A comic book anti-hero is the protagonist of a comic book series who has some extraordinary traits and abilities, but lacks a conventionally virtuous or well-balanced disposition. Often, the character engages in violence to a greater degree than a traditional superhero. This is a particular iteration of an antihero.
In American mainstream comic books, anti-heroes have become increasingly popular since the 1970s. The comic book version is generally a variation on the formula of superheroes. As Suzana Flores describes it, a comic book antihero is "often psychologically damaged, simultaneously depicted as superior due to his superhuman abilities and inferior due to his impetuousness, irrationality, or lack of thoughtful evaluation." Particularly well-known comic book anti-heroes include Wolverine, Punisher, Marv, Spawn, and Deadpool.[1] These characters have all been adapted into feature films, as well.
Drennig, Georg (2010). "Otherness and the European as Villain and Antihero in American Comics." In Mark Berninger, Jochen Ecke, Gideon Haberkon, eds., Comics as a Nexus of Cultures, McFarland.
Xavier, Cristina Levine Martins (2015). "Comics, Antiheroes and Taboo: Reflections on the Edge of Pop Culture." ARAS, The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, October.
