I think I loathed Snape because of the revisionist history that his fangirls in the HP fandom pressed on him. No, he wasn't really ugly, he was... distinctive. Yes it was normal for him to stalk Lily, and of course he should have been a harsher teacher.

I was a young teacher when I got into the HP books, and Snape's behaviour to students just seemed wrong.

I can read Snape in the HP books and be okay with him, but I'd always get an itch in my eye when I'd read fanfic with him, because there was a lot of revision.

Strangely, I just can't on with most Avengers women. I wonder if it's because Stan Lee wrote the template for most of the female characters and then the other writers followed suit. Whereas with the X-(wo)men, it was Claremont who built up their characters so they seemed a bit stronger somehow.

I'm pretty neutral towards Carol, actually. I think I'd take her a tad more seriously if she wasn't constantly flying around in a bathing suit with that randomly placed red sash. :D'