Characters Fans Love

Fiction, whether urban fantasy, science fiction, high fantasy, supernatural, or any other genre, is filled with numerous characters to which audiences have become endeared over the decades. These characters, who come in all manner of shapes and sizes, can all fit into one of many categories, which we call “archetypes.” Archetypes are the building blocks—the foundation and skeletal framework by which we craft characters. The superhero genre (and its associated subgenres) is no exception to this. In fact, it contains some of the most pronounced examples of leveraging archetypes in fiction.

What is an Archetype?

When we use the term “archetype,” what do we actually mean? There are a few angles to tackle this from, but to keep it topical and practical, let’s keep the focus within the superhero genre. Though it is true that when many talk about character archetypes, they are referring to the personalities or the roles that they play within their respective stories, we’re going to focus on the types of characters we see populate comic book universes. Within this framework, we can see the various characters that make a world feel diversely populated in terms of abilities and power levels. You have your more “punchy” street-level vigilantes, your heavily tech-reliant guys who are often some form of genius, master magic wielders and users who manipulate the different mystical energies in their respective worlds, your “supers,” speedsters, non-powered weapon specialists, and more.

What is the Purpose of Archetypes?

Fans of things tend to have certain expectations of said things. Catering to your desired audience is an important facet of creating something that they will become invested in for the long run—excitedly following your characters and stories for, hopefully, many years after their initial introduction. An archetypical framework is just that, something that can be used to build upon for new and interesting characters that your readers’ initial interest will be piqued by due to familiarity with other things they like. Have you ever said to a friend or family member, “Hey, I know you like that thing; you may also like this thing?” We do this all the time, often without realizing it. Archetypes in comic books can be used just so. We at The Rippaverse have done exactly this very recently, in fact. Chuck Dixon and Joe Bennett’s latest creation, The Horseman, would fall into the physically brutal, non-powered street-level vigilante archetype for comic book characters. Comic fans who enjoy characters such as Punisher, Batman, Daredevil (sans the superhuman sensory bits), and other similar characters should feel right at home with a copy of The Horseman: Welcome to Florespark in their hands. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Chuck Dixon has written some of the best runs on more than one of these very aforementioned characters.