Can a bad guy be the hero?

[TheEarl]

My bad guy would be a normal, middle class, run of the mill guy who just happens to love torturing people, children, and small animals just cause it's fun, or someone with similar decidedly "evil" traits. I wouldn't want to put him on the gray line between good and bad. No, he would be clean in the black. The reader would see the thrill he gets, feel the rush of adreniline and power that being "bad" gives him. They would be looking through his eyes seeing that he knows he is evil and enjoys it.

Sounds a bit like American Psycho to me. I've not read the book and the film wasn't much kop, but Christian Bale's character knows damn well that he's a psychopath and is loving every minute of it. He does evil things, simply because he enjoys them.

I'm not sure he's meant to be an anti-hero, but he's certainly the principal character.

The Earl

 

[TheEarl]

My bad guy would be a normal, middle class, run of the mill guy who just happens to love torturing people, children, and small animals just cause it's fun, or someone with similar decidedly "evil" traits. I wouldn't want to put him on the gray line between good and bad. No, he would be clean in the black. The reader would see the thrill he gets, feel the rush of adreniline and power that being "bad" gives him. They would be looking through his eyes seeing that he knows he is evil and enjoys it.

Sounds a bit like American Psycho to me. I've not read the book and the film wasn't much kop, but Christian Bale's character knows damn well that he's a psychopath and is loving every minute of it. He does evil things, simply because he enjoys them.

I'm not sure he's meant to be an anti-hero, but he's certainly the principal character.

The Earl