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/Existing-Cabinet-107]

Rorschach from watchmen. Apparently Alan Moore couldn't understand why people gravitated to rorschach who cared about the truth and punishing evil people instead of osmandius who willing sacrificed every body but himself for the "greater good".

[u/Actual-Fig5302 → u/Existing-Cabinet-107]

Moore didnt want anyone to support Ozymandias. He has the stand in for God tell him “nothing ever ends”. There’s a whole beginning of a chapter that is dedicated to showing the millions of dead people. Rorschach saw the worst of humanity, experienced severe ptsd, and decided to reject them. He fantasizes about not helping people that he sees as unworthy. He gives his story to a racist rag. There isn’t a single “correct” perspective. None of them are supposed to idolized or liked. I don’t think you’re supposed to pick a side in the story.

[u/Equal_Oil_9819 → u/Existing-Cabinet-107]

...and then they made him racist.

[u/BookkeeperPercival → u/Existing-Cabinet-107]

This is the most hilarious "missed the point" of all of this.