Competent man

In literature, the competent man or competent woman is a stock character who can do anything perfectly, or at least exhibits a very wide range of abilities and knowledge, making him a form of polymath. While not the first to use such a character type, the heroes (and heroines) of Robert A. Heinlein's fiction are generally competent men/women (with Jubal Harshaw being a prime example), and one of Heinlein's characters Lazarus Long gives a good summary of requirements:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

The competent man, more often than not, is written without explaining how he achieved his wide range of skills and abilities, especially as true expertise typically suggests practical experience instead of learning through books or formalized education alone. While not implausible with older or unusually long lived characters, when such characters are young it is often not adequately explained as to how they acquired so many skills at an early age. It would be easy for a reader to form the impression that the competent man is just basically a superior sort of human being.

Many non-superpowered comic book characters are written as hyper-competent characters due to the perception that they would simply be considered underpowered otherwise. Batman, for example, is typically depicted as a member of the Justice League of America alongside Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, all of whom are superpowered whilst he lacks superhuman powers of any kind. As a result, despite his original depiction as a vigilante, modern depictions of Batman portray him as having achieved the peak-human possibility in all things physical and intellectual. The same treatment has been applied to Lex Luthor, who has always been Superman's archenemy despite the former's total lack of superhuman powers.

Examples

• Sherlock Holmes
• Adam Reith, from Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure series
• Aragorn
• Aloysius Pendergast, from the fiction of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
• Batman
• Cyrus Smith from Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island and other protagonists of this author
• Doc Savage
• The Doctor (Doctor Who)
• Derek Flint
• James Bond
• Modesty Blaise
• Tony Stark
• Gregory House
• Angus MacGyver
• Indiana Jones
• John Galt, from Atlas Shrugged
• Sam Beckett, from Quantum Leap (television)
• Yoko Tsuno
• Jarod - The title character in The Pretender TV Series, an extreme example who acquires competence at nearly superhuman speeds.
• Ferdinand Waldo Demara - A real-world Competent Man whose exploits inspired numerous biographical and fictional works including The Pretender TV Series.
• Peter Wimsey
• P. G. Wodehouse's Psmith, and Jeeves
• Stile, from Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series
• Francisco d'Anconia, from Atlas Shrugged.
• The Stainless Steel Rat, hero of Harry Harrison's series of the same name.
• Westley in The Princess Bride
• Nicole Des Jardins (Rama II and its sequels by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee), is an example of a competent woman.
• John Taylor of Simon R. Green's Nightside series, most especially his ability to take bullets out of people's guns without their noticing.
• Michael Westen from Burn Notice
• The Most Interesting Man in the World from the Dos Equis advertising campaign.
• Edmond Dantès from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, père
• Many of Alfred Hitchcock's early protagonists
• Many of Clive Cussler's protagonists, for example Dirk Pitt.
• Many of Neal Stephenson's novels
• Many of Robert Ludlum's protagonists, for example Jason Bourne.
• Samurai Jack
• Buckaroo Banzai
• Paul Muad'Dib
• Paladin from Have Gun--Will Travel

References