History ProtagonistCenteredMorality / ComicBooks

* PlayedForLaughs by Franchise/SamAndMax. They may or may not get the job done, and they may or may not use ethically questionable methods to do so, but they're the title characters, so whatever they do is just fine. This carries over into the video games as well.

* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' has this towards the titular character. Otto [[GrandTheftMe steals the body and identity]] of Franchise/SpiderMan in order to escape punishment, murders people while operating as the hero, and engages in a relationship with two women, one of whom being long time love interest [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]], which borders on sexual assault, but none of this is ever brought up in order to condemn the character, and instead the entire narrative is devoted to Otto's supposed "Redemption." The rationale being that Otto did good things as Spider-Man, and is a good man deep down, which ignores the fact that the story itself shows that the only reason Otto continued to fight crime was to continue his cover and to overshadow Peter's legacy as Spider-Man.

* The way Franchise/{{Batman}} treats Characters/{{Catwoman|SelinaKyle}} in comparison to how he deals with every other thief in Gotham. While a lot of people think of Catwoman as primarily being an AntiHero, the fact is that there are many stories where Catwoman is out for herself. But even when she's not helping him, Batman usually doesn't seem too concerned with catching her. And the people Catwoman steals from? Well, apparently they don't matter. We're meant to feel that he does it because he sees the potential for good in her--but it's impossible to not feel that he wouldn't be so lenient with her if he didn't [[DatingCatwoman have the hots for her]]. He does have his limits, though. In ''Comicbook/DCRebirth'', he captures Catwoman and turns her over to the police after she [[spoiler: kills 237 members of a terrorist cell that had bombed the orphanage she grew up in. He's clearly not happy about it, but says she left him no choice this time]]. However, it is revealed that [[spoiler: Catwoman, as in Selina Kyle, actually took the blame for her protege, Holly, who killed all the members of said terrorist cell. This is revealed when Bruce and Selina track her down; she has been hiding with Talia]].

** The way the X-Men respond to anyone who attempts to cure mutants smacks heavily of this trope. The X-Men, by and large, are all incredibly good looking (except for [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam Beast]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]] - though he's still generally drawn as a male version of a CuteMonsterGirl) and have powers that are mostly cool and easy to control (Cyclops and [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]] being the two obvious exceptions). Anyone who ever tries to find a way to cure mutants is 100% always a villain who needs to be stopped. There really isn't any consideration for the mutants who got the shit-end of the SuperpowerLottery and ended up with something like [[{{Gasshole}} perpetual flatulence]] or [[{{Gonk}} being really ugly]] and therefore ''would'' benefit from a way to live a normal human life.

* Brilliantly subverted in ''ComicBook/SupremePower''. Mark Milton, Superman Expy, escapes the control of the US Government after it is revealed that he was kidnapped as a baby and intensely brainwashed his entire life to act as a walking bomb in the service of the United States. Government officials try to talk him out of it, claiming his revolt is ridiculous and he should put "insignificant things" like this behind him and get on with his work. When Mark talks to Stan , his only friend , he drops this gem : " I would like to see a man arrested for murder on trial and his lawyer saying ' Yes ​​, Your Honor , my client really did kill all those innocent people ! But so what? He's moved on with his life, can't we do the same?"

* Brilliantly subverted in Supreme Power. Mark Milton, Superman Expy, escapes the control of the US Government after it is revealed that he was kidnapped as a baby and intensely brainwashed his entire life to act as a walking bomb in the service of the United States. Government officials try to talk him out of it, claiming his revolt is ridiculous and he should put "insignificant things" like this behind him and get on with his work. When Mark talks to Stan , his only friend , he drops this gem : " I would like to see a man arrested for murder on trial and his lawyer saying ' Yes ​​, Your Honor , my client really did kill all those innocent people ! But so what? He's moved on with his life, can't we do the same?"

* {{Newspaper Comic|s}} ''ComicStrip/MinimumSecurity'' has a really bad case of this. Either you're with Kranti and [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans killing 99% of humanity is the ONLY way to save the earth]] or you're doing just a poser who does ineffective things like recycling and peacefully protesting (everyone knows that riots get headlines! [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Or free trips to secret detention camps]]), or you're The Man and ''actively trying to destroy the planet and oppress people''.

* Catwoman's Marvel counterpart Characters/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}} receives this a lot. While initially a villain, Black Cat eventually transitioned into being a KarmicThief, and while Spider-Man was bothered by this aspect of her life, he never bothered to turn her in because of their complicated relationship. This gets turned on its head and {{deconstructed|Trope}} in the pages of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Otto Octavius]] who has none of Peter's history or personal bias towards Black Cat, brutally turns her over to the authorities.

*** This hit its peak when, during the ''ComicBook/BattleOfTheAtom'' crossover, Wolverine calls out Cyke for killing [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Charles Xavier]]. Never mind that Cyke was possessed by a cosmic force and killed Xavier in self defense – ''Wolverine kills all the time!'' Cyclops calls him out on the hypocrisy, pointing out that Cyclops has killed one person, while Wolverine has killed ''many''. How does Wolverine respond? "[[AMillionIsAStatistic You killed the only one that matters]]." That is a direct quote. Note that at the time, [[Characters/AlphaFlightTitleTeam Northstar]] was on his team, a character who, a few years ago, Wolverine had killed while brainwashed, essentially the same circumstances that Cyclops was under when he killed Xavier. No one points this out, not even [[DeathIsCheap Northstar himself]].

* ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'': Empress Teta, military dictator of the [[{{Ruritania}} Koros system]] and anti-Sith crusader ''par excellence''. She's ''supposed'' to be one of the good guys, but there are worrying little things in her portrayal. Like how the [=POW=]s from her victorious wars of unification for the greater good are still in hard labor camps a decade after the last war ended. Or how [[SmallNameBigEgo the system is renamed the Empress Teta System]] afterwards. Not to mention conquering other planets in wars which must have killed millions to begin with. which are explicitly described as quite brutal. The heroes don't seem to care since she's on their side. Granted, her enemies, being Sith, are very much worse.

** The way the X-Men respond to anyone who attempts to cure mutants smacks heavily of this trope. The X-Men, by and large, are all incredibly good looking (except for [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam Beast]] and [[Characters/XMen70sMembers Nightcrawler]] - though he's still generally drawn as a male version of a CuteMonsterGirl) and have powers that are mostly cool and easy to control (Cyclops and [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]] being the two obvious exceptions). Anyone who ever tries to find a way to cure mutants is 100% always a villain who needs to be stopped. There really isn't any consideration for the mutants who got the shit-end of the SuperpowerLottery and ended up with something like [[{{Gasshole}} perpetual flatulence]] or [[{{Gonk}} being really ugly]] and therefore ''would'' benefit from a way to live a normal human life.

** The way the X-Men respond to anyone who attempts to cure mutants smacks heavily of this trope. The X-Men, by and large, are all incredibly good looking (except for [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam Beast]] and [[Characters/XMen70sMembers Nightcrawler]] - though he's still generally drawn as a male version of a CuteMonsterGirl) and have powers that are mostly cool and easy to control (Cyclops and [[Characters/XMen80sMembers Rogue]] being the two obvious exceptions). Anyone who ever tries to find a way to cure mutants is 100% always a villain who needs to be stopped. There really isn't any consideration for the mutants who got the shit-end of the SuperpowerLottery and ended up with something like [[{{Gasshole}} perpetual flatulence]] or [[{{Gonk}} being really ugly]] and therefore ''would'' benefit from a way to live a normal human life.

* {{Newspaper Comic|s}} ''ComicStrip/MinimumSecurity'' has a really bad case of this. Either you're with Kranti and [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans killing 99% of humanity is the ONLY way to save the earth]] or you're doing just a poser who does ineffective things like recycling and peacefully protesting (everyone knows that riots get headlines! [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Or free trips to secret detention camps]]), or you're TheMan and ''actively trying to destroy the planet and oppress people''.

*** This stance is notably averted in the Cure storyline in ''Astonishing X-Men''. The team are fairly evenly split on whether the cure is inherently bad, or a potential help for those less fortunate than themselves, but they all agree that their enemies '''will''' try to weaponise the cure against them. Notably, the cure's creator, Dr Kavita Rao, is an unambiguously good character, and later ends up joining the X-Men's science team.

** This stance is notably averted in the Cure storyline in ''Astonishing X-Men''. The team are fairly evenly split on whether the cure is inherently bad, or a potential help for those less fortunate than themselves, but they all agree that their enemies '''will''' try to weaponise the cure against them. Notably, the cure's creator, Dr Kavita Rao, is an unambiguously good character, and later ends up joining the X-Men's science team.

* Catwoman's Marvel counterpart Characters/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}} receives this alot. While initially a villain, Black Cat eventually transitioned into being a KarmicThief, and while Spider-Man was bothered by this aspect of her life, he never bothered to turn her in because of their complicated relationship. This gets turned on its head and {{deconstructed|Trope}} in the pages of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Otto Octavius]] who has none of Peter's history or personal bias towards Black Cat, brutally turns her over to the authorities.