Anti-hero, Part-2

Ok, continuing from last time.....

The anti-hero was very much present in "The Tribe." Kinda makes sense, in a civilization where the kids were thrown back and having to start from scratch. It wasn't so much fighting against societal norms as redefining them every single day.

The heroes were easy to spot because there were so few of them. The leaders were of course Amber & Bray. Others had their heroic moments--Dal, Alice, Jack.

Anti-heroes? Everywhere. Lex tops the list. Ebony. Luke. Slade. May. Jay. I'd even argue that Zoot wasn't so much a Big Bad as an anti-hero who died before he could find his own redemption through his daughter. Actually it seems like most of "The Tribe's" anti-heroes were destined to be redeemed by good old normal love 'n affection. Lex & Taisan? Jay & Amber? Ebony & Slade? May and...well, somebody, eventually. (According to the plotline-that-didn't happen, her redemption could've been Salene. A shame The Powers That Be thought their audience was too whatever to handle that.)

As with most things, we find that KTDARPG follows our inspiration... where it doesn't go beyond it. And we've gone beyond the original in many ways. But the stereotypical anti-hero remains faithful.

From the earliest seasons, Xeno and Chyna were very much anti-heroes--Xeno with the release of the Virus and the deaths of the adults, Chyna also with blood on her hands and a cold heart that saw death as casual. They both died for love and to save the lives of others.

Some are less clear-cut. In my mind, Prince is an anti-hero...but I'm still not sure after all this time which way he's finally gonna jump. (And that's a good thing! Nothing like keeping your audience guessing, guy!) I also put Sid in this list with his less-than-stellar beginnings, his affiliation with the Travelers, mistakes & triumphs, and his search for redemption that's still going on. Brena fits here, queen of the Brotherhood who just wanted love and acceptance and to do the right thing. Even though almost all her efforts went wrong...well, she died too soon.

In the game today? Ah, we have characters who SAY they seek to atone for past sins...we just haven't seen enough to know if that's true or not.

The ones I'll call anti-heroes now strictly because of their actions in game are few. Marionette fits the category. His past has been described; we've witnessed his "sins" and his violence, and right now we're watching his attempts at amends. Zero also fits, though we have less evidence to go on here. But he's following the pattern so that's good enough.

Of the others? Ace and Eris, Scarecrow, Nightshade, Villa...lots of possibilities, but we'll have to see how it all plays out.

And after all, that's the fun part. You expect heroes to BE heroes like Arianna & Hawk. You expect bad guys to BE bad (today's candidates are Urick, Blasko, Cricket, Nyx & Blackrose).

It's the anti-heroes who'll surprise you.

What can I say? Chyna likes surprises!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"