Because people became skeptical of society after witnessing such drastic social turmoil, they began to partake in their own questionable behavior. As people's view of the world around them began to broaden, their interest in the traditional hero declined as they were far too pure. Readers began to drop the heroic archetype in favor of the anti-hero due to their similarity with ordinary people. .
The postmodern era gave birth to a number of fictional characters. The Gilded Age produced the infamous Jay Gatsby of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby grew up in poverty, and through organized crime, he was able to emerge as a mysterious yet influential character. He devotes himself to a woman, Daisy, who would never love him, is obsessed with being rich, and builds his life based on a series of lies. Nonetheless, Jay Gatsby is passionate and optimistic, which is something the reader can relate to. Another example is Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Holden is a cynical and apathetic teenager; a product of the 1930s. He lacks heroic attributes such as honesty, and he even refers to himself as weak. He claims to despise anything "phony", yet it is ironic because he spends the whole novel fighting against society for reasons he cannot explain and being spiteful to the people around him. However, we can relate to Holden, who is powerless in his journey to adulthood. .
In addition, the rise of anti-heroes can be credited to various social and political events throughout the 20th century. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, a number of comic book characters were created to reflect on the events going on. In fact, many of Marvel's characters were created during this time period. In 1963, Stan Lee introduced the world to the "X-Men" series, whose characters were a direct reflection of the social unrest at the time. The graphic novel focused on a group of mutants who were born with the X-gene, which allowed them to acquire superhuman powers.