Protagonist everybody loves (That actually stink)

[mrrandomlulz]

• Mrrandomlulz here, yet again to crush your beloved characters with logic. These are character types that go down in history, just to turn out to be epic fails.

Underdogs

Why everyone loves them: An underdog is something the audience/gamer/reader can relate to, they live normal lives. They eat, they sleep, they do not have any special powers, they are just normal characters, who then must overcome a great challenge in their life.

Why they suck:: Really? How many underdogs can we name that didn't have

• overly dramatic lives that try to pass them selves off as depressing
• Fall in love with some hot girl, who then happens to love them back.
• is about 13- 25 yet has an amazing skill that should take ten years to learn

And to top it all off, just when they couldn't get anymore like a fanfiction OC, BOOM! Chosen one.

Why they do this: Because directors want their characters to be as 'interesting' as possible. Making a normal guy, is like an empty canvas, and basically they have to draw on that canvas. But instead of being Leonardo Da Vinci and taking their time, They were a kindergartener who wanted to make up an imaginary friend.

The one who did it right: Frank west

When Dead Rising took place, the main character was about in his late 20s, was not a pretty boy, lead a normal boring life (That did not seem to be forcing itself to try to make the player depressed), and was a mere photographer. By the end of the game, he is still a normal man, but a BADASS, he saw innocent people die through his own eyes, and it let out a rage he didn't even know he had.

what stereotypical kind of character should I do next?

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

I never minded underdog characters. They can be as poorly written as easily as the all-powerful protagonist. Good example of an underdog character, I think, would be Kratos from God of War. He is an underdog, but through his own pride and wrath he either denies it or doesn't care. It seems ludicrous that a mortal would set out for revenge against a god, but Kratos does it anyway. Just like every other impossible goal he sets out to accomplish. An underdog with insane levels of ambition is very useful for storytelling.

Who to target next?
How about the character that *happens* to be insane? Hero, villain, doesn't matter.
Insanity is constantly used as a cop-out for why a character would choose to perform a certain action. What follows is a "deep" sob story about why they're insane and/or deformed and why they want to do what they do. The most interesting characters are the ones who aren't insane; the characters who do what they do for completely logical reasons. The most infuriatingly puzzling villains are the ones who make valid arguments and seem as ordinary as can be.
Look at any supervillain.
"Oh, he's just rigging that train to blow up because he's crazy and he doesn't know how to express it without putting 30+ lives in danger."
Bullshit. The scariest villain is cold, calculating, and far from depraved. If he has a reason to put all those lives in danger, explain why. Don't just say it's because his head's not right and he likes to walk around in colorful spandex.

My two cents.

 

[mrrandomlulz]

Insane characters

Why everyone loves them:

From Isaac Clarke to every slasher that isn't Freddy or Jason (AKA every slasher that noone cares about because they aren't Freddy or Jason) . Insane characters usually make the story 10 times more interesting, trying to cope with the disaster around them. It all comes down to fighting for their lives, trying to sort their thoughts, or in a villains case, us trying to see what they are thinking, no matter which of the two an insane guys brain is a jumbled up mess.

Why they suck: Because a good bit of the time, it is explained why they are insane, and then the explanation is never addressed again in the story. It is just a mess of plot holes and Fail motives.

Worst of them: The Joker (Dark Knight)
Once a classic villain, the Joker in "The Dark Knight" series was turned into the stereotypical psycopath. Yet another reason why the Tim Burton movie still remains the best Batman movie.

The one who did it right: Deadpool

Deadpool went right where alot of characters went wrong. Deadpool put a comedic twist on the "He's insane thing" to the point where you are actually envious of his insanity. He really is no different than most katana wielding badasses and his insanity describes why he does half of the things you see sane characters doing in movies (such as blowing up entire buildings for no freaking reason).