Rule of Cool: Good Guys vs Bad Guys

[DinoRexMax]

l'm not firm believer in this trope, but it's clear that in the design process all of the harsh jagged metal armour, intimidating edgelord colour schemes, and actually lethal weaponry and abilities seem to be made exclusive to the Villains. Meanwhile, good guys are often relegated to looking like Fisher-Price goofballs (slight exaggeration, but they're usually designed to appear more safe, lacking edges, points, or sharp corners).

My question is, are their any good guys that are unequivocably cooler than the bad guys? Don't overcomplicate this, this is purely an aesthetic arguement, obvioulsy Heroes are more likable than Villains because they aren't dirtbags, but Skeletor is still a big purple skeleton man with a ram-skull staff and He-Man has a dorky page-boy haircut and fuzzy underpants.

I'm gonna start by saying that Optimus Prime is, without a doubt, cooler than Megatron. It's hit or miss between the Autobots/Maximals and the Decepticons/Predacon teams as a whole, but I think that's a solid plus for the franchise as a whole. Especially since it's based on toys, so that kids never need to feel too bad about picking a side to play as. The Autobots have Ultra Magnus, the Dinobots, Superion, Elita-1, Omega Supreme, Vector Prime, and Fortress Maximus. The Decepticons have Devestator, the Duocons, the Triple Changers (before Springer and the other Autobot Triples Changers show up after the movie), Trypticon, the Insecticons, Soundwave, and Scorponok.

But Optimus is the clear deciding factor in who's cooler or not. He's got the Energy Axe arm, the sharp face mask, the angular winged helmet, grill abs and window pecs make him look tough, and he's suped up with the battle platform trailer (often times a straight up armoured powerup, as early as Powermaster Prime from 1988, or even the Diaclone Powered Convoy pre-Transformers that eventually became Ultra Magnus).

I'd also argue for Mobile Suit Gundam, since Gundams are pretty cool, but nobody gives a shit about GMs, Guncannons or Guntanks. Plus, I know way to many people who vouch for Zakus and other spacenoid mechs as peak, whcih I find it hard to argue somedays (though, I like the Nazi Germany allegory, stating that Zeon lost the war to due to overdiversification like with German tanks, which gives a sensible drawback to the sheer variety of their weaponry when compared to Earth).

 

[DunkeyKong]

Me when I see another Optimus Prime enjoyer:

 

[Zerohour2k12]

Like how Vader is cool as with the many Sithlords as opposed to the Jedi. Designs are almost always intentional though some turns it the other way around.

 

[Boo Man]

Me when i see another He-Man hater:

 

[polter99]

Undeniably, objectively, and with 100% certainty... Nergigante is the coolest good guy. The hunter is just a side-character in Nergi over-arching story.

Notice how Nergi first appearance is during Zorah Magdaros siege, he enter from the top turnbuckle, and get slammed and repelled by the player. Just like how the average good guy lost first before coming back. There is also theory (well... MH Wiki Fandom lmao) that Nergi is keeping the nature, the Elder Dragon (such as Zorah) in check by hunting and feeding on them.

Then in Iceborne, you sought to hunt Shara Ishvalda... but before that, you face-off Ruiner Nergigante because you ruin his life and now live on poverty and stamp, and you finally kill Nergi after extensive and exhaustive training arc.

But wait! Shara Ishvalda finally came from its long slumber and you eventually finish the long journey in the New and Old World.

But wait (shocking I know)! Ruiner Nergigante show up again when you thought you kill it, proceed to shove you off, and feed on Shara Ishvalda now weakened by you, the player. And the day was save... not because the hunter, but all thanks to Nergigante being the guardian of the world by finishing the business to Shara Ishvalda.

(then you kill Nergigante for good in the most anticlimatic way)

 

[WallachiaResident98]

I'd also argue for Mobile Suit Gundam, since Gundams are pretty cool, but nobody gives a shit about GMs, Guncannons or Guntanks.

The Jegan, GM Sniper II, the RX-77D, and GM Cannon:

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

Making the bad guys look more “edgy” really dates long way back and we can thank consumerism for that. Way back in the 1980s Hasbro and Mattel mostly in this case Hasbro made a living out selling toys based on children’s Saturday morning cartoons. While animation studios were on the roll because toy companies commissioned them to do those series based on the current toy line those companies are selling.

Parents are the ones who have the money so they buy that toy which they think we’re “cool”. Think about it why would a parent buy a robot toy that transforms into an “ugly” car(Volkswagen Beetle/Bumblebee(when their child could have the one that’s transforms into a fighter jet(Starscream). When the child receives the toy the kid will tell his parents that the toy is the bad guy and he wanted that yellow car so he can something to fight it with.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Making the bad guys look more “edgy” really dates long way back and we can thank consumerism for that. Way back in the 1980s Hasbro and Mattel mostly in this case Hasbro made a living out selling toys based on children’s Saturday morning cartoons. While animation studios were on the roll because toy companies commissioned them to do those series based on the current toy line those companies are selling.

Parents are the ones who have the money so they buy that toy which they think we’re “cool”. Think about it why would a parent buy a robot toy that transforms into an “ugly” car(Volkswagen Beetle/Bumblebee(when their child could have the one that’s transforms into a fighter jet(Starscream). When the child receives the toy the kid will tell his parents that the toy is the bad guy and he wanted that yellow car so he can something to fight it with.

Some stereotypes play into it too. Ever notice how there were a lot of heavy metal singer villains? Probably had something to do with the satanic panic, punk being associated with noise, or the idea of rebellion being disruptive. This then loops around to people thinking they're really cool because have you seen Ember Mclain?

 

[Ikagura]

I think this is deeply rooted with the whole "join us, you will be cool" kind of tactic that some took.


I mean anyone who knows History remember that Hugo Boss did the clothing design of you know whom.

I dig the design of the Jin-Roh Wolf Brigade soldiers

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

Me when i see another He-Man hater:
View attachment 144301

Sometimes evil is cooler .

 

[Ikagura]

Sometimes evil is cooler . View attachment 144316

I really liked The Undertaker's look.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

I really liked The Undertaker's look.

Yeah !
Its like with someone who is stronger and disrupts the good guys has a good point and doesnt want to be a typical goody two-shoes or next wacko character because he wants to be itsself as the phenomena of wrestling and the clear black and coldhearted badguy overall .

Its the same with the arrogant evil guys . Sometimes you get a Shawn Michaels who is so extremly confident but got his arrogance that underlines it and can actual work together with characters that just fit together and become a good guy too .

Its the same with onimusha 2 and the rather honorable sword duelling demon which i actually am a fan of . The arrogance but the sher skill he undoubtly underlines the character makes him a favourite of mine too .

 

[tonyhoro]

Good guys wear blue and their army has a british/american aesthetic;
Bad guys wear red and black and have a nazi aesthetic;

If you don't follow this pattern, people will not understand the game or dislike it for being too different, and I'm not even kidding.

This also reminds me of the yellow paint debate, where devs constantly say they use it after testing leaving the game without it just to see people stumbling and getting stuck on levels.

 

[Ikagura]

I'll never get tired of villains with extra long capes and big shoulders

 

[Anoobis]

The early 90s flipped the dynamic for a little while. Cool became a selling point for heroic characters in the morning cartoon programming blocks, so we started to see self-consciously radical urban rebel heroes going up against comparatively stuffy corpos or scientists with dumb goons. Probably some cyberpunk influence at play.

 

[Bonkers225]

To be a true bad guy, you can't be badass, or have a moment of clarity. That's when sympathy, and worship begins to develop, and they just become an anti-villian. You gotta be vile, no remorse, and no redeeming qualities whatsoever to be a true bad guy, something that's very difficult to do, especially today. Major Strasser in Casablanca is a perfect example of a true bad guy.

 

[ThunderBoy]

Villains always dress better

 

[Tonberry]

are their any good guys that are unequivocably cooler than the bad guys?

 

[Ikagura]

To be a true bad guy, you can't be badass, or have a moment of clarity. That's when sympathy, and worship begins to develop, and they just become an anti-villian. You gotta be vile, no remorse, and no redeeming qualities whatsoever to be a true bad guy, something that's very difficult to do, especially today. Major Strasser in Casablanca is a perfect example of a true bad guy.

I don't mind anti-villains and people with a tragic past but I also do miss when there were pure evil characters without any redeeming qualities nor remorse whatsoever in any media.

 

[Tonberry]

Conan


The Horde ;)


Also can't forget Literally Me

 

[Retro Doomer]

Are we the baddies...
Okay jokes aside its em something to make the bad guys as awesome as they are but that only wants us to join them instead of fighting them.And if they have a good lore damn hand the recruitment papers,
also sometimes the write the Heros or Good guys just not that good or just generally less sympathetic.

 

[Ikagura]

Also can't forget Literally Me
View attachment 144340

I still kinda like when a less "serious looking" Link manages to pull badass moments

Are we the baddies...

Shame that this meme has been overused and misused at the same time.

 

[DinoRexMax]

View attachment 144336

I'll never get tired of villains with extra long capes and big shoulders

"I am sorry, little brother. But I cannot hear you over my loud ass cape and my big ass horse..."