The Antihero

If you have to fight fire with fire, it's sometimes best to fight evil with evil.

The one who travels and overall behaves partially like a Hero while using morally questionable methods of achieving their ends. They have more crooked ethics than a standard Hero that don't burden them with the personal responsibility of weighing their decisions based on the traditional ideas of right and wrong. The Antihero is freer in this sense than the run-of-the-mill Hero, but this causes their alignment with good to be highly up for debate. The usage of Dirty Tricks like lying, thievery, espionage, and even betrayal isn't off bounds to an Antihero. If they're partnered with a traveling team, those partners can feel like pitiful tools that can be disposed of by the Antihero the moment their helpfulness wears out. The Antihero may send the others into hazardous situations that can result in their injury, illness, capture, or death while they handle safer tasks. A Machiavellian Antihero is possibly the most reckless Protagonist possible in fiction. They have no concern for the well-being of others, even those who work with them, and shield themselves from danger using their teammates as Actual Bodyguards.

An Antihero can be a more interesting lead to the story than a typical Hero for several reasons. Firstly, their twisted way of working makes their choices and motives much less predictable. A Hero generally does the right thing for its own sake, but an Antihero often finds no value in "the right thing" and doesn't fight for it. What the Antihero could want out of their journey isn't made immediately apparent to the audience, so they're more interesting to follow while their goals are unveiled over time. The Antihero also has more Entertainment Value than their more common counterpart because of their diverse backstory. Again, Heroes normally act against the Villain just because they disagree with the Villain's Evil Scheme. An Antihero could be in it for the fame, money, or simply out of interest for killing somebody and getting away with it. Their Call To Action might not even have anything to do with the Villain or their plan. It may be to acquire a treasure that happens to be in The Villain's Lair. The Antihero then fights the Villain because it's the most convenient and fun way to get to their End Goal.

The Antihero's Plays
Nutshell: The Hero-like Protagonist whose mode of operation doesn't line up with the Hero's.

Enhanced: The Hero-like Protagonist whose extreme combat methods could inflict injury on those around them, including their friends. Shift: The Daredevil.

Cruel: The one on the Hero's team who claims to be against the Villain but could easily be a Spy working for them. This often leads to the team making them out to be the Suspect.

Inverse: The Antivillain.

Atypical: The one who can't necessarily be described as good or evil and only fights for themselves. Shift: The Lone Wolf.

Up: Over time, the Antihero warms up to their team and becomes a fully-fledged member. Shift: The Converted Ally.

Down: After being on the fence about whether they want to be on the Hero's team or not, the Antihero, for whatever provided reason, decides to join the Villain instead. Shift: The Lost Ally.

Back: The one who was hurt by the Villain personally (a loved one died to the Villain's hands, their hometown was destroyed...) and teams up with the Good Guys to get their revenge.

Forward: No mirror.

Wrong: The one who's just trying too hard to be an Antihero and makes a moron of themselves with their worthless efforts.