History NinetiesAntiHero / MarvelUniverse

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'': The ''[[ComicBook/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier Winter Soldier]]'' mega-arc by Creator/EdBrubaker in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica2005'' subverts a lot of these tropes. When Cap's sidekick ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}} turned out to be NotQuiteDead after all, he was revived as a brainwashed assassin with a cyborg arm; it could have been really stupid, but it wasn't. Then, when Bucky took over as Captain America, he seemed poised to be a GrimAndGritty alternative to the more traditional model, with much made of him carrying a gun -- however, Bucky almost never uses the gun, and in fact tries overcome his past and be a more traditional superhero.

* The ''[[ComicBook/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier Winter Soldier]]'' mega-arc by Creator/EdBrubaker in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' subverts a lot of these tropes. When Cap's sidekick ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}} turned out to be NotQuiteDead after all, he was revived as a brainwashed assassin with a cyborg arm; it could have been really stupid, but it wasn't. Then, when Bucky took over as Captain America, he seemed poised to be a GrimAndGritty alternative to the more traditional model, with much made of him carrying a gun -- however, Bucky almost never uses the gun, and in fact tries overcome his past and be a more traditional superhero.
* ''Nightwatch'' from Marvel (as well as the Chase Lawlyer version of ''ComicBook/{{Manhunter}}'' from DC), both of whom were [[FollowTheLeader rather shameless rip-offs]] of ''Spawn''.

** ComicBook/{{Cable}}, of the New Mutants, X-Force, and the ComicBook/XMen was a major influence in every example who came after. Tragic and mysterious past? Check. {{BFG}}s coming out the ass? Check. A "badass" look that used to be reserved for villains? Check. His first appearance was even in February 1990. Over time, though, he's been developed into a more heroic[=/=]complex character, somewhere between MessianicArchetype and AGodAmI.

* The ''[[ComicBook/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier Winter Soldier'' mega-arc by Creator/EdBrubaker in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' subverts a lot of these tropes. When Cap's sidekick ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}} turned out to be NotQuiteDead after all, he was revived as a brainwashed assassin with a cyborg arm; it could have been really stupid, but it wasn't. Then, when Bucky took over as Captain America, he seemed poised to be a GrimAndGritty alternative to the more traditional model, with much made of him carrying a gun -- however, Bucky almost never uses the gun, and in fact tries overcome his past and be a more traditional superhero.

** The entire plot of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' sees Doc Ock [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker]]'s body and using it to become a darker, more "badass" version of Spidey. He even has a black and red costume that was originally designed by Alex Ross for the [[Film/SpiderMan1 first movie]] (since MovieSuperheroesWearBlack). The entire thing requires all of Spider-Man's friends and teammates somehow not realizing that Peter Parker has been replaced. But like Azrael was to Batman, it ends up being a deconstruction; as Doc Ock slowly loses control over the situation until he's forced to concede that Peter Parker is, in fact, the "superior" hero.

** ''Sleepwalker'' was about an alien from another dimension that became trapped in a human's mind and manifested to fight crime while he was asleep, carrying on the similar role he had carried in his home world. Despite his scary appearance, Sleepy was very much a straight hero in terms of personality, adhering firmly to ThouShaltNotKill and several times giving up chances to return home in order to help others. There were, both in the letter columns of the old ''Sleepwalker'' comics and more recent web postings, positive responses from fans who ''liked'' the fact that Sleepwalker wasn't a violent antihero.

* The "Winter Soldier" mega-arc by Ed Brubaker in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' subverts a lot of these tropes. When Cap's sidekick ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}} turned out to be NotQuiteDead after all, he was revived as a brainwashed assassin with a cyborg arm; it could have been really stupid, but it wasn't. Then, when Bucky took over as Captain America, he seemed poised to be a GrimAndGritty alternative to the more traditional model, with much made of him carrying a gun -- however, Bucky almost never uses the gun, and in fact tries overcome his past and be a more traditional superhero.

* Speaking of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', he definitely fits this trope [[DependingOnTheWriter when written by certain authors]]. He's vacillated between a somewhat reasonable vigilante fully willing to abide by other heroes no-killing rules during team-ups, to an frothing lunatic who'll murder jaywalkers (retconned into being due to drugs he was exposed to without his knowledge), to being a serial killer who uses his family's deaths as a justification for the endless war he wages to sate his bloodlust.

* ''ComicBook/DeathsHeadII'' is an amoral, almost unstoppable skull-faced cyborg with an hand that shapeshifts between claws, blades and guns, as required. His spin-off SuperiorSuccessor Death Metal turns all of this up to eleven.
* ''ComicBook/DieCut'' is an alien warrior who’s back from the dead in a genetically engineered body with a huge blade grafted to one arm and a crazed mindset. The only subversion is that he values life and really doesn’t like killing humans or other organic sentients. However, he also thinks all cyborgs and robots are abominations that must be destroyed, so...

* ''ComicBook/DieCut'' is an alien warrior who’s back from the dead in a genetically engineered body with a huge blade grafted to one arm and a crazed mindset. The only subversion is that he values life and really doesn’t like killing humans or other organic sentients. However, he also thinks all cyborgs and robots are abominations that must be destroyed, so…

* The ''Franchise/XMen'' have featured plenty of these throughout their run, among them one who was possibly the single greatest TropeCodifier, Cable.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

** The entire plot of ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' sees Doc Ock [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker]]'s body and using it to become a darker, more "badass" version of Spidey. He even has a black and red costume that was originally designed by Alex Ross for the [[Film/SpiderMan1 first movie]] (since MovieSuperheroesWearBlack). The entire thing requires all of Spider-Man's friends and teammates somehow not realizing that Peter Parker has been replaced. But like Azrael was to Batman, it ends up being a deconstruction; as Doc Ock slowly loses control over the situation until he's forced to concede that Peter Parker is, in fact, the "superior" hero.

* ''Nightwatch'' from Marvel (as well as the Chase Lawlyer version of ''Comicbook/{{Manhunter}}'' from DC), both of whom were [[FollowTheLeader rather shameless rip-offs]] of ''Spawn''.

* Penance in the MarvelUniverse, originally the happy-go-lucky character Speedball, is a strange version of this. After believing himself responsible for the death of 612 people in ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'', he designs a costume in dark colors designed to give himself constant pain with 612 spikes. This was intended seriously, but having happened long after the 1990s, is treated like a parody in most of his appearances outside ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}''.

** ComicBook/SpiderGirl has [[EvilTwin April]] [[CloningBlues Parker]], that is simply a jerk version of main protagonist with the powers of Venom. She fits this trope perfectly, right to the point that a woman she once saved from bandits runs away, because she is more violent than they are. Oh, and [[spoiler:she killed Tombstone, too.]]

* Penance in the MarvelUniverse, originally the happy-go-lucky character Speedball, is a strange version of this. After believing himself responsible for the death of 612 people in ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', he designs a costume in dark colors designed to give himself constant pain with 612 spikes. This was intended seriously, but having happened long after the 1990s, is treated like a parody in most of his appearances outside ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}''.

** Kaine. [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/8/8d/Kaine_Parker_%28Earth-616%29_from_Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_397_0001.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20191126063347 Seriously, just look at him.]] (At least he was [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap salvaged]] in ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl''.) And in the 2012 ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' comic series written by Chris Yost, Kaine is now reluctantly (the reluctant part coming in with his regularly proclaimed ambition to move to Mexico and drink margaritas on the beach for the rest of his life. No one really believes him) trying to be more of a traditional super-hero and move away from this motif altogether, as part of an attempt to live up to his 'brother' Peter, who he considers to be generally a far better person, and to be an example to his MoralityPet [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Aracely]], usually coming off more as a KnightInSourArmour. On top of that, he is aware that he used to be an awful person. Moreover, he believes wholeheartedly that he still is, simply telling Aracely to leave it at the end of his solo series when the residents of Houston (including his girlfriend) freak out and reject him after [[OneWingedAngel his transformation into]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide a giant spider monster]] in order to destroy Shathra and save lives, and she tries ShamingTheMob.

** Kaine. [[http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100128135717/marveldatabase/images/7/74/Peter_Parker_%28Kaine%29_%28Earth-616%29_0001.jpg Seriously, just look at him.]] (At least he was [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap salvaged]] in ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl''.) And in the 2012 ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' comic series written by Chris Yost, Kaine is now reluctantly (the reluctant part coming in with his regularly proclaimed ambition to move to Mexico and drink margaritas on the beach for the rest of his life. No one really believes him) trying to be more of a traditional super-hero and move away from this motif altogether, as part of an attempt to live up to his 'brother' Peter, who he considers to be generally a far better person, and to be an example to his MoralityPet [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Aracely]], usually coming off more as a KnightInSourArmour. On top of that, he is aware that he used to be an awful person. Moreover, he believes wholeheartedly that he still is, simply telling Aracely to leave it at the end of his solo series when the residents of Houston (including his girlfriend) freak out and reject him after [[OneWingedAngel his transformation into]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide a giant spider monster]] in order to destroy Shathra and save lives, and she tries ShamingTheMob.

** The entire plot of ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' sees Doc Ock [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker]]'s body and using it to become a darker, more "badass" version of Spidey. He even has a black and red costume that was originally designed by Alex Ross for the [[Film/SpiderMan1 first movie]] (since MovieSuperheroesWearBlack). The entire thing is a bit of an IdiotPlot, since it requires all of Spider-Man's friends and teammates somehow not realizing that Peter Parker has been replaced. But like Azrael was to Batman, it ends up being a deconstruction; as Doc Ock slowly loses control over the situation until he's forced to concede that Peter Parker is, in fact, the "superior" hero.

** ComicBook/{{Venom}}. First there was the "black suit" Spider-Man, basically a textbook example of this trope before its time. This was caused by an alien Symbiote bonding to him, which he later removes. It then bonds to another man, Eddie Brock, becoming Venom, designed to be an EvilCounterpart of Spider-Man. That would have all been well and good, except Venom proved to be something of an EnsembleDarkHorse, and entered his peak of popularity during the peak of this very trope's popularity, and thus Venom was given his own comic and re-worked into one. Then they have Venom's symbiote give birth to a second one, which bonded with a SerialKiller to become Carnage, an evil(er) counterpart of ''Venom''. This opened the floodgates at this point: Venom's symbiote gave birth to ''five'' more symbiotes, but all but one of them fused into a single one. The fusion bonded with a police officer to become ''another'' 90's anti-hero Hybrid. Meanwhile, Carnage's symbiote ''also'' gives birth, the resulting symbiote binding with ''another'' another police officer to become '''''yet another''''' anti-hero, Toxin. Since then, however, the original Venom symbiote has exchanged hands a few times and and its then-current host was a normal AntiHero. Venom himself moves on from this trope when the symbiote jumps back to Eddie; since at this point, Venom is now trying to become just a regular hero.

** ComicBook/{{Bishop}}, another X-Man that followed the pattern of being a huge, muscled fellow with big guns in a CrapsackWorld BadFuture.

** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} went from being a complicated, interesting character in the 80's to "stabby stabby stabby!" in the 90's. It took "Enemy of the State" and "Wolverine: Origin" stories to restore his former glory.

* A strange example is Deathlok the Demolisher, who was created well over two decades before the heyday of the trope. Each of the various versions of Deathlok have very 90's Anti-Hero traits to them: he is always a dead man resurrected as a cyborg (cyborgs being common in 90's comics), and turned into an unliving cybernetic weapon that uses huge guns as its primary method of offense. Usually however the plot often involves Deathlok's ''unwillingness'' to succumb to his programming and kill wantonly, instead struggling to non-lethally dispatch his foes.

** ''Sleepwalker'' was about an alien from another dimension that became trapped in a human's mind and manifested to fight crime while he was asleep, carrying on the similar role he had carried in his home world. There were, both in the letter columns of the old ''Sleepwalker'' comics and more recent web postings, positive responses from fans who ''liked'' the fact that Sleepwalker wasn't a violent antihero.

* ''ComicBook/DeathsHeadII'' is an amoral, almost unstoppable skull-faced cyborg with an hand that shapeshifts between claws, blades and guns, as required. His spin-off Superior Successor Death Metal turns all of this up to eleven.
* ''ComicBook/DieCut'' is an alien warrior who’s back from the dead in a genetically engineered body with a huge blade grafted to one arm and a crazed mindset.

* ''Nightwatch'' from Marvel (as well as the Chase Lawlyer version of ''Comicbook/{{Manhunter}}'' from DC), both of whom were [[FollowTheLeader rather shameless rip-offs]] of ''Spawn''.

-->'''Rachel:''' You know what gives me strength? My ''loss''. [[NotSoDifferent We're alike that way, I imagine.]] Admit it: ''nobody'' who's a stranger to that particular pain could ''ever'' be as driven as us.\\