15.
Jackie Estacado (The Darkness; comic)-
Jackie Estacado, main character of The Darkness comics, is just your run-of-the-mill
hit-man/lady-killer/mobster who happens to be host to a powerful, yet evil,
supernatural force call the “Darkness”. This force gives Jackie the ability to
summon his own imps (called “Darklings”), as well as the ability to create weapons from
shadows and regenerate from any sort of wound caused by
conventional means.
Despite
being labeled an “anti-hero” by many people, he is obviously a straight-up
villain. Seriously, the ratio of people saved to people mutilated is very
lop-sided with this guy, it’s not even an argument. What keeps this guy from
being higher on my list is the fact the writers really try to play him off as
a good guy, in spite of the amount of horrible things he does on a daily basis. Just
because he feels “super” bad that he’s responsible for the murder of the nice,
innocent girl he loved does not make him any better than the demon that hides
under his skin. Hell, I didn’t see Spider-Man go on a homicidal rage after his
first love (Gwen Stacy) died after being thrown off a bridge by a man dressed in
green spandex with elf ears…that’s probably a more plausible reason to
go postal, come to think of it. Still, Jackie kills more out of anger and
annoyance than a sense of justice.
“But
Julian,” random The Darkness fan asks, “Jackie kills mostly gangsters,
killers, and other people who do inhumane acts. Doesn’t that make him an
anti-hero like The Punisher?” Ahem, I repeat, “Jackie kills more out of anger and annoyance than a sense of justice.”
Anti-heroes like The Punisher kill
criminals out of their own twisted idea of JUSTICE,
not out of direct rage or irritation. Jackie didn’t even get a reason to spread justice until about 40 issues into the comic series (that's when his "love" died). During
that time, he killed for his adoptive father, who was the Don of the mob Jackie
was a part of. In other words, he was still a cold-blooded hit-man long after
he received his special abilities. The only reason I can see that people argue
for his “anti-hero” status is the fact (I use that word loosely) he doesn’t usually hurt innocent civilians.
To that statement, I argue that he would if he thought he had a reason to…such
as if he’s annoyed/angry at them.
All
that said, I still like the character of Jackie Estacado due to his
depressingly humorous personality and ability to kick all sorts of ass with or
without powers. In all the comics I’ve read of The Darkness, he has never failed to entertain me with his “shoot
first, ask later” mentality...which is shown in action usually throughout %75 of
each issue. After a while, he even becomes somewhat of a likable person…albeit
still a very bad guy. But there’s no way the writers (especially Garth Ennis)
ever intended for him to be good, regardless of what they say. He’s
the kind of baddie you can’t help but laugh with while he’s tearing guys up
with his claws and making graffiti with their insides. Honestly, I wouldn’t
have it any other way.
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