i made some edits


i made the first one but the balance bothered me (it still bothers me in the second one) and i dont like the colors i picked i couldnt really figure anything out over there
but i dunno you might find something you like
anyway, i changed the face around because it was pretty difficult to see the scar in yours and the shape of the hood seemed sort of off to me. In yours the face seems like its trying to be less cartoony than the rest of the sprite is the best way i can think of saying it. You dont have to do the black gaping hole thing and i hope you dont, i just happen to be a sucker for this sort of thing.
This makes more sense in my first edit but I also think it could be interesting if the scar is in the shape of something, like the moon, in my edit, and you could throw something about that into the game plot. I dunno, just a thought.
I guess it could also help if we had a better idea of what the game was about. I know that youre trying to make a badass protagonist but i dont know if hes a murderer or a thief or what.
You might not like my edit because it doesnt look as evil as yours, but the most important thing i feel like i can say is that your sprites legs are kind of weird, they're an upside down "v" and there are no discernible leg parts, theyre just straight lines. His waist also starts really low. Admittedly its only a pixel or so below mine but I feel like the positioning of my legs makes it seem higher. So my main crit is, work on the legs.
Also in the newer version the colors almost make him look like a clown, no offense to thedaemon. I dont think that bright colors are the way to go here but i might be wrong. The issue with the original sprite was in contrast more than anything, i feel. I wouldnt have had trouble spotting him on a dark background, but he was too monotone.
The animation looks okay (theres some jumping in the legs right after he heel strikes but its nothing major) but you probably want to have your protagonist bobbing up and down. Also you could try a non-regular walk (something sneaky or something) to emphasize the characters character but that might be difficult.
Sorry that i write too much but say too little