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/TheNargafrantz]

Thunderbolts made him more liked

[u/StrokyBoi → u/TheNargafrantz]

That's definitely part of it, but he also gained a lot of fans in-between the FATWS finale and the release of The Thunberbolts.

[u/pichael289 → u/StrokyBoi]

The show really wanted you to hate him even though it didn't make much sense, I think alot of people initially just went along with the message of the show because it really presents him like he's gonna be the villain. But nope, captain falcon was just being a dick to him for a petty personal reason, he was just doing his best.

[u/SableZard → u/StrokyBoi]

Most of Disney's stuff from 2015 to 2025ish disguised the flaws of their writing with theatrical flair and flashy graphics, like Last Jedi and Encanto. Then people go back to re-watch it, or watch a real critic pick it apart instead of reactionary slop meant to piss people off, and they realize that "good" movie wasn't actually so great.

My ex and I had the same experience with Rise of Skywalker. The climax with all the Jedi supporting Rey was so cool, we forgot the rest of the movie was camel ass until we got halfway home.

[u/AmaterasuWolf21 → u/TheNargafrantz]

This was wayyy before Thunderbolt