The Heroic Comedic Sociopath is a very special sort of comic relief who works toward a positive, morally affirming goal whilst being as malicious as possible along the way. He differs from most Anti-Hero archetypes in that he's never ineffectual or angsty—he loves what he does for a living. His punishment, at worst, is that he may be on the receiving end of some Comedic Sociopathy. Far more often, he deals out Comedic Sociopathy and Crosses the Line Twice. (Note that it is not always a "he", but female Heroic Sociopaths are rarer.) A Heroic Comedic Sociopath can and will eat the souls of jaywalkers, swindle old ladies, detonate buildings, punt puppies into traffic, and steal candy from babies all in broad daylight with a hundred witnesses present. The Karma Houdini is a natural part of his being — it's simply more hilarious for him to get away with it. Being cranked up to the top and Played for Laughs as he is, the Heroic Comedic Sociopath is so fun and invincible that the audience naturally cheers for him and his wacky antics. At the same time, he may serve as Wish-Fulfillment: a fantasy for the audience. Some who have wanted to give the boss what they deserve can wish they were like the Heroic Comedic Sociopath, hopefully ignoring his sociopathic and inexcusable acts and instead putting emphasis on his role as an avenger. At this point you may be wondering why the "good" characters in the story put up with him. Sometimes, it's because while he may be a monster, he's their monster. Sometimes the other heroes have protection from the Heroic Comedic Sociopath's hijinks — it might be a Restraining Bolt, or the fact that the heroes combined can stand up to him. Failing that, they may be in some way endearing to him. Or possibly the Heroic Comedic Sociopath just finds the heroes amusing enough to see the advantage of not pestering them too much, or may just find it more fun to target the bad guys instead. Other times, they don't have that luxury and are stuck with an "ally" as disruptive to them as to their enemies. And there are times depending on the course of the plot and the characters where he isn't an ally at all and is just one more enemy to deal with particularly if he hurts innocent people and the heroes decide to step in, but most examples will be just as often heroic since this is part of what makes him special. And despite the variety of possible motives that leads them into a hero's choices the majority is surprisingly often led by a common antagonism towards the main villains who they may see as rivals or trespassers in their playground. Compare Comedic Hero (which is this minus most of his sociopathy) and Sociopathic Hero (for when this kind of behavior is not Played for Laughs). See also Token Evil Teammate and Psycho Supporter. Heroic Comedic Sociopaths are either a Nominal Hero (when they fulfill the heroic part) or Villain Protagonist (all the other times).