The Internet Picks Superficial Heroes Who Are Really Villains

Often times we tend to forget that most heroes have flaws. Even though Bruce Wayne takes down [...]

By Adam Barnhardt - December 26, 2018 05:40 pm EST

Often times we tend to forget that most heroes have flaws. Even though Bruce Wayne takes down crime in Gotham City and Tony Stark blasts aliens into space, each of the characters has a substantial amount of hiccups in their character.

In a new question posted online by University of Massuchusetts-Amherst professor Paul Musgrave, pop culture fans were asked which characters they thought were superficial heroes, ending up as villains at the end of their story.

What superficial hero was really the villain?
— Paul Musgrave (@profmusgrave) December 21, 2018

The now-viral tweet got plenty of responses, including the understand Batman and Iron Man. It also spawned some surprising responses like Mr. Incredible and Shrek.

One response that stood out, in particular, came from political scientist Phillip Lipscy, who says Simba was really a secret villain.

Simba in the Lion King. Entitled brat spends childhood partying w hippie friends and feels entitled to rule because his dad was a big shot. Supposed villain Scar supports merit-based rule, redistribution to marginalized groups, and female labor force participation //t.co/vjWXXb0d8w
— Phillip Lipscy (@PhillipLipscy) December 22, 2018

What are your thoughts on the scenario? Are there any heroes you think are their own worst enemies?

Keep scrolling to see some of the other responses from the Twittersphere!

Captain America

Captain America in Avengers: Age of Ultron https://t.co/L55615rzPd
— Matt Season's Greetinglass ? (@mattsteinglass) December 22, 2018

Tony Stark

Tony Stark.
Created most of his own villains, then turned narc on his friends and projected his own failings on to them https://t.co/Hdp8npFnMR
— Brian Hurst ??? (@Hurstcules) December 22, 2018

Batman

Batman. One Percenter undermines local law enforcement and beats up on non-neurotypical people who don’t conform to accepted beauty standards. https://t.co/j6mWwkvFWk
— Nakatomi Plaza Survivor (@danifesto) December 22, 2018

Superman

Okay I completely understood why Bruce Wayne decided Superman was a problem. Like I was actually uncomfortable with the destruction in Man of Steel. https://t.co/4VRXskqOz9
— ?❄️Kimyrrh and Kardafricancense ❄️? (@wstafrican) December 23, 2018

Jean-Luc Picard

Captain Picard in Star Trek Insurrect. Starfleet finds a special radiation in a planet's ring that could help save billions of lives. The 600 space hippies living on the planet want to keep it all for themselves. Picard helps them because he has the hots for one of them. https://t.co/AYc3VNdXD8
— WatcherMark (@WatcherMark) December 23, 2018

Mr. Incredible

Mr. incredible. Fighting to keep powers the purview of a bloodline elite against someone seeking to democratize them. https://t.co/PwTBGMVnOp
— Adam Gurri (@adamgurri) December 22, 2018

Shrek

Shrek in Shrek.
Refuses shelter for homeless refugees, permanently disables and injuries tons of guards just doing their job to feed their family, and recklessly empty’s out 100’s Of gallons of beer in front of poor peasants. https://t.co/wEXM6xpXOL
— Rocky Dale Davis (@RockyDaleDavis) December 23, 2018