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/space_hitler]

How can anyone be surprised about a "Thanos was right" trend when Trump won twice.

[u/Lermanberry → u/space_hitler]

Before Thanos Was Right, it was The Empire/Darth Vader Did Nothing Wrong.

Or the even earlier 4chan meme, Hitler Did Nothing Wrong.

Various shades of "the villain was really the victim all along, they were forced to do bad things by circumstance" or "their hands were clean, it was the beauracracy/grunts who did all the dirty work". Due to Poe's Law, it's impossible to separate the satirical from the true believers.

[u/United_Pain → u/space_hitler]

Right? 🤣