Losers in literature - Definition and Overview

This is a list of anti-heroes.

Drama

• Adam in The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute
• Archie Rice in The Entertainer by John Osborne
• Donald in The Philanthropist by Christopher Hampton
• Felix Humble in Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones
• Guy in My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot
• Laurence in Abigail's Party by Mike Leigh
• Michael Cartts in Japes by Simon Gray
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
• Stephanie Washburn in The Eclipse by Joyce Carol Oates
• Tom and Amy Bates in Brimstone and Treacle by Dennis Potter
• Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
• Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Literature

• Alan Sherwood in Altered States by Anita Brookner
• Alex in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Alexander Portnoy in Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
• Alice (as well as some other characters) in King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine
• Artemis Fowl in the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
• Arthur Abdel Simpson in The Light of Day (filmed as Topkapi) and Dirty Story by Eric Ambler
• Asa Leventhal in The Victim by Saul Bellow
• Barnaby Gaitlin in A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
• Billy Fisher in Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
• Case in William Gibson's Neuromancer
• Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Des Esseintes in Against the Grain by Joris-Karl Huysmans
• Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula
• Elric of Melniboné in stories and novels by Michael Moorcock
• Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser fictional characters created by Fritz Leiber
• Felix Nasmyth in Budding Prospects by T.C. Boyle
• Gerald Tarrant in The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
• Hamlet in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• Gollum (Sméagol) in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Hannibal Lecter in Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal by Thomas Harris.
• Harry Paget Flashman in the Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser
• Heracles in The Twelve Labors in Greek Mythology
• Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Jack Skellington in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" by Tim Burton
• Jacopo Belbo in Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
• Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Jim Dixon in Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis
• Joe Christmas in Light in August, by William Faulkner
• John Wheelwright in A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
• Lestat in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
• Long John Silver in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Luke Wakefield in Mr Wakefield's Crusade by Bernice Rubens
• Marc Remillard in The Saga of Pliocene Exile by Julian May
• Mark Crawley (as well as some other characters) in A Vicious Circle by Amanda Craig
• Martin Brock in 12 Step Fandango by Chris Haslam
• Meursault in L'Étranger or The Stranger by Albert Camus
• The narrator in Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
• Peter Jernigan in Jernigan by David Gates
• Pinkie Brown in Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
• Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower series, by Stephen King
• Samuel Vimes in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books
• Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• Smith in The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe
• Soames Forsyte in the Forsyte novels by John Galsworthy
• Steerpike in the Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake
• Stevens in The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Thomas Covenant in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson
• Turin Turambar in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe
• Underground man, unnamed narrator in Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Victor Mancini in Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
• Virgil Adams in Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
• Yossarian (John) in Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Poetry

• Achilles in The Illiad by Homer
• Gerontion in Gerontion by T.S. Eliot
• Henry in The Dream Songs by John Berryman
• Warren Harding in Two Poems About President Harding by James Wright
• Satan in Paradise Lost by John Milton

Film

• Napoleon Dynamite in Napoleon Dynamite
• Ash Williams in Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness
• Jango and Boba Fett in Star Wars
• The Dude in The Big Lebowski
• Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick
• Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon
• Shirotsugh Ledatt in The Wings of Honneamise
• Tony Montana in Scarface
• The trader in Waterworld
• Wanda Gershwitz in A Fish Called Wanda
• Alfred J. Kwak
• Dr. Peyton Westlake in Darkman
• Snake Plissken in Escape From New York, Escape From L.A.
• Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese
• Hando in Romper Stomper

Comic books

• Batman (DC Comics)
• Catwoman (DC Comics)
• Cerebus the Aardvark by Dave Sim (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
• Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
• Elektra (Marvel Comics)
• Lady Death (Lady Death Comics) (Chaos! Comics, Crossgen, and Avatar Press)
• Hellboy (Dark Horse)
• The Incredible Hulk (Marvel)
• Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez (Slave Labor Graphics)
• Nexus by Mike Baron and penciler Steve Rude
• The Punisher (Marvel)
• Rayek in Elfquest (Warp Graphics, later DC Comics)
• Rorschach in Watchmen
• Sandman (Vertigo)
• Spawn (Image Comics)
• Spider-Man (Marvel)
• Venom (Marvel)
• Wolverine (Marvel)

Television

• Al Swearengen in Deadwood
• Dave Lister in Red Dwarf
• Beavis and Butt-head
• Bernard Black in Black Books
• Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder
• Eric Cartman in South Park
• George Costanza and, to a lesser extent, most of the other characters on Seinfeld
• Doctor Who most notably as portrayed by actors; William Hartnell, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy but many consider the Doctor to be an antihero in general.
• Gendo Ikari and to a different extent Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Homer Simpson in The Simpsons
• InuYasha and to a different extent Miroku in InuYasha
• Kerr Avon and, to varying degrees, several of the other characters in Blakes Seven
• Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly.
• Peter Griffin in Family Guy
• Ren and Stimpy
• 'Satan' in South Park
• Timmy Turner from The Fairly OddParents.
• Tintin from The Adventures of Tintin.
• Tony Soprano in The Sopranos
• Vic Mackey in The Shield
• Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave
• Rick Hunter in the animated show Robotech.
• Amuro Ray and to a different extent Char Aznable in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam
• Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H
• Sgt Bilko in The Phil Silvers Show

Video games

• 2-4601 (System Shock)
• 47 (Hitman series)
• Carl Johnson (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
• Max Payne
• Bass (Mega Man series)
• The player character of Unreal
• Tanner (Driver series)
• Wario (Wario series)
• Zero (Mega Man X series)
• Caleb (Blood)
• JC Denton (Deus Ex)
• Kain (Legacy of Kain series)
• Tommy Vercetti, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
• Claude Speed, Grand Theft Auto 3