Every good character has some bad traits in him or her. The same goes for the villains or unlikable characters – they have a bit of good in them.
Just like any audience should become impatient with a hero or kind character, since he or she should make mistakes or bad choices at times, the opposite should happen with the bad guys.
Below is my list of TV villains and lovable jerks that I have, at least, a little sympathy for:
Villains
Mr. B (Codename: Kids Next Door)
If you’re familiar with the show, Codename: Kids Next Door, which aired on Cartoon Network in the 2000’s decade, you might recall a villainous half-man, and half-baby, named Mr. B. He ran a cable company, but would get super angry if he thought anyone called him, “baby,” and would immediately fire him or her.
Despite his lack of sympathy and evil intention to turn everyone in the world into babies (so that no one would ever call him, “baby” again), I do feel sorry for him a little bit.
First, he has to wear diapers, because he can’t control his bladder and bowel muscles. He also looks young, but claims to be a man.
I would feel terrible for anyone whose growth and aging stopped early, as well as never could gain control over his or her bladder or bowel muscles, but could still talk.
Princess Morbucks (The PowerPuff Girls)
She wasn’t always evil. She just wanted to become a PowerPuff girl. However, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, would not let her, claiming that fighting crime would’ve been too dangerous for her.
Her rejection may have led her to turning wicked. She also gets super-spoiled and claims that her father allows her to get whatever she wants and whenever.
Except for one scene, we never see King Morbucks’ face. He also hasn’t gotten any spoken lines (at least not in any of the episodes I’ve watched).
However, in the episode, “Bought and Scold,” Princess holds his hand in the middle of the night and walks with him, thanking him for her demand. But he drags his feet. Therefore, I wonder if he spoils Princess and is afraid of her.
Yet, she still is one of the villains that the PowerPuff girls have to constantly fight and report. In the Christmas special, “Twas the Fight Before Christmas,” Princess actually does get superpowers, thus making her a PowerPuff girl. How? Watch the special to find out. Or read about it online (but I’d recommend stopping at the ⅔ mark, if you don’t want the ending spoiled).
Now onto the next list:
Lovable Jerks
Cartman (South Park)
Although not actually a villain, Cartman makes a lot of poor choices. He’s been a bully, called people names, and has acted selfishly numerous times.
However, he has never gone so far to officially make him despicable. He does have a soft side at times. One example was when he learned to be patient in waiting for the Nintendo Wii to be released.
In the 1999 movie, he used his V-chip (which would electrify him if he cursed) to save everyone from something major.
Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)
Stewie is a talking baby (although only some characters understand his words) who tries to be evil, but often fails. He sometimes discusses defeating his mom, Lois.
Despite his “wickedness,” Stewie has shown sympathy, such as when Brian the dog took in mushrooms that caused him to hallucinate. He and Brian share a strong friendship.
That being said, he has made lots of poor decisions, such as wrecking Brian’s car, trying to turn himself into a bad guy – only to create a truly evil clone, and more.
Nevertheless, Stewie remains likable and still makes smart choices.
Conclusion
Just like no good character should be 100% nice, no bad guy should be fully evil. This is what makes the characters I’ve listed above likable up to a certain extent.