
It's hard to tell who the hero of a story might actually be. Sure, the author might center in on a specific character's arc, hoping we'll feel something for this person they've obviously invested a lot of time into. And, sure, we might leave the movie or finish the book thinking that character was heroic. With the passage of time, however, it becomes a little more obvious the individuall we were supposed to be rooting for was a horrific monster the entire time.
Reddit user, u/darkp25, wanted to hear who we should actually hate when they asked:
Who's wrongly portrayed as a hero?
Itsa Me, A VILLAIN.
Mario. Lets Yoshi die to save himself, plays around with other women, kills thousands of Mushroom Kingdom citizens that have been turned into blocks, is a complete ahole towards his brother, etc. etc.
Cigars Can't Hide Actions Behind The Senes
Winston Churchill
The monster, the mass murderer is still portrayed as a hero in western countries.
Winston Churchill committed some atrocities to the Scottish people, but so has every other U.K. government since, so we're kind of used to it now.
To Be Fair, EVERYONE From "Watchmen" Is An Awful Human, And That's The Point.
[Rorschach] from WATCHMEN.
He's basically a realistic Batman but he's a complete sexist and homophobic a--hole. He claims to be fair but when a former ally of his said that her mom got raped by another hero called the comedian, Roarshac just shrugs it off by saying that the comedian served his country and that her mom was a whore anyways.
Heard He Was A Big Party Boy, Too
Andrew Jackson.
Violates the constitution. Defies the supreme court. Massacres the native american populace by relocating them via the trail of tears.
Gets put on the $20 bill.
This One Has Probably Been Talked To Death Online
Severus Snape. The movies watered this character down extremely. In the books, basically the only positive thing about him is that he's actually a "good" guy. He literally threatens to poison his students in book 4 to test their antidotes, and he fed a potion made by Neville to Trevor, expecting it to kill the frog and when it doesn't he punishes Hermione for helping Neville. He treated Harry horribly right from the get go simply because of his father.
He literally created a spell to make a person bleed out. He may've been on the side of the good guys but he was certainly no tragic hero like the movies made him out to be. He was a self-righteous, pompous, insufferable, arrogant prick.
It's Not Just The MCU. It's ALL Incarnations Of Odin.
If you think about it Odin from the MCU is a dick. He has covered up everything and raised Hela to be a cold-hearted killer and banished her for doing what he wanted. He also lied to Loki about being Asgardian. He made Loki think he could be king. He also got overconfident with Malekith. He also treats people who are not Asgardians like sh!t. He also stole and killed many many people. He raised Thor to be a spoiled brat and got mad at him for it and banished him. He also died when Thor and Loki needed him to help them fight Hela. He's not a hero at all.
Breaking The Law, No Matter How Funny It Is
Robin Williams' character in Mrs. Doubtfire. As a kid, I was mad at Sally Fields for ruining everyone's fun, but as an adult, holy sh-t, Robin Williams' character is the WORST. He sabotages his own career, destroys his house with zoo animals (going behind his wife's back to do so, after specifically being told not to have a crazy party), and literally tries to murder the new guy his ex-wife is dating (Pierce Brosnan's character) by serving him food he's allergic to.
Not to mention the basic plot of the movie, which is establishing a new identity to get closer to his kids whom he's not allowed to be around.
No Update Can Fix That Odor
Steve Jobs. Despite being worth a tremendous amount of money, he had to be sued for child support. Choosing to not provide for your family makes you a dirt bag.
Apparently he was a smelly dirt bag. Dude never washed because he believed being a fruititarian meant he had no body odour, his coworkers very much disagreed. He was known for being a visionary, but I guess not a smellanary.
From My Point Of View...
The Jedi.
Some ancient cult that kidnapped babies to turn them in to magical wizards with laser swords. The whole order were labeled as peace keepers but just turned into war generals serving a corrupt senate run by a f-cking Sith Lord
And Just To Add Insult To Injury
Stop me if you've heard this before.
Luke Skywalker.
He joins the rebellion and blows up the Death Star. Although we see it as awesome because he's the "hero", that action would have crippled the galactic economy and sent the government into a frenzy after the death of several important political figures. The Death Star took almost 20 years to build and would've been ludicrously expensive. It's like the 9/11 attacks but on a galactic scale.
And when Vader and Palpatine die, the government goes to complete anarchy after the death of their leaders. Despite the rebels being portrayed as "heroes", they're just a group of violent rebels pulling off a coup. So Luke, Leia, Han and all the rebels are violent criminals who overthrew a pretty stable government and crippled the galactic economy.
For Those In The Back: THE PUNISHER IS NOT A HERO
The Punisher.
Same probably as Rorschach from Watchmen. The Punisher is an intriguing character, but not that great of a person, and certainly not a hero. It certainly depends on the writer, Netflix Punisher for example, is a lot more sympathetic than the 2019 run of comics Punisher. I'm sure lots of people fantasize (and carry out) vigilante justice but it's just not sustainable. Add to that at times Frank seems overly sadistic and goes out of his way to torture criminals makes things a bit problematic.
Especially in the world of 2020. This was addressed last year when some cops in the comic had a little "club" with Punisher logos on their cars that supported him (ha like real life!) and the Punisher told them to f-ck off and if they wanted a role model try Captain America. Honestly IMO it might be time to retire the character, give him a noble send off and let it be. Besides, almost every Punisher story is written the same way and ends up getting stale (that's why I unsubscribed from the books).
The fact that a lot of military personnel and law enforcement still to this day wear Punisher logos is a bit disturbing when you think about who it represents.
Doesn't Matter How Many Musical Numbers There Are, Still An Awful Guy.
PT Barnum in the Greatest Showman. Dude was definitely not a nice guy and completely focused on exploiting anyone with strange features.
He touted an old black woman around as George Washington's 160 year old nurse and, when she died, had her autopsy performed live on stage for an audience.
Popular Books. Awful Person.
As a naive kid who didn't understand the concept of an unreliable narrator I thought Greg Heffley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid was pretty cool, as an adult he is a rotten little piece of sh-t.
Yeah. In real life, the way he is in the books, he would just be that one weird ahole that no one likes. Not even bullied, everyone would just hate being around him.
A Long Lineage Of Mistakes
Zeus.
Zeus is a horrible person if you look at the actual Greek myths. Hades is a pretty good dude though.
Definitely.
Zeus was disloyal to Hera and is a rapist and it's treated like a running joke. Hades was loyal to his wife and even the idea that he "kidnapped" Persephone has been mostly discredited in modern translations/interpretations. It's likely one of the most loving and consensual relationships in Greek mythology. All of the gods are flawed and jealous and everything but altogether, Hades (and Persephone) are some of the least so, while Zeus is one of the worst.
How Did We Never Notice This One Growing Up?
Jack from jack and the beanstalk
The guy literally sold his fathers cow for some beans, and then he'd break and enter into the giants home and then MURDER him
Seriously, How Can Anyone Still Idolize That Guy?
Thomas Edison.
Dude was smart, but a total scumbag.
EDIT: I just felt the need to elaborate a little more on why Edison is trash. But first, some things to know:
Many people will want you to think he stole everything and invented nothing at all, but history is actually a little fuzzy on that. He was a smart man, but most of his influence stems from his vast marketing skill, and deep pockets of cash.
Many inventions that Edison is credited with, were not invented by him, but likely these things would not have been as popular, or widely used or influential without the cash and influence from Edison.
He deserves only trace amounts of credit for helping those good inventions along, because here are (a few) of the reasons Thomas A. Edison was human garbage:
- A popular technique of his was slander. Using his money and influence he destroyed many of his opponents (actual brilliant inventors and their ideas) because he cared more about money than the progression of science and technology.
- In experiments with X-rays, he resorted to irradiating his employees; thankfully he also irradiated himself and almost went blind. Bastard deserved it.
- He did indeed kill elephants, but on top of that, he killed dogs, cats, and other neighborhood pets. He's pay kids in the neighborhood to bring him animals so he could electrocute them to show just how dangerous his competitors' technology was.
- Speaking of electrocution, we have Edison to thank for the electric chair. Another smear campaign to harm a competitor. The first execution took 8 minutes, multiple attempts, and the prisons skin bled and burned. Smell was so bad it's noted in many accounts. According to Edison, 'all the excitement had caused some bungling'
Mid-World War I, Tesla was working on radar. A piece of technology that could've saved many lives, and improved allied military intelligence.(Tesla's theories and research for radar, and further development was rejected, not radar itself.) When presented to the US Navy's head of Research & Development (none other than the pile of trash we call Thomas Edison) prevented the further R&D of radar. Later on this research would be the backbone for the actual development of radar in the 30's.
I'm sure there are more stories, but these are the ones I am aware of. I hope history will one day look upon Edison in the way he deserves.
I think back to my third grade class where we learned how important his contributions were, and how he gave us the lightbulb! Hogwash. The man was scum, and glorifying him is a gross misrepresentation of his impact.
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People Explain Which Behaviors Are Associated With Men But Actually Everyone Does Them
There are things men do that easily annoy the opposite sex, simply by being a guy.
"That's such a dude move," or "typical male," can be examples of snide remarks made following disapproving gender-specific behavior.
"What is something most people think only men do, but actually women do as well?"

Get ready for some misconceptions to be turned completely upside down.
Time For Tootin'
"For years I thought ladies didn’t fart. My mom told me that so it had to be true. It didn’t matter that I was a girl and farted. I thought there was just this magical age where girls turned into ladies and stopped farting."
"Apparently even when my mom did fart, I’d whip my head around and go 'ewwww dad!' Mom found it hilarious, dad not so much. Then one day I was in the bathroom with my mom (cause who trusts a four year old for longer the two minutes by themselves?) and I heard it: The quiet mythical fart from a lady."
"Oh Lordy, I told everyone! Everyone needed to know that ladies do fart, even my mom and she’s a lady! Dad found it hilarious, mom not so much."
– huskeya4
Cheeky Adjustment
"The weird side step."
"Sometimes when I wear really short shorts, my butt cheeks start 'eating' my shorts and I have to try my best to make a discreet weird side step to adjust it..."
– 5cm-persecond
Assuming The Position
"Keep hand in pants in a non sexual way when just chilling."
– Clafoutie
It's A Pleasure
"I grew up thinking women couldn’t masturbate only men could. In middle school I searched up women masturbating and bro my jaw dropped."
– Empty_DrPepperCan
Redditors share their thoughts about men and women keeping up with appearances.
Keep It Smooth
"Shave their face."
– Jewz1986
"I feel like women even keep this a secret from each other until you find out someone else does too or how common it is. Even still most women will rename it as “dermaplaning”. Such stigma around it."
– South-Housing-748
Checking The Fitness Progress
"Flex in the mirror."
– happy-sam1
Just Gross
"Be dirty and lazy."
– ThinkIGotHacked
"I've worked in customer service most of my life, and can easily say that women's restrooms are an absolute nightmare compared men's restrooms 95% of the time. Like seriously, just throw your tampons in the trash, and wipe up your blood please; you've got a whole roll of tp 6 inches from your elbow."
– GenericThomas
Cruising
"Check out women."
– winnisp
"Even straight women check out women. Source: am a straight woman… I think."
– Solid_Explanation769
Just a thought, or may two or three.
Chivalry Is Non-Binary
"I just said this on another thread but, having fantasies about saving people or sacrificing yourself for them."
– Seyorin
Revved Up Without Warning
"Get horny over nothing or randomly."
– False-Stage-3826
Zoning Out
"Seem to be in deep thought but is actually just gaping at a wall with zero thoughts. Alternately, may be thinking of somethings completely random. That meme about the wife thinking the husband is probably thinking if another woman, when in reality he's thinking of something random ? Ya, as a woman, I relate with that husband."
– abookishhuman
Locker Room Talk
"Talk and joke about sex. I can’t speak for everyone, but I find girls talking about it more than guys."
"Heck, at one point we were having a little bonfire, and one couple got up to leave. My friend’s wife asked if they wanted to play Among Us when they got home, and the other girl just turned around and casually said 'Nah, this is usually about the time we have sex.' To which my friend’s wife responds 'Oh yeah, we just did that this morning.'”
– Oldspice0493
The point is, all genders are capable of similar behavior that people have been socialized to exclusively associate with men.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
We are all equally guilty of being a little naughty, regardless of gender. So get over it.
It still amazes me that we live in a world where people are charged for drinking water. Water is a necessity! I have a lot of disdain for companies like Nestle, which siphons millions of gallons of water from entire communities only to sell it back to them.
What the hell is up with that? Does that not sound dystopian to anyone else? Okay, then. Water should be free – this should not be controversial.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor that_boy_ste asked the online community,
"You can make one thing/service free for the entire planet. What are you making free?"
"Healthcare would be awesome..."
"Clean drinking water, sadly. Healthcare would be awesome and if that covers water since water is essential for health, then yes!"
lisainpotown
Ah, healthcare.
*cries in American*
"Because there are..."
"Education. Because there are entirely too many ignorant people on this planet."
i_am_the_nightman
That and over time this resolves literally every other problem...
"...so children and adults..."
"Education, so children and adults who are not able to go to school or afford to can now do so."
plumskiwis
I wonder how much society could have advanced if education were free
"It's already free in my country..."
"Healthcare, it's already free in my country, but I want people in all the world to be healthy."
giuloeffe10
Life would improve pretty quickly for so many people if this were the case.
"Basic housing."
"Basic housing: floors, walls, ceilings and a roof, running water, working drains, electricity, heat and air conditioning, cooking facilities, refrigeration, etc."
Emu_on_the_loose
Though this is "basic" by American standards, which is pretty good by many developing world standards, it should be the basic minimum for people everywhere in the world.
"Clean, free energy..."
"Clean free energy is the best answer. Everything else posted here requires energy to produce."
mandaraprime
Everyone is focused on helping people in their day-to-day lives. Free clean energy would help the planet long-term.
"I live in America..."
"I live in America, so I’d have to say hospital stays. Healthcare in general. Moved away from family shortly before Covid, got Covid real bad shortly after. Had no debt. Started my adult life $3,500 in the hole. Yeah, free healthcare."
SkuSku56
The debt trap people fall into just because they needed to go to the doctor or hospital is so predatory and wrong.
"Based on my narrow view..."
"Based on my narrow view of the world, housing is my biggest expense. So based on that logic, housing would make the biggest difference. Although, if you consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, physiological needs are more important."
scipper77
I was looking at some budgeting advice the other day. They suggest your housing expenses should be 30 percent of your pay. I laughed and laughed and laughed.
"Transportation."
"Transportation. If moving things from one place to another had no cost we could reduce the cost of everything else AND eliminate regional scarcity of most commodities."
HugeMisfit
Indeed it would! A game-changer if put into practice.
"Therapy is very essential..."
"Hmmmmmm I'd say, therapy, therapy is very essential and can help greatly."
DirectorLeather6567
Human behavior has gotten us into most of our world problems, and behavior change is one of the hardest things to accomplish. Therapy is just the tip of the iceberg, but would help at a large scale if free.
Human beings have boundless potential. The world isn't perfect — remember that there's no law saying that things need to remain as they are. Humans have always innovated and reaped the benefits in the long run.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
When I was a kid, I would occasionally watch this show called Big Bag. It went off the air more than 20 years ago and it seemed to only play at five or six in the morning. If I happened to wake up early, I'd catch it. It was targeted toward preschool viewers and was fun and silly, a partnership between Cartoon Network and what is now the Sesame Workshop.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who remembers it existed. But I'm not the only one with this kind of dilemma.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor LegitimateMangoHeir asked the online community,
"What's a show from your childhood that no one else seems to remember?"
Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat (2001)
"I thought Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat was a fever dream for so long."
lucianfoster
Probably because it only had a single season! Might as well have vanished off the face of the earth after that.
Hamtaro (2002)
"Hamtaro. For the LONGEST time I distinctly remembered watching the show but couldn't remember what it was called or anything else. I remember having a revelation in middle school and going "IT'S REAL???"
SurrealGod
It certainly was real! And it was quite possibly the cutest thing to ever be broadcast on our television screens.
Gargoyles (1994)
"There's a specific age group that really enjoyed Gargoyles."
[deleted]
Hi, it's me. I'm the age-group. There are dozens of us!
Mummies Alive! (1997)
"Mummies Alive! That and Gargoyles were my favourites to watch after school."
DiamondEyeOctopus
Another one that aired for a single season, it was part of a general trend of "mummymania" in 1990s pop culture.
Out of the Box (1998)
"Out of the Box. So long, farewell, to you my friends."
tryharderSr
This one had a good run. That theme song is now in my head.
Count Duckula (1988)
"Count Duckula. The best damn cartoon ever!"
Belthezare
I hadn’t heard that theme song in decades and I was just transported back to my childhood room.
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (2000)
"Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. Great googly moogly!"
peanutbutter707
O Canada! This one was cute!
Stick Stickly from "Nick in the Afternoon" (1994)
"Anyone remember Stick Stickley on Nickelodeon? I even remember the jingle but everyone I talk to looks at me crazy!"
eluzum
Write to me, Stick Stickley, PO BOX 963, New York City, New York State, 10108!
The Angry Beavers (1997)
"The Angry Beavers. People look at me like I’m a psycho when I mention it."
[deleted]
This one — along with CatDog — was super popular!
2 Stupid Dogs (1993)
"2 Stupid Dogs. Well, ain't that cute. But it's wrong!"
DeathSpiral321
I quote that line at least once a day. I loved that show.
You should probably run to YouTube and take a trip down memory lane. Thankfully, many of these are available in some capacity for you to enjoy!
Have some shows you love that you'd like to mention? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If "family influencers" didn't exist. I don't know what people get out of watching people do their shopping and raise their kids, but it sounds boring as hell. Oh, and did I mention that the children have pretty much no privacy from the moment they're born? Yeah... that'll be a treat for them to comprehend when they're older.
But there are a host of other things out there that are just as annoying. People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor RAZOR314 asked the online community,
"What modern trend do you absolutely hate?"
"News agencies writing articles..."
"News agencies writing articles about "all these people are saying X" when it's just a few random people on Twitter, and generally the trend of amplifying fringe theories, beliefs, conspiracies, etc."
DaveInDigital
I think one of the unfortunate developments in the modern media landscape is the obsession with Twitter. I think it really exacerbates some current issues of representation in the media.
"I hate these videos..."
"I hate those videos with a split screen and something interesting is happening on one half, while an 'influencer' is literally just watching on the other half."
"I do not give a single f*ck about the influencer. I just want to see the thing on the other side. You know, the thing worth reacting to."
Penguigo
So true. They can't create worthwhile content so they "react" to the worthwhile content.
"People recording..."
"People recording when they should be helping."
[deleted]
Sometimes recording does help — look at all the instances of police brutality that have made national headlines — but it's not when people are recording for likes, views, clout etc.
"The abundance..."
"The abundance of unskippable ads on videos. I 100% guarantee I will actively try to not buy your product if you're interrupting what little precious time I have to watch something."
Goatiac
Yes, it makes me so angry. Stop wasting my time. I will click out of something so fast.
"Corporations..."
"Corporations buying single family homes and turning them into rentals."
[deleted]
And people wonder why there's a housing crisis.
"All controls..."
"All controls in a car being through a touch screen."
"For driving safety I wanna keep my eyes on the road, and want to find controls (like window wipers, radio by touch. With a touch screen, I have to look to see if I am touching the right place on the screen for the control I want."
u233
Yes! It's an unnecessary design change, honestly more trouble than it's worth.
"The fact..."
"The fact that EVERYTHING is a f*cking ad."
badchad65
There are many ways to get around that and you can learn about it in my new book How to get rid of ads (free with your Amazon Audible trial).
"Everything nowadays..."
"Subscription services. Everything nowadays is being turned into a monthly bill."
TutuKitten
It's awful. And everything is so expensive. Why bother having all these subscriptions in the first place, right?
"The abundance..."
"The abundance of people trying to be influencers/streamers, while the majority of them are about as interesting as a boil."
mugen1337
To be honest, most people would rather watch the boil.
Frustrated yet?
We live in a pretty cool world. It'd just be better if most of this stuff didn't exist.
Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!