good guy

plural good guys

1. informalA hero, particularly a protagonist in a story.

   His parting words make clear that [Dario] Amodei want to position himself as one of the good guys in the AI debate.

   2026 April 18, John Thornhill, “Lunch with the FT: Dario Amodei”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3

   2 more examples

   And yet Jones is perfect in Fury Road, a deeply dangerous human weapon who, because of his infantile need for respect from his father, somehow turns out endearing even though we see him ripping an engine from the hood and throwing it at the good guys.

   2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road might already be the best action movie ever made”, in The Onion AV Club

   “What stops armed bad guys is armed good guys,” Senator Ted Cruz suggested in the wake of the Uvalde shooting, echoing many other gun rights advocates over the years.

   2022 June 22, Larry Buchanan, Lauren Leatherby, quoting Ted Cruz, “Who Stops a ‘Bad Guy With a Gun’?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

2. informalAn all-around pleasant person; usually a man.

   He was a good guy to visit with and be around.

   Synonyms: hero