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The concept of the anti-hero has grown from a tendency of modern authors to present villains as complex, even sympathetic, characters whose motivations are not inherently evil and sometimes even good. The line, therefore, between an anti-hero and a villain is sometimes not clear.
One type of anti-hero feels helpless, distrusts conventional values and is often unable to commit to any ideals, but they accept and often relish their status as outsiders. The cyberpunk genre makes extensive use of this character-type.
Another type of anti-hero is a character who constantly moves from one disappointment in their lives to the next, without end, with only occasional and fleeting successes. But they persist and even attain a form of heroic success by steadfastly never giving up or changing their goals. These characters often keep a deep-seated optimism that one day, they will succeed. But in the end they still meet the ultimate fate of a traditional villain, failure.
An example of this secondary type of anti-hero is F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby. Gatsby's one true aim was to gain the love of a woman beyond his social status, Daisy. He, through what Fitzgerald alludes to be illicit means, amasses a fortune in order to make himself acceptable to the married Daisy. He does, for a time, have an affair with her but in the end his character flaws and illusions that he could turn back time destroy him. But through the whole experience, even after Daisy's husband puts an end to her illicit affair, Gatsby still had hope that he would one day prevail.
A third type of anti-hero is an individual with the same end goals as a traditional hero, but for whom " the ends justify the means". This character type is popular in comic books: for example by day Matt Murdock seeks to bring evil-doers to justice as a lawyer. But when the judicial system fails, he dons a mask and instead exacts revenge as Daredevil.
There is also a type of anti-hero who starts the story with a few unlikeable traits such as prejudices, self centeredness, immaturity, cockiness, or a single minded focus on things such as wealth, status, or revenge. Thus, the hero may actually begin the story as a not so likeable character. However, through the course of events, as we get to know the character, they grow and change and may actually become popular. A well known example of this is Han SoloHan Solo a character in the fictional Star Wars universe, is played by actor Harrison Ford in the Star Wars movie series. Solo, a human from Corellia, is a smuggler who flies the Millennium Falcon with the assistance of his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca. of the Star WarsAlternate meaning: Strategic Defense Initiative Star Wars is the name of a series of science fantasy movies, a literary franchise, and a series of video games based on the ideas of filmmaker and writer George Lucas, which consist of numerous prequels, seq trilogy. The actor Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood (born May 31, 1930) is an American movie actor and director, famous for his 'tough guy' roles. These include Dirty Harry and The Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's " Spaghetti Westerns". Born in San Francisco, the son of a steel worker, Eas became famous by playing the anti-hero in movies such as The Good, the Bad and the UglyThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo is a 1966 " Spaghetti Western" film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood (the Good), Lee van Cleef (the Bad), and Eli Wallach (the Ugly). The film is set in 1862 during CSA Gen, A fistful of dollarsPer un pugno di dollari A Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood. Released in the United States in 1966, it initiated the popularity of the Spaghetti western film genre. It was followed by For a Few Dollars and For a few Dollars More.
See also: List of anti-heroes, tragic hero, Byronic hero