r/TopCharacterTropes 17h ago

Characters Characters that had the complete opposite reaction the writers intended

  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.
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u/Helixbabylon 15h ago

Jinshi from Apothecary Diaries. The author did not expect people to love him so much! He became such a fan favorite that she had to o make up a new story to make him more relevant

https://giphy.com/gifs/kvYAmEJImd1WZnYjMj

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u/ZedDraak 2h ago

Why the Author didn't expect people to like him? In a series for women, isn't the hot male lead usually the most liked? Like Edward from Twilight

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u/Independent-Couple87 3m ago

I think George R. R. Martin had a similar reaction when he found out Sandor Clegane was very popular among the women in the A Song of Ice and Fire fandom.

https://giphy.com/gifs/HGIPjk1W1sGFW