Archetype:Hero of Their Own Story

Hero of Their Own Story
Growing up as a survivor of Hiroshima, Toyo Harada (Valiant Entertainment) deigns to save the world from itself no matter the cost, being more than willing to eliminate everyone, children, and everything standing in his way to do it.
Archetype of:	Being the "hero" of their own story.

"In my years fighting crime, I've learned one truth... That every villain is the hero of his own story. Superman was no exception. The Joker drugged him. Tricked him into killing his pregnant wife, Lois. And made him trigger the bomb that nuked Metropolis. So when Superman killed the Joker, I understood why. We all did. But once that line was crossed, there was no going back. He gave himself and the Justice League a new mandate: Stop all crime before it happened, by any means necessary. But he couldn't see his good intentions were leading him down a path of tyranny... and evil. That's how our greatest hero... became our greatest threat."

― Bruce Wayne about Superman (Injustice 2)

"Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin. And he saw corruption everywhere, except within."

― Clopin Trouillefou on Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

"It'll all be worth it. You'll see."

― Redcloak (The Order of the Stick)

"You wanted me to feel like nothing, right? Because... you're the hero in your own story. And in your story, the guy that looks like you always wins."

― Franklin Saint to Teddy McDonald (Snowfall)

"Listen. What did Amon want? Equality for all. Unalaq? He brought back the spirits. And Zaheer believed in freedom."
"I guess..."
"The problem was, those guys were totally out of balance and they took their ideologies too far."

― Toph and Korra talking about the latter's past enemies and their goals.

"Well, you assume Belos' goal comes from a genuine place, but that man doesn't care about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion. And because of that, he fears what he can't control."

― The Titan to Luz Noceda about Belos (The Owl House)

"I look down on existence from a much higher perspective than you do. I witness this world, this universe, and the truth of all things. That yields deeper understanding. Wisdom. The realization that all mortals should be destroyed! The one and only mistake among all divine creations: that is what mortals are. And this mistake is egregious! To shape existence into the beautiful utopia it was always meant to be, the mistake must be corrected! I will purge all mortals from existence... in place of the gods WHO REFUSE TO ADMIT FAILURE!!"

― Goku Black (Dragon Ball Super)

"No... You don’t get to end this! I’m f*cking Adam! I’m the fucking man, and you're just some f*cking clown or something! I started everything on Earth! All of mankind came from these f*cking nuts! You all should be worshiping me, you ungrateful, disgusting, f*cking LOSERS!!"

― Adam (Hazbin Hotel)

The archetype of one who is a hero of their own story. Variation of Anti-Hero and Villainous.

Also Called

• Evil/Villain/Villainous Protagonist
• Morally Gray/Neutral/Ambiguous Protagonist
• Evil/Villainous Hero
• Morally Gray/Neutral/Ambiguous Hero

Capabilities

The user is the hero of their own story. While they are understood to be a villain in the series that they are a part of, they perceive themselves as the hero, doing what is right for the world in the long run. Because they believe their own actions to be for the greater good, they are willing to go to any means necessary to ensure their victory.

In rare cases, however, such characters may see the entire world as reviled and unsalvageable, seeing the best option as simply destroying everything.

Associated Powers

• Badass
• Determination Embodiment
  • Indomitable Nature
    • Indomitable Hatred
    • Indomitable Pride
    • Indomitable Will
• Genius/Genius Bruiser
• Indomitable Heroism
• Villain/Anti-Hero/Anti-Villain/Villainous Hero

Relationships

• Anti-Hero
• Avenger
• Anti-Villain
• Villainous Hero

Limitations

• While their intentions may be good, their destructive actions and violent/ruthless methods typically led to more harm than good in the long run.
• Despite knowing in their heart their motives are righteous, actions taken towards which often beget little sympathy. Tending to land them more enemies than allies.

Example Characters

Anime/Manga/Manhwa

• The Forces of Marley (Attack on Titan)
• Shusuke Amagai (Bleach)
• Soya Azashiro (Bleach)
• Yhwach (Bleach)
• Charles zi Britannia (Code Geass)
• Light Yagami/Kira (Death Note)
• Dr. Hedo (Dragon Ball series)
• Granolah (Dragon Ball series)
• Zamasu (Dragon Ball series)
  • Goku Black
• Dwight Hartvelt (The Executed sage is reborn as a Lich and Starts a war of Aggression)
• Naoki Miyamoto (Isekai Skill Rebellion)
• Suguru Geto (Jujutsu Kaisen)
• Jerga (The Misfit of Demon King Academy)
• Tomura Shigaraki (My Hero Academia)
• Chizome Akaguro/Stain (My Hero Academia)
• Kai Chisaki (My Hero Academia)
• Rikiya Yotsubashi (My Hero Academia)
• Chikara Yotsubashi (My Hero Academia)
• Flect Turn (My Hero Academia)
• Ukei Kaito (Nidome no Yuusha)
• Madara Uchiha (Naruto)
• Nagato/Pain (Naruto)
• Kazuma (Naruto)
• Marines (One Piece)
  • Sakazuki/Akainu
• Roswaal L. Mathers (Re;Zero)
• Bindi Bergara (Resident Evil: Marhawa Desire)
• Glass (Rising of the Shield Hero)
• Itsuki Kawasumi (Rising of the Shield Hero)
• L'Arc Berg Sickle (Rising of the Shield Hero)
• Motoyasu Kitamura (Rising of the Shield Hero)
• Pope Bisca T. Balmus (Rising of the Shield Hero)
• Ren Amakai (Rising of the Shield Hero)
• Therese Alexanderite (Rising of the Shield Hero)
• Baek Shi'Hyun (Rooftop Sword Master)
• Hao Asakura (Shaman King)
• Murong Seongjae (World’s Greatest Senior Disciple)

Cartoons/Comics

• Kundo (Ben 10)
• Abbot Emmanuel (Castlevania: Nocturne)
• Evil Ernie (Chaos! Comics)
• Justice Lords (DC Animated Universe)
• Amanda Waller (DC Comics)
• Hal Jordan/Parallax (DC Comics)
• Lex Luthor (DC Comics)
• Teth Adam/Black Adam (DC Comics)
• Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
• Magneto (Marvel Comics)
• Dr. Victor Von Doom (Marvel Comics)
• Emperor Belos (The Owl House)
• Vindicators (Rick and Morty)
• Toyo Harada (Valiant Entertainment)
• Amon (Legend of Korra)
• Unalaq (Legend of Korra)
• Zaheer (Legend of Korra)
• Kuvira (Legend of Korra)
• The Squadron Supreme (Marvel's Avengers Assemble)

Literature

• Luke Castellen (Riordanverse)

Live Television/Movies

• Orlin Dwyer/Cicada (Arrowverse)
• Edward Nashton (The Batman; 2022)
• Dru-Zod (DC Extended Universe)
• Multiple Characters (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
  • Eric Killmonger
  • He who Remains
  • Revona Renslayer
  • Thanos
  • The Time Variance Authority
  • Ultron
• Teddy McDonald (Snowfall)

Video Games

• Russell Barnaby (Dead Rising)
• Raymond Sullivan (Dead Rising 2)
• Marion Mallon (Dead Rising 2: Case West)
• Stacey Forsythe (Dead Rising 2: Off the Record)
• Felicity D'Abano (Evil West)
• Odin (God of War)
• The Regime (Injustice)
  • Cyborg
  • Superman
  • Wonder Woman
• Multiple Characters (Megami Tensei franchise)
  • Izanami (Persona 4)
  • Takuto Maruki (Persona 5 Royal)
  • Akira Konoe (Persona 5: Strikers)
  • Hikawa (Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne)
• Multiple Characters (Insomniac's Spider-Man)
  • Harry Osborn/Venom
  • Martin Lee/Mr. Negative
  • Silver Sablinova
• Heihachi Mishima (Tekken franchise)
• Shirou Amakusa Tokisada (TYPE-MOON/Fate/Apocrypha)
• Ushi Gozen (TYPE-MOON/Fate/Samurai Remnant)

Web Comics/Series/Originals

• Baron Klaus Wulfenbach (Girl Genius)
• Redcloak (The Order of the Stick)
• Miko Miyazaki (The Order of the Stick)
• Adam (Hazbin Hotel)

Gallery

Anime/Manga/Manhwa

Shusuke Amagai (Bleach) believed that the best way to get rid of the corruption in soul society and honor his father was to kill Head Captain Yamamoto. However, this turned out to be a misunderstanding as Yamamto was actually also working against the corruption of the nobles.

Soya Azashiro (Bleach) wished to use his ability to alter souls and prevent the creation of hollows, uncaring that it would jeopardize the balance of life and death.

Yhwach (Bleach) sees himself as correcting the wrong committed by the Soul Society millennia ago by ending his father's eternal humiliation as the soul king, even if it destroys the current world in the process.

Light Yagami (Death Note) believes that killing criminals is the best way to deliver justice and achieve peace in the world, but even if his motives are arguably just, the fact that he is a mass murderer is indisputable.

Due to growing up during an extremely violent battle for the throne, Charles zi Brittania (Code Geass) concluded that the only way to achieve true peace in the world was to create "a world without lies" through the Ragnarok Connection, where all humans, living or dead would be fused into a single massive Hive Mind.

After seeing his home planet ravaged by the Saiyans, Granolah (Dragon Ball series) came to believe that the Saiyans were an evil and destructive race in the universe and sought to kill them all, not knowing that one Saiyan actually saved his life and the remaining Saiyans were much kinder and more peaceful.

Zamasu (Dragon Ball series) sees all mortal life as self-destructive and detrimental to the multiverse. As such, as a god, it is his duty to eliminate all mortal life by whatever means possible.

Due to be abandoned without anyone letting an aid when he was out on the streets, Tomura Shigaraki (My Hero Academia) hated society as a whole for their reliance on Heroes, set out to destroy society of what it represents to this day, even forming the League of Villains coming similar backgrounds as his, as Tomura declared even Villains need a hero of their own.

Chizome Akaguro/Stain (My Hero Academia) believes that most heroes are frauds simply using the title as a way to promote themselves and their own self interests. As such, he takes it upon himself to rid society of these counterfeit heroes so only the true heroes who actually want to help people remain.

Coupled with his germaphobic and OCD, Kai Chisaki (My Hero Academia) believed an old theory about the Quirk phenomenon was caused by a virus carried by mice plagued upon humanity, he becomes ambitiously obsessed with returning the world to how it was before the Quirk phenomenon, resorting to using Eri's blood to create bullets that would completely eradicating Quirks.

Rikiya Yotsubashi (My Hero Academia) believed his ancestor's theory about the government oppressing Quirks and believed they should be celebrated freely, having formed the Meta Liberation Army to overthrow the government system for the make a better place for people to use their Quirks in public.

Due to his Quirk making unable to form emotional bonds, Flect Turn (My Hero Academia) views Quirks as a disease to mankind and lived by the Quirk Singularity theory, believing that Quirks would eventually fall out of control and bring doom to humanity, leading him to form Humarise to eradicate people with Quirks to create a new world free of them as he considers Quirkless people as "pure human beings".

Due to the manipulations of Zetsu & the memories of past war, Madara Uchiha (Naruto) sees himself as the new Sage of the Six Paths, destined to save shinobi kind from the endless violence and war they subject themselves to by trapping them all in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Nagato/Pain (Naruto) believed that the only way to achieve peace in the shinobi world was to cause so much pain and suffering that no one would ever want to fight again.

Kazuma (Naruto) was a former member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve and an extremist who believed the only way to bring about true peace was by destroying the Hidden Leaf Village and taking over the entire world so it is under the control of the Land of Fire.

The Marines (One Piece) operate to prevent pirates from destabilizing the world. However, they are often shown getting in the way of pirates who wish to do good and frequently step in to maintain their corrupt system.

Sakazuki/Akainu (One Piece) is the current admiral of the Maraines and is known for his lack of mercy, even toward civilians and his own subordinates.

Once a promising student president at a preestablished school for the wealthy elite, Bindi Bergara (Resident Evil: Marhawa Desire) fell prey to sorrow, bitterness and despair when the corruption of the school she attended killed her best friend. Now on a crusade she feels is righteous. She resorts to bioterror in order to coerce the administration into confessing their wrongdoings.

Glass (Rising of the Shield Hero) works with the waves to destroy Raphtalia's world. However, she only does this because the destruction of Raphtalia's world is the only way to prevent the destruction of her own.

After being Summoned to Melromarc, Itsuki Kawasumi (Rising of the Shield Hero) began to attempt to fulfil the stereotypical job of hero. However, his obsessive needs to be the best has caused him to become arrogant and dismissive to those around him, even becoming angry when his mistakes are pointed out or he is outshined.

Motoyasu Kitamura (Rising of the Shield Hero) sees himself as a champion of women, defending their honor whenever he must. However, he tends to jump to conclusions leading to him acting rashly. This, combined with his general gullibility, has led him to be manipulated by Myne on multiple occasions despite his good intentions.

Hao Asakura (Shaman King) sees humans as destructive, prejudice, and violent, so he seeks to create a paradise for Shaman by becoming Shaman King and killing all humans.

Cartoons/Comics

The Justice Lords (DC Animated Universe) is a version of the Justice League that turned into tyrants following the death of The Flash. While they believe themselves to be keeping people safe, they rule with an iron fist.

Amanda Waller (DC Comics) will commit any act, no matter how cruel, or manipulative for what she believes to be the betterment of the United States government.

Following the destruction of Coast City, Hal Jordan (DC Comics), driven mad by grief, succumbed to the fear entity Parallax, concluding that the Guardian's policing of the universe was wrong and that the best way to fix the past was to reset the entire timeline.

Lex Luthor (DC Comics) sees himself as the person protecting humanity from becoming weak and dependent on aliens such as Superman.

Teth Adam/Black Adam (DC Comics) is the leader and hero of Khandak, and he will go to whatever methods are necessary to ensure the prosperity of his home.

Virtually the only reason Baron Klaus Wulfenbach (Girl Genius) is an antagonist is that he - wrongly - believes Agatha to be the Other who almost destroyed civilization two decades ago.

Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto (Marvel Comics) sees himself as a savior for a mutant kind who had been oppressed by humans for centuries. As he only cares about mutants, he is willing to kill any number of humans to accomplish his goals.

Victor Von Doom (Marvel Comics) genuinely believes that the world would be a proper utopia if it was under his complete control. As such, he considers all of his actions righteous and just...

...so much so, that even the goddess Bast judged his intent to be pure even if his methods weren't.

Squadron Supreme (Marvel's Avengers Assemble) a team of corrupt superheroes that fully believe that any world they may go to like Earth would prosper and gain peace if they conquer and destroy all the world's evil and corruption.

Despite his humble beginnings as a witch hunter in order fit in with societal expectations back in 16-17th century, Emperor Belos/Philip Wittiebane (The Owl House) had since stooped so low that he killed his own brother Caleb for falling in love with a witch to the point he deluded himself into believing he was doing good for the sake of protecting humanity and be seen as a hero.

The Vindicators (Rick and Morty) acted as protectors for the universe, battling evil that threatens it. However, in reality, most of them are selfish and entitled narcissists who frequently lie to the public about their misdeeds, as they believe that faith in the vindicators keeps the universe stable even if that faith is based on lies.

Literature

Luke Castellan (Riordanverse) believed the gods to be unworthy to rule and trusted the promises of Kronos for a new golden age.

Live Television/Movies

Orlin Dwyer/Cicada (Arrowverse) believes that Meta-humans only brought pain and destruction to those around them, so he took it upon himself to get rid of every Meta-human that he could.

As a victim of the corrupt elite infecting Gotham, Edward Nashton/The Riddler (The Batman; 2022) concluded that the only way to fix Gotham was by destroying the city and killing everyone in power.

Dru-Zod (DC Extended Universe) believed that it was his duty to restore Krypton by any means necessary, even if it costed all human life on Earth.

As a result of a rough childhood, including seeing his father murdered, as well as his knowledge of Wakanda's general apathy towards the rest of the world, Eric Killmonger (Marvel Cinematic Universe) saw it as his duty as part of the Wakandan royal family to use Wakandan technology to help the oppressed people of the world stand up to their oppressors, even if that means starting global conflict.

After coming out victorious in a multiversal war, He who Remains (Marvel Cinematic Universe) concluded that the only way to prevent another war from happening was to prune new timelines as they formed, thereby preventing the multiverse from existing. While this did prevent a multiversal war, it also took countless lives by killing everyone and everything in those branched timelines.

Due to the manipulations of Ms. Minutes as well as learning about how she has been manipulated in the past, Ravonna Renslayer (Marvel Cinematic Universe) concluded that she alone was the only person who could lead the TVA and maintain the sacred timeline. However, this belief led her to actively hinder Loki, Moebius and Victor Timely from their efforts to save the TVA and the multiverse from destruction.

After seeing his home planet fall, Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe) believed that the only way to prevent starvation and poverty across the universe is by eliminating half of all life, thereby allowing a wider allocation of resources.

Ultron (Marvel Cinematic Universe) concluded that the only way to achieve peace on earth was by eliminating all of humanity.

Video Games

Following the death of Lois Lane and the destruction of Metropolis due to the machinations of the Joker, Superman (DC Comics/Injustice) gave up on being a symbol of hope, brutally killing the Joker a forcibly enacting his regime to control the world through force. As he believes that his regime is necessary to prevent similar tragedies from occurring, he will do whatever is necessary to maintain peace and order,...

...including crippling his onetime best friend...

...and brutally killing Shazam for questioning him.

Odin (God of War) sees himself as simply a seeker of knowledge, wishing to use said knowledge to allow Asgard to flourish. However, he has committed numerous atrocious acts in his desire to learn and control everything about the universe.

Having been surgically modified with ASG technologies after living through fatalistic encounters with a prior Skull Girl, Black Dalhia (Skull Girls) became a nihilistic murder machine who would dedicate her life to spreading the corrupting bane taint to all whom crossed her path as a means of spreading her warped ideology of antilife in the inane world they all live in.

A victim of Norman Osborn's experiments, Martin Lee/Mr. Negative (Insomniac's Spiderman) sought to expose all of the man's misdeeds to the public, even if innocent people got caught in the crossfire.

After being betrayed by his wife and learning about the devil gene, Heihachi Mishima (Tekken franchise) concluded that the gene was the embodiment of evil and dedicated himself to eliminating it by whatever means possible, including attempting to kill his own son and grandson.

Shirou Amakusa Tokisada (TYPE-MOON / Fate/Apocrypha) attempted to "save" humanity by enacting third magic to separate all mortal souls from their physical bodies.

Videos

Avengers- Earth's Mightiest Heroes - The Avengers & Fantastic 4 vs Doctor Doom-2

Vindicators 2- Rick Can Handle It - Rick and Morty - adult swim-2

Heihachi Mishima VS Geese Howard (Tekken VS King of Fighters) - DEATH BATTLE!

Madara VS Aizen (Naruto VS Bleach) - DEATH BATTLE!

Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom (DC vs Marvel) - DEATH BATTLE!

Black Adam VS Apocalypse (DC VS Marvel) - DEATH BATTLE!-2

Magneto VS Darth Vader (Marvel VS Star Wars) - DBX-2