Discussion: The Perfect Hero?

[Chris 2.1]

This lounge needs more lounging.

Ok, so what do you think makes a good hero? What qualities, or what flaws do you like to see?

I like inner conflict - seeing a hero overcome personal problems to sucees feels rewarding as a reader. Hardships build character, and I also like seeing an unlikely candidate emerge as a hero, through character development or whatnot.

And include any 'hero's you may have in your fics.


As for mine, I'd say Phoenix is a hero...he might not realize it yet, but he will have to overcome a lot, and perhaps even start opening up to get help from others. And in a way, Damien is a hero. He has endured such horrible times, and has has to put up with so much. But I shan't say whether or not his story is a happy one or not ;)

[mr_pikachu]

Well, I'm not sure that there's any hero who I could call "perfect", but I'd certainly agree that inner turmoil definitely makes any character much more interesting. It's rarely enjoyable to see a hero breeze through challenges without some problems to deal with, and internal hardships are all the more interesting when they're done well. I'm actually planning something along those lines myself in WDAMO, but I can't really say anything more than that at me moment. But struggling against oneself definitely makes for more drama and it often allows the reader to more closely relate to the characters.

It's not a book at all (unless you count manga adaptations), but I think the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion does an excellent job of using inner turmoil as not just a piece of the puzzle, but as a central theme. Frankly, every last one of the characters has some major problem they're dealing with, from the main hero, Shinji, who deals with an absent and uncaring father, to the very minor character, Touji, whose sister is rendered comatose in an accident (by Shinji, no less). It's very unusual, but it also makes things vastly more interesting. NGE uses emotional problems in the best manner of any dramatic work I've ever seen, to be frank. (Note to those considering viewing NGE: It's rated 16+, I believe, so viewer discretion is definitely advised.)

Other qualities that I think can be good in heroes are unlikely heroes, like Chris mentioned, and heroes that really shouldn't be heroes. The title character of the Artemis Fowl series is a conniving, ingenious young boy who is an extremely successful thief and swindler. One of his favorite pastimes, in fact, is outsmarting his teachers, psychiatrists, parents, etc. I believe he made a few of his professors break down and cry a few times, in fact. You know you should hate him, but you can't help but love him when the plot and the characters begin to develop. It's really remarkable.

Of course, these things are only good when they're done well. I've seen plenty of catastrophes when writers fail to allow their readers to relate to protagonists who are either unrealistic or unlovable. It's definitely tricky.

[Mewfour]

Define hero. There's miles of difference between "Hero" and "Protagonist."

[Chris 2.1]

Hero: A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life

Protagonist: A leading or principal figure.

[dratinihaunter13]

I've gotten less and less interested in having "heroes" in my stories... at least in a positive sense. Heroes can be very interesting but I enjoy finding the interesting side of common and flawed characters instead. As far as what my idea is of a perfect hero... I'd say a few telling physical flaws are interesting, and definitely a deep character flaw that he might not even know he has and is hard to check. or she. Qualities.. I guess some things the reader wishes they could do better. To get the whole admiration thing going. My fic follows a character who's hard to call a hero a villain or anything yet, even a protagonist. It's kinda up to the reader, but there's a lot of other characters who act heroic.