Source: bbc.co

4. Rorschach

(Watchmen, DC Comics)

I almost left Rorschach off this list. I really considered it. But that wouldn’t have been fair to the character. I wasn’t leaving Rorschach off because of the character, I was leaving it off because of the fanbase.

Rorschach was an excellent anti-hero, but a terrible superhero. He wasn’t meant to be idolized or looked up to. He was meant to be, in order, funny for the first third of Watchmen, scary for the second third, and sad for the final act. And THAT was what made him a great character.

He was designed to at first appear cool and badass. But like a Rorschach test itself, Moore showed you another angle to the picture, and changed how you see it. He showed you Walter Kovacs, the sad broken man who got by through dealing out violence. He showed you what made him that way, and you pitied him. Rorschach didn’t go out like a cool guy, he died like a sad man who couldn’t fit into the world anymore and begged to be taken out of it, lest he do something to break it.

It’s sad and good, and that’s why Rorschach is great.