Antiheroes Make Better Protagonists

The one where we talk about the psychology of villains, appreciating big and small wins, going LIVE, and a call for Beta Readers for our debut novel!

We live to brave another Monday!

It’s in our name: we believe that the core of a good story is a brilliant character arc. Understanding people and dissecting characters and the roles they play is crucial to creating a powerful and believable arc in your own story. To that end, I’m taking on an oft-confused and underused character archetype today: THE ANTIHERO. (Dun dun dunnnn)

On a personal growth note, I think there is a profound truth in understanding that we all have the potential to become a villain in someone else’s story, given the right circumstances. Understanding what makes a good villain helps me to be self-aware enough to hopefully avoid becoming one.

Ceylan Gunduz (OBA Media Newsletter Editor-in-Chief)

P.S. Scroll all the way down for the reveal of Jared Moses’s debut novel’s blurb, an opportunity for beta readers and/or lovers of vampires and the paranormal thriller genre, and an exciting announcement for our podcast!

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How to Disturb Your Audience with a Sympathetic Villain

Photo by Ryunosuke Kikuno on Unsplash

The 2019 film Joker made me uncomfortable. I was disturbed to the point of nausea. I never want to watch the film again. But, I was also heartbroken. I hold so much empathy for the protagonist, Arthur, the titular Joker, and want to give him a big hug. I somehow fell in love with the character who did things that disgusted me and will 100% be showing up in my nightmares later.

I had this reaction because the story showcased a very effective antihero. But what is an antihero, and how do you know when your story needs one? Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it!

What Are Antiheroes?

Typically, protagonists fall under the perfect “Hero” archetype. Traditionally, these heroes are upstanding, morally pure, and infallible. Essentially, they can do no wrong. The second they do wrong, we (the audience) decide we don’t like them anymore. (Think cartoon characters like Kim Possible or He-Man.)

Antiheroes break all of these protagonist stereotypes.

In order to understand antiheroes, you need to understand that ALL protagonists are the hero of the story to the audience. This perspective is baked into the way we are hardwired to understand stories: we will root for the character whose point of view the story is told from because we understand them.

As an audience, we see the events of the story unfold through the eyes of the protagonist. We experience everything WITH the character. We adopt their viewpoint, even if said protagonist happens to be a villain.

So, antiheroes are villains who are protagonists. Because we see and feel the story through their eyes, we are given a chance to sympathize with the reasons behind their choices, even when they are despicable.

For example, even as the Joker brutally murders an unsuspecting TV show host in front of a live studio audience, we are rooting for him because we feel as hurt and angry as he does at the injustice and cruelty he’s faced.

Some antiheroes, like Arthur, start out pure but are corrupted to become evil. Some live the life of an occupation that is generally perceived as evil (such as a pirate or a con man), but they keep inadvertently finding themselves in situations where they put their own interests aside to help those around them (take John Constatine from the DC Comics). Whatever the circumstances, we must be able to identify with why these characters make the decisions that they do.

From the Joker, to Loki of the Marvel universe, to Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series, antiheroes have a unique way of capturing the hearts and loyalty of audiences. But why?

Why Use Antiheroes?

Life isn’t simple and human pain is ugly. As much as artists want to romanticize the tortured beauty of it all, the raw truth is that humans are ugly and messy. No one can bear to face that uncomfortable truth.

Antiheroes are the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine of these ugly truths go down. (This choice of metaphor will become clear soon.) Let’s take a case in point from Joker.

Imagine I said to you, “Medicating mentally ill people and expecting them to be better is selfish and neglectful.” That is a very blunt statement void of nuance that, regardless of your feelings or experiences with big pharma and chronic illness, will probably make you cringe. Your defenses will immediately fly up.

But what if instead I show you a man who tries so HARD to be okay because he wants to take care of his mother? A boy who has been called “Happy” his entire life because he simply laughed when others beat him down? What if I show you the journal entry written in Arthur’s shaky handwriting that says: “The worst part about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t” with a smiley face in the “o” of “don’t”? You immediately feel a tug of sympathy for that person. You suddenly see life through their eyes.

When Arthur reaches his breaking point and tells his friend, “I’m off my medications and I feel much better,” he is telling the ugly truth–and we believe him. He is saying that society has no problem throwing medications at him as long as they make OTHERS more comfortable to be around him. His own discomfort was never considered.

Before you know it, you find yourself understanding and believing in what the character does, and facing a tough message you never could look at before. Because your emotions are involved, you’ll also be more likely to make changes in the way you live your life, with a new consciousness towards people who live with different struggles than you do. These are just some of the possibilities antiheroes represent for any story.

Realistic Protagonists Are Part Villain

Every character, like every human, operates from their own set of motivations and beliefs, which are born directly from the situations life has put them in: a personal “code of conduct.” Villains are characters who offend our personal codes of conduct. Heroes are those who follow the common code of society. For example, if a character murders someone, then, by virtue of the code, they must be an evil villain we cannot root for.

But life is full of nuance, contradictions, and surprises, which makes stories interesting. Under specific circumstances, any of us would be willing to deviate from our subconscious code of conduct. You simply need to put your character under the right pressure in order to expose where their code falls apart. Show us the nuance behind WHY they murdered someone, and our brains have to do more than a thoughtless “murder=villain” equation.

Arthur went from his mother’s loving, committed caretaker to coldly murdering her when she was sick and defenseless. He made this choice because he thought he uncovered the truth from her Arkham State Hospital file, which stated that she was a delusional narcissist who adopted Arthur as a baby and let him be beaten by an abusive boyfriend. The real truth that he never learned is that she was locked up in the hospital and conditioned to believe those lies herself to cover up that Thomas Wayne, a billionaire member of high society, had relations with her while she worked as housekeeper at their estate. But Arthur’s tragic choice was already made based on his perception of reality, leaving him to bear the judgement for an evil that others perpetrated.

When your story exposes the gray areas in people’s codes, you start to teach your audience how to empathize with those who face different life circumstances. Creating an engaging, sympathetic character starts with presenting situations that make your audience ask questions:

“What if I were in that situation?”

“What if this happened to me?”

“What if I had to make that choice?”

“What would I do?”

Then watch how your audience sympathizes with the wrong choices your protagonist makes–because they see how they could make those choices themselves if they were in your character’s shoes.

All realistic protagonists are antiheroes to some degree. Every single human is a mix of the good and bad choices that they make. Everyone operates from their own limited perspective built off of limited information. Realistic characters are not going to be your traditional hero who is perfectly good, totally infallible, and generally undefeatable. Your audience will not sympathize with those picture-perfect characters, either, because they can’t see any bit of themselves in them.

We all have the ingredients within us to be a villain. If you tell the truth in your stories, you need to show these villainous parts of your protagonists to your audience. Enter, the antihero.

Does Your Story Need an Antihero?

If you are trying to communicate a truth that most people will refuse to hear because it makes them uncomfortable, the pill is best delivered with an antihero. Using story techniques correctly with realistic characters gives you the unique power to present an uncomfortable truth that people would normally be totally turned off to, and deliver it in a way that makes them say, “Not only do I agree with that, but now I am emotionally invested in this perspective.”

As demonstrated in Joker, we don’t like to look at the unfiltered reality that people who are hurting hurt people. Because then we have to confront that we’re the ones who hurt them. It’s easier to villainize people who enjoy hurting others instead of recognizing the unconscious villain in ourselves. But that’s what antiheroes teach us.

Use This Power in Your Writing

Antiheroes break the rules and expectations of traditional heroes. They aren’t 100% morally pure and invincible. They are morally gray at best and mostly evil at worst. But when you tell a story with an antihero as a protagonist, you allow your audience to see things through their perspective and sympathize with why they make the choices they do.

As storytellers, we are empathy teachers. If you have a perspective to share that you want your audience to understand, use an antihero in your story. As you are creating them, make sure you answer these questions:

• What is your character’s code of conduct that they operate from? What circumstances might make them deviate from that code?

• What is your character’s core motivation? Why have they made the choices that have led to their current situation?

• Can your audience understand and relate to the emotions and motivations of your character? How can you help the audience put themselves in the character’s shoes?

Tell us in the comments who some of your favorite antiheroes have been!

Do you need tailored advice on how to build a sympathetic and realistic main character? The team at OBA Media is here for you! We want to help you craft stories that resonate and gain the confidence to tell them well.

🎧Let’s Talk Stories Podcast

Every other week the team here dissects a story mechanic you can use in your writing through a piece of pop culture media. Subscribers to our newsletter get an early release of our new episodes and get to listen before anyone else.

Check out our last episode here, where we talked about character arcs and the responsibility of storytellers with the Twilight saga:

Next Monday, March 3, we’re also going to start going ✨LIVE✨ weekly here on Substack and on our YouTube channel so that you can join in our mini nerd parties. Stop in and chat with us about good and bad stories and what we can learn from them!

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📚Calling All Beta Readers!!! 📣

We will be done with a round of line edits for Jared Moses’s debut YA urban paranormal thriller novel—MY SISTER’S KEEPER—in early March and will be ready to send it out to beta readers then. We’re so excited to take the next step forward in publishing this story!

Do you love YA urban fiction? Vampires? Heartwarming brother/sister relationships and slow burn romances? Edge-of-your-seat action? Ancient guilds of supernatural hunters? Welcome to the world of Jayden Swift!

Concept art by Sebastian, OBA’s AI

Fifteen-year-old Jayden Swift has always promised to protect his sister, Olivia. She’s his best friend, his responsibility—the only person who truly understands him. But when she disappears during a school trip and returns…different, his world is turned upside down.

Olivia has been drawn into the grip of a powerful vampire cult, her humanity slipping away with every passing day. The sister he swore to protect is still there, but is now buried beneath the influence of a charismatic leader who promises her power, acceptance, and a new kind of family.

Jayden refuses to let her go. Armed with nothing but his determination, an ancient, stubborn vampire hunter, and an old flame he’s not sure he can trust, he plunges into a hidden war. He’ll do whatever it takes to bring Olivia back—even if saving her means breaking her heart…or his own.

For fans of The Vampire Diaries, Stranger Things, and The Mortal Instruments, “MY SISTER’S KEEPER” is an emotional, action-packed supernatural thriller about family bonds, impossible choices, and the fight to save someone before they’re lost forever.

If you or someone you know would be interested in beta reading for this novel, send us a message and get in on the fun!

CAPTAIN’S LOG

2/23/2025

Jared Moses

One of the hardest things about building something is stopping long enough to count your wins. This week, I struggled with that. Much to my therapist’s disappointment, giving myself credit felt impossible. When you're in the thick of things, it’s hard to see how far you’ve come—or where you’re going. You’re chasing goals, watching others level up, and it becomes easy to forget how damn cool it is that you're even doing this.

I’ve been so focused on getting us to revenue and not letting my team down that I missed the signposts along the way. A year ago? None of this existed. I was filming a short film, planning to stick to that lane. Fast forward:

• Over 130 subscribers on Substack

• Consistent content across multiple platforms

• New connections with incredible people

• Stepping way outside my comfort zone

• Watching my team grow into even more epic versions of themselves

A win is a win. You’ve got to pause and see how far you’ve come. I try to remind myself: it’s like being on a plane. You feel like you’re standing still, but you’re hurtling through the sky at hundreds of miles an hour. Progress isn’t always obvious.

Just keep pushing. You’ll get where you’re headed