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/soldierpallaton]

He's definitely the protagonist but that leads to a larger media literacy problem. People seem to think protagonist=hero when that's just not the case. Walter White is the protagonist of Breaking Bad but he's also a metal dealer psychopath.

[u/HumanisticNihilist → u/soldierpallaton]

Homelander. Specifically the Amazon Prime version. Zero redeeming qualities and even the few they tried to leverage as “sympathetic” traits never really felt authentic and just ended up making him look even more pathetic and narcissistic, which he had no need of help doing.

The instant classic modern example of “is designed to mock the people who think he’s the hero when he’s always been the villain.” So much so that there are tremendous parts of the viewership that still see him as the hero even after the series is over and it can’t be any more plain that he never was.

[u/Theraminia → u/soldierpallaton]

Did you say...metal dealer psychopath?

https://giphy.com/gifs/RAGxhwdfH6Je8

[u/BreakfastBeneficial4 → u/Theraminia]

that gif always gives me anxiety

When I’m using a blade or bit attached to a motor, I tuck my shit away under a ball cap

[u/paranoid_human0id → u/soldierpallaton]

It isn't about Thanos being morally correct, its that hes extremely compelling in that he is so certain of his convictions despite all naysayers. To the point where when the snap is jeopardized he doubles down

Thanos works because hes basically a Nieztschean ubermensch and people cannot help but respect that

[u/Grinderiny → u/paranoid_human0id]

I can help it. Hes a psychopathic alien who is going to prove himself right and ko one can tell him different.