This discussion of the bad boy is interesting. The bad boy isn't really "bad" in the sense of being abusive, criminal, destructive, mean... but he is definitely the opposite of the Nice Guy. The NG acts from insecurity and fear and the Bad Boy from self-assurance and strength BUT he doesn't run roughshod over you either.
I'm thinking of Rhett Butler Clark Gable) in Gone with the Wind. He was a gun runner, a gambler, but also a man of great honor, who was besotted with his daughter... one of the greatest scenes in movie history is when this strong, powerful man's man weeps after his daughter is killed in a riding accident. This vulnerability under the external strength is very appealing. Naturally, he loves the wrong woman, but he has a great line when he tells Scarlett, "You need to be made love to. Often. By a man who knows how."
