The anti-hero.

An anti-hero is not to be confused with a villain, which stands only for evil and is usually portrayed as an antagonist in a work of fiction. That isn't to say that an anti-hero cannot be a villain, but the two are separate entities.

While a literary example of an anti-hero escapes me at the moment, they posess characteristics of normal heroes, while remaining a bit more human in the process. I personally see heroes as those who have flaws and overcome or adapt to them in order to achieve a goal, usually for the greater good. However, anti-heroes are more flexible, and I personally find them to be more interesting. Anti-heroes can posess self-centered agendas and can act towards personal gain, whereas your conventional hero would feel that it violated some deep moral code.

Anti-heroes have no rulebook. An anti-hero who stops a bank robbery is not immune to taking a small cut of the recovered product. When Superman would fly away and deliver some stupid heroic line like "I do not want the money, knowing that Metropolis is safe is a reward in itself", Spider-man has bills to pay, and being a photographer just ain't cutting it.

Anti-heroes are more human because they have these flaws. Who would refuse a 10% cut of a stolen sum as payment for retrieving it, favoring to receive nothing? Tom Cruise's character of Captain Algren in The Last Samurai is a perfect example of a greedy anti-hero. Although his character had his noble traits, Algren bargained with the military leader of Japan in order to increase his wages. He did no extra work and even said "How many 'genuine heroes' ya got lined up?", showing a bit of a cocky nature.

I don't know about you, but I prefer an anti-hero to a "normal" hero. Why is that? Because anti-heroes are flawed. Anti-heroes are real. Anti-heroes are humans, just like you and I who are capable of evil and good, and thus are far easier to relate to.

However, one must make the distinction between villain and anti-hero. Dr. Doom is a villain, seeking to destroy and gain more power, where Deadpool is an anti-hero. I know that you didn't catch both of those references, and if you did, then read no more. For the rest of us, here's an explanation.

Dr. Doom is an asshole. It's as simple as that. He is plagued by the Frankenstein complex that is so typical of villains, in which he wants to destroy to alleviate his pain or get revenge on the world for his deformity. Call me a hypocrite, but I think that Dr. Doom is a teenager, or at least he was before his face got melted off by acid. But I digress, a phrase I can use no more due to a certain teacher, in that my main point does not revolve around Dr. Doom's face or lack thereof. Villains are underhanded and usually have no sense of justice. None at all. A villain would stab an unarmed non-combatant in the back strictly for personal gain.

Deadpool is the perfect anti-hero. As the result of a cure for cancer, Deadpool was mutagenically altered within the Weapon X project and was given superpowers. Beyond that, I'll spare the details, because you really don't care. Right off the bat, Deadpool is flawed. As a result of the "enhancements", he is horribly deformed, lacks mental stability, and has developed a type of obsession with the mutant Siryn. However, Deadpool is able to recognize right from wrong and chooses to act on the "right" side. Despite his flaws, Deadpool is able to perform to the best of his abilities for a cause that he believes in and seeks to better himself and those around him.

Heroes have many different appearances, and anti-heroes make up a large chunk of those. But without flaws, heroes are boring. Thus, anti-heroes exist, to keep things interesting. Viva la anti-hero!

Posting for the first time.

This is my first post, and I promise to keep it vent-free. Okay, I might break that promise, but it's still there. You know what? I'm gonna break it right now.

I love my job. I work in a video game store. I play lots of games. I get discounts and priviliges. My job is nice.

I hate my job, with all my heart. I deal with idiots all day. I have no idea how some of these people get their hands on money. I have people trading in an hour's worth of work in games three minutes before we close. My job is hell.

I've discovered that writing is indeed a good vent. Granted, I could go and cast magic and cut people's heads off in Ninja Gaiden, shoot some zombies in Resident Evil, maul some demons in Disgaea, but it's just so much more calming and, quite honestly, writing is more powerful, productive and calming than any of those things.

Just to give you a taste of my very dynamic mind structure, on the ride home I was really amused because my boss' name is an anagram for "love it". I don't know why it's funny but it is.