Films are filled with characters who save the day, and receive their some kind of reward for their accomplishments. But what about those characters who spend the entire film doing the right thing, but receive no reward for their works, and in some cases end up dying? These are the characters that I want to bring to your attention:

Jerry (from Liar, Liar)

Imagine for a second that you find a woman who is a single mom, and you begin to date her. You even try your best to help raise her son. Furthermore, you are willing to take them with you when you get an impressive job in a new city. And what do you receive in return? You get dumped for a guy who is a pathological liar and from all evidence, slightly unhinged. Poor Jerry, the only thing that he ever did wrong in Liar, Liar was tried to be a nice guy. Unfortunately for him, the old adage rings true “Nice guys finish last”.

Ben Grimm

If you look at the members of the Fantastic Four, they all got wonderful powers after their exposure to cosmic radiation. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) received the ability to stretch, but can return to normal. Susan Storm (The Invisible Woman) gained the power of invisibility and telekinetic powers as well, she also can appear normal. Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) gained the ability to light his entire body on fire and the power of flight; he also has the ability to look normal. Then we have poor Ben Grimm (The Thing) who gained incredible strength and endurance. He has no ability to look normal. Not only did he get the worst superhero name in “The Thing”, he also has to walk around looking like some kind of freak of nature made out of bricks (and let’s not even start on the mystery of how he goes to the bathroom). The other three members of the group can look in the mirror, and see the face they grew up with staring back at them; Grimm only sees a monster staring back at him.

Severus Snape

The most tragic character in recent memory; here is a character who falls in love with a woman who never loves him back. Then, he is tormented mercilessly by the man that she does fall in love with. He later comes across her body after she has been killed, and is forced to play the role of a bad guy all the while protecting her son who grows up hating him. Snape was so in love with Lily that he even shared her patronus charm. Unfortunately, there is no spell powerful enough to take one out of the friendzone. He lives most of his life for Lily, and gets absolutely nothing for it. And when do people find out that he was a good guy all along? Not until after his death. This character has no happiness in his adult life… and then he dies. Rough.