn's. He's introduced as a murderous criminal, and does little to dispell it. He's utterly opportunistic throughout the story, sociopathically indifferent to all the death around him, and [[spoiler:is fully ready to leave the other survivors behind on the alien planet when they're no longer of use to him.]] It's Carolyn's quest to be a better person that motivates his HeelFaceTurn by the end.

* Tyrin Lieph, a WellIntentionedExtremist who believes that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans is the protagonist equivalent in the EvilVersusEvil plotline of the ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' fanfic The Council Era, his WorthyOpponent and antagonist being Halak Marr.

* [[spoiler: Joel]] from [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'']]. [[YourMileageMayVary Maybe.]] It all depends on whether you believe it's better to sacrifice one life for the sake of all others.

An interesting twist on conventional storytelling is to make TheProtagonist a villain. Sometimes (but not always), this villainous main character will even get the SympatheticPOV or be portrayed as an AntiVillain. Although "[[HeroicArchetype hero]]" and "protagonist" are frequently used interchangeably, it can be fun to take the side of evil. However, it is not necessary for a villain to be sympathetic for them to be this trope. Sometimes, it's done by having the protagonist facing [[EvilVersusEvil even]] [[BiggerBad worse people]].

** Parker, the central protagonist of a series of novels by Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark. Several of these have been filmed (most famously as ''Film/PointBlank'' starring LeeMarvin, and ''{{Payback}}'' starring Creator/MelGibson), although the central character is never named Parker in these adaptations due to the author's request. Parker has no moral hang ups about killing, stealing, or torturing to get what he wants, and what he wants is usually money or revenge for not getting money.

** While BugsBunny was generally a defensive character, there have been several episodes where he became a straight up villain. Examples of this include "Elmer's Candid Camera" (with a Bugs prototype where he picks on Elmer unprovoked), "Elmer's Pet Rabbit" (where he heckles Elmer for no justifiable reason), "Tortoise Beats Hare" and its follow ups "Tortoise Wins by a Hare" and "Rabbit Transit" (where Bugs is portrayed as an egomaniac who's willing to harm and cheat just to beat a turtle), "Wabbit Twouble" (again, picking on Elmer unprovoked), "The Wacky Wabbit (picking on an unprovoked Elmer again), "Hare Ribbin'" (where he picks on a dog who just happened to encounter him, unlike his encounter with a similar dog in "The Heckling Hare", and ''assists the dog in suicide''[[note]] It's even worse in the directors cut included on Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 5, where ''Bugs himself shoots the dog''[[/note]]), "Buckaroo Bugs" (where he's a flat out thief and bully), and "Rebel Rabbit" (where he wreaks havoc on the US solely because the bounty for rabbits was so low, doing atrocities like filling up the grand canyon and ''sawing Florida off the mainland'', breaking into congress during session and physically assaulting a senator, and by the end of the short gets so out of control that the '''military''' is called in to bring him down).

** DaffyDuck also had several bouts of this trope, such as "Daffy Duck in Hollywood" (where he causes trouble in a Hollywood studio for the heck of it) and "Boobs in the Woods" (where he heckles PorkyPig for the sake of causing trouble). This only intensified during his later meaner years where he evolved into a genuine villain, albeit still often with the primary spotlight (see above).

* WoodyWoodpecker went in and out of being this and an AntiHero in the original cartoons. Sometimes, he just goes about breaking the rules or causing trouble for the mere thrill of it or just out of ignorance, and is clearly shown to be a selfish glutton who will mow down or manipulate anyone who gets in the way of his food. On the other hand, he did occasionally star in a sympathetic light (i.e. "The Hollywood Matador") and by the late 40's his AntiHero traits were played up more by director Dick Lundy, especially when Buzz Buzzard entered the series. By the 50's, Woody veered between being a straight up hero, a villain and an anti-hero, and by the mid-50's both of the former traits were dropped altogether in favor of making Woody a straight up hero character.

* A weird example mixed with DeliberateValuesDissonance in an episode of WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender, the [[ShowWithinAShow Play Within A Show]] "The Boy In The Iceberg" stars actors playing the Gaang as protagonists, with Ozai as the main anatagonist. As all the characters are exaggerated parodies of the "real" people, the play version of Aang is a WideEyedIdealist with IncorruptiblePurePureness, whereas Ozai is a flamboyant CardCarryingVillain; however, at the end of the play, when Ozai brutally kills Aang, the audience gives it a standing ovation. Although the viewers know that Aang is TheHero and Ozai is a monster, due to a century of propaganda and cultural conditioning, as far as the Fire Nation rank and file is concerned, Aang is the play's Villain Protagonist, despite [[ButNotTooEvil not actually comitting any evil acts onstage]].

* Killface of ''FriskyDingo'' is a ''super''villain protagonist who built a doomsday device designed to launch Earth into the sun, and he's still way more sympathetic than {{Jerkass}} superhero Xander Crews.

* Task Force X are focused on during their mission to infiltrate Justice League headquarters and [[spoiler:steal an invincible armor forged by the gods]] in the ''JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode named after them.

* Zordrak and the Urpneys of ''TheDreamstone'' usually act this, in that each episode starts and ends from their perspective and we generally spend more time following them than the heroes. DependingOnTheWriter however, SympatheticPOV is sometimes given to the actual heroes.
* Wolf from ''NuPogodi'' is one. Much like the Coyote from Chuck Jones' "Coyote and Roadrunner" shorts, the Wolf drives the plot... except that his entire ''raison d'etre'' is to eat the Rabbit, who more often than not is minding his own business.

* Scoutmaster Lumpus from CampLazlo. A grumpy, lazy, negligent, apathetic, and all around mean-spirited moose who takes the fun out of summer camp for his own selfish reasons and treats the Bean scouts horribly on a regular basis.

* Clay Puppington is this in the third season of ''MoralOrel'', which focuses more on him than the other two seasons. Several episodes showcase his VillainousBreakdown.

* Subverted with [[Characters/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Laharl]] (''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'') and newcomer Mao (''{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'') from the ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'' series-- but they are really {{Noble Demon}}s.

* Chad from InTheCompanyOfMen is a rude sexist {{Jerkass}} who gets a woman to fall in love with him just so he can break her heart later on for his own ammusmant. He runs a buisness and treats his employees like dirt. He later betrays his "friend" Howard, getting him demoted at work and driving him and his girlfriend to depression.

An interesting twist on conventional storytelling is to make TheProtagonist a villain. Sometimes (but not always), this villainous main character will even get the SympatheticPOV or be portrayed as an AntiVillain. Although "[[HeroicArchetype hero]]" and "protagonist" are frequently used interchangeably, it can be fun to take the side of evil. However, it is not necessary for a villain to be sympathetic for them to be this trope. Sometimes, it's done by having the protagonist facing [[EvilVersusEvil even]] [[BiggerBad worse]] [[CompleteMonster people]].

*** Downplayed in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.

*** Niko from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' is a strange example. He cares about his family, and part of him wants to live a normal life, but his experiences in the wars in Serbia, in his own words "ruined him." He kidnaps, robs, murders, sells drugs, and in general, does not seem to have anything close to a conscience. Interestingly, he realizes this about himself, and readily recognizes that the things he does are awful. When questioned on it at one point, he says that he considers himself to be completely soulless. That said, he is quite sympathetic and, like CJ, is more of an AntiHero.

A VillainProtagonist (especially in a comedy) is quite likely to go down in flames at the end. Whether this counts as a DownerEnding or not generally depends on [[KickTheDog how many dogs they kick along the way]] and/or how entertaining their HumiliationConga or KarmicDeath is. They may also do a HeelFaceTurn and become a HeroProtagonist.

!!Examples

* Terrence [=McDonaugh=] in ''Film/TheBadLieutenantPortOfCallNewOrleans''. He's a RabidCop who also a drug and gambling addict, steals from other cops and suspects, tortures people he interrogates, and blackmails female suspects to have sex with him. The only redeeming qualities he have is that he still loves his family and girlfriend, and draws the line at point blank murder. [[spoiler:By the time the film's ending came around, he's still haven't changed his drug inducing habits one little bit.]]

* ''BoardwalkEmpire'': By the end of the second season, nearly every major character qualifies. [[spoiler: Hell, even the HeroAntagonist has turned into one.]]

* Edmund Blackadder of the ''{{Blackadder}}'' series is a greedy, self-centred arse who [[DeadpanSnarker enjoys insulting those around him]] and will happily betray, abuse and mis-treat those around him, especially his inferiors. Frankly, if he wasn't played by Rowan Atkinson he'd be almost completely unlovable.

* The ''Anime/KimagureOrangeRoad'' fanfic ''Fanfic/RevengeRoad'' is told from the perspective of [[{{Yandere}} Hik]][[AxCrazy aru]], who [[MoralEventHorizon murders]] [[MurderTheHypotenuse Madoka]] and [[IfICantHaveYou Kyosuke]] out of [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]].

*** Niko from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' is a strange example. He cares about his family, and part of him wants to live a normal life, but his experiences in the wars in Serbia, in his own words "ruined him." He kidnaps, robs, murders, sells drugs, and in general, does not seem to have anything close to a conscience. Interestingly, he realizes this about himself, and readily recognizes that the things he does are awful. When questioned on it at one point, he says that he considers himself to be completely soulless.