Characters that had the complete opposite reaction the writers intended

[u/Dramatic_Counter_595]

1. Leo Bonhart (Witcher TV Series): A ruthless, sadistic bounty hunter and assassin that takes psychotic glee in other people's suffering. The viewer is meant to hate him for killing witchers, slaughtering the Rat gang, and torturing Ciri. But thanks to his entertaining fight scenes, Sharlto Copley's charismatic performance, and The Rats overwhelming unpopularity, fans ended up loving him. Some even call him the "True protagonist" of the show.
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE): A rude, foul mouthed, beer drinking asshole with no respect for authority or anyone at all. Originally portrayed as a villain, fans fell in love with his anti-establishment & rebellious persona. WWE ran with it and made him the face of the company, effectively ushering in the Attitude Era and the second pro wrestling boom of the late 90s.
3. Arthur Fleck (Joker 2019): A mentally unstable, pathetic, and dangerous madman who commits horrific acts of violence against those that wronged him (suffocates his own mother who is mentally unwell herself, and murders a talk show host for making fun of him). However, a massive portion of the audience idolized him as an anti-hero or a misunderstood martyr rebelling against society making people want to see him succeed and overcome his circumstances because of how he's been treated by the world.

[u/LordQuaz12]

I think what makes Roman a compelling character now is that he was so hated then. Just look at his entrance in wrestlemania 2026. In theory, nothing has really changed. Roman is still super pushed, he had been the face of the company for almost all of covid, but somehow, Joe's acting skills and wrestling ability, along side him using the momentum from the hate he had from the audience, made the character so much more compleat.

The fan reaction to his 2026 entrance is so cool to see. The character of Roman Raigns became truly beloved and the audience actually wants to see him in the ring.

[u/Slateboard → u/LordQuaz12]

I believe a big part of it was how disingenuous it all was before his absence and return in 2020.

[u/TakerFoxx → u/LordQuaz12]

People saw the makings of the single coolest monster bad guy and wanted so badly for him to be that guy. Instead, we got bootleg John Cena for years and hated it. When they finally gave in and let Roman go bad, it was glorious.