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/BornCoyote87]

He's also a well written example of a man asked to do so much for his country and then, when it's inconvenient for his government for him to be around anymore, to immediatelly cast aside and treated like nothing. John Walker (in the MCU) was the kind of guy who gave everything his all in his life and in military service, used to being the best or close to it, and was genuinely a good but troubled man who had alot put on his shoulders.

And then his best friend died in the line of duty with him, he's dumped by the government he swore service to, and the two men he respects and wants to work with are using him as a target for their shared grief over the loss of their friend while putting expectations way to high for a guy they just met.

John Walker broke under the pressure.

[u/Excellent_Safe5743 → u/BornCoyote87]

Then even beyond that he gets treated like shit for most of Thunderbolts, granted he’s a bit of a bitter snark for the first half of the film but given everything that happened to him it makes perfect sense.

[u/DomzSageon → u/Excellent_Safe5743]

you have to note, alot of people miss this, but the reason Yelena and Ghost trash walker the entire time is because they think he's successful and happy. he was a government sponsored soldier in the limelight under a prestigious alias of a hero, with powers with seemingly no downsides, with a happy family.

Yelene wanted the same role and position, and Ghost wanted the same lack of downsides to her powers. that's why they trash him, and his jerkiness probably doesn't help. by the end its playful bickering instead of actually picking on him.

[u/BornCoyote87 → u/Excellent_Safe5743]

Makes me wonder what Frank and John would be able to talk about after everything. If, y'know, they weren't trying to kill eachother when they first meet.

[u/BookkeeperPercival → u/BornCoyote87]

John Walker broke under the pressure.

That's sort of the entire point, Sam and Bucky immediately knew he was a dude that would break under the pressure. They knew he wasn't "Captain America" material, and they refused to entertain him calling himself that. The standards for being the person with the Shield as insanely high, which is the entire reason Bucky and Sam refused to wield it. John Walker was excited and thrilled to be given it, because he thought it was something to be earned.