Whether in books or movies, there are always three types of heroes that stick out the most. When writing a novel, I think it's important to figure out what type of "hero" you want your main protagonist to be. It will be this character alignment that determines how he will react to the situations he encounters on his journey throughout your novel.
Also, if you have not seen Thor - The Dark World, I recommend you do not read number 2!
Also, if you have not seen Thor - The Dark World, I recommend you do not read number 2!
1. The Traditional Hero
So this one is pretty straight forward. We've seen this type of hero in the form of Harry Potter, Captain America, Luke Skywalker, etc. They are usually referred to as "The Chosen One" and while they seem "ordinary" they are actually pretty well equipped (or end up being pretty well equipped) to handle the task at hand. (Born a wizard, injected with super soldier serum or just so happens to contain a bit of the ol' jedi blood.)
Now while these guys are well equipped, there will be many tasks they can't handle - or at least not at first. And that is important when writing for your traditional hero, or any hero at all. They need to feel defeat. Nobody wants to see a hero who wins all the time. Why? Because NOBODY wins all the time. And everybody hates that guy who, for some reason, happens to win all the time. It's just not realistic!
We LOVE these guys because YES they have awesome morals, YES they have skills we wished we possessed and YES they somehow always do the right thing despite all the obstacles and evil temptations that come their way (aka an offer to join the dark side). But we also love them because we CONNECT with the pain, suffering and defeat they feel throughout the course of their story.
Then, when they do finally rise out of the ash and rubble to save the world, we are rooting THAT much harder for them. We feel their determination and we WANT to see them succeed. Because if they succeed, we (as an audience) feel we succeed as well.
That being said, if you are writing about the traditional hero, sure he can have crazy nice muscles (You know who I'm talking about Cap') and possibly an invisibility cloak, but his skills NEED to be tested. If you want them to be loved, give them all of these great qualities, but run them through the mill!!
Now while these guys are well equipped, there will be many tasks they can't handle - or at least not at first. And that is important when writing for your traditional hero, or any hero at all. They need to feel defeat. Nobody wants to see a hero who wins all the time. Why? Because NOBODY wins all the time. And everybody hates that guy who, for some reason, happens to win all the time. It's just not realistic!
We LOVE these guys because YES they have awesome morals, YES they have skills we wished we possessed and YES they somehow always do the right thing despite all the obstacles and evil temptations that come their way (aka an offer to join the dark side). But we also love them because we CONNECT with the pain, suffering and defeat they feel throughout the course of their story.
Then, when they do finally rise out of the ash and rubble to save the world, we are rooting THAT much harder for them. We feel their determination and we WANT to see them succeed. Because if they succeed, we (as an audience) feel we succeed as well.
That being said, if you are writing about the traditional hero, sure he can have crazy nice muscles (You know who I'm talking about Cap') and possibly an invisibility cloak, but his skills NEED to be tested. If you want them to be loved, give them all of these great qualities, but run them through the mill!!
2. The Anti-Hero (Loki Spoilers Below!)
What's funny, is even before The Dark World, I think everybody loved Loki ten times more than they loved Thor.
Why? Because, even from the first Thor, this guy was a tortured soul. He was just made of this classic recipe of being split in two, born of one world and having to conform to another, while always feeling a spite and vengeance in his heart for his perfect, beloved brother. Like, yes, he did destroy half of New York, but we kind of felt bad for him.
But in Thor - The Dark World, the love for Loki just skyrocketed. Because first off, be it Hannibal Lector or Kahn from the new Star Trek, we love to see a bad guy in jail . . . who suddenly needs to be recruited in order to save the world. This scenario just causes people to go NUTS (which is why I think Suicide Squad is going to be off the chain amazing) (Yes, I just said off the chain)
So now we get to see this mangled soul - divided between the sides of good and evil - REALLY needing to make a choice. Does he do something good (for whatever reason he decides) or does he take advantage of the opportunity and just go back to being evil.
We love characters with split personalities. It's almost like seeing our traditional hero being thrown through the mill, but this is a battle inside the hero's mind. Also, we all have a bad side to us, whether big or small, and I think we like seeing a flawed character who is conflicted and who isn't perfect. In someway, I think it makes us feel better about ourselves, and just like the traditional hero, gives us something (in a different way) to relate to.
Why? Because, even from the first Thor, this guy was a tortured soul. He was just made of this classic recipe of being split in two, born of one world and having to conform to another, while always feeling a spite and vengeance in his heart for his perfect, beloved brother. Like, yes, he did destroy half of New York, but we kind of felt bad for him.
But in Thor - The Dark World, the love for Loki just skyrocketed. Because first off, be it Hannibal Lector or Kahn from the new Star Trek, we love to see a bad guy in jail . . . who suddenly needs to be recruited in order to save the world. This scenario just causes people to go NUTS (which is why I think Suicide Squad is going to be off the chain amazing) (Yes, I just said off the chain)
So now we get to see this mangled soul - divided between the sides of good and evil - REALLY needing to make a choice. Does he do something good (for whatever reason he decides) or does he take advantage of the opportunity and just go back to being evil.
We love characters with split personalities. It's almost like seeing our traditional hero being thrown through the mill, but this is a battle inside the hero's mind. Also, we all have a bad side to us, whether big or small, and I think we like seeing a flawed character who is conflicted and who isn't perfect. In someway, I think it makes us feel better about ourselves, and just like the traditional hero, gives us something (in a different way) to relate to.
3. The Everyday Hero
There is not too much I have to say about the everyday hero, as I feel the first two are the main ones (aka the ones you'd be most likely to make your protagonist) but there are books and movies centered around them.
In my example, however, we take someone like Agent Coulson, who (obviously) isn't anything like the Superheros he works with. But that is something we relate to, now, on a realistic level. He doesn't have super strength or crazy light saber skills, he's just an average guy who wears a grey suit to work everyday.
We cheer for him, however, when he steps in and helps Captain America because he IS just a NORMAL guy. He bleeds like all of us and he's a million times more vulnerable than The Avengers. But still he doesn't let that get to him. He knows what is right and he sacrifices his life (or so we are to believe) for the good of the world.
It's this personal sacrifice, from such a small, ordinary, regular man that really connects with us. We think, "Could I really put my life in danger . . . just to do the right thing?" And that's a burning question that makes us watching the ordinary hero that much more exciting . . . and his journey more profound.
In my example, however, we take someone like Agent Coulson, who (obviously) isn't anything like the Superheros he works with. But that is something we relate to, now, on a realistic level. He doesn't have super strength or crazy light saber skills, he's just an average guy who wears a grey suit to work everyday.
We cheer for him, however, when he steps in and helps Captain America because he IS just a NORMAL guy. He bleeds like all of us and he's a million times more vulnerable than The Avengers. But still he doesn't let that get to him. He knows what is right and he sacrifices his life (or so we are to believe) for the good of the world.
It's this personal sacrifice, from such a small, ordinary, regular man that really connects with us. We think, "Could I really put my life in danger . . . just to do the right thing?" And that's a burning question that makes us watching the ordinary hero that much more exciting . . . and his journey more profound.
Final Thoughts
This list is nowhere near a set of "strict rules." Don't be afraid to take elements and blend them together to make your own character. I think on any level though, it's all about making your hero relatable to the audience no matter how perfect or imperfect he is. That being said, get writing!!