10 Movie Heroes Who Were Secretly Just Awful

From Peter Pan to Spider-Man, which one of your favorite heroes is actually a jerk of note?

Albus Dumbledore
Warner Bros.

We’ve all heard it said that, “The end justifies the means,” – but what about cases in which the end is unjustified from the outset?

There is, of course, a breed of heroes - like those peppered throughout the works of Shakespeare - who make a judgment error that inevitably leads to his own destruction, or outright baddies like Norman Bates who appear to be good but then turn out to be utterly rotten.

But more interesting are the heroes who aren't at all what they appear to be. Who simply don't match their supposedly wholesome legends. This is an ode to those hailed cinematic heroes who are secretly just really bad.

You may think you’ve come to know some of your favourite protagonists over the years, but did you ever stop to consider why they did what they did? Or acted in the way in which they acted?

10. Edward Cullen Didn't Want To Be Lonely - Twilight

Albus Dumbledore
Summit Entertainment

Born in 1901, Edward Cullen was transformed into a vampire by his adoptive father, Carlisle Cullen, after nearly succumbing to the Spanish Flu. Bella, on the other hand, is described as having been born in 1987, making Edward 86 years her senior.

That dose of paedophilia not enough for you? Not only does Edward pine after a high school girl who could have been his great-, great-granddaughter, but once the sparks start flying he makes a point of it to hide out in her room at night, watching her while she sleeps, and slowly isolating her from her fellow (high school aged) earnest friends.

Except for the creepy stalking and isolation, Edward also refuses to have sex with Bella for fear of hurting her. He quickly changes his opinion once he’s married to her, because marriage turns women into indestructible sex objects (right?) and ends up nearly costing her her life after impregnating her with Renesmee, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid who slowly starts consuming Bella from within during her pregnancy – nearly leading to Bella’s untimely demise.

And Edward’s motivation for putting his “true love” Bella through months of emotional turmoil, before nearly costing her her life? Well, he’d prefer not to be lonely.

Contributor

Aimee Verster hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.