A good villain in fiction can often be more interesting than the hero. The angst, the drama, their backstory... there's so much to sink one's teeth into.
But what about the characters that walk the line between good and evil?
What about the characters that were pushed to the edge, but resisted tipping over it into villainy?
Reddit user NotPhantomforce asked:
"What fictional character had every right to become a villain, but didn’t?"
Rocket Raccoon
"Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy. Yeah he’s upset and bitter, and you can understand why… but he could have been a really big villain.
~ MTA0
Meg Griffin
"Meg Griffin from Family Guy. The episode where she goes to prison, comes back, and just loses it on the family is one of the most satisfying Meg moments ever."
~ abgry_krakow87
Wolverine
"Wolverine of the X-Men. He's lived through numerous wars and still fought on the side of the 'good guys'."
"He could've been worn down and sold out to be a mercenary, but he's always been kind of a chaotic good character—such a bada** as well, one of my favorite heroes."
~ vivalafritz
Obi-Wan Kenobi
"Obi-Wan Kenobi had every right to be a villain, but didn’t."
~ darthjoe101
"He went through similar amounts of trauma as Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars canon, but stayed good."
"He was the perfect Jedi."
~ bobo3981
The Iron Giant
"The Iron Giant. Military did everything they could to turn him into a murder machine."
~ -VReaper-
"He was, in fact, designed to be a weapon for planet conquering, and he chose to be Superman instead."
~ DimentiotheJester
Candace Flynn
"Candace Flynn from Phineas and Ferb."
"Caught in an endless summer and constantly disbelieved... I'm surprised anyone lived."
~ wlm2048
"It's even in the theme song: 'Driving our sister insane'."
~ OneWholeSoul
Bilbo Baggins
"Bilbo Baggins, from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, when the most evil object in the world corrupted kings, warriors, other hobbits, this old man just willingly leaves it for his nephew."
"Also, in the book, he is the first to offer to take the journey to destroy the ring."
"When most people couldn't resist temptation, Bilbo proves time and again to be a real one when no one else could."
"Tolkien has made it clear that no one would have had the will to resist Sauron in Mount Doom, but Bilbo showed more will than maybe anyone in the Legendarium."
~ teachmeyourstory
Solid Snake
"Solid Snake from Metal Gear/Metal Gear Solid."
"The man is used and abused, literally created for the sole purpose of being used by the US government and he STILL does the right thing until the very end."
~ TheOnlyRealDregas
Mirabel (and Bruno)
"Mirabel, the girl from Encanto who didn't get a gift on her birthday."
~ Bananawamajama
"You mean the girl that got blamed for everything when all she was trying to do was help everyone?"
~ Mega_Nidoking
"Don't forget her grandma who forced her superpowered family to go all over town helping everybody just so she could feel good about how awesome she was, even though she did nothing herself."
~ LurkerZerker
"I mean, Bruno was also kinda f*cked."
"He just saw the future and everyone hated him. So he went to live in the walls."
"Then, everyone who had treated him like a freak for years had the gall to tell him they forgave him? For what‽‽"
~ Stonesonthehill
Aang
"Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender could have been a monster after coming out of the iceberg and finding out what happened to his people, family, and mentor."
"I mean, he was about to, but Katara stopped him."
"It really shows the importance of having good family and or friends to keep you grounded."
~ surferos505
"And he was close to do it again after finding the sandbenders that stole Appa and sold him to a circus."
"Never, and I mean never, ever touch an Air Nomad's sky bison—you will face death and worse if you do."
~ FM1091
Arthur Dent
"Arthur Dent from Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy."
"I mean, his home planet was destroyed to make way for an intergallactic highway."
~ fichti
"And he never got his tea, only something that was almost, but not entirely unlike tea."
~ feliciates
Geralt of Rivia
"Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher is seen as a monster by other humans and faces bigotry all his life.
"Lied to, not getting paid enough—or at all sometimes—for the jobs he does, and he tries to do good, but still is always treated as an outcast, a monster.
"Still, the man is good and tries to help when he can."
~ StrategyTraining9684
"Imagine your mother just abandoning you as a child. Your only job is to risk your life and kill monsters because that's the only thing people tolerate you enough to do, and when you actually do what you're told, you're pelted with rocks or double-crossed at basically every turn."
"Witchers have it rough."
~ jobforgears
Spider-Man
"Spider-Man. He could have ignored his uncle Ben's advice, gone apesh*t, and cleaned up the city in two to three weeks if he really tried."
"He'd have Norman Osborne's head wrapped up in a web."
~ One-Turn-4037
"Nick Fury has said that him and S.H.I.E.LD. kept a closer eye on Peter for years after they started to get a better idea of Peter's background and how he started."
"Fury said with a backstory like his, its almost inevitable he would become a villain."
"Peter proved them wrong. Every. Single. Time."
~ killingjoke96
Pongo & Perdita
"Pongo and Perdita from 101 Dalmatians."
"Cruella kidnapped their puppies and was going to murder and skin them."
"No one would have blamed them for mauling her to death."
~ Disastrous-Bee-1557
The 9th Doctor
"The Doctor after Doctor Who was rebooted in 2005."
"He had just survived The Time War, one of the most devastating conflicts in fiction where 'billions died every second' and not only that, he had witnessed the destruction of his entire race."
"It would have been enough to drive anybody mad or malevolent. Instead, it made him care more, and he wanted to help people wherever he could."
From the series: 'When I close my eyes I hear more screams than you could ever be able to count and do you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it tight, until it burns your hand. Then you say this; No one else will ever have to live like this. No else will ever have to feel this pain. Not on my watch'."
~ killingjoke96
Who would you add to the list?
@sama/X
