Knight Templar

"We're nothing like God. Not only do we have limited powers, but sometimes we're driven to become the devil himself."

- Nicholas D. Wolfwood

"I will always attempt to do the right thing... even it means killing every last man, woman and child in this here town, twice over."

- Jonah Hex "At least I'll leave a worthy successor... You, Jack. You carve your own path, use whatever methods you see fit... You don't let legal bullshit get in the way. And if it costs a few lives? So be it...""

- Senator Armstrong describing Raiden's methods before being killed by the latter

A Knight Templar is a type of hero who comes across as a volatile hybrid of a Fanatic and an Anti-Villain, genuinely seeing themselves as a good and righteous individual despite engaging in unspeakable atrocities while still believing that their cause is just. However, they can easily slip into the realm of a Extremist when they begin to become just as bad as the villain.

The Knight Templar sees his or her enemies are evil, misguided or ignorant and is often extremely narrow minded - they may see themselves as purging the world of evil but to outsiders who do not share their zeal it is plain to see they have slipped off the slope of anti-hero and delved into villainy. At their absolute worst a Knight Templar is a sociopath but more often than not they are more a case of a tortured and tragic soul, though their arrogance and self-righteous nature often make viewers dislike them. For the category relating to this kind of character, see the misguided.

In short, Knight Templars are a 'good' counterpart to Delusional villains, though some can be fully aware of the nature of their actions and simply use them as a means to an end. Good examples of this include Lelouch vi Britannia and Kiritsugu Emiya.

IMPORTANT: Please do NOT add characters who are pure of heart in this category, as the Knight Templar performs morally questionable and utterly ruthless actions to achieve their goals.

Some Examples

 * Mr. Krabs is very determined to punish his rival Plankton in the worst ways possible, notably in One Coarse Meal.
 * Kuvira seeks to reunite the Earth Kingdom after the Red Lotus threw it into chaos by killing the Earth Queen. Her primary method is to bully state governors into sacrificing their resources and swearing loyalty to her, and sending those that disagree with her off to "re-education camps".
 * Depending on what version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles he's currently appearing in, Casey Jones is sometimes portrayed this way.
 * Silver the Hedgehog is this, although he is mostly restrained by his strong sense of justice.
 * Hit-Girl (from Kick Ass film) indiscrimanantly kills the occupants of an apartment, despite no actual crime being stated, and some of them being innocent bystanders or not directly criminals.
 * Rorschach's moral absolutism leads him to continue fighting crime even after superheroics have been outlawed, because to him, evil must be punished, even if that means becoming a vigilante and effective serial killer.
 * Angel (from Buffy/Angel) turns against his friends for a few months as he goes on a crusade of punishing the guilty (Wolfram & Hart), rather than helping the helpless.
 * L is willing to torture people (albeit another Death Note user) to capture Kira.
 * Sun Wukong from the novel Journey to the West, when it comes to dealing with demons and bandits, who he sees as evil monsters who prey on the weak (especially those who want to eat Xuanzang).
 * Kyle is gradually becoming this in his rivalry with Cartman, with some of their conflicts showing the former's willingness to outright kill the latter.
 * Kurapika exacts his revenge on the Phantom Troupe in extremely torturous ways, placing Judgement Chains around their hearts that will kill them if they don't follow certain rules.