Brock Sampson from ‘Venture Bros’

I’m sure many people don’t like this type of hero.  They’re violent, aggressive, and fairly unstable.  They’re hair-trigger results in many instances of brutality on whoever or whatever pissed them off.  Thankfully, they tend to only go after bad people, so allies are usually safe.  Yet, you can’t ignore the unhinged violence that they naturally dive into when given even a slight reason.

This type of hero reminds me of a barbarian in Dungeons & Dragons in that they will fly into a berserker rage.  While in this mode, they’re stronger, faster, and ignore any injuries that aren’t automatically lethal.  I don’t think is this is far off the mark, but I do remember an even older example: Heracles in mythology apparently had a horrible temper and would go into rages.  These were partially induced by a curse of madness and he would hurt loved ones, but it could be the origin.  Then again, the concept of a heroic killing machine isn’t too farfetched.

One thing with these characters that sets them apart from barbarians is that they aren’t idiotic brutes.  Instead of the brawns for brains trade, they are intelligent and cunning to the point where they don’t always need their rage.  Brock Sampson above has his berserker moments, but a lot of his killings are done with calm precision.  The Punisher is another one who would fall under this category.  Neither of these characters are stupid, which makes their violent nature even more terrifying.  I think this also adds to the idea that they won’t go for allies because their intelligence stops them from going over the edge.

Another aspect of their intelligence is that they have rationalized their actions as being necessary.  They might admit that killing isn’t a good thing, but they do it because it causes a solid end to the threat.  In some cases, these characters will claim to kill bad guys to prevent their more innocent allies from having to do it.  One could say this is a twisted logic to excuse murder, but it falls into a heroic mindset of sacrifice and/or making the world safer.  A dumb berserker wouldn’t think these things, which is why the intelligence of these characters is essential.  It also can get readers to consider their own morality in deciding how far they would go to protect and save loved ones.  Would you be willing to kill without hesitation if it saved others?  It’s not as easy to answer if you truly think about it or find yourself in the situation.

Violent heroes are still difficult even with the psychological nuance.  Many people won’t look beyond their violent actions and consider them villains.  There’s usually a limit to what actions a person will accept even if they are done to a bad guy.  Someone might be okay with a decapitation, but draw the line at evisceration and then swinging the guy around by his intestines.  As you can tell, the line typically is drawn by level of gore and horrific brutality.  Its part of the difference between PG, PG-13, and R movies as well, which might be a good way to gauge how far you’re going.

Personally, I enjoy these characters, but I have trouble writing them outside of a group. I like having foils for their violence such as friends who don’t always agree with their tactics.  It shows a spectrum of humanity and can help the violent character stay grounded on some level.  I feel like having them being alone will turn them into a monster because they won’t have anyone to keep them away from a point of no return.  For me, there’s always an aspect of the violent hero where they could go full villain or have to be arrested because they go too far.  A group helps make that less likely.  I’ll go more into this on Friday though.

What do other people think of the violent heroes?