Who Is Your Number One Antihero?

Antihero: A protagonist whose character is contrary to that of the archetypal hero, yet typically retains many heroic qualities. They are bad, but not evil. They often fight villains, but not out of a sense of justice. They do it for selfish reasons, for personal gain, for revenge, and they're often amoral and lack positive qualities. The trope has been around for centuries, obviously, but series' long antiheroes are relatively new to the television medium, finding popularity in characters like Tony Soprano and Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." Typically, for an anti-hero to be successful on television, there needs to be an opposing villain who is much worse.

Boyd Crowder, "Justified" -- Crowder is also a tough nut to crack. He is not above evil deeds, but he is not an evil character, either. He has at times been depicted as racist, xenophobic, a drug-dealing religious nutjob, and a ruthless killer, but part of what allows him to be a antihero is the fact that there are more evil opponents than him on "Justified," plus his friendship with the show's hero, Raylan Givens, makes him sympathetic. He's much like one of the all-time great anti-heroes, Omar Little, in that he's evil, but likable because he abides by a code and has a strong sense of loyalty.

Check out the list of anti-heroes by going here. I love that they included that little bastard Cartman on the list. He is pure genius. I can watch him orchestrate his shenanigans all day long. His brilliance as a character is only balanced by his truly evil twisted nature. If not for himself, Cartman would rule the world. He always gets distracted at his moment of victory - his brand of failure is delicious to me.