They might not be great, but are they the historical supervillains we've made them out to be? History has no shortage of truly despicable individuals without any moral grey area to debate. He who shall not be named from World War II comes to mind, and I don't think anyone would disagree. But history is written by the winners, and although the winners hold indisputable moral high ground in that case, they haven't always. Here are a few people history has misunderstood.

If you're like me, you only ever knew of Billy the Kid as a Wild West outlaw. But it turns out, like so many others who turned to a life of crime, he was an unlucky kid born into a bad situation, and forced to defend himself. As told by one passionate Redditor, Billy was really just looking for a place to settle down and live a nice and normal life. But by the time he did, the crimes he committed - mostly because of self-defense and peer pressure - were too much to run away from. Granted he was a pretty violent dude too.

If you'd like to learn more about Billy the Kid, or 17 other misunderstood historical figures, check out this gallery. Maybe you'll come away with a new perspective.