Best and Worst of Archetypal Characters

[Astrocelot]

What is your favorite and least favorite archetypal character? Think of them in their raw form, not the kind of archetypes that are built up into more interesting, unexpected versions of themselves by the authors. Tell me about the classic versions of the archetypes that you love or hate!

For instance, the Gentle Giants really get to me in all contexts, and rarely do I feel like I've ever seen one done poorly enough that I hate it. The same goes for Bruisers with a Soft Center, The Grotesque, and sometimes, the Lovable Rogue. But I often have trouble reading about your standardized leaders. The Kirks. You know the kind; the ones who often squeak by on luck alone, or the ones who are meant to be flat, everyman characters in the hope that more readers can project onto them. Some people eat this up, but it's just not quite to my tastes anymore!

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and preferences on this, and throw in examples for me if you can think of them!

[DustinPBrown]

I'm getting a little tired of sarcastic anti-heroes. Cops who don't play by the rules or the kid who's an ass to everyone but still good at what he does so he still somehow has friends.

I always love over-enthusiastic friends, though, like the ones who are so in love with their friends and just ooze positivity and wholesomeness. It's nice to read about.

[Kieran_Obrien]

Witty Smartass With A Heart Of Gold gets on my nerves sometimes. Is that too specific? Tony Stark is a great example of it, but there's lots of copycats in books and film... Harry Potter is probably the best Fish-Out-Of-Water in my opinion!

[Astrocelot]

I'm getting a little tired of sarcastic anti-heroes. Cops who don't play by the rules or the kid who's an ass to everyone but still good at what he does so he still somehow has friends.

I always love over-enthusiastic friends, though, like the ones who are so in love with their friends and just ooze positivity and wholesomeness. It's nice to read about.

I completely get that, it's so frustrating when characters don't earn what they have, like friends or, you know... a job, after butchering police protocol. Occasionally I see it played well, but when it's not I always wonder if the author just loves their character so much that they make them immune to consequences! If you've ever read The Raven Cycle series, Ronan was the absolute king of that. Constantly vitriolic, doesn't ever pick up the phone for his friends, and never openly shows them affection. He's really well fleshed-out as a character, but the writer worshipped him, so he never saw any ramifications for being a hot mess.

Enthusiastic friends, though. They're so pure, so good, especially if they have a silly side and/or work really hard. It's overdone as the "best friend" kind of character but somehow it still never gets old. They just embody the kind of positivity and compassion I really value as character traits, probably; I'm always rooting for them!

[Astrocelot]

Witty Smartass With A Heart Of Gold gets on my nerves sometimes. Is that too specific? Tony Stark is a great example of it, but there's lots of copycats in books and film... Harry Potter is probably the best Fish-Out-Of-Water in my opinion!

Oh man, I feel that. The arrogance is probably what gets me the most about the Tony Starks of the literary world. I know a ton of people praise the snarky characters for being savage and badass and all of that jazz, but somehow it can be frustrating for me to watch. Harry Potter was fantastic for Fish-Out-Of-Water, though! Humans dealing with magic or aliens dealing with humans are hands-down some of my favorite scenarios for that trope. All sorts of shenanigans can happen when the MC needs to be cool and casual and act like they totally know what a Facebook is, yeah, that sounds like a book full of faces all right.

[Lincolnshirelass]

I probably shouldn't say this as I'm supposed to be a feminist, but I sometimes do get a little weary of female characters who are so desperate to find themselves or reinvent themselves, that they completely reject and despise their previous life, no matter if people suffer because of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with 'tough decisions' and 'following dreams' but often feel a certain sympathy for the partners and especially children of these women!

[DustinPBrown]

I probably shouldn't say this as I'm supposed to be a feminist, but I sometimes do get a little weary of female characters who are so desperate to find themselves or reinvent themselves, that they completely reject and despise their previous life, no matter if people suffer because of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with 'tough decisions' and 'following dreams' but often feel a certain sympathy for the partners and especially children of these women!

On the feminist note, I also hate the "strong female character" that you know the studios shoved in without any real want to show strong women. Not even in action movies, just any of the women who "aren't like other women" and everyone's so impressed by it. Like the new gf who goes out for drinks and orders a whiskey and belches and all the dudes in the group are just so impressed that she's like one of the guys! It's so unrealistic.

[Astrocelot]

You wouldn't believe how much those kinds of female characters annoy me, and boy do I feel like a bad feminist about it too. But there are so many better ways to show that your character is strong, or that she chases her dreams, aside from being aggressive about it and hurting other people in the process. And if it makes you feel better, Lincolnshirelass, I bet it's totally not a double standard; it sucks when the male characters readily reject their previous lives like that, too. It shows a massive lack of loyalty towards others, never making the people you love a priority.

Do you guys remember any female characters you thought were done very well by those standards? Or characters you hated because of the tropes! The worst example of the copy-and-paste strong female character for me was Delilah Bard from A Darker Shade of Magic. The first time she meets the MC she mugs him, and then later is toying with an ancient, dangerous weapon she stole from him while the MC is tied up and pleading for her to stop. She's getting too much of a giggle out of it to be concerned that the weapon is about to kill them both. But her aggression is so highly praised in the novel, it's infuriating.

[Mekkinism]

While I'm certainly getting exhausted by male anti-heroes, I'm finding myself energized by the emergence of more female anti-heroes, particularly as main characters. The two that come to mind right off the bat are Jessica Jones and Wynonna Earp. Maybe it's just the way those particular characters are handled, but I feel like the anti-hero archetype has become a great sandbox to play in in order to really explore the depth and complexity of these women.