Ensemble Darkhorse/Oral Tradition

Examples of Ensemble Darkhorses in Oral Traditions include:

Hinduism

Hanuman's Ensemble Darkhorse status has made him the most popular deity (alongside Lord Ram) in the Guyanese and Trinidadian regional variant of Hinduism.

Chinese Mythology

Sun Wukong got a disproportionate amount of attention, so much so that he is now considered the main character of his story. The relationship between Sun Wukong and India's Hanuman is interesting, but it's no surprise that they fill this role as they both get their fair share of Badass moments.
Budai, a figure in Chinese folklore often revered as a deity in Buddhism, is probably the most popular Buddhist deity in western countries. While he is sometimes considered a bodhisattva, people with little to no knowledge of Buddhism often mistake him for the Buddha. Chances are if you see a statue or other representation of a Buddha in fiction, it will be this plump bald man with a big smile.

Classical Mythology

Hades from Greek Mythology, who is an example of a god associated with death who was actually an okay guy. The Ancient Greeks were rather wary of him, naturally, but in modern times he gets a lot more appreciation... that is, if you are not Disney or Hollywood. This could be because he is a classic case of Dark Is Not Evil mixed with The Woobie, and/or because he was one of the only gods in the Pantheon who wasn't a complete jerk.
- Disney tried to make Hades |unlikable. Thankfully, they fa il ed, and the movie was that much better for this "failure."
Hephaestus has become this nowadays. His main flaw (his hideous looks) makes him seem to be more of a Woobie than back in Ancient Greece, when he would have been viewed as repulsive, plus, as with Hades, he's downright saintly next to his uncles, aunts, and cousins.
- It doesn't hurt that his purview includes 'technology'.
Ares/Mars was a very unpopular god for the Greeks, but the Romans claimed to be his descendants. It is worth noting that despite widespread modern misinterpretations, the Roman gods were not exact analogues of the Greek gods. Ares/Mars is a particularly notable case, as the Greeks saw Ares as the god of brutal warfare, while the Romans saw Mars as the god of warfare for the defense and spread of civilization. He even had an agricultural aspect leftover from an earlier Etruscan god and the fact that early Roman soldiers were basically drafted farmers. Some modern adaptations of Greek mythology also feature Ares in a much more positive light.
- So long as you're not counting God of War as a "modern adaptation"... which it isn't.

Egyptian Mythology

Anubis in more modern times. He wasn't that central to the original canon, but he's so much more interesting than the chief gods like Ra or Osiris. Also, it's hard to find a death god who's an okay guy. Also, he appeals more to Furries.

Norse Mythology

Loki has acquired far more popularity than he originally possessed, due to his traits of Chronic Backstabbing Disorder and (often deadly) practical jokes being more appealing to more modern audiences (generally the favourite was originally Thor, his policy of "hit it with a hammer first ask questions never" being, interestingly, less appealing to modern audiences).
- Arguably, Loki was "originally" not as unpopular as he became when the Christians got hold of Norse mythology and associated him with Satan. The only extant versions of the Norse myths are the Eddas, which were written well after the Christianization of the mythos.

Back to Ensemble Darkhorse