Stock character

A stock character is a fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to members of a given culture. Because of this, a frequent device of both comedy and parody is to wildly exaggerate the expected mannerisms of stock characters.

In the United States, courts have determined that copyright protection can not be extended to the characteristics of stock characters in a story, whether it be a book, play, or film. Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corporation, 45 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1930).

History

Ancient Greece

By the loosest definition, stock characters have been around even since the tragedy of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, having drawn upon the pool of mythological characters. Although mythological characters are not representations of real people, they are a group that would have been fully recognized by ancient audiences. Mythological characters do tend to fall under the now-established types. Characters like Mercury, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Prometheus, for example, represented the ever-present fool character as "jesters to the gods."

Stock Characters, in a stricter definition, first emerged in form of theater. The Greek Old Comedy of Aristophanes, for example, typically employed three stocks: the alazon, the boastful imposter, his ironic opponent, the eiron, and, of course, the buffoon, known as the bomolochos. The fact that the prototypes of Old Comedy were assigned an accent costume piece or prop, illustrates the desire to have the audience readily recognize the characters as stock. The servants wore short-sleeved cassock, parasites carried a short truncheon, rural deities, shepherds, and peasants held a crook, heralds and ambassadors, had the caduceus; kings held a sceptre, heroes, a club, and old men, carried a crooked staff.

Aristotle

As Aristotle explored theories of how to achieve happiness, he discussed the virtues of people surrounding him, and, perhaps unintentionally, was the first person to study characters.

Book IV of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics encourages "liberality," "magnificence," "noble-mindedness," "ambitiousness," "mercy," "politeness," "sincerity," "wit," and "bashfulness". Following this, he sketched such characters as the "rich man of vulgar profusion," the "vain-glorious," the "great-souled man," the "choleric," the "good tempered man," the "officious," the "contentious," the "self-detractor," and the "buffoon."

In his Rhetoric, Aristotle explored how "young men, old men, men in their prime, well-born men, rich men, men of power, men of good fortune" varied emotionally. Although Aristotle's work closely resembles what came to be known as the Character, Ethics and Rhetoric contained "disquisitions," not Characters.

Theophrastus

The study of the Character, as it is now known, was conceived by Aristotle's student Theophrastus. In The Characters (c. 319 BC), Theophrastus inaugurated the "character sketch," which became the core of "the Character as a genre." It included 30 character typesâ€" twenty-six moral types, four social types. Each type is said to be an illustration of an individual who represents a group, characterized by the trait which dominates him. The Theophrastan types are as follows:

* The Insincere Man (Eironeia)
* The Flatterer (Kolakeia)
* The Garrulous Man (Adoleschia)
* The Boor (Agroikia)
* The Complaisant Man (Areskeia)
* The Man without Moral Feeling (Aponoia)
* The Talkative Man (Lalia)
* The Fabricator (Logopoiia)
* The Shamelessly Greedy Man (Anaischuntia)
* The Pennypincher (Mikrologia)

* The Offensive Man (Bdeluria)
* The Hapless Man (Akairia)
* The Officious Man (Periergia)
* The Absent-Minded Man (Anaisthesia)
* The Unsociable Man (Authadeia)
* The Superstitious Man (Deisidaimonia)
* The Faultfinder (Mempsimoiria)
* The Suspicious Man (Apistia)
* The Repulsive Man (Duschereia)
* The Unpleasant Man (Aedia)

* The Man of Petty Ambition (Mikrophilotimia)
* The Stingy Man (Aneleutheria)
* The Show-Off (Alazoneia)
* The Arrogant Man (Huperephania)
* The Coward (Deilia)
* The Oligarchical Man (Oligarchia)
* The Late Learner (Opsimathia)
* The Slanderer (Kakologia)
* The Lover of Bad Company (Philoponeria)
* The Basely Covetous Man (Aischrokerdeia)

It is unclear where Theophrastus derived these types. Many clearly echo those from Nicomachean Ethics. Despite the fact that Theophrastus sought to portray a character type and not an individual, some of the sketches, it is presumed, may have been drawn from observations of actual persons in Athenian public life. Although, Theophrastus wrote that he intended to catalogue "human nature, associate[ed] with all sorts and conditions of men and contrast[ed] in minute detail the good and bad among them," it is clear that many types are not represented. This is especially noticeable because each of the thirty characters represents a negative characteristic ("the bad"); it is therefore suspected that another half of the work, covering the positive types ("the good"), once existed.

New Comedy

New Comedy was the first theatrical form to have access to Theophrastus' Characters. Menander was said to be a student of Theophrastus; it is no wonder he is remembered for his prototypical cooks, merchants, farmers and slave characters. Although we have few extant works of New Comedy, simply the titles of Menander's plays have a "Theophrastan ring." These titles include The Fisherman, The Farmer, The Superstitious Man, The Peevish Man, The Promiser, The Heiress, The Priestess, The False Accuser, The Misogynist, The Hated Man, The Shipmaster, The Slave, The Concubine, The Soldiers, The Widow, The Noise-Shy Man.

Mimistry

Another early form that illustrates the beginnings of the Character is the mime. Greco-Roman mimic playlets often told the stock story of the fat, stupid husband who returned home to find his wife in bed with a lover, and therefore loosely portrayed stock characters. Although the mimes were not confined to playing stock characters, the mimus calvus was an early reappearing character. Mimus calvus resembled Maccus, the buffoon from the fabula atellana or Atellan Farce. The Atellan Farce is highly significant in the study of the Character in that it contained the first true stock characters. The Atellan Farce employed four fool types. In addition to Maccus, Bucco, the glutton, Pappus, the naÃ¯ve old man (the fool victim), and Dossennus, the cunning hunchback (the trickster). One additional character, Manducus, the chattering jawed pimp, also appeared in the Atellan Farce, possibly out of an adaptation of Dossennus. The Roman mime is also of the same family Papus; Bucco, and Dossennus of the Atellan farce.

Roman input

Plautus

The Roman playwright Plautus drew from Atellan Farce as well as the Greek Old and New Comedy. He expanded the four types of Atellan Farce to eight (not quite as distinct as the farcical types). The types include the old man, probably a miser; the young man, possibly the miser's son, who rebels against authority; il furbo, the smart slave, il stupido, the stupid slave; the parasite; the courtesan; the slave dealer or pimp; and Miles Gloriosus, the braggart soldier. Plautus's fool was either the slave or parasite.

Laertius

In revision of Theophrastus, Diogenes Laertius published Ethical Characters (Circa 230 BC), sparking interest in two lines of study.

The first is that of the character book. Imitators of Theophrastus including Satyrus Atheneus, Heracleides Ponticus, Lycon, and Rutilius Lupus wrote their own character sketches. Circa 212 BC, Ariston's discourse on morality included several proud Character types and mimicked the Theophrastan style. Following Philodemus of Gadara's work on "Self seeking Affability" and Ariston's characters, evidence of acquaintance with the genre is present, however popularity of the portrait over the generalized stock figures in increasing. This may explain the gap of time from the beginning of the Common Era to the 16th century marked by an absence of character sketching.

The second field is the study of nomenclature. As the Character rose as a literary genre, many terms were coined in attempt to place labels on the new subject. The translation Theophrastus' title is based on the terms charassein and Charakter, associated with the stamping of an impression. Rhetorica ad Herennium (c. 20 BC), attributed to Cicero, split the character up into two qualities: effictio, the description of physical appearance, and notation, the nature of man. Later in his De Inventione, Cicero divided the character, or conformation as he called it, into eleven points: name, nature (natura), way of life (victus), fortune (fortuna), physical appearance (habitus), passions (affectio), interests (studium), reasons for doing things (consilium), one's deeds (factum), what happens to one (casus), one's discourses (orationes). Seneca, too, played a part in providing labels for the new genre in his Epistulae Morale, using the terms ethologia and characterismos for characteristic conduct of moral types. Circa 93 AD, Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria discussed the effect of personality on rhetoric and in so doing, coined the terms ethopoeia, an orator's imitation of another person's character or habits, and prosopopoeia, the same thing, but with a dramatization of the person as well as the giving of his words. Other terms conceived in the period include figurae sententiarum and descriptio personae. Decorum, the rhetorical principle that an individual's words and subject matter are appropriately matched, also became a relevant term, and would remain significant into the Renaissance.

Supersession by philosophy

The Roman "perverse admiration for decorum," is in part responsible for the deterioration and the resulting blackout period of the Character genre. During this blackout, the Character smoldered under the philosophies of such men as Horace. In the Ars Poetica (c. 18 BC), Horace drew pictures of typical men at various ages, from childhood through senility. Horace's belief that "what is typical of a class should be observable in the individual," was illustrated in his epistles classifying Achilles as a man of rage and love, Paris, an impractical lover, and Ulysses, the model of virtue and wisdom. Others such as Hermogenes, Aphthonius, and Priscian shared this belief and sought to explore the workings of human nature.

English resurgence

Steady return

In Medieval England, the character began its slow recovery. This seems an appropriate setting, because the existence of feudalism at this time created clear types in society.

The Canterbury Tales of Chaucer included prototypical characters, including moral and professional types as well as astrological or physiological classifications. The use of allegorical characters, such as Death, Everyman, Strength, Discretion, Beauty, Fellowship, Knowledge, and Good-Deeds, Avaricia, is a device not unlike the use of stock characters. Although both will be recognized by society and represent an institution beyond the individual, stock characters are representative of actual men, while allegorical characters are horizontal studies of one tendency in all men. Works such as Vision of Piers Plowman (c 1380) and Everyman (c 1520) employed such allegories. The English Mystery plays, also contained a form of prototypical character: the vice or devil, and the clown. Although some trace these characters no farther that our natural proclivity for fools, the devil and clown figures seem to have descended from the satirical interludes of the Grecian stage (the satyr play), the Fabula Atellana of Rome theaters, and the Exodiarii and Emboliaria of the mimes. Brant-Barclay's Ship of Fools (1494) drew upon these simple characters of mystery plays, miracle plays, and morality plays to create this early source of strong medieval sketches.

Erasmus proved to have a deep understanding of the Character in his De Duplici Copia Verborum ac Rerum (1512). In Copia, Erasmus sketched the moral types of "amantis," "luxoriosi," "avari," and "voracis," as well as the "pretender to wealth." Especially significant was his sketch of the "pseudoplutus," which connected the Character with the type-personages of Plautus and Terence. Erasmus also painted vivid sketches in his Moriae Encomium (Praise of Folly) (1509).

Flourishing of ideas

At this point, the Character genre was on it way to being recollected, as evidenced by the many editions of Theophrastus published between the years 1527 and 1599. During these years, several additional sources, too, suggested the coming reemergence of the Character. Thomas Wilson's Arte of Rhetorique (1553) made use of the term descriptio in sketching the pinch-penny. Richard Sherry's Treatise of the Figures of Grammer and Rhetorike (1555) revisted the terms characterismus and effictio in imitating Erasmus. George Pettie's translation of Guazzo's Civile Conversation (1586) included what may have been the first post-Ciceronian attempt to enumerate the divisions of society. Pettie's divisions included "young men and old, gentlemen and yeomen, princes and private persons, learned and unlearned, citizens and strangers, religious and secular, men and women." George Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie (1589) also took a part in the nomenclature trend. Puttenham used the term prosopogrphia describing sketches of real people and set it apart from the previously coined term prosopopoeia, which Puttenham took to describe the personification of abstractions. Other significant titles of the period include Fraterinty of Vocabondes (1561) by Awdeley, Caveat or Warening, for Commen Corsetors (1567) by Thomas Harman, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (1587) by Sir Philip Sidney, Pierce Penilesse (1592) by Nashe, and Wits Miserie (1596) by Lodge.

New genres

The real impetus to establish a new genre came only in 1592 and 1599, when Isaac Casaubon publish the Greek text together with Latin translations, an elaborate commentary, and a â€˜Prolegomena' discussing literary connections. Casaubon coined the terms "Characters Ethici" and "Notationes Morum" and set the concept of the Character whirring with Renaissance spirit. Following Casaubon, Ben Jonson produced several works highly influenced by the Character. Cynthia's Revels (1600) is said to contain the first genuine English Characters. Every Man Out of His Humour (1600) and Volpone (1606) also follow the Theophrastan model.

Shakespeare, too, contributed to the genre of Character, although not quite as straightforwardly as Jonson. Shakespeare was known for his remarkable ability to write a broad range of characters. Although he was interested in writing realistic character, in exploring various types, he, of course, hit on several stocks. Shakespeare especially employed the fool character in many of his plays: Feste in Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Lavatch and Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well, and Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, Touchstone in As You Like It. Because of his ability to write realistic, complex, multidimensional characters, Shakespeare rarely wrote true stock characters. However, he often settled on rounded characters, stock types with individualized twists.

The genre continued to climb with Joseph Hall's Characters of Virtues and Vices (1608). Hall is thought to be responsible for the unquestioned emergence of the Character as a distinctive and acknowledged literary form. At last coining the term "character," Hall present nine virtuous and fifteen vicious types, all moral or psychological, based on Christian ideals. Among these types are the wise man, the honest man, the faithful man, the valiant man, the humble man, the patient, the truly noble, the good magistrate, the busy-body, the superstitious, the malcontent, the flatterer, the covetous, the vain-glorious, the hypocrite, the profane, the unconstant, the slothful, the ambitious, the envious, the unthrift, and the distrustful. Especially of note is Hall's sketch of "the good magistrate," for it is said to bridge the gap between innumerable analytic and satiric pictures of feudal Estates written before Hall and the numerous Characters of social and professional classes written after Hall.

Around the time of Hall, a new stock-based form was developing in England. The puppet tradition known as Punch and Judy, involved a trickster on strings. Although the lazy, gluttenous Punch, resembles Bucco and Maccus from the Atellan Farce, such a stock character is present in all stock pools. Such forms came easily with the new awareness of character building up in England.

The pinnacle

The Character genre finally reaches its pinnacle with Sir Thomas Overbury's A Wife: Witty Characters Written by Himselfe and Other Learned Gentlemen His Friends (1614). The most famous of the 17th-century Character-books, Overbury included 83 types in his fullest edition. Of these, 32 are speculated to have been written by John Webster, with others by Thomas Dekker and John Donne. In addition to the Theophrastan moral types, the Overburian characters include complex social types, including national representatives, women, and representatives of institutions. According to Overbury, his Character sketches are "pictures (real or personal) quaintlie drawne in various colours, all of them heightened by one shadowing." His Characters include A Good Woman, A Virtuous Widow, A Worthy Commander in the Wars, A Nobel and Retired House-keeper, A Very Very Woman, A Fair and Happy Milkmaid, A Mere Common Lawyer, A Mere Scholar, A Mere Pettifogger, An Arrant Horse-Courser, An Excellent Actor, An Almanac-maker, An Improvident Young Gallant, A Revered Judge, Fantastic Inns of Court Man, A Drunken Dutchman Resident in England, Cleargy Hypocrites, Clerke Hypocrites, A Sailor, A Whore, A Jesuit, and several prison types.

Other Character books

Although the Character sketch is said to have peaked with Overbury, A Wife was by no means the last character book. On the contrary, as the character sketch had become vogue, countless books continued to catalogue character prototypes. Some noteworthy works include John Stephens' Satyrical Essayes Characters (1615) including 50 types, and John Earle's Microcosmography (1628) including 76 types. Eloquentiae Sacre et Humanae Parallela Libri XVI (1619) by Nicholas Caussin, includes many "epidictici characters," moral and social types, and abstractions suggesting the origin of the types. Caussin alleges that "Garrulus" descends from Theophrastus and Horace; "Avarus, et Tenax" comes from Theophrastus and Plautus; and "Avarus Dives" is from Carthaginian saint Cyprianus. By 1665, the Character genre was so clearly defined that Ralph Johnson in his Scholar's Guide from the Accidence to the University, could outline the "Rules for Making a Character." In 1688, the Character first extended beyond England and into the mainland of Europe. Jean de La Bruyere's Les Caracteres, ou les Moeurs de ce Siecle was to become the first work of social criticism in French literature. La Bruyere systematically organized his types under the categories Of Works of the Mind, Of Personal merit, Of Women, Of the Affections, Of Society and Conversation, Of the Gifts of Fortune, Of the Town, Of the Court, Of the Great, Of the Sovereign and the State, Of Mankind, Of Opinions, Of Fashion, Of Certain Customs, Of the Pulpit, Of Free-Thinkers

Extemporal comedy

Perhaps by chance, this seems to have coincided with the beginnings of the extemporal comedy or commedia dell'arte. Most likely having descended from the Atellan Farce and the Greek and Roman mime, commedia began with four stock characters, first known as magnifichi (magnificent ones) and zanni (slaves), later receiving the names Pantalone, Dottore, Arlechino, and Scapino/Brighella. In 1667, in a comedy by Ravenscroft, appeared the character of Harlequin. Succeeding La Bruyere, Novelty; or Every Act a Play (1697) came to include Harlequin, Pantalone, Columbine, and Clown. Commedia flourished into a form that would mark the height of the stock character. Like in the Greek Old Comedy, stock costumes are important in assisting the audience in identifying the familiar type. The use of masks in Commedia helped the clear physical portrayed of the character. Masks also served to exaggerate the characters, aiding Commedia in its sense of satire. At no other point in theater history has a form so perfectly typifying the Character genre arisen.

The Innamorati or lovers of commedia dell'arte were stock characters in the sense that they appeared in every scenario, which often revolved around them. However, their lack of distinctive character was shown by their lack of masks, and the action took place about them, with other characters bringing about their fate.

Examples of stock characters

Heroes

* The Chosen One: must typically fulfil some ancient prophecy and then saves the world, frequently has Christ complex, or is a bland character that just epitomizes "the hero". Typically requires the help of a Wise Old Man or Elderly Martial Arts Master to fulfill this destiny. Almost always of apparently humble origins. Requires multiple sidekicks, often with radically different skills. Examples include Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, Neo from The Matrix, Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, Sydney Bristow in Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sailor Moon, Harry Potter, Garion/Belgarion from The Belgariad, Lyra in His Dark Materials, Sabriel in Sabriel, and Martin the Warrior and Matthias in the Redwall books. Almost always the central character.
*Not always the hero, but always on his or her side, 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 represent the Christ figure is represented as conspicuously moral and innocent, sometimes mentally challenged or if not, a broken or wicked person finds redemption either before or actually in the act of sacrificing themselves to a (usually) uncaring world. Sometimes, such a character is then resurrected. This figure overlaps considerably with others such as The Reluctant Hero or The Fool.
The Clumsy Hero: a well-meaning person who often accidentally destroys friend and foe alike, i. e., Inspector Gadget, Edward Scissorhands, Coop of Megas XLR, Frank Drebin of The Naked Gun series, or Inspector Jacques Clouseau of The Pink Panther. A variation of this character has appeared in many romantic comedies in recent years. Ben Stiller has frequently played this character type in such movies as There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers and Duplex. Jason Biggs is also well known for portraying well meaning, but clumsy leads.
* The Competent Man: can do anything well. Repair a machine, fight, cook a meal, build a house, etc. The heroes (and heroines) of Robert A. Heinlein's fiction are generally Competent Men, especially Lazarus Long. MacGyver is an example of a Hero who is also a Competent Man. Indiana Jones, James Bond and Odysseus are perhaps the most famous examples of Competent Men. I. M. Weasel was a satire of this character. Locke from Lost also represents some aspects of this character type.
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 (lack of discipline or confidence) in order to triumph in an athletic competition. Examples of this are Rocky Balboa and The Karate Kid.
The Cop on the Edge: a reckless cop forced to bend the rules to see justice served, such as Shaft, Dirty Harry, and Vic Mackey from The Shield. Sometimes overlaps with the anti-hero.
The Wise Old Man: an elderly character who offers advice and guidance to the protagonists. Examples include Gandalf from Lord of the Rings and Yoda from Star Wars.
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, for example Pai Mei from the Kill Bill movies, and Keisuke Miyagi from The Karate Kid.
The Magical Negro, another variant, in this case a miraculous black man or woman whose sole point of existence seems to derive from the need of the (white or Asian) main character to have a guide or tutor, as in American History X and Driving Miss Daisy or Guinan of the Star Trek franchise.
* The Haunted Hero: must deal with his or her traumatic past or some supernatural power or curse before he or she can win through. Examples include Batman, Van Helsing, Cloud Strife and Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII, Wolverine of the X-Men, Angel, and all of Dan Brown's heroes. Often a main character, but category includes many sidekicks or important but non-central characters such as Fiver in Watership Down. Often overlaps with the anti-hero.
The Honest Thief. Only steals to live or for vengeance on the rich. Typically gives to the poor. Often suave or cheeky. Hero of peasants or poor against the rich. Examples, Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Zorro, Saint Tail, Aladdin, Garret in the thief games (less noble than many of this archetype) Gnoff Prince of mousethieves in the Redwall books, Sam Starfall in freefall (webcomic) Most Outlaws, especially in Westerns and Ned Kelly. Often depicted as a fox, may overlap with the Repentant Traitor and/or the Trickster.
The Hooker with a heart of gold: a young, attractive prostitute (or any type of sex worker) who, despite her lowly station in life, is a world-wise and compassionate person. Examples: Vivian Ward from Pretty Woman.
* The Humbled Hero. He starts out as a rich and powerful character who is arrogant and selfish. He soon looses the things he has, and he is forced to befriend a firm but honest and kindly companion as he struggles to get his wealth and power back while becoming a better and more humble person. Such examples include Lightning McQueen fromCars, Kuzco from The Emperor's New Groove, and Harvey Cheyne Jr. from Captains Courageous.
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, desire to merely live a simple life, deviation from what is natural to their character, or simply overcoming fear in the face of apparent impossibility. Examples of the reluctant hero include Frodo Baggins of The Lord of the Rings, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series, and Todd McFarlane's Spawn. Occasionally overlaps with the anti-hero.
The Repentant Traitor. A stock character, often used in children's books and films, who originally was a clear cut villain, often a loyal or high ranking one, who is sent to infiltrate and betray the "good guys". Always won over by the kindness/goodness of the good guys and builds up a rapport or changes their actions to save a loved one, often a son or love interest, on the 'good guys' side. Sometimes his defection is brought about when he is betrayed by the 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. Example include Darth Vader, Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun), Iago in Disney's Aladdin, Gantu and 625 in Lilo and Stitch, Diego in Ice Age, Sullivan in the Secret of NIMH, Isaac in the black tapestries webcomic, Gambit in X-Men, Smurfette the female Smurf and Veil in Outcast of Redwall amongst others such as Balaam, Rahab, and Saint Paul, in the Bible. Almost always male in western sources but more often female in Japanese animation. May be linked to the "fact foxes" (such as Isaac), often seen as sneaky or traitorous and the ideal for this character type are traditionally anthropomorphised as male in Europe but female in China and Japan. Often overlap with anti-hero.
Sidekick: assistant to the hero. Sometimes acting like a comic relief but can be surprising brave and resourceful. Examples are Streaky the cat on Krypto the Superdog; Launchpad McQuack on Ducktales & Darkwing Duck; Robin on Batman; Festus Haggen (played by Ken Curtis) on Gunsmoke; Pat Patton on Dick Tracy.
*Heroic Scientist: Less common than the mad scientist, uses their knowledge for the good of mankind, even at personal risk. Always moral, courageous, unorthodox and liberal in their views. Typically laid back and unconventional, usually far more charismatic than the stereotypical scientist. Could be an older father, grandfather or favorite uncle figure, or a younger man with boyish charm. Examples of both include The Doctor from Doctor Who, Professor Bernard Quatermass, Henry Pym (Marvel Comics), Dr. Emil Lang (Robotech), Dr. Benton Quest, and Victor Bergman (Space: 1999). Female versions are often strong, opinionated and independent but rarely extreme feminist. Examples include Liz Shaw from Doctor Who and Jadzia Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The Shrew: An ill-tempered leading lady who, upon first meeting the leading man, makes her displeasure towards him very clear. She is mostly verbally abusive to the hero, but physical violence is never ruled out. As time passes, the shrew begins to warm up to the hero, and sexual tension between them gradually escalated. In the end, the two finally succumb to romance, they have sex and/or get married. Examples: Maddy Hayes from Moonlighting, Katherine from William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew, Naru Narusegawa from Love Hina, and Akane Tendo from Ranma 1/2.

Villains and Anti-heroes

* The Corrupted Hero. An honest and idealistic person who tries to achive wealth and/or power in order to help the people of his community and to fight against the corruption of the establishment that runs his world. He soon gets corrupted by his new found power, however, and he forsakes his good intentions as he becomes as corrupt and ruthless as the establishment he fights. Such examples include MacBeth, Darth Vader, Willie Stark of All the King's Men, and Charles Foster Kane of Citizen Kane.
* The Snoop. A local busybody who is always trying to expose the hero's greatest secret for his own personal gain with unsuccessful results. Denzel Crocker of the Fairly OddParents, Professor Rotwood of The American Dragon: Jake Long, Robbie Rotten of Lazy Town, and Baily of Krypto the Superdog are such examples.
* The Reluctant Villain. An honest and decent person who transforms into an evil villain through forces he is unable to control (magic, science, insanity, etc.). He doesn't enjoy his evil alter ego, and he does everything in his power to supress it. Such examples include Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Hulk, Wolf Man, and Amakusa from Samurai Shodown.
The Bad FiancÃ©: a villain who is romantically interested in the heroine, sometimes despite a lack of interest on her part. Often, the FiancÃ© is rich and snobbish or macho and sexist. The heroine will typically choose a seemingly less desirably male character to become romantically involved, leading to jealousy on the part of the FiancÃ©. The FiancÃ© may be in cahoots with the heroine's mother, who is usually a snob. Caledon Hockley from Titanic, Gaston in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and Isaac from black tapestries webcomic are examples.
The Big Boss: Chief Villain such as Big Boy in Dick Tracy, Big Boss from Metal Gear, Enemy Spy Org Chief Wo-Fat of Hawaii Five-O or Dr. Zin in Johnny Quest. Keeps popping up or is "brought back to life" so that the Hero may remain in mortal danger. The classic example is Lex Luthor from Superman or Magneto in X-men.
* The Black Moustache Villain: melodramatic villain dressed in black hat/or dark clothes/and or black mustache and/or goetee & sneering laugh. While popular in old westerns, the archetype has become more of a gag character in recent years. Some examples are Snidely Whiplash and Dick Dastardly.
Tragic Villain: An antagonist who is villainous, but sympathetic, because he only commits evil deeds because of some affliction or character flaw (especially insanity or unrequited love) or out of bitterness from some tragic event in his past. Usually, these villains would be good characters if their afflictions/tragic pasts were nonexistent. Examples include Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost; the Frankenstein Monster, Claude Frollo in various versions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Christopher Carrion in the Abarat series, and the Phantom in various incarnations of The Phantom of the Opera. A modern example would be Commodore James Norrington in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Another example would include heroes that are inherently good and loyal, but under the command of people bent on evil and destruction - examples are General Leo from Final Fantasy VI.
Brought-back-to-life villain: villain who apparently dies in spectacular death scene typically in movie or TV Show, yet comes back unhurt in next episode. Examples: The Joker or, to a lesser extent Catwoman in Batman, Jaws in several James Bond movies, the Master in Doctor Who, Murdock in MacGyver Magneto in X-men, and Isaac in black tapestries Webcomic. Fictional serial killers such as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Chucky often come back to life after being killed.
The Crazy General: a high-ranking general who goes crazy and starts a war, or worse, such as General Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove, the Air Force General in ALF {the movie}, or the Kefka/Stahl tandem in Final Fantasy VI.
The Dark Lord: a sinister and powerful villain with an entourage of henchmen, usually bent on conquest of the world, galaxy, or universe. Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Magneto, Sauron, Lord Voldemort, Torak, and Doctor Doom are examples.
The Evil Albino: a villain distinguished from the good characters through pale skin, blue or red eyes and platinum-blonde or white hair, though said appearance is not always a function of albinism. Examples: The Twins from the Matrix Trilogy, Grima Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings, Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII, Kuja of Final Fantasy IX, Kunzite of Sailor Moon, "The Albino" from Foul Play, the Malfoys from the Harry Potter books, and Silas from The Da Vinci Code.
The Evil Clown: a supposedly wholesome figure whose external appearance hides inner horrors. Examples: Pennywise in Stephen King's novel It, Malcolm in Legend of Kyrandia, The Joker archnemesis of Batman, Whiteface from Supreme Power,The Violator from Todd McFarlane's Spawn series and Tricky from Madness Combat series.
The Evil Genius: particularly as the foil of superheroes in comic books or of the hero in spy fiction such as the James Bond series, usually incredibly wealthy. Example: Dr. Evil of the Austin Powers films.
The Evil Twin (a. k. a. the DoppelgÃ¤nger): evil twin of the Hero, who almost always ends up losing. Examples: Dark Link in various installments of The Legend of Zelda series, Negaduck vs Darkwing Duck; J.D. Hogg vs. A.L. Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard; Heros T-Bone & Razor of Swat Kats vs their evil "T-Bone" & evil "Razor" twins in epsiode The Dark Side of the Swat Kats; also on Gilligan's Island "Evil Twins" of Gilligan, Mr. Howe, and Ginger; also in anime titles: Setsuna in Grenadier-the smiling Senshi.
* The false hero, an imposter who, at the end of a fairy tale, claims to be the hero or heroine in an attempt receive his reward. Cinderella's stepsisters are false heroes.
The femme fatale, the vamp, La belle dame sans merci, the Black Widow: the beautiful, seductive, but evil woman who leads the hero to his doom. Poison Ivy from Batman and Robin is an example, as is the Dragon Lady from Terry and the Pirates, Delilah and Jezebel of the Bible, Lady Macbeth, and many women in film noir.
The Flunky, Stooge or Toadie, the villain's chief henchman who is jealous of the villain's power and status, so he constatly pretends to be loyal until the time is right, and then he betrays the villain.Marcus Brutus is one example, as well as Reginald J. Preist from Lexx, as is Starscream of The Transformers, and Iago from Othello.
The Gang members: may be a single character representing the whole, or a group of members (also causing the stormtrooper effect). Usually, the stereotype includes Asian (and mainly Hong Kong or any Cantonese speaking Asian) Triads, the Soviet Army, Japanese big corporate companies, Middle East guerrilla troopers, etc.
The Henchman: a major villain's frequently incompetent stooge. (Heroes have sidekicks; villains have henchmen.) Because of their incompetence, the villain usually insults and abuses the henchman.
The Miser: a wealthy, greedy man who lives miserably in order to save and increase his treasure. Though frequently grumpy, he is not necessarily a villain. Dickens's Ebenezer Scrooge is an obvious example, as is Charles Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons and Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life.
The Monstrous Adolescent: a teenager or pre-teen, commonly appearing in anime, who possesses horrifying or remarkable powers; yet due to their quick-tempered or psychotic personality often poses as a global threat. One of the earliest and most famous is Tetsuo Shima from Akira, as well as several characters in the X-Men series, and Alia Atreides from the Dune series.
The Pied Piper: the living embodiment of an exaggeration of a parent's worst fears, an individual who lures unsuspecting children to do something, generally with some kind of reward. The stranger with candy or the witch in the gingerbread house. The obvious villain that the children don't notice. As an example, Hans Beckert (played by Peter Lorre in Fritz Lang's M (1931 film).
* The racist white guy: generally portrayed as unintelligent and culturally ignorant. Usually shown when physically or verbally attacking other races in an irrational manner, while those races are portrayed as totally innocent and highly perceptive. They may sometimes have ulterior motives for terrorizing other races such as wealth and/or power. May or may not be a "major character". An example would be soldiers attempting to disarm a Native American tribe but ending up massacring it in the movie The Last Samurai. Other examples may include John Ratcliffe in Disney's Pocahontas, Claude Frollo in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Calab Wallace from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
* The Sadist: often a military officer, a prison warden, or similar authority figure who abuses and terrorizes the people left in his charge. To the sadist, his captives are merely a perverse form of entertainment, continually subjected to cruel and unusual punishment as a means of discipline. In addition to the usual regimen of beatings, hard labor, and solitary confinement, the sadist will sometimes employ some sort of horrific torture device on those found to be the most deserving of "special" treatment, usually the hero. Examples: Count Rugen from The Princess Bride, the "Captain" from Cool Hand Luke, Colonet Saito from The Bridge on the River Kwai, Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Simon Legree from Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the various villains from the novels by Charles Dickens.
* The School Bully: loud, aggressive, mean and highly skilled at wedgies, but sometimes has an effeminate streak which he covers up with his bullying. Examples include Nelson Muntz, Kearney, and Dolph from The Simpsons and Eric Cartman from South Park. William Zabka defined the bully role in various movies of the 1980s such as The Karate Kid.

William Zabka as a bully in Karate Kid.

Senex iratus or Terrible/Wraithful/Heavy father: a father whose function is to impede the hero and heroine's love; as in A Midsummer's Night Dream, ranch owners or mayors in cowboy movies, and is used in a high number of Bollywood films.
*The Wicked Step-Mother: the surprisingly vicious and controlling woman in a hierarchically-dominant relationship with a younger girl, often an Ingenue or Cinderella. She is often a gold digger.
* The Wicked Witch or Evil Wizard: uses magic or other supernatural powers to lead the hero or heroine astray. May try to pass as a benevolent character to start with. Examples include the Wicked Witch of the West, Saruman, Lord Voldemort, Jadis the White Witch, Isaac from black tapestries webcomic, Magneto (comics) and others. Often but not always overlaps with Dark Lord, subservient and sidekick evil witches and wizards are not uncommon, e.g., the witch in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Represents both the Jungian Shadow (psychology) and the darker side of the Anima.

Either

* The Bitter War Veteran: A man who fought as a soldier during a war; he usually leaves home a naÃ¯ve young man, goes into harsh combat, is injured, watches his friends die or be injured, or is captured by the enemy and tortured, then returns home bitter and deranged. He often has flashbacks and nightmares about the war. Examples include Thomas Magnum from Magnum P.I., Rambo, Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, The Punisher from Marvel Comics, Tom Cruise's portrayal of Ron Kovic in Born on the Fourth of July, Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski, and Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly and its sequel Serenity, Grey Death from the manga Grey.
Comic Relief: cowards who bring a bit of laughter such as Alexander Cabot III of Josie and the Pussycats, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers and Scooby-Doo of Scooby-Doo, Iago and Butterfingers of Disney's Aladdin, "Angel" Martin of The Rockford Files, or Zachary Smith of Lost In Space. (While Dick Tracy's sidekick Pat Patton was at times a non-cowardly comic relief, the part was taken over by Vitamin Flintheart and later by B.O. Plenty and his wife Gravel Gertie). Almost always overlaps with the joker, but almost never with the trickster or fool.
* The English Butler: often present if the main character is upper-class or wealthy. Very proper, well-mannered, skillful, and loyal to his employers and always comes to their aid, when needed. Usually speaks with a posh English accent and may have a dry sense of humor or may be prone to making cynical remarks about his employer's behavior. Examples include Alfred Pennyworth from Batman, Cadbury from Richie Rich, Jeeves (actually a valet), Mr. Belvedere, Brabinger from To the Manor Born, Hovis from Catscratch, and Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Such butlers or other servants, such as Mr. E. Blackadder or Walter C. Dornez from Hellsing; sometimes overlap with the Competent Man in contrast to a less competent or intelligent employer character.
The Popular Girl: a girl who is well-liked and appreciated at her school. She often has two people who follow her everywhere that serve as her personal bodyguards, and is very mean and prissy. In recent times, this character type has gained the appelation "Queen Bee." Examples include Stacy from the GirlTalk series of books, Regina George from Mean Girls, Alana (later Bianca) from That's So Raven, Glinda in Gregory Maguire's Wicked, Libby in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Elisabeth Delmas from Code Lyoko, Mizuha Miyama from the anime Maho Tsukai Tai.
The Fool: a clown or joker who speaks in riddles and puns. Often, the fool is intelligent and witty and reveals key truths about the characters with whom he speaks (Shakespeare's fools, such as the ones in Twelfth Night and King Lear, are well-known examples).
The Girl Threesome: a group of three girls where one is blonde, one is a brunette (and/or Black) and one is a redhead. They are usually heroines and have different tempers, but may also serve as "hangers-on", being the friendship group of the main Heroine. Examples: Charlie's Angels, the Powerpuff Girls, the protagonists of Totally Spies, the Witches of Eastwick, and Josie and the Pussycats. A modern variation is to vary the girls' races: i.e., Caucasian, Asian, and African-American. The Halliwell sisters from Charmed also follow the pattern, but they usually have the same hair color, although they have three conflicting personalities (The Bossy One, The Sensitive One, The Flirty One). The idea of three women in magic has been going since Shakespeare's Macbeth, and probably before that. The Fates in Greek mythology and in Disney's Hercules are another example.
The Jock: the best player on the sports team. Loved by everyone for his superlative athletic skills. The Jock appears in two general varieties: The Nice Jock, and The Mean Jock. The Nice Jock tends to be the muscle of the group, and he is usually found on the outskirts of The Misfits. The Mean Jock is usually used as an agent of antagonism, and takes pleasure in tormenting The Nerd. Both Nice and Mean Jocks are typified by far lower-than-average intelligence. Examples: Fred "Freddie" Jones of Scooby-doo and Biff Tannen from Back to the Future.
* The Lovable rogue: full of confidence, doesn't recognize local customs, not overly sophisticated. A few good examples are Crocodile Dundee, Robin Hood, Captain Malcolm Reynolds, and Han Solo.
* The Military Man: typically career military (although there are retired variations). Harsh, unforgiving, authoritarian, and usually associated with the negative aspects of the military, i. e., Major Frank Burns of M*A*S*H.
* The Super Soldier: an Ã©lite warrior enhanced to have abilities or powers beyond those of normal soldiers. May be a hero, villain, or a group of soldiers working for or with either. Examples include Captain America, the Clone troopers from Star Wars, Cloud Strife from the Final Fantasy role playing game, River Tam from the television series Firefly and the movie Serenity and Master Chief in the Halo video game, MD Geist from the eponumous OAV series.
*The mad scientist: the (perceived) insane man of science who either accidentally or intentionally "meddles with the forces of nature" and causes the trouble that the hero must correct. Well-known examples are Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Moreau. The 20th Century mad scientist is based in large part on the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (or rather his rival Thomas Edison's portrayal of him to the media) but sometimes is based on Albert Einstein as well. Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth from Futurama is a parody of a mad scientist: he dabbles in cloning and doomsday devices, and is always searching for human organs. Another well-known stereotypical mad scientist would be Dr. Emmett Brown from the Back to the Future series. Doctor Brown, however, is an example of the somewhat-rare good mad scientist. Perhaps the earliest example in cinema is Rotwang, the inventor from the 1927 film Metropolis, whose lab coat, messy hair and mechanical hand have often been copied as "mad scientist" traits (such as on Doctor Strangelove and Cedric Rawlings).
The Amoral Scientist: similar to the Mad Scientist, but is cold, analytical, and devoid of any compassion for others. He is obsessed with his work to the point that he is willing to sacrifice anybody, all in the name of research. Examples: The Zarn from Land of the Lost, Ash from Alien, Doctor Onishi from Akira.
The giant monster: An extremely large creature that has devastating power, and usually conventional weapons are ineffective against it. Examples include King Kong, Godzilla and various other monsters in the same frandchise.

Transient

The Angst-ridden Youth: a young male character, usually handsome and virile, but conflicted, sullen, and at odds with the establishment. Epitomized by James Dean of Rebel Without a Cause and Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye. Anakin Skywalker is such a character before transforming to Dark Lord as Darth Vader. Another example is Squall Leonhart, from the video game Final Fantasy VIII.
The Avenger: a hot-blooded young man who has had a loved one (usually a fiancÃ©e or wife) cruelly murdered and/or raped and seeks his revenge outside the law. Batman, Laertes in Hamlet and Hamlet himself, as well as Amsterdam from the film Gangs of New York, are examples of Avengers. Eric from the film The Crow is another example. Marvel's Elektra is a female version of this character. Can often be the son of a Rake (see below).
The Outlaw: a cold-blooded desperado, as opposed to the Honest Thief or Lovable Rogue, but could become either type. A famous example is Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" character from the Man With No Name movies.
The Wunderkind or Enfant Terrible: a child or teenage prodigy exhibiting skillsâ€" often lethalâ€" beyond imagination. River Tam in Firefly as well as Ed from the animÃ© Cowboy Bebop, Hatoko Kobayashi from Angelic Layer, Lash from Advance Wars 2 and Advance Wars DS, and Edward Elric in Full Metal Alchemist are good examples.
The Tough guy: uses his no-nonsense attitude and skillsâ€"including physical intimidationâ€"to get what he wants. A typical tough guy would be an Italian-American gangster with significant capacity to deal out and take punishment, such as multiple characters on The Sopranos or Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico on The Simpsons.
The Trickster: often supernatural or mysterious. No visible objectives or motivation but provides impetus to the plot and acts as a catalyst for events. May later become a clear cut good guy or villain. Plays tricks and spreads chaos, disorganising society and creating something new. Examples include Loki, Amaguq, Reynard the fox, pÃºca from various mythologies and Q from Star Trek. Some tricksters are also heroes, particularly to groups who see themselves as oppressed by the current origination of society, e.g. Reynard, Brer Rabbit from the Uncle Remus folktales and El-ahrairah from Watership Down. Represents both the Jungian Shadow and the basic fear and joyous love of chaos.
The Vigilante, an anti-hero of sorts, who must serve justice, usually for the wrong causes or outside the law; usually killing at will or at random and showing no mercy. Examples include the Punisher, V from V for Vendetta, Rorschach from Watchmen, Elphaba from Gregory Maguire's Wicked, Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The Sycophant: This character, usually male, seeks to ingratiate himself with well connected, famous or attractive people with excessive fawning and flattery. Some famous examples include Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers, Gordon Brittas from The Brittas Empire, Waylon Smithers from The Simpsons and Frasier Crane from Frasier. Female sycophants are rarely seen; two examples are Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances and Sophie, Rachel Green's work colleague in Series 4 of Friends.

Neutral

The absent-minded professor: an academic with important information whose focus on his learning leads him to ignore his surroundings. Possibly based in part on Archimedes or Isaac Newton. Jerry Lewis has portrayed many such characters in his career. Somewhat based Lewis' role in The Nutty Professor is Professor Frink of The Simpsons. Another example is Hubert Farnsworth on Futurama.
The Bitter Rivals: Two rival factions that are constantly fighting and feuding with each other with both sides equally to blame for the feud. Such examples include the Montagues and the Capulets from Romeo and Juliet, the Jets amd the Sharks from West Side Story, the Hatfields and the McCoys, Mr. Spacely and Cogswell from the Jetsons, the Cramp Twins, and Drew and Stu Pickles from Rugrats.
The Born Loser or Fall Guy: A very friendly and considerate fellow who means very well, and he works very hard to achieve his goals only to fail miserably through no fault of his own, and he constantly gets victimized by both his peers and fate. Such examples of the born loser include Job, Charlie Brown of the Peanuts comic strip, Milhouse Van Houten of The Simpsons, Ziggy, Cliff Barnes of Dallas (TV series), and Meg Griffin of Family Guy.
The Twins: The two will dress similarily, and will often finish each other sentences, speak in rhyme, and/or speak in unison.Such examples of twins include the twin fairies from Mothra, Tweedledum and Tweedledee from Through the Looking Glass, and Phil and Lil DeVille from Rugrats. While actually being triplets and not twins, Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck,the nephews of Donald Duck, fit the bill as well.
The California Girl: a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl who only eats health food and loves the environment more than anything else. Dawn, from The Baby-Sitters Club series, and Melody Valentine from Josie and the Pussycats are examples of this character. Chelsea Daniels from That's So Raven also seems to fit into this category, although she has red hair.
Cinderella or The Pretty Ugly Girl: a "Girl Next Door" type who is supposed to be somewhat plain looking, yet is actually quite attractiveâ€"the most famous examples being Cinderella, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island, and Joey Potter from Dawson's Creek. Usually, the girl's mother is either completely absent or is, of course, a Wicked Step-Mother. Her father is usually distant or uninvolved with her. Often this character is contrasted with someone considered the Beautiful or Popular Girl (the wicked step-sisters, Ginger, and Jen Lindley would apply to the above three cases respectively.)
The Damsel in distress: the young, beautiful, virginal woman who must be rescued from some cruel fate by the Hero (see below), Ã la Penelope Pitstop, Princess Peach or Daphne Blake. The damsel in distress is now often subverted, with the damsel being secretly formidable and waiting for the right moment to strike back.
*The Dumb Blonde or Bimbo: often also a Damsel in Distress or Ingenue, but may be simply unintelligent but attractive. The Invisible Woman (Sue Storm in the Fantastic Four) was originally written as a Dumb Blonde, always thinking about clothes and hairstyles. Could also be just plain silly/comic relief-such as Melody Valentine in Josie and the Pussycats, and Karen Smith character in Mean Girls. Occasionally the Dumb Blonde isn't actually blonde, just dumb. Marilyn Monroe portrayed this stereotype in a number of movies and, arguably, in her life.
The IngÃ©nue: a sweet, beautiful, and virginal maiden, in mental or emotional rather than physical danger, usually a target of The Cad (see below). Usually a fawn-eyed innocent. A prime example is Reese Witherspoon's character in Cruel Intentions, as well as Christine DaaÃ© in The Phantom of the Opera
The Fop: a person that tries to be highly fashionable and aristocratic. He is typically overdressed and his speech is characterized by overuse or misuse of popular phrases (often French phrases) or various forms of hypercorrection. The fop is never intelligent and always talkative. (The Hero sometimes poses as a fop to allay his enemies' suspicions: The Scarlet Pimpernel hid behind the persona of Sir Percy Blakeney. Zorro hid behind the image of the Fop, Don Diego. Batman's public persona of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne is a fop. It should be noted that Diego was inspired by Blakeney and Wayne by Diego)
The Foreign Exchange Student: whose exotic appearance and/or mannerisms often serve as comic relief (especially due to culture shock). Examples: Fez from That '70s Show, Kaolla Su from Love Hina, Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles, Ãœter from The Simpsons, Rolf from Ed, Edd, and Eddy, and Shannon Elizabeth's character Nadia in American Pie.
*The Reclusive Genius: an intelligent and asocial character that is either related to or is a main character. 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 Dr. Gregory House and Cid from the Final Fantasy series. Mycroft Holmes is perhaps the earliest example of this stock character.
*The Ill-Fated Lovers: passionate, sensual, and naÃ¯ve. They love fiercely and irrationally, usually against societal or parental approval, or against the crushing inevitability of time. Examples include Romeo and Juliet, their modern analogues, Tony and Maria of West Side Story, Zack and Kelly of Saved by the Bell, Buffy and Angel of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and (to a lesser extent) J. D. and Elliot of Scrubs.
* The Major (or Jolly War Veteran): lovable, awkward, and more than a bit daft. He is usually a veteran of one of the World Wars, and frequently sings old military songs (melancholy or dance-tune are typical). Military aphorisms and lingo pepper his speech. A comedic streak of alcoholism sometimes adds tragic charm to the Major. Examples include the Major from Soap, the Major from Fawlty Towers, Grandpa Potts from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and almost every hare in Redwall, although they tend to have more active and serious military roles. A similar such character is Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H.
*The Nerd: with his pocket protector, visibly-mended 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, Gurio Umino from Sailor Moon, Bernard Bernoulli in Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle, William in Can't Hardly Wait, and any of hundreds of similar stereotypical characters in teen movies.
*The Nerd Girl: differs from the Pretty Ugly Girl by being less wholesomely mainstream. She doesn't dress fashionably and may be intensely interested in some specialized area or notable for her intelligence. Deb in Napoleon Dynamite is a classic Nerd Girl (she wears her hair in an unusual way, dresses in loose, unfashionable clothing and is into photography). The Nerd Girl is often kind and goodhearted, and may be quite attractive, or have the potential to be so with some "tidying up" (like Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and Ami Mizuno in Sailor Moon). Like the Pretty Ugly Girl, she is explicitly contrasted with the beautiful but shallow popular girl (who is frequently a Dumb Blonde). Other examples include Tootie from The Fairly OddParents.
The Dysfunctional Nuclear Family: a normal family with a simple-minded father, a reasonable mother, a troublesome son, an anxious daughter and a peculiar younger child. Famous examples would be the Simpsons, the Sinclairs, the Griffins, the Berenstein Bears, the Foxes, the Jetsons, and the Incredibles.
*The Rake or Cad: a man who seduces a young woman and impregnates her before leaving, often to her social or financial ruin. Alternately, he attempts to do such but is foiled. Often portrayed as a heavy drinker or gambler. Also known as a rake-hell. To call the character a rake calls attention to his promiscuity and wild spending of money; to call the character a cad implies a callous seducer who coldly breaks his victim's heart. Sebastian in Cruel Intentions is such a character. See also Hogarth's A Rake's Progress.
*Redshirt: an inconsequential character who is killed or injured soon after his or her introduction in order to indicate the dangerous circumstances faced by the main characters. The term originated in reference to the frequent use of such characters in the original Star Trek TV series. In the series, these characters usually wore red uniforms, signifying both their station as security personnel, and their insignificance. The same trend is reused in 24 (TV series), which often kills off nameless red-clad security guards. Where red clothing is not worn (perhaps due to uniform regulations), redshirts can be distinguished by other tell-tale clues that they are going to die, i. e., playing a harmonica in a war film, being close to retirement when a cop, showing a picture of your children to anyone under any circumstances, having no full name in a horror or sci-fi movie, etc. See also "Cannon fodder."
* The Smoe: A blue-collar working man who didn't get pass high school. He is a lower middle class family man who is obnoxious and not very bright. He often makes foolish choices, and gets into serious trouble that he usually brings on himself. Such examples include Al Bundy of Married With Children, Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners, Fred Flintstone, Archie Bunker of All in the Family, Homer Simpson, and Peter Griffin of Family Guy.
* The Tomboy: a female character who is "one of the guys." Usually displays superior physical or athletic prowess. Because of her attitude or activities, is often a Pretty Ugly Girl. Some Tomboys exhibit a deep-seated or transient envy of more feminine girls, usually when confronted by a boy she likes. Examples include Pepper in Good Omens, Anybodys in West Side Story, Makoto Kino of Sailor Moon, Sora Takenouchi of Digimon Adventure, and Special Agent Andrea Price in Tom Clancy's Executive Orders.
* The Town Drunk: serves as a figure of fun, serves as a moral example, or is used as a plot device to disrupt public gatherings. Marmeladov from Crime and Punishment is one example; another one is Huckleberry Finn's father "Pap" from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Barney Gumble of The Simpsons is the classic town drunk. In the example of "Crazy Ralph" from Friday the 13th, the town drunk provided a warning.
*The Whiz Kid: a brainy sidekick to the hero. Often, physically the weakest 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: Velma Dinkley, William in That's So Raven, Inoue Miyako of Digimon Adventure and Willow Rosenberg of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In stories or cultures without advanced technology, whiz kid-like characters appear with knowledge of magic, nature, ritual or some other special skill, i. e., Fiver in "Watership Down."
*The Womanizer: normally male persons characterized by having many love affairs with different women. Examples: Casanova, Don Juan, and James Bond.
*The Jokester: often a part of a group of adventurers. Not to be confused with the wiser Fool or more dangerous Trickster, the Jokester copes with the seriousness of his or her situation (often war) with constant good humor. Sometimes he may be crying on the inside, or his laughter might mask insecurities. Occasionally, his perpetual good humor can be annoying, but he is always loved (or at least appreciated) by at least some of his teammates. Nightcrawler or Iceman of the X-Men, Marvel Comics' Spider-Man, RC-1262 of Delta Squad in Star Wars: Republic Commando, Yorick from the comic book Y: The Last Man, Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hawkeye Pierce of M*A*S*H, and Bluebell from Watership Down (who may, like many of the rabbits, be based on an individual Richard Adams knew from his time as a paratrooper in the Second World War) are examples. Chandler Bing of Friends is another example, as is Vila from Blake's 7.
*The Wacky neighbor: lives close to the main character and has eccentric qualities which often serve as a convenient plot device. Examples: Cosmo Kramer of Seinfeld, Ned Flanders of The Simpsons and Wilson of Home Improvement.
* The Warning: turns up, warns characters about oncoming disasterâ€"possibly due to experience or supernatural abilities - and dies. Often found in horror films to build tension early on, before the main characters start dying. The Soothsayer in Shakespeare's Julius CÃ¦sar is such a character, although he does not die. Not to be confused with the Haunted Hero, who pulls through rather that existing just as a plot device to warn people and die.
*The Wedge: named after Star Wars character Wedge Antilles. A background character who, unlike others, survives on skill instead of luck or because the plot requires it as is often the case with the major characters. Other than this, they usually get little or no character development or backstory.
*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, Chitose Karasuma from Galaxy Angel, Tadashi Daiba from Captain Harlock, Alexander Goodwin Pierce from Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Dr. Gregory House's personal staff (Dr. Allison Cameron, Dr. Robert Chase, and Dr. Eric Foreman), and J. D., Turk, and Elliot of Scrubs(at least during the first season).
*The Nurse: typically a woman who finds the hero or villain injured, and nurses him back to health. Falls in love with him, but will never have her love returned because of his love for another or his plans for conquest. Examples include Michal Amagi from Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure (ironically, in the original Little Mermaid story, the roles of the Lucia and Michal characters are switched in regards to the romantic plot). Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings (at least in the film presentation) also bears similarities to this character type.
*The Tyranical Boss: authoritarian, bad-tempered, and inflexible, the tyrannical boss is often seen in comedies. He or she rules over the workplace with an iron fist. Superintendent Chalmers and Charles Montgomery Burns from the The Simpsons is an example, as are Bishop Brennan from Father Ted, Jack Taylor from My Boss's Daughter, Don Copal from Grim Fandango, Fantasio and Prunelle from Gaston Lagaffe and Saboh from Kiasu. This could also apply to authority figures in a school such as a teacher or principal. Examples: Willard Kraft from Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Principal Snyder from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
*The Protective Father: seeks to protect his daughter from a young man he deems to unworthy or unsuitable out of sincere love as oppose to authority in the Terrible Father. Jack Byrnes from Meet The Parents and Meet The Fockers is one example, as is Mr. Johnson from the Australian movie The Big Steal. Liz's father in the TV show Roswell is also an example.
*The Middle Child: This character tends to be good natured and intelligent, but can be insecure and lack confidence. Jan and Peter Brady from The Brady Bunch are perhaps the best known television examples; more recent characters include Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle, Ron Weasley from Harry Potter, Kerry from 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter and Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons.
*The Prodigy: Gifted with an extremely high IQ but rarely given the opportunity to use it, resulting in a feeling of unfulfillment. Often could easily become rich, successful, and prestigious by working in the system but instead turn to crime or other unconventional means as a challenge. Examples include Hunter Rose from Matt Wagner's Grendel comics and Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes stories.
*The Oddball: An eccentric character whose behavior and opinions are extremely bizarre, but harmless as they turn out to be very handy in the long run, proving that the oddball is much smarter than he looks. Jughead of the Archie comic strip. Skeeter Valentine from Doug, and Dil Pickles of All Grown Up are such examples.
* The alien sidekick:'' Almost always male, typically asexual (even if only because there's no one else of his kind available), he serves as a viewpoint from which objective commentary can be made about human nature. The most popular, and the most widely imitated example of all time is Mr. Spock from Star Trek.

Stock character: Encyclopedia BETA

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