We all love a dark hero.
There is something very intriguing about a hero that has a dark side.
They remind us of ourselves and make the character believable. Some heroes are just too good to be true, and even though we do look up to them, we know they are too perfect.
This is why complex heroes are a fresh change from the usual white of a classic superhero.
1. Michael Corleone – the reluctant Godfather
He did not even want to get into the mafia business, and was the black sheep of the fsamily. But when circumstances demanded it, he did turn out to be extremely efficient and ruthless – to keep his family safe and his business running.
Whatever it takes.
2. V – the terrorist revolutionary in V For Vendetta
V wants to liberate the people from a tyrannical rule. But in the process, the means to his vision is blowing up an iconic building – an act of terrorism. V is an extremist fighting for the people, for a right cause, but the means to obtaining victory is by incorporating darker acts.
3. Lisbeth Salander – the feminist hacker in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
She exposes a major scandal, but employs unethical methods of getting there – intimidation, violation of privacy, hacking computers.
But in the end, she does do good, even though she loves snooping into other people’s lives.
4. Magneto – the radical mutant leader in X-Men
Mutants are oppressed, and are looked upon as outsiders. Magneto’s solution is to defend by using all means possible. He is too, fighting for the right cause but in a wrong way.
5. Dexter Morgan – the serial killer of serial killers in the series Dexter
Dexter can easily be categorized as a villain. But that doesn’t cancel out the fact that he has dealt with more murderers than all of America’s cops put together.
6. Vegeta – the self-obsessed antihero of Dragonball
We all have been in a place where we have been so competitive that we have done negative things. Vegeta thought too much of himself but eventually he became good when he realized that the greater good is always greater than the individual ego.
7. The Punisher – swallowed by vengeance and hatred and made enemies with Daredevil
How many times have we thought of picking up a gun and going on a rampage, shooting every criminal in sight?
The Punisher actually went ahead and did that. He didn’t hold back one bit. And he never wore a mask.
8. Saul Goodman – the dodgy lawyer everyone loved in Breaking Bad
There were times during the series that we actually saw good come out of Saul. But that didn’t change the fact that he employed selfish means to get what he wanted. If he wasn’t a good guy, he wouldn’t be so well-received by everyone.
9. Dr. Gregory House – the doctor who loved puzzles more than patients
He saves the patients no one else can, but then he disregards every other case that looks even remotely routine and normal.
10. Batman – the dark knight
We know how brutal he is with the criminal. But in the end, he is doing good work as a vigilante.
11. Jesse Pinkman – the man who became good and then bad and then good again in Breaking Bad
Jesse does drugs, steals, and peddles drug, but we came to find out that it was because that he never had any control over his life. He is a victim of circumstances in most of the cases, and almost turns to a good life when he falls in love.
12. Jason Bourne – the assassin who came to his senses in The Bourne Identity
He is a  trained assassin who has killed many people, without any personal motive or intent. But when he realizes that whatever he has been doing is wrong, he tries to make amends and hunts down the people responsible for making his life hell.
13. Deadpool – the hero who loves chimichangas
Deadpool is what happens when you live without filters and do everything that is impulsive. That doesn’t make you a bad person, but it doesn’t make you any good either.
And that is why people gasp at everything Deadpool does, and still love him for the hero he is.
14. Hannibal Lecter – the serial killer with a heart in the movie The Silence Of The Lambs
He eats human brains and ears and we still ended up loving him. Because even though he gets impulses to kill, he still helps a girl because he feels love for her.
15. Agent 47 – the hunter who became the hunted
Agent 47 has the same story as Bourne. Both the agents are declared rogue and are hunted down. That is when Hitman too becomes a good guy and saves lives.
16. Veeru and Jai – the criminal duo who redeemed themselves in the movie Sholay
At the end of the day, even when they saved the day they were small-time criminals who had served jail sentences. But they were good of heart and even if they gave in because of the greed for money, in the end, they fought for the right.
And that is what makes them heroes.
17. Oskar Schindler – the Nazi who saved the Jews
Schindler was a Nazi party member, donated a lot of money to them and was friends with the top echelon of Nazi commanders.
But he did sacrifice everything to get the Jewish families out of Germany because he felt for them, and that is what makes him morally complex.
It is immensely satisfying to see these heroes struggle with their enemies and come out winning, because that gives us hope, that we too, will shed all the bad inhibitions and let the good take over.