List of heroic stock characters

This is a list of stock characters within the heroic archetype.

The Chosen One

Must typically fulfill an ancient prophecy to save the world, often requiring the help of a Wise Old Man or Elderly Martial Arts Master to fulfill this destiny. Almost always of apparently humble origins or (often is discovered in the story as being) from a noble family. Requires multiple sidekicks, often with radically different skills. Some people believe that a chosen person in reality is to be God's 'favourite'.

Examples include:

*Mario
*The main character in "Fallout 2"
*Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker from "Star Wars"
* Aragorn from "The Lord of the Rings"
*Buffy Summers from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
*Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog from "Sonic the Hedgehog"
*Neo from "The Matrix"
*Rand al'Thor from "The Wheel of Time"
*Harry Potter
*Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"
*Revan from ""
*Link from "Legend of Zelda"
*Ash Ketchum from "Pokémon" (actually referred to as "The Chosen One")
*Ichigo Kurosaki from "Bleach"
*Lyra Belacqua from "His Dark Materials"
*Taichi Kamiya from "Digimon Adventure"
*Takuya Kanbara from "Digimon Frontier"
*Will Vandom from "W.I.T.C.H."
*Yugi Mutou from "Yu-Gi-Oh!"
*Jaden Yuki from "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX"
*Eragon from "The Inheritance Cycle"
*Gordon Freeman from "Half Life"
*Squall Leonhart from "Final Fantasy VIII"
*Philip J. Fry from Futurama
*Usagi, the main character in the Sailor Moon manga
*Wataru Ikusabe from Wataru

Christ Figure

The Christ Figure is an extended metaphor where a character is strongly associated with or stands in for the religious figure of Jesus Christ. Narratives often present Christ figures as conspicuously moral and innocent, or as broken or wicked persons who find in the act of sacrificing themselves to a hostile world. This figure overlaps considerably with others such as "The Reluctant Hero" or "The Fool".

Examples include:
*Neo from "The Matrix".
*Vash the Stampede from "Trigun".
*Aslan the Lion from "The Chronicles of Narnia"
*Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker from "Star Wars"
*Optimus Prime from "Transformers"
*Superman from the "Superman film series"
*Spider-Man from "Spider-Man 2"
*Sydney Carton from "A Tale of Two Cities"
*The title character of "A Prayer for Owen Meany"
*E.T.
*John Coffey from The Green Mile
*Harry Potter
*Skulduggery Pleasant
*Takanuva from LEGO's "Bionicle" franchise.
*The Doctor from "Doctor Who".

=The Reluctant Hero=

Often overlapping with the "Chosen One", this hero is usually an ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances beyond his/her control that will require a great deal of effort and peril on his/her part. This hero has reservations about fulfilling their heroic obligations for various reasons, such as disbelief in their importance, or the desire to live a simple life.

Examples of the reluctant hero include:
*Bilbo Baggins of "The Hobbit"
*Harry Potter
*Theo Farren of "Children Of Men"
*Han Solo of "Star Wars"
*Richard Rahl of "The Sword of Truth" series of books.
*Ari of ""
*Shinji Ikari of "Neon Genesis Evangelion"
*John McClane of Die Hard
*Peter Parker of Spider Man
*Aang of
*Belgarion of The Belgariad and The Malloreon
*Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy VII
*Shrek
*Blart
*Will Turner

The Clumsy Hero

A well-meaning person who often accidentally injures friend and foe alike, seeing through their blundering outside, the Clumsy Hero generally has a righteous purpose to achieve and only wishes to help others around him/her self, nevertheless it often results in disorder.
*Inspector Gadget
*Thomson and Thompson
*Inspector Clouseau
*Edward Scissorhands
*Ernest P. Worrell
*Dirty Pair
*Gilligan of "Gilligan's Island"
*Maxwell Smart of "Get Smart"
*Captain Nice
*WALL-E

The Orphaned Hero

One of the most common heroes in literature, film, and other media. Someone whose parents were killed by the antagonist, evil people, an accident or simply died when he or she was young. He or she is often adopted by their uncle and/or aunt who either plays a villainous role (as in Harry Potter or Cinderella) or a mentoring one (as in Spider-Man), and usually overlaps with one of the other categories (chosen one, reluctant hero, etc.). Examples include:

*Frodo Baggins of "The Lord of the Rings"
*Spider Man
*Batman
*Harry Potter
*Oliver Twist
*Mowgli of "The Jungle Book"
*Littlefoot of "The Land Before Time"
*Cinderella
*Lara Croft of "Tomb Raider"
*Short Round of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
*Babar the Elephant
*Annie of "Little Orphan Annie"
*Luke Skywalker of "Star Wars"
*Naruto Uzumaki of "Naruto"
*Link of The Legend of Zelda
*Vaan of Final Fantasy XII
*Fox McCloud of Star Fox
*Shimon of "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann"

The Haunted Hero

The Haunted Hero must deal with a traumatic or tragic past or some supernatural power or curse, which has usually been with them since childhood, before he or she can triumph. Examples include:
*Hamlet
*Jason Bourne of the Bourne Trilogy
*Gabriel Van Helsing from "Van Helsing"
*Angel from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel"
*Jean Valjean of "Les Miserables"
*Harry Potter
*Batman
*Cloud Strife
*Jack Bauer
*Richard Kimble in The Fugitive
*The Hulk
*Constantine
*Simba
*The Punisher
*Naruto Uzumaki
*Benjamin Martin, "The Patriot"

The Born Loser/The Fall Guy

A very friendly and considerate fellow with whom the audience is meant to sympathize. He (occasionally she) means well, and works very hard to achieve his goals only to fail miserably through no fault of his own, and constantly gets victimized by both his peers and Fate. Examples include:

*Charlie Brown of the "Peanuts" comic strip
*Meg Griffin from "Family Guy"
*Milhouse Van Houten of "The Simpsons"
*Gaylord "Greg" Focker of "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers"
*Seymour from "The Little Shop of Horrors"
* Job from the Book of Job in the Bible
* Stanley Yelnats from "Holes"
*Josh Nichols from "Drake and Josh"
*Bill Dauterive from "King of The Hill"

The Competent Man"'

Can do anything well; repair a machine, fight, cook a meal, build a house, etc. A Jack-of-all-Trades. The heroes (and heroines) of Robert A. Heinlein's fiction are generally Competent Men, especially Lazarus Long.

The most famous examples of Competent Men include
*Mario
*Indiana Jones
*Samurai Jack
*Cordell Walker
*Dirk Pitt
*MacGyver
*James Bond
*Odysseus
*Ben Gates of National Treasure
*The Doctor from Doctor Who is a self-proclaimed "Jack-of-all-Trades, Master of nothing" in contrast to his nemesis's self appointed title "Master of All Things."
*Will Turner from Pirates of the Caribbean
*Westley from The Princess Bride

The Everyman

The opposite of the Competent Man; an ordinary person often thrust into extraordinary circumstances who must find a way to triumph without the benefit of special abilities or the variety of skills possessed by the Competent Man. The Everyman is often an audience identification figure.

Examples include
*Xander Harris from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
*Arthur Dent of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
*Nathan Drake from ""
* Evey Hammond from V for Vendetta
*Samwise Gamgee from "The Lord of the Rings"
*Hank Hill from "King of the Hill"

=The Contender=

An athlete with raw talent, but who must rely on the guidance of a "Wise Old Man" or similar character in order to overcome internal limitations in order to triumph.Examples of this are:
*Rocky Balboa
*Liu Kang
*Daniel Larusso from The Karate Kid.
*Dan Millman from "Peaceful Warrior".
*Luke Skywalker from "Star Wars"

The Loose cannon or "Cop on the Edge"

A reckless cop forced to bend the rules to see justice served. Sometimes overlaps with the anti-hero. Examples include:
* John McClane from the "Die Hard" series of films
* Raphael (TMNT) from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon franchise
* Shaft
* "Dirty" Harry Callahan
* Jack Bauer of "24"
* Vic Mackey from "The Shield"
* Jimmy McNulty from "The Wire"
* Bud White in "L.A. Confidential"
* Eric Matthews from "Saw 2"
* Axel Foley from the "Beverly Hills Cop" series
* Jane Tennison from the "Prime Suspect" series
* The Continental Op from many works of Dashiell Hammett

=The Wise Old Man=

An elderly character who offers advice and guidance to the protagonists. Examples include:
*Merlin
*Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings"
* Splinter (TMNT) from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon franchise
*Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda from "Star Wars"
*Albus Dumbledore from "Harry Potter"
* Druid Getafix
*Peppy Hare from Star Fox

The Elderly Martial Arts Master

A more specific class of the "Wise Old Man" archetype, is typically an extremely old Asian man who is nonetheless a near invincible master of the martial arts, in the case of some anime the male wise old man may end up being a pervert, for example:
*Pai Mei from the "Kill Bill" movies
*Muten Roshi from "Dragon Ball"
*Keisuke Miyagi from "The Karate Kid"
*Chui-hui, also known as "the True Master", from the "Teen Titans"
*Libra Dohko from "Saint Seiya"
* Iroh from ""
*Jiraiya from "Naruto"
*Master Splinter from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

The Honest Thief

Only steals to live or for vengeance on the rich. Typically gives to the poor. Often suave or cheeky. Archetype depicted as a fox, may overlap with "the Repentant Traitor" and/or "the Trickster". Examples include:
* Robin Hood
* Saint Tail
* Sly Cooper
* Reynard the Fox
* Monkey Punch's Lupin III
* Malcolm Reynolds from "Firefly"
* Omar Little from "The Wire"
* Gonff the Mousethief in the "Redwall" books
* Zidane Tribal from the RPG game "Final Fantasy IX"
* Aladdin
* The Zorro
* Asterix
* The Grey Fox from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

=The Lovable Rogue=

Full of confidence and friendly, but doesn’t recognize local customs and isn't overly sophisticated. A few good examples are:

*Falco Lombardi from Star Fox
* Han Solo from "Star Wars"
* Jack Sparrow from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" universe
* Crocodile Dundee
* Enrico Polini from "Rat Race"
* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Buddy the Elf from "Elf"
* Barry Bee Benson from "Bee Movie"
*Malcolm Reynolds from "Firefly"
*Monkey D. Luffy from "One Piece"
*Princess Giselle from "Enchanted"
*Robin Hood
*Ferris Bueller
*Goku from Dragon Ball Z
*Captain Jack Harkness from "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood"
*Mello from Death Note

The Outlaw

A cold-blooded desperado, as opposed to the Honest Thief or Lovable Rogue, but could become either type. A few examples are

*Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" character from the "Man With No Name" movies.

*Deidara from "Naruto"

*Mello from "Death Note"

The Humbled Hero

Starts out as a rich and powerful, but arrogant and selfish, character. He soon has his fortunes reversed, and he is forced to befriend a firm but honest and kindly companion as he struggles to get his status back, becoming a better person in the process.Examples include:
*Lightning McQueen from "Cars".
*Kuzco from "The Emperor's New Groove".
*Louis Winthorpe III from Trading Places.
*Harvey Cheyne Jr. from "Captains Courageous".
*Kareem Said from "Oz".
*Huo Yuan Jia from "Fearless".
*Om from "Small Gods".
*Ricky Bobby from "".
*Kamen Rider Sasword (Kamishiro Tsurugi) from "Kamen Rider Kabuto".
*Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad from "Assassins Creed".
*Luke fon Fabre from "Tales of the Abyss".
*Rodrigo Mendoza from "The Mission(film)"

The Nerd

Always with his pocket protector, spectacles, and usually a strange or old-fashioned name. Often also struck with a speech impediment. He frequently has an ardent, futile crush on the "Pretty Ugly Girl" but can’t get her attention because she herself has a crush on "The Jock" or the "Nice Guy". Examples include:
*Neil Goldman from "Family Guy"
*Steve Urkel from "Family Matters"
*William in "Can't Hardly Wait"
*Farmer Ted in "Sixteen Candles"

The Reclusive Genius

An intelligent and antisocial character that is either a main character or has some of relation to one. He usually no longer interacts with the outside world and antagonizes the main characters for most of the story, but provides crucial support at the story's climax. Examples are:
*Artemis Fowl from the series of the same name
*Gregory House from "House"
*Mycroft Holmes, the brother of Sherlock Holmes
*Herbert West from "Re-Animator"
*Shikamaru Nara from "Naruto"
*L and Near from "Death Note"
*The Brain from "Brick"

The Whiz kid

A brainy sidekick to the hero. Often the weakest physically of the group. As a result, he can be useless in a fight, but knows his way around computers and technical stuff. Often witty, in an erudite way. Typically uses complex technical jargon in his or her speech. Examples:

*Coco of "Crash Bandicoot"
*Hermione Granger from the "Harry Potter" series
*Tucker Foley from "Danny Phantom"
*Velma Dinkley from "Scooby-Doo"
*Chloe O'Brian from "24"
*Willow Rosenberg of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
*Zach Addy of "Bones"
*Otacon from Metal Gear Solid series
*Edd of "Ed, Edd, and Eddy"
* The Professor from Gilligan's Island
*Lisa Simpson
*Sakura Haruno from Naruto
*Tails from the Sonic the Hedgehog series
*Luca from Chrono Trigger.

The Repentant Traitor"'

Often used in children's books and films, he starts out as a clear-cut villain, who is sent to infiltrate and betray the "good guys", but is won over by the kindness/goodness of the good guys and builds up a rapport or changes their actions to save a loved one on the "good guys'" side. Sometimes his defection is caused by abuse or a betrayal from the main villain. Changes side to join them, but in this almost always loses their trust in admitting to having worked for the enemy, and at this point becomes a true traitor in betraying his (or her) original side. Almost always killed or severely wounded in this change to the good guys. A repentant traitor can also be someone who was the main villain but was betrayed by someone who worked for them and helped the good side after being treated with kindness. Examples:

*Vegeta from "Dragonball Z"
*Darth Vader from "Star Wars"
*RJ from "Over the Hedge"
*Sheena Fujibayashi from "Tales of Symphonia".
*Diego from "Ice Age"
*Anya Jenkins/Anyaka from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
*Severus Snape from "Harry Potter"
*Juliet Burke from "Lost"
*Optimatus from Loonatics Unleashed
*Zuko from ""
*Mini-Me from the Austin Powers series

The Rookie

Often young, bright, and eager to please. Typically fresh out of school and often at the top of his/her class. They tend to act “by the book” because it is all they know; thus, they are often disturbed by the hero's sometimes unorthodox methods. Although the hero may occasionally lose patience with them, he knows that the rookie is valuable raw material with potential, ready to be shaped and molded. Examples:
*Lieutenant Saavik from "Star Trek"
*Harry Kim from ""
*Romana from "Doctor Who"
*Chitose Karasuma from "Galaxy Angel"
*Tadashi Daiba from "Captain Harlock"
*Buffy Summers and her companions from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
*Johnny Utah from "Point Break"
*Matt Farrell from "Live Free or Die Hard"
*Apollo Justice from Ace Attorney

econd string villain turned hero

Very persistent and invariably pursues the hero with a personal vendetta. Usually a flunky of the main villain or a petty criminal acting on their own. They are usually shown as incompetent and not taken too seriously by either their enemies or allies (this is less common in anime or other Japanese-based series such as Power Rangers, where the same archetype generally starts out as a powerful adversary). Like the Repentant Traitor, they have been known to reform when the hero treats them with compassion having witnessed their progressive fall into disgrace and humiliation. Also, they have acted as early placeholder villains who inevitably join with the hero when the true villain of the story comes on stage. Examples include:

*The Grandis Gang in the anime "Nadia".
*The DC Comic "Suicide Squad" has many members who were considered second string villains.
* Koshaku Chuno from "Buso Renkin"
* Buggy the Clown from "One Piece"
* Andrew Wells from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
* Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
* Zuko from ""
* Vegeta from "Dragon Ball Z"
* Team Rocket (Jessie, James and Meowth) from Pokemon.
* Thundra from the Fantastic Four comics.
* Wolf O'Donnell from the Star Fox series
* Xena from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess
* Gantu and 625 from Lilo and Stitch.

The Boy Next Door

He is often invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming, or "average" masculinity; he is the male counterpart of the "girl next door." He is a young man who is just discovering his physical and spiritual strengths, and still maintains an innocent wonder about them. There are a whole set of typical relations he may maintain in the story. The boy next door is often, but not always, the protagonist of a story. As such, his innocence, sincerity, and common origin will often be contrasted with the cleverness, hypocrisy, and privilege of the antagonist. The boy next door may have a sidekick. Often a femme fatale or a girl next door will be pulled between love for the boy next door and her desire for a luxurious life offered by the villain. Examples include:
* Aaron Samuels from "Mean Girls"
* Danny Fenton from Danny Phantom.
* Brandon Walsh from "Beverly Hills 90210"
* Yellow from "Pocket Monsters" (though eventually, it is revealed that Yellow is a girl in disguise)
* Ponyboy Curtis from "The Outsiders"
* Michael Ryan from "Secret Admirer"
* Peter Parker from Spiderman
* Tintin

The Nice Jock

The Nice Jock excels in athletics, while often being low on intelligence. His name usually only has one syllable. He tends to be the muscle of the group and is usually found on the outskirts of the Misfits. Examples include:
* Kevin from "Daria"
* Fred Jones of "Scooby-Doo"
* Moose Mason from the "Archie" comic strip
* Troy Bolton from "High School Musical" and "High School Musical 2"
* AC Slater from Saved by the Bell

The Bad Boy

The male counterpart of the Bad Girl, the Bad Boy/Rebel is usually a troubled and rebellious adolescent or young adult, often the black sheep of the family and a sort of outcast in school. His preferences in music, fashion or lifestyle are unconventional, alternative or non-mainstream. The Bad Boy is sometimes loud or obnoxious, and is not afraid to stand out in a crowd, an individual who doesn't care much about what anyone else thinks. Examples include:
* Bart Simpson
* Harima Kenji from "School Rumble"
* Dallas "Dally" Winston from "The Outsiders"
* Rusty James from "Rumble Fish "
* John Bender from "The Breakfast Club"
* Chuck Bass from "Gossip Girl"
*Kyo from "Fruits Basket"
*Mello from "Death Note"
*Fonzie from "Happy Days"
*Hidan from "Naruto"
* Shane Gray from "Camp Rock"

The bad boy is an archetype in popular culture for a rebel who is impulsive, brash and undeterred by social restrictions. Examples in film and entertainment include Tommy Lee, Clint Eastwood, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Vin Diesel, Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis and various rock stars. He is characterized by mysteriousness, non-conformity, extreme confidence, a seeming lack of concern with the restrictions of a moral compass along with apparent indifference toward what others think of him.

In seduction literature, the attraction of many beautiful women to the "bad boy" archetype is attributed both to his confidence, the rarity of this type of personality which makes him stand out, his intriguing mysteriousness, and his seeming indifference (perhaps springing from an overabundance of sexual options) [ [http://theophilusbong.multiply.com/journal/item/70/The_Feminization_of_Man_Male_Archetype_Part_IV Brown Monkey Theory - The Feminization of Man (Male Archetype ) Part IV ] ] and unavailability, which challenge her to "chase" him. This is in contrast to supplicating men who come off as needy and desperate to please her, which suggests lower value and thus ironically makes her less interested in them. [cite book|title=The Professional Bachelor|author=Tate, Brett|ISBN=978-0-09752640-2-7|pages=91-94]

The bad boy is an extremely common archetype in romance novels. [ [http://www.redriverromancewriters.com/article_template.php?articleName=archetype Red River Romance Writers - Article ] ]

The Outsider

Bad Boy type, he excludes himself from popular social circles and avoids people acting idiotic. His story is centred about a new life for him and how he gets into trouble with the new society. Examples include:
* Ryan Atwood from "The OC"
* Dylan McKay on "Beverly Hills 90210"
* Jim Stark from "Rebel Without a Cause"
*Jack Dawson from Titanic

The Mean Jock

The jock stereotype is used often in the mass media to portray a relatively unintelligent and unenlightened, but nonetheless physically and socially well endowed character. Rich, spoiled, popular and - usually a tall, physically fit, male in his late teens or early twenties - well-known for his athletic abilities. An antagonist who is often regarded as bullies to his peers, especially those who are not athletically inclined or don't play sports and does not have much of a tolerance for outsiders. Examples include:
* Luke Ward from "The OC"
* Flash Thompson in "Spider-man"
* Kim's wealthy athlete boyfriend Jim in "Edward Scissorhands"
* Dash Baxter in Danny Phantom
* Steve Powers in "Secret Admirer"'
* Johnny Lawrence in "The Karate Kid" trilogy
* Charles "Trout" Walker in "Holes"
* Cotton Hill from "King of the Hill"

The

Often a geeky teen, socially awkward. A person who is out of place, or outside the mainstream. Examples include:
* Seth Cohen from "The OC"
* Danny Fenton
* Plato from "Rebel Without a Cause"
* Peter Parker
* The Toxic Avenger

Sidekick

Assistant to the hero. Sometimes acting like a comic relief but can be surprisingly brave and resourceful. Examples include:
* Luigi from the "Mario" series
* Robin from the "Batman" comic book series
* Festus Haggen on "Gunsmoke"
* Streaky on "Krypto the Superdog"
* Miles "Tails" Prower from "Sonic the Hedgehog"
* Samwise Gamgee from "The Lord of the Rings"
* The Scoobie Gang from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
* Ron Weasley from "Harry Potter"
* Kato on "The Green Hornet"
* Sancho Panza in Don Quixote
* Obelix
* Captain Haddock
* Slippy Toad from Star Fox
* Matt from Death Note
* The Doctor's varying companions.

References