Escapist Character: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''Every engineer dreams about saving the universe and [[Boldly Coming|having sex with aliens]]. This is much more glamorous than the real life of an engineer, which consists of hiding from the universe and [[A Date Withwith Rosie Palms|having sex without the participation of other life forms]]. Consequently, ratings for ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' will remain high as long as they stay away from any realism.''|''The [[Dilbert]] Principle''}}

So you just picked up this book about a character who's powerful, [[The Ace|incredibly talented]], [[Chick Magnet|irresistible to the opposite sex]], [[Moses in Thethe BullrushesBulrushes|long-lost]] [[Royal Blood|royalty]], and [[Friend to All Living Things]]. Sounds like a horrible [[Mary Sue]] story, right?

Except that you don't mind at all. Instead, you're seeing yourself in their shoes and enjoying it. After all, ''everyone'' likes to fantasize about being awesome once in a while. You can argue over whether or not they're a [[Mary Sue]], but they're definitely an [['''Escapist Character]]'''.

While [[Mary Sue]] is generally defined as being a bad thing, some of the most widely loved characters in existence are [[Escapist Character|'''Escapist Characters]]''' with any number of [[Common Mary Sue Traits]]. While a [[Done Badly|badly written]] [['''Escapist Character]]''' can come off as a [[Mary Sue]], the key difference between the two is that a [[Mary Sue]] is ''[[Author Appeal|the author's]]'' wish fulfillment fantasy, while the Escapist Character also functions as the ''[[Audience Surrogate|audience's]]'' wish fulfillment fantasy.

Some members of the audience may identify with a character and others may not identify with the same character. Whilst many audience member's [[Wish Fulfillment]] fantasies have ''common elements'', they are not all identical. Thus, the distinction between this and [[Mary Sue]] is very much a subjective matter.

{{examples|Examples:}}

* The other Haruhi from ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]].'' A poor girl with incredible grades, great cook, and surrounded by six drop-dead gorgeous men (and making snarky comments all the while)? Yep, Haruhi definitely fits here.

** It could be argued that there are [[Escapist Character]] tendencies for most of the cast. There are many scenes that may and probably will go beyond suspension of disbelief, but the stylization with which Hirano pulls it off is so awesome that it can be excused on account of [[Rule of Cool]].

** Of course, this also pretty much applies to the protagonist in any harem series. [[Tenchi Muyo!]], [[Maison Ikkoku]], etcetera. Amusingly, one of the biggest complaints about these sorts of characters being wishy-washy ignores the fact that it's the easiest way to make an escapist character not feel ''openly'' exploitative of the situation.

* ''[[Thirteen 13-Dot Cartoons (Manhua)|Thirteen Dot Cartoons]]'' was incredibly popular in Hong Kong in the '60s and '70s, but mainly among a much lower economic class than [[Fiction 500|its protagonist]], who could never afford [[Unlimited Wardrobe|the fancy clothes she wears]] or [[Infinite Supplies|all the things she buys]]. Plus, since she's a [[The Ditz|dimwit]], readers got to feel good about themselves even as they wished they were someone else. Notably, after the recent growth of Hong Kong's economy there no longer seems to be as much of a market for the series.

* ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'': Light Yagami. His [[Villain Sue]] nature, [[Ho Yay|perceived]] [[Evil Is Sexy|sexuality]], fan [[One True Threesome|fixations]], and the fact that [[Evil Is Cool|evil rocks]] doesn't hurt either.

* Yami Yugi from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]!'' I mean, what [[Shrinking Violet]] hasn't wanted, at least once, to beat up the school bully and get away with it?

* A good deal of ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' fans want to be a [[Took a Level Inin Badass]] [[More Dakka]] [[Groundhog Peggy Sue]], some others want to be loved by the aforementioned [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] [[Peggy Sue]] character. Something for each gender/sexuality!

* Ciel of ''[[Black Butler]]''. An incredibly rich and beautiful [[Teen Genius]] that nearly everyone loves and respects who has an almighty [[Bishounen]] [[Battle Butler]] that can grant his every wish and can be ''extremely'' [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|close]] to [[Ho Yay|him]] at times? Not to mention his [[Dark and Troubled Past]] (which he was 'rescued from' by the aforementioned butler), [[Even the Guys Want Him]], he works for the ''queen'', and he owns the largest toy company in Britain...all starting before the age of ''twelve''.

* Simon the Digger of ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''. His beloved adoptive brother is [[Memetic Badass|Kamina]], he hangs out with [[Ms. Fanservice|Yoko]] and [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Princesses|Nia]], almost everyone around him is incredibly supportive and he ends up leading a rebellion against (in order) an earth-wide tyranny, then a ''universe''-wide tyranny at the ages of [[Improbable Age|about fourteen]] and then about twenty-one. In a world where [[Giant Robot|mechs]] quite frequently do the impossible, he's literally the best Gunmen pilot there is.

{{quote| "Batman is obviously much cooler, but that’s because he’s a very energetic and adolescent fantasy character: a handsome billionaire playboy in black leather with a [[Battle Butler|butler]] at his beck and call, [[Cool Car|better cars]] and [[Utility Belt|gadgetry]] than [[James Bond]], a horde of [[Fetish Fuel Station Attendant|fetish]] [[Femme Fatale|femme fatales]] baying around his heels and no boss. That guy's Superman day and night. Superman grew up baling hay on a farm. He goes to work, for a boss, in an office. He pines after a [[Intrepid Reporter|hard–working gal.]] Only when he tears off his shirt does that heroic, ideal inner self come to life. That's actually a much more adult fantasy than the one Batman’s peddling but it also makes Superman a little harder to sell. He's much more of a working class superhero, which is why we ended [[All -Star Superman|the whole book]] with the image of a laboring Superman."}}

* Kitty Pryde of the [[X-Men]] is this trope ''personified.'' Started out as the team's [[Naive Newcomer]], and grew up to be a [[Badass]] [[Everythings Better With Ninjas|ninja]] [[Teen Genius|genius]] with a [[Team Pet|pet]] [[Recycled in Space|space]] [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons|dragon]] and [[Gentle Giant]] boyfriend. And the fandom rejoiced, for they watched every step of this journey from Everygirl to Super-Special Heroine and wished they could be her (or "be ''with'' her").

* [[The Incredible Hercules|Hercules]] is male power fantasy to a fucking ''tee''. He's a [[Rated Mfor"M" for Manly]] [[Handsome Lech]], who [[Really Gets Around]], and solves nearly every problem he encounters through [[Attack! Attack! Attack!]]. He has thus been most guys' personal fantasy made manifest for [[Older Than Feudalism|the last couple millennia]].

* [[Spider-Man]] straddles the line between [[This Loser Is You]] and an [[Escapist Character]] pretty much constantly. No matter how much his life ends up sucking ([[Hero Withwith Bad Publicity]], dead parents and uncle, "rocky" love-life pre-MJ, [[One More Day]]) he's a superhero who gets to [[Building Swing|web-sling]] from skyscrapers and [[The Snark Knight|he always has a quip ready]]. There's also something very appealing about an [[The Everyman|everyman]] amongst so many other powerful superheroes (even more so when you consider how most Marvel Universe characters are everymen already).

* [[Captain America (comics)]]. Scrawny 4F artist from Brooklyn becomes a [[Super Soldier]] and [[The Cape (trope)|the embodiment of all that is good and right]] about [[Eagle Land|America]].

* [[James Bond]], although the films since 2006's [[Casino Royale (Film)|Casino Royale]] show him being much more flawed. Until then, the movies had undergone [[Serial Escalation]] as the producers tried to outdo themselves with increasingly over-the-top [[Bond One -Liner|quips]], [[Cool Car|cars]], [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?|gadgets]], and [[Girl of the Week|Bond Girls]].

* In ''[[American Dreamer]]'', Cathy saw Rebecca Ryan as this [[In -Universe]], even though the character seemed to take James Bond's apparent Sue traits [[Up to Eleven]].

* Aladdin. In just 90 minutes he went from living off stolen food to having the friendship of an all-powerful-genie-Robin-Williams, a flying carpet, the affection of the richest, most desirable girl in the kingdom, and an assured future as the next Sultan -- andSultan—and this status remains through two movies and 86 half-hours. That's pretty darn escapist.

* [[Ferris BuellersBueller's Day Off (Film)|Ferris Bueller]] (although Cracked.com makes the surprisingly convincing argument that [[Alternate Character Interpretation|he's a sociopath]]).

* [[Limitless]] presents us the answer to “What if they make a pill that would give you [[Super Intelligence]]?” Eddie Morra takes Wall Street by storm and wins millions by only taking a pill. Sounds like fun? But if you get everything you want by only taking a pill, you felt entitled to a lot of more other things without any effort. The movie deconstructs Eddie into a [[Jerkass]] with [[Acquired Situational Narcissism]] that cannot recognize where is the [[Moral Event Horizon]] anymore.

* Smith from ''[[Shoot 'Em Up (Filmfilm)|Shoot Em Up]]'' is a master of every firearm known to man, kills dozens of people in increasingly more creative ways, battles [[Straw Man|strawmen]] on both sides of the political spectrum, gets to have sex with [[Monica Bellucci]], and rams inconsiderate drivers off the road without consequence.

** The funny thing is that the movie's [[Big Bad]], [[Colonel Badass|Colonel Miles Quaritch]], can be regarded as an [[Escapist Character]], too. After all, he's [[Badass]], [[Memetic Badass|he needs no oxygen]] and he [[Major Injury Underreaction|couldn't care less about being set on fire]].

* [[Harry Potter]], before the [[Cerebus Syndrome]] set in. His character is almost entirely this in the first book (an [[Abusive Parents|abused]] [[Conveniently an Orphan|orphan]] discovers that he is rich, famous, and oh yes, a wizard), but the following six consist of him slowing learning just how much [[It Sucks to Be Thethe Chosen One]].

* [[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Bella Swan]] (for ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'''s target audience). Her oft-complained about [[Flat Character|blandness]] was not a result of bad writing, but a deliberate decision on Stephenie Meyer's part so readers can step into her shoes more easily and experience what it's like to be loved by [[Relationship Sue|Edward Cullen.]]

* [[Pippi Longstocking (Literature)|Pippi Longstocking]]. Why does she get [[Super Strength]], lots of gold, [[All Girls Like Ponies|a horse]], and no parents around to tell her what to do? Because that was your fantasy.

* [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] has elements of this: [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] created the character when she was desperately poor and got a certain satisfaction from making him the richest and most self-indulgent man in London.

* [[Artemis Fowl (Literature)|Artemis Fowl]]. Doesn't have to go to school because his parents are either missing or bedridden. He has a [[Battle Butler]] and enough money to indulge a self-admitted childish belief in fairies and magic. Though only 12, he's treated like an adult.

* Tavi of Calderon from [[Codex Alera (Literature)|Codex Alera]]. So what if [[Everyone Is a Super|everyone outclasses you]]? [[Badass Normal|You can kick their asses anyway]]! {{spoiler|And they don't ''really'' outclass you, you're just a late bloomer}}. In the hands of any lesser author than [[Jim Butcher]], Tavi would be a raging [[Marty Stu]].

{{quote| '''Tyler Durden''': ''I look like you wanna look, I fuck like you wanna fuck, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.''}}

* Lila Nova of ''[[Hothouse Flower and The Nine Plants of Desire (Literature)|Hothouse Flower and The Nine Plants of Desire]]'' is a rather shameless one of these.

* Data from ''[[Star Trek: the Next Generation (TV)|Star Trek theThe Next Generation]]'' and Spock from ''[[Star Trek: the Original Series (TV)|Star Trek theThe Original Series]]'' both serve as the same sort of wish fulfillment archetype for socially awkward Trekkies. To wit, they're smart, respected, physically powerful, long-lived, and they're blessed with loving and devoted friends even though they themselves have never learned human social skills.

** Riker. Has a [[Good Hair, Evil Hair|killer beard]], grew up in Alaska, knows martial arts, plays trombone, will wipe the floor with you at poker, isn't afraid to break the rules, unflappable (well mostly)... {{spoiler|And then he turns out to be an [[Super Soldier|augment]] exile in one of the books. Squee}}!

** Jean Luc Picard was a more educated, articulate, [[Romanticism Versus Enlightenment|enlightened]] alternative to the [[Two -Fisted Tales|pulp-reminiscent Kirk]]. Arguably, Sisko and Janeway were a [[Darker and Edgier]] alternative to both.

** [[CreatorsCreator's Pet|Wesley]] was intended to be this to young viewers; a kid who could hold his own and had skills gradually prove himself to the crew as someone useful.

* The Doctor, from ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]''. Owner of an effectively self-powering, [[Bigger Onon the Inside]] time machine that lets him go anywhere in time and space he feels like - and no matter where that is, his ability to save the day lets him get away with acting (and dressing) like a [[The Wonka|complete lunatic]] regardless of cultural norms. Oh, and his travelling companions tend to be attractive twenty-something women.

* [[House (TV series)|Dr. House]], despite the chronic leg pain and occasional mental breakdown, is really fun to watch because he skewers stupid people without mercy. And he pretty much always gets away with it. Who ''doesn't'' want to be able to tell coworkers and customers exactly what you think of them?

* ''[[Breaking Bad]]'''s Walter White is an interesting example. He's a lower-middle-class teacher who gets crapped on in every possible way, including getting cancer... and he's also a meth dealer who is completely bad-ass. A lot of people can identify with the crapped-on part--inpart—in that sense, he's a [[This Loser Is You]] character. And then we fantasize about kicking ass, like Walt's alter-ego does. Like Harry Potter, just grittier. Much grittier.

* You know those people who take too long at lines, are massive hypocrites, abuse animals, borrow money without returning it, or just generally piss you off every day? Do you wish you could beat up those annoying people with no consequences? [[The Outbursts of Everett True (Comic Strip)|Everett True]] can.

* This is sometimes used to explain the allure of the [[Zombie Apocalypse]]. Yes, it'd be nice to finally pillage and burn to your heart's content without fear of reprimand, but even more promising is an environment rich in [[What Measure Is a Non -Human?|human-like]] targets where it's accepted -- nayaccepted—nay, ''encouraged'' -- to—to [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath|unleash your inner sadist]] on anything that gets within ten feet of you.

* Alex Mercer in ''[[Prototype (Videovideo Gamegame)|Prototype]]''. Why? Shapeshifting with no squick, easy [[Instant Expert]], and by the end of the game is a [[God Mode Sue]]. However, everyone has wanted to be able to pick up a taxi and run down the sidewalk killing hundreds and that's just something you can do at the beginning. This game is the only stress relief you'll ever need.

** And before that, [[Spiritual Predecessor]] ''[[The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction]]''.

* Batman himself in ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]''. Something is just so fun about terrorizing the inmates that it doesn't matter that, as normal, Batman is [[Crazy Prepared]].

* ''[[Fate/stay Stay Nightnight]]'''s Emiya Shirou is a [[Zig -Zagging Trope|strange example.]] On one hand, he's so badass that even when he [[The Many Deaths of You|dies,]] it's a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]. He lives in a mansion, is capable of supporting himself without parents, and practically has a busty and adoring live-in girlfriend who wouldn't hesitate to sleep with him [[Oblivious to Love|if he'd only notice]]. On the other hand, he's a textbook [[Broken Ace]] with literally no regard for his own well-being.

* Solid Snake from ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' is a subversion. The game starts by setting him up as an absolutely archetypal action hero (particularly the 80s action, [[Escape Fromfrom New York|Kurt]] [[Kurt Russell|Russell]] type), a classic [[Escapist Character]]. As the plot progresses, the player learns exactly how miserable and shattered Snake really is. Unfortunately, [[Misaimed Fandom|some players missed the point]]; Kojima decided to be [[Anvilicious|a touch less subtle]] in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'' and gave us [[This Loser Is You|Raiden]] (an extremely vicious aversion of the trope) instead.

* Kay Faraday from ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' is any fangirl ([[Even the Guys Want Him|or boy]])'s wet dream. She's a perky, smart thief who gets to tag along with [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] Edgeworth, is Gumshoe's bestest friend ever, most everyone is at least nice to her (even [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]] Lang), and {{spoiler|she even has a tragic past matching Edgeworth's so they have even more in common.}}

* Apparently, [[Tim Schafer]] designed Raz from ''[[Psychonauts (Video Game)|Psychonauts]]'' to be this. This is why he's human; originally, the game was going to be about a psychic ostrich. ''Seriously.''

** Not to mention [[Brutal Legend|Eddie Riggs]], from the same creator: Riggs is a jaded roadie who feels his love for classic overdriven guitar riffs is underappreciated in an era of nu-metal emo teenage crap. He ends up in a world where his roadie skills allow him to create war machines and his guitar can make the emo kids' heads explode. This dude embodies every metalhead's secret fantasy.

{{quote| [[Ear Worm|You can fight like a krogan, run like a leopard, but you'll never be better than Commander Shepard.]]}}

* Sora from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' got to live out millions of kids' childhood dreams of being involved in various [[Disney]] Movies. Add being the [[Chosen One]] into the mix and he's officially become the [[Escapist Character]] we all dreamed of being as kids.

* Dante of ''[[Devil May Cry]]''. A witty, snarky, [[Badass]] [[Half -Human Hybrid|Half-Demon]] [[Hunter of His Own Kind]] who does all kinds of ridiculous over-the-top stylish stunts in both gameplay ''and'' cutscenes and runs his own kickass [[Demon Slaying|Demon Hunting]] business. Who ''wouldn't'' want to be as cool as him?

* Asura from ''[[AsurasAsura's Wrath]]'' is definitely one of these. He's extremely powerful, and can punch out planet sized objects. He seems to subvert somewhat, in that when his [[Old Master]] Augus thinks the way an escapist character should; fighting, eating, Drinking, and sleeping with babes, Asura seems to not like it much, and is only focused on retrieving the daughter the 7 Deities took from him.

* Tedd Verres of ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'' has a [[Magical Girlfriend|shapeshifter girlfriend]] and access to [[Functional Magic|transformation technology]]. Elliot is also somewhat of this trope having recently developed superpowers particularly with respect to his reaction to being able to fly.

* Kirk in ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' is based heavily off of ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|the]]'' [[Star Trek: theThe Original Series (TV)|Kirk]], and generally flew around in a ship blowing up things and getting lots of tail. However, brutally averted due to having {{spoiler|a terminal disease}}.

[[Category:Escapist Character{{PAGENAME}}]]