3. Qui-Gon Jinn – Star Wars
Qui-Gon Jinn is a fascinating character. Star Wars nerds have speculated on his history and his intentions ad nauseum, but ultimately, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace tells us all we need to know about him. That is: despite being aligned with the Jedi, Qui-Gon is not the hero he appears to be.
Yes, he rescues Anakin from slavery, but he only does so as he intends to induct him into his space cult. He then disobeys his Jedi masters, who don’t believe Anakin is stable enough (they’re right, by the way), and decides to train the boy anyway. His actions result in the rise of Darth Vader, and allow Palpatine to manipulate Anakin into helping him create the Empire.
However, even in the events of The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon is a little problematic. He does very little to help Shmi Skywalker, and leaves her in slavery. He shows very little intention to do anything whatsoever to protect the slaves on Tatooine, and actually seems unfazed by it – in fact, he actually appears on relatively good terms with the slave owners, and has no qualms about bargaining with them.
Just because Qui-Gon ultimately dies in his battle with Darth Maul, his actions aren’t entirely heroic. In fact, he’s relatively self-serving, and disobeys the better judgement of his fellow Jedi. Add in that he indirectly caused the destruction of Alderaan to come to pass, and it’s fair to say that Qui-Gon isn’t really the hero he appears to be.
Even though Villains are right the Hero is NEVER the Villain.
Terms like “hero” and “villain” are generally a matter of perspective, but “8 Movie Heroes With A Major Flaw In Their Reasoning Or Less-Than-Wholesome Ulterior Motive” was a long title!