Are they evil?

[Byronazriel]

I'm interested to know how you perceive these characters. Each of them are sympathetic in their own way, but all have their dark sides.

I know the term "Evil" is going cause a lot of arguing, so for the purposes of the poll imagine you are a Saint Peter type being. hYou have to choose whether they should be punished or rewarded for their lives as a whole and all you have is a big red stamp that says EVIL on it. There are five files on your desk with this info in them, if you want to you can do further research on them. Which files get stamped?

Kenshin is a samurai who lives in meji period Japan, and carries a reverse blade sword. He has killed at least a hundred people, probably a lot more. However he genuinely wishes to atone, and is a kind and decent person overall.

Dexter Morgan is a serial killer who kills killers. He follows a Code handed down to him from his father that basically boils down to two things: Kill people who are murderers and don't get caught. He considers himself to be a monster, and claims to have no emotions though his actions do tend to contradict that.

Solid Snake is a soldier tasked (for the most part) with destroying metal gears, which are nuclear equipped bipedal war machines.
He has killed a lot of people, and has acted as both a mercenary and as a terrorist. However he is also a hero, no matter how many times he says he isn't, and usually does the right thing in the end. He shows compassion, and dedication.

Frank Castle... Wikipedia puts it better than I possibly could: "The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence and torture in his war on crime."

Bruce Banner is... complicated. He's a meek physicist who after being exposed to gamma rays becomes the Hulk, a monstrous and muscular green giant. (Usually not a jolly one!) As his Hulk persona Bruce is responsible for what is likely countless billions in property damage. Though it is shown that the Hulk rarely kills people, and more often than not stops bad guys and saves the day.

In my opinion Banner is an overall a decent guy, he helps out when he can and is genuinely sorry for the damage he causes as the Hulk. He spends a lot of his time and energy trying to fix his Hulk problem, and tries to stay away from densely crowded areas when he can. He is however a fugitive, and has broken the law many times while on the run from the military.

[Byronazriel]

I didn't vote for Frank because I believe he's done more good than bad. He's no boyscout, and is most likely a psychopath... but unlike dexter he doesn't kill bad people because he likes killing (At least not usually...) He does it because they're bad people, any pleasure he gets from the fight is secondary to the primary objective: Getting rid of people like the ones who killed his family.

[Asmodean]

From the perspective of a "lawful good" character, they are evil. (As they are from any other lawful perspective)

I have no idea what a St. Peter type of being would think of them.

[Byronazriel]

No, YOU'RE a saint peter type of being. You wake up at a desk with computer, and have to judge these guys. You are you, just with the POWER and RESPONSIBILITY of the job. I'm interested in your (And everybody's) thoughts.

[Asmodean]

No, YOU'RE a saint peter type of being. You wake up at a desk with computer, and have to judge these guys. You are you, just with the POWER and RESPONSIBILITY of the job. I'm interested in your (And everybody's) thoughts.

Ah!

Evil then. Every last one. In my book, defensible or justifiable evil is no less evil than the evil for the sake of evil.

[xSilverPhinx]

I think it would've been better if you asked us to rate them on an evil to good spectrum rather than ask 'are they evil?' Too black-and-white.

Secondly, these questions are sort of confusing. Are you wanting us to judge whether the person is good or evil based on some evil and some good deeds? Or the deeds? My answers are different for either scenario.

But in the broadest and most absurd sense, IMO the only one who isn't evil is the Hulk, because he has no real responsibility for his evil actions. They're beyond his conscious control and separate from Bruce's real intents.

[The Magic Pudding]

I don't often vote on these sorts of things, answers are too intricately nuanced, denying a yes no.  
Or I don't understand the question.
I know Dexter well, The Hulk I understand vaguely.
Why are we grouping alter egos anyway?  
OK The Hulk and Banner, but Dexter and Ice TK?

OK so Dexter, I enjoy Dexter, no recording malfunction is as regrettable as one involving Dexter.
It does trouble me that Dexter is seen as an admirable character.  
If I was a fundi I might start preaching in the end times they will worship the beast.
Ye OK, beast is stretching it but Dexter as hero it is strange.
I kind of blame Clint Eastwood, those desk jockeys stoppen us doing our jobs.
My last incoherent thought is that the police in Afghanistan, Egypt or wherever's got lots of power.

[fester30]

All of these have sort of a superhero appeal.  Vigilantes out fighting crime in ways that cops cannot either because of superpowers or because they are not held to the Constitution when it comes to things like illegal searches, trials, fair representation, jury of peers, etc., and can be more effective at fighting crime because of it.  Of course, the authors of such stories will show that the bad guys are really bad guys, and not just mistaken.

The problem with vigilantes in real life, of course, is that we can never be sure as a society at the vigilante's standard of proof.  Is it possible that a vigilante might punish the wrong guy?  Superman didn't kill criminals, but he did arrest them and hand them over to the cops.  Does society just believe Superman?  And what of the evidence Superman collects... is it admissible?  Do we know Superman well enough to know he'd NEVER plant evidence because some guy had the hots for Lois Lane?

Dexter did kill an innocent man in one episode that I remember just out of pure rage.  An innocent cop died because of Dexter when he got too hot on Dexter's trail.  

I don't necessarily believe vigilantes are evil.  I just believe that if they operate outside of the law, they deserve to be punished just like the bad guys they're after.  Superman should be in prison.

[Byronazriel]

Superman is like a mixture of Oprah and the Pope, he's POPERAH. He can say that the sky is green and people will take his word  on it.

However, there's an enitre website devoted to Superman being a jerk. Though he is ultimately a force for good. Prisons are designed to protect people, and to make criminals into productive members of society... Prison is not necessary for Superman.

If anything it would do the opposite, having him in prison would put people at risk and would hamper his ability to be a productive member of society. He can't very well stop a meteor, or Lex Luthor while in jail!

And what of the evidence Superman collects... is it admissible? Do we know Superman well enough to know he'd NEVER plant evidence because some guy had the hots for Lois Lane?

Yes, he has the potential to do such things... However, unless he actually does do those things then he shouldn't be punished for doing it. By that logic EVERYONE should be in jail. He has done similar things before, and he has more than made up for it.

He's been tried several times, and aquitted, pardened or released every time. He has no warrents for his arrest. (At least that I'm aware of, I haven't been reading as much of his comics as I'd like to. I checked online, and didn't see anything.)

Superman reacts to immediate threats, and doesn't use any more force than is required to defuse the situation or apprehend a dangerous individual.

Superman has been deputized, pardoned, and licensed on several occasions. He acts as a one man neighbourhood watch in Metropolis and is a card carrying member of the Justice League of America. (A government recognized institution!)

Superman is not a good example, Batman would be better... If only slightly.

All of these have sort of a superhero appeal. Vigilantes out fighting crime in ways that cops cannot either because of superpowers or because they are not held to the Constitution when it comes to things like illegal searches, trials, fair representation, jury of peers, etc., and can be more effective at fighting crime because of it.

Superman apprehends criminals and they go through the same things that normal criminals go through when he drops them off at the poilce. That's why Lex Luthor is an effective nemesis, he can play the system. He either throws money at the problem, or breaks out.

[Asmodean]

I don't necessarily believe vigilantes are evil.  I just believe that if they operate outside of the law, they deserve to be punished just like the bad guys they're after.  Superman should be in prison.

Quoted for truth.

[LegendarySandwich]

People aren't evil, actions are. So, I vote no for all of them.

[Tank]

People aren't evil, actions are. So, I vote no for all of them.

But actions are carried out by people and people are responsible for the actions they take.

[LegendarySandwich]

people are responsible for the actions they take.

That assumes free will exists. I'm a soft determinist, so I don't believe it does.

[Tank]

people are responsible for the actions they take.

That assumes free will exists. I'm a soft determinist, so I don't believe it does.

LS, you do seem to spend an awful lot of time finding boxes to put yourself in and categories to file yourself under.

[Stevil]

I don't have enough information.

1. What is the standard for evil?
2. I don't necessarily see anything that you have written that would describe any of these characters as being "evil"

If we are going with fictional characters, I would say Anakin when he chopped and hacked his way through the Jedi children. It was extremely out of character for him, i would have liked to have seen it for myself to see if he had control of himself or if he had cracked and was giggling like a little school girl when he did it. I guess we will never know.