Yahoo News 7 villains turned into heroes because people loved them
We're not talking about anti-heroes here. Movies are filled with Bad Guys who you can't help but root for – but some go further. They turn actual baddies into actual goodies, mainly just because people love the character (or actor) so much.
Here are seven such examples where a villain has become outright heroic.
1. Mystique
In the original X-Men trilogy, Mystique was allowed to be as villainous as she was in the comic books, but that all changed when it came to the prequels.
Out went Rebecca Romijn and in came Jennifer Lawrence, marking a complete change in Mystique's character. Sure, she's flirted with villainy at times, yet there's no doubting that she's a hero now, becoming an actual X-Men member in the process.
It's almost like they thought we couldn't take Lawrence being evil (when that's all we really want to see).
2. Magneto
Talking of the new X-Men, we have to mention Magneto who – while he hasn't gone full hero like Mystique – definitely saves the day more than he used to.
This is especially the case in X-Men: Apocalypse,as he allies himself with Professor X and co to defeat Apocalypse, but it was also hinted at in Days of Future Past because he was fighting alongside the X-Men in the future (which has now been wiped out).
It was either team up or die for Magneto, yet we're certainly not getting to see full-on evil Michael Fassbender. Sad times.
3. Loki
Let's not forget, he did try to lead an alien invasion of Earth. In the first Thor movie and Avengers Assemble, he was effectively a Shakespearean bastard.
Gone are those days, though, because after becoming a huge fan favourite, he basically turned into a loveable rogue who might stab Thor in the back, yet would probably feel slightly bad about it. This evolved further in Thor: Ragnarok as he went full-on hero and we all know how that turned out for him in Avengers: Infinity War.
Here's hoping his recent MCU journey has just all been one big ruse and it'll be revealed in Avengers 4 that he's actually a villain who's worked with Thanos this whole time.
4. Deckard Shaw
Jason Statham's hero turn in Fast & Furious 8 was so poorly received – not just by us – that writer Chris Morgan had to defend it after the movie was released.
And no wonder it stuck out so much, given the fact that Deckard killed "family" member Han. Two movies later, he was helping his (also villainous) brother rescue Dom's baby and even showing up to the barbecue afterwards, not to mention getting his very own spin-off movie.
We get it, Jason Statham is too good as Deckard to leave him out out the franchise entirely, but we're hoping he gets to go back to being a bad guy in Hobbs & Shaw.
5. T-800
We know this one is a bit of a cheat as the T-800 that appears in Terminator 2 isn't the same as the evil one in the first movie.
However there's no doubt that between the two movies, Arnold Schwarzenegger had become more of a crowdpleaser, starring in family-friendly movies like Twins and Kindergarten Cop, so the hero turn in Terminator 2 makes sense and it's brilliantly done.
We can handle that, but the T-800 has become even more of a protector ever since, robbing it of any darker edges, meaning he could just be any old android – and that's not on.
6. Scorpion King
We kind of just included the Scorpion King so we could relive the truly dreadful CGI in The Mummy Returns. Come on, just look at it:
But we're not completely being mean as it also counts as a strange villain-into-hero turn, because the Scorpion King went on to have his very own franchise. In the five(!) movies to date, set way before The Mummy Returns, he's the hero – and they get around it by not having him cursed by Anubis... Yet.
The weirdest thing about it all is that Dwayne Johnson only appeared in the first spin-off movie, so it's hard to tell just why they keep bringing them out.
7. T-Rex
In the first Jurassic Park, the T-Rex was an utterly terrifying creation, and while it technically saved the day by killing the raptors, it didn't really do it out of any kind of love for the humans.
Cut to Jurassic World and the T-Rex couldn't be more on the side of the humans if it wore a "Up The Humans" jumper and waved a flag. It defeats the Indominus Rex after being freed, and no longer is the roar something to be afraid of, it's become a rallying cry of hope. And that is not on.
And don't even get us started on the velociraptors...
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