Anti-Heroes in Bionicle?

[Lenny7092]

Hi, guys! You ever thought that Bionicle has any anti-heroes?

You see, anti-heroes are heroes who don’t do some of the principles of a hero, but they still are. Example of anti-heroes are Batman and Lobo from DC Comics, Wolverine, Deadpool, and the Punisher from Marvel, Shadow the Hedgehog from Sonic the Hedgehog, Wario and Waluigi from Mario, and Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. These guys are sort of bad guys, but they are good guys. A similar word, anti-villains, would mean the same as anti-heroes.

 

So, my question is if you guys think there are any anti-heroes in Bionicle, and if there are, who are they? For me, well, here’s a list:

1. Malum

2. Vezon

3. Brutaka

4. The Dark Hunters

5. Umbra

6. Krika

 

So there. What about you guys?

Edited January 18, 2018 by Lenny7092

[Sir Keksalot]

I don't see many mentions of light Teridax, but with how violent he was, I'd say he was definitely an antihero.

[Noble Tehurye]

Would have said Krika. He was always one of my favorite characters, for sure.

[TERIDAX941]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Sahmad counts? Any objections?

 

Also Hydraxon (the Dekar version, not the original)

[Master Inika]

"Anti-hero" is one of those terms that gets overused, in my opinion. An anti-hero is a protagonist (the character from whose point of view the story is told) who is not a hero (morally admirable character). I'd say that some of the characters mentioned here, like Malum and the Dark Hunters, weren't true anti-heroes because they were very rarely the main focuses of their stories. For example, consider Krika's scene where she takes Gali aside and tries to convince her to leave Karda Nui. That scene opens from Gali's POV. The reader, like Gali, is surprised when he spares her. In that way, he's more of an anti-villain (antagonist who shows positive traits) then anti-hero (protagonist with negative traits).

 

Sahmad is totally an anti-hero, though, and my favorite, followed closely by Tuma.

[You just lost the game]

Vezon and Brutaka are probably the only anti-heroes mentioned in OP's post. Unfortunately, I can't recall if there were really any other anti-heroes in Bionicle. Maybe Vakama at one point?

Edited February 23, 2018 by You just lost the game

[Zidonaro]

Definetely Miserix 

Edited January 25, 2018 by Zidonaro

[Lenny7092]

I don't see many mentions of light Teridax, but with how violent he was, I'd say he was definitely an antihero.

Well, he is supposed to be a being of pure goodness, but yes, he is quite violent when he killed three Shadow Takanuva. 

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Sahmad counts? Any objections?

 

Also Hydraxon (the Dekar version, not the original)

"Anti-hero" is one of those terms that gets overused, in my opinion. An anti-hero is a protagonist (the character from whose point of view the story is told) who is not a hero (morally admirable character). I'd say that some of the characters mentioned here, like Malum and the Dark Hunters, weren't true anti-heroes because they were very rarely the main focuses of their stories. For example, consider Krika's scene where she takes Gali aside and tries to convince her to leave Karda Nui. That scene opens from Gali's POV. The reader, like Gali, is surprised when he spares her. In that way, he's more of an anti-villain (antagonist who shows positive traits) then anti-hero (protagonist with negative traits).

 

Sahmad is totally an anti-hero, though, and my favorite, followed closely by Tuma.

 

Master Inika, thank you for clarifying the words, "anti-hero" and "anti-villain". I always get confused with them. 

Sahmad and Tuma being anti-heroes? Well, I bet that they are the main protagonists of their serials, but they are villains. I guess I can see what you mean. Both of them struggle with other villains who gave them tragic pasts, so Sahmad and Tuma had to fight them to put an end to their threats. They are not good guys, and they are just defending themselves and get revenge on them. 

 

 

Vezon and Brutaka are probably the only anti-heroes mentioned in OP's post. Unfortunately, I can't recall if there were really any other anti-heroes Bionicle. Maybe Vakama at one point?

 

Vakama is always a hero, but when he was a Toa Hordika, he was somehow possessed by Roodaka to help her before Matau talked some sense into Vakama, which undid the mind control (?) on Vakama. 

 

 

Definetely Miserix 

 

Well, that dude is always evil, like his kind, but when Teridax messed with him, he had to help the Order of Mata Nui fight Teridax.

[TERIDAX941]

Well, Tuma may have been a villain, but he was fiercely loyal to his people and was looking out for their best. His methods weren't to everyone's best interest, conquering a complete country just to avoid the Baterra, but I can acknowledge that he put the Skall's survival first. With him being the sole survivor of the leader class, he had a huge responsibility to them.

[Master Inika]

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Sahmad counts? Any objections?

 

Also Hydraxon (the Dekar version, not the original)

"Anti-hero" is one of those terms that gets overused, in my opinion. An anti-hero is a protagonist (the character from whose point of view the story is told) who is not a hero (morally admirable character). I'd say that some of the characters mentioned here, like Malum and the Dark Hunters, weren't true anti-heroes because they were very rarely the main focuses of their stories. For example, consider Krika's scene where she takes Gali aside and tries to convince her to leave Karda Nui. That scene opens from Gali's POV. The reader, like Gali, is surprised when he spares her. In that way, he's more of an anti-villain (antagonist who shows positive traits) then anti-hero (protagonist with negative traits).

 

Sahmad is totally an anti-hero, though, and my favorite, followed closely by Tuma.

 

Master Inika, thank you for clarifying the words, "anti-hero" and "anti-villain". I always get confused with them.

Sahmad and Tuma being anti-heroes? Well, I bet that they are the main protagonists of their serials, but they are villains. I guess I can see what you mean. Both of them struggle with other villains who gave them tragic pasts, so Sahmad and Tuma had to fight them to put an end to their threats. They are not good guys, and they are just defending themselves and get revenge on them. 

 

It's hard to definitively call any of these characters anti-heroes, since the POV changes often between the different books, movies, and comics. I'd say that the defining element is if the character held the POV in their first appearance, or if they normally held it in their stories. For instance, Comic 3 is narrated by Teridax and Comic 20 by Nidhiki, but neither instance made them out to be particularly sympathetic, and neither is the character's most well-known appearance, so they shouldn't be considered anti-heroes.

 

Sahmad, on the other hand, only has a small, fairly inconsequential appearance in Glatorian Comic 5 as an antagonist. Sahmad's Tale is far longer and made a more lasting impact then his filler battle in the comics, so it is fair to think of him as a true anti-hero.

 

Tuma is a unique example. He has two major story sources portraying him sympathetically, the Empire of the Skrall story serial and Fall and Rise of the Skrall graphic novel. However, he was introduced in the Glatorian Comics, books, and film in an almost exclusively negative light. In hindsight, I don't think I can say for sure if Tuma is an anti-hero or not.

 

These definitions are highly subjective and depend greatly on which forms of media resonate with audiences and which don't. For instance, many fans like to think of Tuma as an anti-hero because his portrayals in the serial and graphic novel were just more interesting than his portrayal as a generic bad guy leader in The Legend Reborn. It's important to remember that these terms exist to describe certain characters (such as Deadpool, a quintessential anti-hero) and not to pigeonhole more nuanced, complex characters into unfairly simple roles.

 

For that reason, Sahmad is the only true anti-hero in BIONICLE that I can think of at all, but that's only based on my qualifications, including which story sources I choose to focus on.

[Legodudelol]

I would call "Toa" Lesovikk an anti-hero

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

The near-entirety of the Order of Mata Nui. They were trying to be good guys in a "grand scheme" sort of way, but were perfectly willing to kill people, including innocents, to accomplish what was "right." But was it really necessary to kill everyone who knew how to get to Artakha? Not to mention the damage was already done when that decision was made (the Brotherhood got the Avohkii). Not to mention that Helryx was kind of a hypocrite, banning other Toa from joining and exempting herself from the Toa Code. And Toduk had some anger issues.

 

As previously mentioned, Melding Teridax and Mazeka (an Order member) also kill countless Shadow Takanuva, and have a wonderful time doing it. At one point, the narration mentions that Mazeka "grinned" while mentioning that Toa weren't allowed to do what they were doing. These are the guys we're supposed to look up to? I think not.

 

And Vezon is less of an anti-hero and more of a cloudcuckoolander comic relief character who does good things by accident.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Cheesy Mac n Cheese