It seems like today's comic reader (and movie adaptation watcher) isn't interested in the plain vanilla superheroes dedicated to saving the world while maintaining a strong sense of honor. Instead, anti-heroes who aren't afraid to break the rules in order to protect mankind are the order of the day. Here's the 9 Coolest Comic Book Antiheroes. 
 

9-Catwoman

If she's not scaling buildings during daring jewel heists, this goggle-wearing cat lover is probably making out with Gotham's most eligible bachelor.  But just because you dry-hump someone who does good deeds, doesn't mean that you can automatically call yourself a hero.  Fortunately, Catwoman has also adopted a teenage runaway, fought alongside the Justice League, and beat the tar out of a number of super villains before their evil plots came to fruition.  And apparently that entitles her to the mantle of the antihero.  However, to Bruce Wayne she'll always just be notch 534 on his bedpost.
 

8-Lobo


When you kill off every other member of your own race just "for fun," you're lucky if the worst thing you're called is an antihero.   However, to ensure that his classification always included the anti prefix before the hero stem, Lobo also went on to kill his own dog (creatively named Dawg), his daughter, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus.  In fact, one would be hard pressed to determine why Lobo is called a hero at all, even if it is of the anti-variety.  Nevertheless, as humans we should appreciate the multiple times Lobo has saved Earth from evil alien conquerors.  And if you're a space dolphin who is reading this (space dolphins are huge OMGLists fans), you know how frequently your kind has been rescued by that murderous extraterrestrial.  Lobo, we think you're a-ok (preceding sentiment not shared by Dawg, Lobo's daughter, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus).

7-Spawn


This demon with a heart of gold is what happens when you let style, and not substance, dictate the direction you take superhero creation.  In fact, I'm sure there were a number of focus groups who, upon seeing early renderings of Spawn, asked if they could add "more skulls, chains, bad ass one-liners, and maybe a gun that shot out naked ladies instead of bullets."  Ultimately they had to settle for 3 out of 4, but hopefully upcoming issues will include the deadly slut-cannon.  Spawn is a superhero, but at the same time, he isn't opposed to taking a life every now and again.  And in some people's eyes--particularly heroes who dress up like bats--that automatically adds the anti to his hero.  But for those internet readers who have been offended by any undue attack aimed at Spawn during the course of this blurb, you can take solace in knowing that your favorite hero probably made one of the worst superhero movies of all time.  Oh snap, take that fanboys!

6-V


There is no louder way to voice appreciation for an individual than to use his or her likeness as your superhero guise, and for the man who plainly goes by the name V, the terrorist who failed to blow up parliament (Guy Fawkes) is said inspiration.   So when you idolize a deadly revolutionary, such as V does, you shouldn't be too surprised when some suggest that you're an antihero.  And then when you succeed at the explosive plot which your unsuccessful icon failed, you shouldn't be too surprised when some members of the status-quo shake their fists angrily at you--assuming they didn't blow up from your parliament-destroying bomb.  However, I'm sure V found some solace when he arrived in either heaven or hell (afterlife destination dependant on how God feels about the status-quo), and waiting to give him a high-five was his ol' hero Guy Fawkes. 

5-Marv


Even though Marv is possibly the ugliest protagonist in comic book history, he still frequently finds himself in the company of good-looking ladies who are opposed to shirts and bras.   And if you're a guy like me, who isn't a horribly scarred two-ton monster, you've often thought, "if only I was slightly uglier, maybe I too could hang out with a bare-breasted Carla Gugino while she feeds me pills for my anxiety."  Then again, being Marv does have its drawbacks.  Besides being routinely punched, shot, and run over by cops and crooks alike, eventually you'll find yourself in the electric chair with enough volts of electricity coursing through your body to light up the Las Vegas Strip.  Death or life without gorgeous boobs?  It's a toss up.

4-Deadpool


It isn't hard to picture Deadpool's creators having a large picture of DC's Deathstroke next to their desk when they created DP, but while the character's plagiaristic appearance can be easily attributed to others, his unique personality is all his own.  Deadpool is one of comic's few characters who has frequently broken what comic book dweebs (myself included) term, the fourth wall.  Meaning that Deadpool is not only aware he's in a comic book, but he makes references to the fact that he knows he's a fictional character.  While this may confuse the many other comic book characters he aides and fights against (who are both heroes and villains, explaining his antihero title), we all should save our sympathy for Deathstroke, the original bi-colored mercenary who still believes he's a real-life ninja and not just lines on a page.

3-Constantine


The trench-coated mystic and all-around bastard John Constantine is no hero-then again, he never claimed to be-but he has saved the world more times than you'll ever know. Humanity owes a great debt to the chain-smoking magician but don't go thanking him just yet-usually, when he pulls the world's arse out of the cooking grease, it's an unintended side effect from him trying to save his own bacon. It's not that he's above doing good; rather, it's that he's too busy looking out for the only person in this world worth a damn: himself. If the apocalypse happens to be averted in the process, well, that's just a happy coincidence, isn't it? Of course, John would never throw his lot in with the forces of evil-they all want a piece of him and besides which, they're a bunch of tossers-but he's not exactly going to sidle up to the forces of good either-they're a bunch of tossers too. You know that old song that goes "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you"? It could have been written about John Constantine, only he's the only one who'll be laughing at the end.

2-Rorschach


When costumed heroes start dropping like the Stock Market--both figuratively, and literally--this grown-up ginger begins a search for the expired heroes' killer.  And while his methods can be brutal (e.g. beating up the elderly), illegal (e.g. burning down buildings to catch criminals), and gruesome (e.g. hacking dogs to death with a butcher's knife), it's pretty easy to see that Rorschach has a heart the size of Chicago.  It's inevitable, however, that when you're as good a detective as Rorschach, you'll ultimately end up on the wrong side of a cosmic blue-man's pointer finger.  And when that happens, no amount of cold indifference will be able to stop your guts from spreading out in a 10-foot radius.
 

1-The Punisher


Marvel's ultimate anti-hero, who sports the same shirt that the strange goth kid at your high school wore every other day (except the Punisher's is less faded), claims his rightful place atop the antihero list.  Largely because this member of the NRA isn't afraid to frequently take on both heroes and villains in his day-to-day life of shooting the shit out of various objects.  In fact, the Punisher's first appearance was in a Spider-Man comic in which the man-with-a-thousand-guns attempted to murder that lovable web-slinger.  Fortunately, the Spider-Man has been about the only object the Punisher hasn't put a bullet into, allowing for these two to frequently meet up and engage in unsatisfying battles, where the winner is ambiguous.  Few others have been so lucky, however.