History VillainProtagonist / ComicBooks

** Psychotic and devoted Joker fangirl ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, ruthless eco-terrorist [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]], and naturally, the unscrupulous alien bounty hunter [[Characters/DCComicsLobo Lobo]], have starred in their own titles too.

* ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' and its SpinOff ''ComicBook/DraculaLives'' have stories focusing on the Count, and all the evil deeds he commits.

** The series ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' stars [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]] after he has pulled a GrandTheftMe on Peter Parker and secretly taken his place as ComicBook/SpiderMan, determined to prove himself a "superior" crimefighter to his archenemy via [[PayEvilUntoEvil actually killing his rogues]] and using his super-science to change the world. As the series goes on it becomes clear that he's still the same old Doc Ock at heart and his heroic activities become increasingly supervillainous, utilising SinisterSurveillance all over New York and sliding further and further into megalomania. It all comes crashing down when the Green Goblin reappears and [[EvilerThanThou casually and completely decimates everything Octavius built]], along with Peter returning and getting his body back.

* The title character from ''ComicBook/{{Nemesis}}'' follows the adventures of a rich playboy that enjoys the finer things in life: fast cars, beautiful women, and [[NeverSayDie "dealing"]] with someone on a 28-day (violent) crime spree.

* Creator/EvanDorkin's ''The Eltingville Club'' was a BlackComedy satire of FanDumb stereotypes in geek culture. The main characters were all varying degrees of {{Jerkass}}, but TheLeader and most prominent member Bill was by far the worst as his extremely overbearing personality made him greatly disliked by his peers, [[VitriolicBestBuds including the other members of the Eltingville Club]]. In the second-to-last issue, Bill [[PsychopathicManchild sets fire to his workplace with his friends in it in a fit of rage]].

%% ** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]], and naturally, ComicBook/{{Lobo}}, have starred in their own titles too.

** Various one shot villains (or {{Anti Villain}}s depending on the story) are the focus of the story with Dredd as a HeroAntagonist. Notable examples are [[TheWoobie Bennett]] [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Beeny]], [[{{Cyborg}} Nate]] [[AwesomeMcCoolname Slaughterhouse]] and [[SkySurfing Marlon]] "[[RedBaron Chopper]]" [[ActionSurvivor Shakespeare]].

* ''ComicBook/DisneyMouseComicUniverse'': Some stories, especially in Italy, feature Pete, one of Mickey´s most well-known antagonists, as the protoganist, mostly failing at his newest crime. Those stories usually don´t even feature Mickey or another heroic character.

** There are some stories that feature the Beagle Boys, Magica [=DeSpell=], or any of the Ducks' other enemies as the main characters as they try to figure out new schemes to best the Ducks. [[DependingOnTheWriter Some writers]] may even treat Scrooge himself as a villain whenever they have him play the CorruptCorporateExecutive part straight.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'':
** There are some stories that feature the Beagle Boys, Magica [=DeSpell=], or any of the Ducks' other enemies as the main characters as they try to figure out new schemes to best the Ducks. [[DependingOnTheWriter Some writers]] may even treat Scrooge himself as a villain whenever they have him play the CorruptCorporateExecutive part straight.
** In the second-to-last chapter of ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'', Scrooge's years travelling the earth and seeing people get rich easily by being dishonest while he's left in the muck while keeping to his ideals has left him jaded and cold. The chapter features his, bar none, DarkestHour; Hiring bandits to burn down a native village so he can take the land they own by force. While the native leader, Foola Zoola, was an antagonist in the original Carl Barks story, here he is a HeroAntagonist.
* ''Creator/ECComics'': The thriller comics generally had a very specific formula which consisted of a poor excuse of a human being committing murder or something equally horrible in the first part, [[KarmicTwistEnding only to meet their grisly fate in the second part]] at the hands of either their former victims or some other malefactor.
* ''ComicBook/{{Raptors}}'': Drago and Camilla Molina are vampire twins that [[HunterOfHisOwnKind hunt their treacherous kind]] in revenge for their [[YouKilledMyFather parent's murder]]. With that said, they completely embrace their predatory instincts as vampires and prey on mankind as they carry out their revenge. Though one could say that [[PinballProtagonist Vicky Lenore]] is the actual protagonist, the Molina twins actually carry the plot.
* [[AdaptationalJerkass Hulk]] in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' is a PsychopathicManchild with cannibalistic tendencies whose brain basically revolves around his desires for killing, eating, and having sex with whatever he chooses, [[TheUnfettered without any form of moral or mental restraints]]. He's explicitly not part of the Ultimates -- Banner is, while Hulk is treated as more of a living weapon than a teammate.
* Creator/EvanDorkin's ''The Eltingville Club'' was a BlackComedy satire of FanDumb stereotypes in geek culture. The main characters were all varying degrees of {{Jerkass}}, but TheLeader and most prominent member Bill was by far the worst as his extremely overbearing personality made him greatly disliked by his peers, [[VitriolicBestBuds including the other members of the Eltingville Club]]. In the second-to-last issue, Bill [[PsychopathicManchild sets fire to his workplace with his friends in it in a fit of rage]].
** In the GrandFinale TimeSkip, the other members of the club have found fulfilling careers and varying degrees of success in life, while LoserProtagonist Bill has become a BasementDweller and petty thief who's even ''[[TookALevelInJerkass more]]'' unpleasant than he was as a teen. Bill's milder-mannered {{Foil}} Jerry found success as a professional ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' player with an attractive pop-culture correspondent girlfriend, and when Jerry introduces her to his old friends Bill goes on a hateful, misogynistic tirade about "[[CountryMatters cunts]]" and "[[OldGuardVersusNewBlood cultural immigrants]]" [[ItsPopularNowItSucks ruining their fun]].
** What made Bill such a compelling character was the fact that he [[JerkassHasAPoint wasn't outright]] ''wrong'' about franchises sometimes changing [[NewbieBoom for the sake of mainstream appeal]], but taking it to the extreme that he did is obviously the wrong move and presented as such within the narrative without making him a full-on strawman. [[VillainHasAPoint The best antagonists are the ones that can be understood or even identified with while still finding their actions abhorrent]], which is what made this series such effective commentary. In an average webcomic today, [[StrawCharacter he'd just be a random caricature who gets kicked in the nuts]]. Here he's our main character.

%% Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions62
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

* ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' and its SpinOff ''ComicBook/DraculaLives'' have stories focusing on the Count, and all the evil deeds he commits.
* Creator/MarkMillar:
** ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', clearly, since nearly all of the main characters are [[CaptainErsatz stand-ins]] for Creator/{{DC|Comics}} supervillains. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, most of those guys (including the protagonist) were too busy accelerating past the MoralEventHorizon to take notice of how they crossed it years ago -- and they're still going faster.
** The title character from ''ComicBook/{{Nemesis}}''.
** The main characters of ''ComicBook/SuperCrooks'' are bad guys, and only look good because the people who antagonize them are even worse.

* In the original comic book version of ''ComicBook/TheMask'', the central character (who is called "Bighead", because most people don't know he's wearing a mask) is a sociopathic serial murderer, akin to [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker the Joker]] given powers (which got even scarier in the ''[[IntercontinuityCrossover Joker Mask]]'' miniseries, where this actually happened). Let's just say that in the comics, the early scene in the movie where the Mask shoved mufflers up the asses of the mechanics who ripped him off would have involved a lot of red ink being used in the coloring process. Very often, the actual people wearing the mask are treated as little more than hosts whose bodies are being used to commit Bighead's comedic killing sprees... and they'll still gladly kill each other for the chance to wear it.
** One wearer of the mask was a little girl (in 5th grade or something) who was bullied at school, and so when she puts the mask on (a dream come true for her) she goes to a school party and burns the school down.
** This aspect of the comic series may have been [[ShoutOut referenced]] in [[WesternAnimation/TheMask the animated series]], when a 4000 year old [[TheFairFolk sociopathic fey]] who claims to have known all of the Mask's previous hosts (who included the likes of UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun and UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan) returns to Earth to team up with the latest Mask, but soon realizes he's "not like the others."
* ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'', an AxCrazy SerialKiller with touches of the SociopathicHero. In his more collected moments, he's all too aware of it, once even breaking the fourth wall to remind readers that he is the villain in the story.
* ''ComicBook/NeilGaimansTeknophage'', a short-lived comic by forgotten mid-90's publisher Tekno Comix, was a story about a 65-million-year-old, [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent reptilian]], {{Steampunk}} DimensionLord[=/=]MagnificentBastard who fed strife, misery, and tyranny merely to enjoy the chance to eat the souls of those with the killer instinct to struggle against him. Nominally, the comics were about the people trying to stop him, but everyone knew who to root for.
* The eponymous ''Lord Havok and the Extremists'' are all deadly {{supervillain}}s bent on dominating the world that denied them... and are in fact portrayed much more sympathetically than the "heroic" Americommando, who is inarguably a danger to all around him. Lord Havok in particular is given a heartbreaking StartOfDarkness.

* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, the lovable FourthWallObserver psychotic killer. He'll be rambling on, leaning on the fourth wall hard enough to break it -- then he sees his target and it's blood-'n-guts time.
* ''ComicBook/ScudTheDisposableAssassin''. He's put effort into being heroic later on, just so that no-one [[CassandraTruth takes that any more seriously than everything else about him]].
* According to WordOfGod, the ''[[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes Legion of 3 Worlds]]'' miniseries is focused on its main villain Superboy-Prime.
* ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}, the eponymous hero of the [[PrintLongRunners long-running]] Italian comic series. He is a ruthlessly violent jewel-thief who indifferently kidnaps, tortures, brainwashes and kills the innocent and guilty alike. His lover/partner-in-crime Eva Kant happily assists with all of the above, ''and'' throws obsessive sexual jealousy into the mix.

* ''ComicBook/SecretSix'' has Bane, the man who ''broke [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} the Bat]]''; Scandal Savage, the psychotic daughter of ''the first murderer''; and Ragdoll, who is just freaky. Add to that Catman (an honorable but crazy hired killer), Deadshot (a sociopathic hitman) and an actual freakin' ''Banshee'', and you know that this is not a team of nice people. Nice to look ''at'', sure, but not nice. ''Definitely'' not nice.
* ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'''s nemesis Thoth-Amon had a comic.

* ''[[http://www.risekraken.com/ RISE, KRAKEN!]]'' is a comic about a [[Franchise/GIJoe Cobra]]/[[Film/JamesBond SPECTRE]]-like NebulousEvilOrganisation "with the stated goal of raising a giant sea creature that will [[TakeOverTheWorld rule the world]] by iron fist and slimy tentacle", and what kind of person joins up to build lasers on the Moon and get beaten up by the heroes. The protagonist discovers that most of the people involved aren't in it ForTheEvulz, but to advance their own ''possibly'' more reasonable agendas.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', to an extent, when written by Creator/GarthEnnis.
** When not written by Ennis, there's a chance that an author will write him as a cool but gritty person who does what needs to be done.

* Creator/MarvelComics ''loves'' this trope. Villains who've had their own mini-series include ComicBook/{{Venom}}, ComicBook/{{Loki}} ([[ComicBook/JourneyIntoMysteryGillen four]] [[ComicBook/LokiAgentOfAsgard times]], [[ComicBook/VoteLoki actually]]), ComicBook/{{Sabretooth|1993}} ([[ComicBook/Sabretooth2022 twice]]), ComicBook/{{Mystique}}, Baron Zemo, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, Norman Osborn, and ''especially'' ComicBook/DoctorDoom, who's had many starring roles over the years.
** The series ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' stars [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]] after he has pulled a GrandTheftMe on Peter Parker and secretly taken his place as ComicBook/SpiderMan, determined to prove himself a "superior" crimefighter to his archenemy via [[PayEvilUntoEvil actually killing his rogues]] and using his super-science to change the world. As the series goes on it becomes clear that he's still the same old Doc Ock at heart and his heroic activities become increasingly supervillainous, utilising SinisterSurveillance all over New York and sliding further and further into megalomania. It all comes crashing down when the Green Goblin reappears and [[EvilerThanThou casually and completely decimates everything Octavius built]], along with Peter returning and getting his body back.
* There was a Marvel mini-series called ''Deadly Foes of ComicBook/SpiderMan'' was that was like this. The series focused on the Sinister Syndicate (a LegionOfDoom made up of guys usually thought of as {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s and actually gave them complex personalities, motivations, and in one case, a love interest. Spider-Man was a HeroAntagonist through the whole thing. Unfortunately, the story ended up with the villains splitting into two factions and an EnemyCivilWar breaking out, where ultimately, the only real winner was [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan the Kingpin]], the guy who had been funding them]].
** They had a sequel called ''Lethal Foes of Spider-Man'', but while it still fit the trope, all it really did this time was show how incompetent the villains were. It started with a gang of them (some from the previous series) stealing a powerful weapon, then progressed to two gangs of them fighting over it, and finally to an every-man-for-himself fight over it with Spidey caught in the middle. At the end, Spidey was the last one standing, looking at the dozen super-villains who had pummeled themselves unconscious (wrecking the whole neighborhood in the process) and wondering just what the Hell the whole point of the whole thing had been.
** ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' is a more comedic take on this, starring an iteration of the Sinister Six composed of [[NonIndicativeName five C-listers]] as they simply try to make it through their lives while still trying to get paid/not get killed.

* ''Creator/ChaosComics'', a horror comics company whose heyday was in the '90s, specialized in villain protagonists.
** Their most successful "hero" and a downright extreme example of this trope was ComicBook/LadyDeath, who in her first story won over a boy who had suffered severe child abuse with promises of love and then coaxed him into going on a killing spree. After seizing the opportunity to turn him into the "super-zombie" Evil Ernie, she encouraged him to wipe out the entire human race, all just to free her from a curse that kept her from returning to Earth. Over the course of his various mini-series Evil Ernie did indeed succeed in wiping out millions through hijacked nuclear bombs and his own zombie plague. Unsurprisingly, Lady Death [[TookALevelInKindness softened up quite a bit]] even before Chaos! went under and more when she was licensed out to other companies; at least there was no more goading abuse victims into committing genocide.
** Although he was given a sympathetic backstory, ComicBook/EvilErnie remained a classic example of this all through the Chaos! days. Most of his mini-series began with him brutally slaughtering the populace of an entire city (one story started off just after he had killed the people of Manhattan ''single-handedly'' over the period of several months), and then having to ward off attacks from his RoguesGallery, people who would be considered the protagonists in your typical ZombieApocalypse story, or from someone who was the villain by default. One mini-series, ''War of the Dead'', was about his attempts to wipe out humanity by hijacking the United States' nuclear arsenal.
* Atrocitus in the ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' books walks the line between this, AntiVillain, and AntiHero ([[SociopathicHero -ic Sociopath]]). He's an eternally wrathful berserker on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge (and willing to visit DisproportionateRetribution on other criminals he comes across), but his rage was sparked by a very serious injustice and makes it a point to [[PayEvilUntoEvil punish only the guilty]]. In the 2011 DC reboot, he and his Red Lanterns received their own series, ''ComicBook/RedLanterns''.
** As of June 2013, Larfleeze is likewise getting his own series.
* Paperinik (a WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck alter-ego created in Italy) had no problem committing thefts and fighting the police to get revenge on who wronged him in his early stories. He however [[CharacterDevelopment evolved]] into a much more heroic character [[HeelFaceTurn with time]], especially in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures''.
* ''ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}}'' has Iznogoud as your stereotypical EvilChancellor. Virtually ''all'' his adventures are about him trying the craziest schemes to replace the Caliph of a mythological Baghdad, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption each time failing hilariously]]. He [[GratuitousEnglish Iz no goud]].
* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'':
** Dredd himself can be like this, although it's a case of DependingOnTheWriter. Some of the antagonists can be downright heroic compared to Dredd, such as the ''Democracy Now!'' storyline, but he does often go up against villains such as the [[OmnicidalManiac Dark Judges]] and [[SerialKiller P.J.]][[EvilGenius Maybe]].
** Some stories feature Judge Death as the protagonist, as he goes around murdering everything in sight on his quest to destroy the human race.
** Elusive psychopathic serial killer PJ Maybe is the focus character of quite a lot of the stories he appears in.
** Various one shot villains (or {{Anti Villain}}s depending on the story) are the focus of the story with Dredd as a HeroAntagonist. Notable examples are [[TheWoobie Bennett]] [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Beeny]], [[{{Cyborg}} Nate]] [[AwesomeMcCoolname Slaughterhouse]] and [[SkySurfing Marlon]] "[[RedBaron Chopper]]" [[ActionSurvivor Shakespeare]].
* The following ''ComicBook/SinCity'' stories. The other stories typically feature [[BlackandGreyMorality very dark anti-heroes]].
** The "Blue Eyes" stories, in which the protagonist is a ProfessionalKiller pursuing her marks.
** "The Salesman Is Always Right", in which the Salesman is revealed at the end to have come to murder the woman he strikes up a conversation with.
** "Rats" centers on an escaped Nazi war criminal who is living incognito in the United States, and [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims reminisces]] about all the people he murdered during the war.
* IPC/Fleetway loved this trope:
** Max from the ''Eagle''/''Scream!'' comic strip 'The Thirteenth Floor'. Admittedly he straddled the line between AntiHero and Villain Protagonist, a computer AI designed to protect and care for the tenants of the block of flats he was installed in, punishing (and several times accidentally killing) those who would harm them. He was often portrayed as a [[DracoInLeatherPants straight hero]] but was initially given several moments where his actions backfired horribly ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero once getting one of his favorite tenants accused of a murder Max had committed]]) and was opposed by several openly [[HeroAntagonist heroic characters]]. Later on however he started to get into more action based scenarios and became a straight GuileHero, with the whole [[KarmaHoudini 'multiple homicide']] thing brushed under the carpet.
** Most of the strips in ''Comicbook/{{Action}}''. "Kids Rule O.K" was about a violent gang in a TeenageWasteland; "Hook Jaw" was a ThreateningShark; "Death Game 1999" was about criminals competing in a BloodSport, and so on.
** ''Valiant'' had "Charlie Peace", a Victorian criminal (although less villainous than the historical Charles Peace) and "The Prisoner of Zenga", about a robot which was [[BrainUploading uploaded]] with the mind of a murderer.
** The shortlived ''Jet'' had "Von Hoffman's Invasion", about a Nazi MadScientist launching a one-man war on the UK and "The Dwarf" about a diminutive archcriminal.
** ''Lion'' had "The Spider", who started out as "The King of Crooks" before having a HeelFaceTurn, and "Secrets of the Demon Dwarf" (not to be confused with the above Dwarf).
** A more comedic example, ''Wham!'' had "Grimly Feendish, the Rottenest Crook in the World", who started out as the antagonist of "Eagle Eye, Junior Spy" before getting his own strip.
* ''ComicBook/TerrorInc'' is a Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} comic centered around a hitman who can copy the abilities of others by [[AppendageAssimilation ripping off their limbs and grafting them to his own body]]. Yes.
* Overman from ''[[ComicBook/TheMultiversity Mastermen #1]]''. He began as a Nazi ComicBook/{{Superman}}, but he's actually incredibly guilt-ridden over what he did in their name, and realizes the world he created needs to be destroyed.
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader'' and ''ComicBook/DarthVader'' both star the eponymous villain.
* [[Characters/MarvelComicsThanos Thanos]] is often written this way. He's the main character of CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'' and a self-titled 12-issue series.
* Michael Rhodes in ''ComicBook/{{Birthright}}'' is a FallenHero serving the will of an EvilOverlord trying to merge the human world with his realm. While he is [[AntiVillain portrayed sympathetically]], having betrayed his role as TheChosenOne to return to his family from whom he got forcibly separated, he has long since resigned himself to his master's control; he has a parasite inserted into his body to [[ForcedIntoEvil force his obedience, and any attempt at removing it will result in his death]]. [[spoiler:After the parasite is safely extracted from his body, he stops being a villain protagonist and becomes a very cynical and reluctant hero instead]].
* [[ComicBook/TheRedeemer Klovis the Redeemer]] from the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' setting. He belongs to a particularly brutal branch of the Imperial Faith known as the Redemptionist Cult that preaches only death can purify the sinners, and their zealotry is so extreme [[EvenEvilHasStandards even by Imperial standards]] that is in fact outlawed in other worlds. Klovis is very keen on weeding out heretics, loves torture and is a BadBoss per excellence with his EstablishingCharacterMoment being executing one of his own men for [[DisproportionateRetribution not cleaning his equipment]].
* When a comic is titled ''ComicBook/KhaalTheChroniclesOfAGalacticEmperor'', this should give a good idea of what to expect about the [[GalacticConqueror main character]]. Khaal starts as a warlord vying for control of [[PlanetSpaceship E.T.H.E.R.]] by taking resources, slaves and females. In his EstablishingCharacterMoment, he murders [[ShootTheMessenger an emissary in cold-blood]] for just telling Khaal rumors about his rule growing weak. Then he managed to overcome a superior race of alien invaders, he takes control of them and starts his campaign for galactic conquest and all in the name of his mad thirst for power.

* The protagonist of the eponymous ''Comicbook/BombQueen'' is a {{supervillain}}ess[=-=]turned-{{Evil Overlord}}. There are no apparent efforts to justify a SympatheticPOV In the beginning it showed her character in a more humorous light, but now there is no doubt that she is a monster (she crushes Obama's nuts just for fun in the latest volume, murders all of her "friends", and rapes George Bush. Her actions would make Johan Liebert blush)
* ''Comicbook/TheTombOfDracula'' and its SpinOff ''Comicbook/DraculaLives'' have stories focusing on the Count, and all the evil deeds he commits.

** ''Comicbook/{{Wanted}}'', clearly, since nearly all of the main characters are stand-ins for DC supervillains. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, most of those guys (including the protagonist) were too busy accelerating past the MoralEventHorizon to take notice of how they crossed it years ago. And they're still going faster.
** The title character from ComicBook/{{Nemesis}}.

* A lot of DC villains get this treatment.
** ComicBook/TheJoker had his own short-lived series back in the '70s in which he cheerfully offed various other characters. There's also the ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' graphic novel, though that story's POV character was a lackey of the Joker, not the Clown Prince himself.
** ComicBook/LexLuthor had his own graphic novel, ''ComicBook/LexLuthorManOfSteel'', in which he presents himself as a brave man trying to let humanity take its own course by freeing us from the influence of that meddling alien, ComicBook/{{Superman}}. He was also the star of Creator/PaulCornell's "[[ComicBook/TheBlackRing Black Ring]]" story arc in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' (concurrent with ''ComicBook/BrightestDay''), which further explored his motivations.

%% ** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, ComicBook/PoisonIvy, and naturally, ComicBook/{{Lobo}}, have starred in their own titles too.

* ComicBook/{{Etrigan}}, the titular Demon of DC comics, manages at least in his own series to have you rooting for him despite being ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. He remains a sympathetic protagonist mainly by frequently allying himself with more, y'know, ''heroic'' heroes against demons who are either even worse than Etrigan, or who at least have more ''immediate'' actively evil plans in motion.
* In the original comic book version of ''ComicBook/TheMask'', the central character (who is called "Bighead", because most people don't know he's wearing a mask) is a sociopathic serial murderer, akin to ComicBook/TheJoker given powers (which got even scarier in the ''Joker Mask'' miniseries, where this actually happened). Let's just say that in the comics, the early scene in the movie where the Mask shoved mufflers up the asses of the mechanics who ripped him off would have involved a lot of red ink being used in the coloring process. Very often, the actual people wearing the mask are treated as little more than hosts whose bodies are being used to commit Bighead's comedic killing sprees... and they'll still gladly kill each other for the chance to wear it.

* ''[[ComicBook/NeilGaimansTeknophage Teknophage]]'', a short-lived comic by forgotten mid-90's publisher Tekno Comix, was a story about a 65 million year old, [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent reptilian]], SteamPunk DimensionLord / MagnificentBastard who fed strife, misery, and tyranny merely to enjoy the chance to eat the souls of those with the killer instinct to struggle against him. Nominally, the comics were about the people trying to stop him, but everyone knew who to root for.

* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, the lovable FourthWall-breaking psychotic killer. He'll be rambling on, leaning on the fourth wall hard enough to break it -then he sees his target and its blood'n'guts time.
* ''ComicBook/ScudTheDisposableAssassin''. He's put effort into being heroic later on, just no-one [[CassandraTruth takes that any more seriously than everything else about him]].

* ''ComicBook/SecretSix'': It has Bane, the man who ''broke [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Bat]]''; Scandal Savage, the psychotic daughter of ''the first murderer''; and Ragdoll, who is just freaky. Add to that Catman (an honorable but crazy hired killer), Deadshot (a sociopathic hitman) and an actual freakin' ''Banshee'' and you know this is not a team of nice people. Nice to look ''at'', sure, but not nice. ''Definitely'' not nice.

* ''[[http://www.risekraken.com/ RISE, KRAKEN!]]'' is a comic about a [[Franchise/GIJoe Cobra]] / [[Film/JamesBond SPECTRE]]-like global organization "with the stated goal of raising a giant sea creature that will [[TakeOverTheWorld rule the world]] by iron fist and slimy tentacle", and what kind of person joins up to build lasers on the Moon and get beaten up by the heroes. The protagonist discovers that most of the people involved aren't in it ForTheEvulz, but to advance their own ''possibly'' more reasonable agendas.
* ''Comicbook/ThePunisher'', to an extent, when written by Creator/GarthEnnis.
** When not written by Ennis there's a chance that an author will write him as a cool but gritty person who does what needs to be done.

* Creator/MarvelComics ''loves'' this Trope. Villains who've had their own mini-series include ComicBook/{{Venom}}, Loki, ''{{ComicBook/Sabretooth}}'', ''{{ComicBook/Mystique}}'', Baron Zemo, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, ComicBook/NormanOsborn, and ''especially'' Doctor Doom, who's had many starring roles over the years.
** The series ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' stars ComicBook/DoctorOctopus after he has pulled a GrandTheftMe on Peter Parker and secretly taken his place as Spider-Man, determined to prove himself a "superior" crimefighter to his arch-enemy via [[PayEvilUntoEvil actually killing his rogues]] and using his super-science to change the world. As the series goes on it becomes clear that he's still the same old Doc Ock at heart and his heroic activities become increasingly supervillainous, utilising SinisterSurveillance all over New York and sliding further and further into megalomania. It all comes crashing down when the Green Goblin reappears and [[EvilerThanThou casually and completely decimates everything Octavius built]], along with Peter returning and getting his body back.
* There was a Marvel mini-series called ''Deadly Foes of Spider-Man'' was that was like this. The series focused on the Sinister Syndicate (a villain team made up of guys usually thought of as [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Ineffectual Sympathetic Villains]] and actually gave them complex personalities, motivations, and in one case, a love interest. ComicBook/SpiderMan was a HeroAntagonist through the whole thing. Unfortunately, the story ended up with the villains splitting into two factions and an EnemyCivilWar breaking out, where ultimately, the only real winner was [[spoiler: [[TheManBehindTheMan the Kingpin]], the guy who had been funding them.]]
** They had a sequel called ''Lethal Foes of Spider Man'', but while it still fit the Trope, all it really did this time was show how incompetent the villains were. It started with a gang of them (some from the previous series) stealing a powerful weapon, then progressed to two gangs of them fighting over it, and finally to an every-man-for-himself fight over it with Spidey caught in the middle. At the end, Spidey was the last one standing, looking at the dozen super-villains who had pummeled themselves unconscious (wrecking the whole neighborhood in the process) and wondering just what the Hell the whole point of the whole thing had been.
** ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' is a more comedic take on this, starring an iteration of the Sinister Six composed of [[NonIndicativeName five C-Listers]] as they simply try to make it through their lives while still trying to get paid/not get killed.
* {{ComicBook/Daken}} in his own ongoing. It's made pretty clear he is not a good person (He kills people for kicks after all), but he is charismatic though.

* [[Characters/GLRedLanternCorps Atrocitus]] in the ''Comicbook/GreenLantern'' books walks the line between this, AntiVillain, and AntiHero ([[SociopathicHero -ic Sociopath]]). He's an eternally wrathful berserker on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge (and willing to visit DisproportionateRetribution on other criminals he comes across), but his rage was sparked by a very serious injustice and makes it a point to [[PayEvilUntoEvil punish only the guilty]]. In the 2011 DC reboot, he and his Red Lanterns received their own series, ''ComicBook/RedLanterns''.
** As of June 2013, [[Characters/GLOrangeLanternCorps Larfleeze]] is likewise getting his own series.

* ComicBook/JudgeDredd:

** Max from the ''Eagle''/''Scream!'' comic strip 'The Thirteenth Floor'. Admittedly he straddled the line between AntiHero and Villain Protagonist, a computer AI designed to protect and care for the tenants of the block of flats he was installed in, punishing (and several times accidentally killing) those who would harm them. He was often portrayed as a [[DracoInLeatherPants straight hero]] but was initially given several moments where his actions backfired horribly ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero once getting one of his favorite tenants accused of a murder Max had committed]]), and was opposed by several openly [[HeroAntagonist heroic characters]]. Later on however he started to get into more action based scenarios and became a straight GuileHero, with the whole [[KarmaHoudini 'multiple homicide']] thing brushed under the carpet.

* ''Terror, Inc.'' was a Marvel Comic centered around a hitman who could [[PowerCopying copy the abilities of others]] by ripping off their limbs and grafting them to his own body. Yes.

* ComicBook/{{Thanos}} is often written this way. He's the main character of CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'' and a self-titled 12-issue series.

* ''Creator/ECComics'': The thriller comics generally had a very specific formula which consisted of a poor excuse of a human being committing murder or something equally horrible in the first part, only to meet their grisly fate in the second part at the hands of either their former victims or some other malefactor.

* [[AdaptationalJerkass Hulk]] in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. A PsychopathicManchild with cannibalistic tendencies whose brain basically revolves around his desires for killing, eating, and having sex with whatever he chooses, without any form of moral or mental restraints. He's explicitly not part of the Ultimates, Banner is. Hulk's treated as more of a living weapon than a teammate.
* Creator/EvanDorkin's ''The Eltingville Club'' was a BlackComedy satire of FanDumb stereotypes in geek culture. The main characters were all varying degrees of {{jerkass}}, but TheLeader and most prominent member Bill was by far the worst as his extremely overbearing personality made him greatly disliked by his peers, [[VitriolicBestBuds including the other members of the Eltingville Club]]. In the second-to-last issue, Bill [[PsychopathicManchild sets fire to his workplace with his friends in it in a fit of rage]].
** In the GrandFinale TimeSkip, the other members of the club have found fulfilling careers and varying degrees of success in life, while LoserProtagonist Bill has become a BasementDweller and petty thief who's even ''[[TookALevelInJerkass more]]'' unpleasant than he was as a teen. Bill's milder-mannered {{foil}} Jerry found success as a professional ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' player with an attractive pop-culture correspondent girlfriend, and when Jerry introduces her to his old friends Bill goes on a hateful, misogynistic tirade about "[[CountryMatters cunts]]" and "[[OldGuardVersusNewBlood cultural immigrants]]" [[ItsPopularNowItSucks ruining their fun]].

* Creator/EvanDorkin's ''The Eltingville Club'' was a BlackComedy satire of FanDumb stereotypes in geek culture. The main characters were all varying degrees of {{jerkass}}, but TheLeader and most prominent member Bill was by far the worst as his extremely overbearing personality made him greatly disliked by his peers, [[VitriolicBestBuds including the other members of the Eltingville Club]]. In the second-to-last issue, Bill [[PsychopathicManchild sets fire to the store with his friends in it in a fit of rage]].

* Hulk in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. A PsychopathicManChild with cannibalistic tendencies whose brain basically revolves around his desires for killing, eating and having sex with whatever he chooses, without any form of moral or mental restraints. He's explicitly not part of the Ultimates, Banner is. Hulk's treated as more of a living weapon than a teammate.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': There are some stories that feature the Beagle Boys, Magica [=DeSpell=], or any of the Ducks' other enemies as the main characters as they try to figure out new schemes to best the Ducks. [[DependingOnTheWriter Some writers]] may even treat Scrooge himself as a villain whenever they have him play the CorruptCorporateExecutive part straight.

* Creator/MarkMillar's ''Comicbook/{{Wanted}}'', clearly, since nearly all of the main characters are stand-ins for DC supervillains. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, most of those guys (including the protagonist) were too busy accelerating past the MoralEventHorizon to take notice of how they crossed it years ago. And they're still going faster.

* The title character from ComicBook/{{Nemesis}}.

* According to WordOfGod, the ''ComicBook/{{Legion|Of Super-Heroes}} of 3 Worlds'' miniseries is focused on its main villain Superboy-Prime.

%% ** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, ComicBook/PoisonIvy, and naturally, SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}, have starred in their own titles too.

* Paperinik (a DonaldDuck alter-ego created in Italy) had no problem committing thefts and fighting the police to get revenge on who wronged him in his early stories. He however [[CharacterDevelopment evolved]] into a much more heroic character [[HeelFaceTurn with time]], especially in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures''.

* Hulk in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. A PsychopathicManChild with cannibalistic tendencies whose brain basically revolves around his desires for killing, eating and having sex with whatever he chooses, without any form of moral or mental restraints.

* ''[[http://www.risekraken.com/ RISE, KRAKEN!]]'' is a comic about a [[GIJoe Cobra]] / [[Film/JamesBond SPECTRE]]-like global organization "with the stated goal of raising a giant sea creature that will [[TakeOverTheWorld rule the world]] by iron fist and slimy tentacle", and what kind of person joins up to build lasers on the Moon and get beaten up by the heroes. The protagonist discovers that most of the people involved aren't in it ForTheEvulz, but to advance their own ''possibly'' more reasonable agendas.

* ''ComicBook/SecretSix'': It has Bane, the man who ''broke [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Bat]]'', Scandal Savage, the psychotic daughter of ''the first murderer'', and Ragdoll, who is just freaky. Add to that Catman (an honorable but crazy hired killer), Deadshot (a sociopathic hitman) and an actual freakin' ''Banshee'' and you know this is not a team of nice people. Nice to look ''at'', sure, but not nice. ''Definitely'' not nice.