Regina vs Damon: Who Is The Better Anti-Hero?

We’re trying a little experiment here at FemPop over the next week. See we’re all massive fans of both Once Upon a Time and The Vampire Diairies and we’re particularly fans of the two anti-heroes at the center of both shows.

Damon Salvatore and Regina Mills ooze sexuality, have no control of their ids, and deep down at the center of their beings they both want to be good so they can earn the love of the people they care about most. Their internal conflicts often explode out of them, killing innoncent bystanders and making us pity and hate them and even yearn for them a little.

They’re the best kinds of modern anti-heroes (wangs and Scarletts if you want to use FemPop lingo). Since the beginning of season 2 Regina has grown leaps and bounds and simply by embarking on a remdeption story arc she’s moved away from the common narrative for women villains and become even more similar to Damon and the many villains turned heroes before him.

They’re very similar, in a way many of the other villains on their respective shows are not. In fact they’re SO similar that in this spreadsheet they’re virtually identical.

For science.

Yet despite nearly innumerable similarities between Regina and Damon, she remains a woman, and thus she often seems to be condemned in pop culture.

Which brings us to the experiment. We’re pitting Regina against Damon in a poll to see who has the more numerous and passionate fans behind them. I’ve got my own depressing suspicions on how this will pan out. Pop culture tends to reward anti-heroes while punishing anti-heroines. In forums Damon’s fans are legion and it’s become harder and harder to find people who dislike him, while poor Regina can’t go a day without a fan pointing out how she raped and murdered her way through the show.

Fans want Damon to be redeemed and forgiven, but many are content to simply condemn Regina.

So help me out by voting in the poll below. Vote for who you love, or vote for the lesser of two evils. Just vote!

The poll will close at Midnight CST February 11th, giving you nearly a week to make your voices heard. Debate in the comment. Present your argument. Let us know who you think is the better anti-hero.