Editing Edgy (section)

===Notable NOT Edgelords===
While being dark is not a magic bullet for storytelling, it is possible to have dark characters, even well-written ones, who come close but never become edgelords.  Three common traits of borderline-but-not-edgelord characters are they're not trying to change the world around them to fit their bleak worldview and they're not the author's self-insert or mouthpiece.

* '''Cad Bane''' (Star Wars The Clone Wars): Mostly lone wolf cyborg bounty hunter who'll kidnap babies for experiments, torture teenagers to death and once killed a guy in front of their brother just to get a new fedora (''"What are you lookin' at?  's a nice hat."'').  Not an edgelord because he's not trying to change the world and is perfectly happy to work for the establishment as long as the establishment is the highest bidder.  

* '''Bronn/Ser Bronn of the Blackwater''' (A Song of Ice and Fire): Snarky, hedonistic mercenary who would kill a baby in front of their mother for enough money (''"Without question?  No.  I'd ask how much."'').  Not an edgelord because he can and has worked for the establishment, plus his SOLE focus in life is looking out for number one; he loves life, doesn't want to die and is pretty reasonable when paid and given enough booze.  Despite the amorality of said aforementioned baby-killing-willingness, would likely not do that due to how such a thing would risk the wrath of other more righteous sorts, which is too much of a danger in most circumstances.

* '''Darion Mograine''' (World of Warcraft - pictured below): Paladin turned Death knight with a literal hunger for inflicting pain (''"For us there is no peace, no rest."'').  Looks the part but is very much not an edgelord because he doesn't oppose love - he in fact became a Death Knight by '''sacrificing''' himself to save his father's soul.  He also has no problems with faith, altruism or authority - not even his former paladin order - even worked with all the above repeatedly.

* '''Rorschach''' (Watchmen): Uncompromising vigilante with a traumatic childhood, and as close as you can get to edgelord without actually deserving the label<ref>In part because many Edgelord authors who came after were heavily inspired by ''Watchmen'', and Rorschach in particular.</ref>.  Following a horrifying end to a kidnapping case, Rorschach lives by a set of moral absolutes and would rather watch everything burn than compromise on those absolutes.  When Ozymandias destroys most of New York with a fake alien invasion (original story)/then frames Dr Manhattan for it (movie adaptation), Rorschach sees how the lie serves everyone's interests, but still plans to bring the lie down, demanding that Doctor Manhattan kill him if he wants to accept that resolution. Part of what makes him not an Edgelord is that the story of Watchmen runs on moral ambiguity; one of the central questions of the end of Watchmen is whether the antagonist of the work was correct in his calculation that murdering millions of people to save billions was necessary, or would even work as intended.

* '''Prince Zuko''' (Avatar:The Last Airbender): Scarred prince in exile with fire magic and anger issues. Comes extremely close at times but is not because he only works against "The Man" after his sister is ordered to hunt him down. While he does have the mold of "extremely angry", his anger stems from his perceived failure and dishonor, a goal he is trying to rectify. There's also lines Zuko won't cross, even at his lowest point (like not stealing food from a pregnant woman to feed himself when starving). He is not mad at all society and humankind, though he comes very close at times. And having accepted the chance at being healed and friendship by the "Gaang", comes out pretty OK in the end. A depressingly unusual example of character development.

* '''V''' (V for Vendetta): A man who escaped a concentration camp and became an anarchist terrorist in a Guy Fawkes costume obsessed with the letter "V" and the number "5".  He is violent, ruthless, dedicated and espouses the anarchist views of his author, Alan Moore... but is not an edgelord.  Part beacuse he's cultured, polite and genteel and not aggressive or rough.  Part because Moore explicitly leaves it up to the reader to decide whether they consider V right or wrong/good or evil.  He also hoped and planned for a future where his violent ways aren't needed and gave the final decision to someone he expected to still be alive in the future he intends to create.  Side note; this character is the reason Guy Fawkes masks are used by the group Anonymous and became an anarchist symbol and Moore is very proud of it (yes, really).