Escapist Character: Difference between revisions
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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 the Bulrushes|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
While [[Mary Sue]] is generally defined as being a bad thing, some of the most widely loved characters in existence are
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.
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* ''[[Golgo 13]]''. The thing about Mr. Togo is that, yes, he's a nigh-unstoppable assassin with aim such that he's unironically referred to as the Hand of God, with more money than the entire nation of Japan, who regularly talks women he's never met before into bed... but he doesn't seem to ''enjoy'' any of it. Verges on deconstructing the idea.
* Alucard from ''[[Hellsing]]''. Seras is also an example, as she goes from a police girl with a tragic past to an elite vampire soldier and even takes Alucard's position for a while.
** It could be argued that there are
* ''[[Love Hina]]'''s Keitaro Urashima. For [[This Loser Is You|everyone who ever couldn't get a date]], what could be better than suddenly becoming the guy in charge of an all-girls inn, with an onsen, where practically all of them eventually fall for you? Sure, there's the physical pain inflicted on a nearly daily basis, but most would agree that it's [[Worth It]].
** 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.
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*** In the case of both Storm and Wolverine, sometimes this got carried so far that even for teenage dreamers, it became something of a running joke. For example, the infamous scene where a depowered Ororo somehow manages to defeat Scott Summers in a Danger Room contest, using rules which he more-or-less ''could not lose'' under. She manages to dodge energy blasts moving at the speed of light, more-or-less, and it was so blatant that even many of the fanboys ended up saying [[Flat What|'what?']] And Wolverine, after a while, simply became a running joke with a Lampshade on his head much of the time.
* [[The Incredible Hercules|Hercules]] is male power fantasy to a fucking ''tee''. He's a [[Rated "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
* [[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]].
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* [[Indiana Jones]]: Travel the globe. Pick up chick. Punch Nazis. Find priceless artifact. Reveal ancient secrets. Get hounded by college girls. Repeat.
* 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
* [[Ferris Bueller's Day Off|Ferris Bueller]] (although Cracked.com makes the surprisingly convincing argument that [[Alternate Character Interpretation|he's a sociopath]]).
** For a meta in-universe example of this trope, there's a [[WMG|wild theory]] that Ferris himself is an Escapist Character created in Cameron's mind (kind of like {{spoiler|[[Fight Club]]}}), so he could manifest his wish to break free from the boring routine and face his social fears (and specially his father).
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* Smith from ''[[Shoot'Em Up (film)|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.
* [[Word of God]] states that the ''[[Avatar]]''s Navi were designed to be a whole race of these.
** The funny thing is that the movie's [[Big Bad]], [[Colonel Badass|Colonel Miles Quaritch]], can be regarded as an
== [[Literature]] ==
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* [[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?
* Back in the 70s, the ''Six Million Dollar Man'' embodied this in some ways (though Steve did have some problems his bionics could not solve). Interestingly, the other in-universe characters provided some counterpoint, there was another bionic man who had turned out to be psychologically unable to handle it, and Steve's lady-love Jaime Sommmers had recurring problems of bionic rejection that made her superpowers something of a double-edged blessing.
* ''[[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
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
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== General ==
* One could argue that the popularity of the [[Magnificent Bastard]] and [[Sociopathic Hero]] is due to this. Fans of those characters can't help but like their confidence and charisma, and project onto them their desires to [[Beneath the Mask|do what they want without reprimand.]]
* 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
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* ''[[Fate/stay night]]'''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.
* If you ever play either ''[[Modern Warfare]]'' game without imagining yourself with Soap's mohawk and Scottish accent, it's safe to say you've entirely missed the point.
* 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 from New York|Kurt]] [[Kurt Russell|Russell]] type), a classic
* 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 with 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]]'' to be this. This is why he's human; originally, the game was going to be about a psychic ostrich. ''Seriously.''
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* Shepard, the [[Player Character]] from ''[[Mass Effect]]'' is the most [[Badass]] and important person in the galaxy, and the game lets you know it and experience it.
{{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
* 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?
** Also from the same creator, we have [[Bayonetta]], a [[Badass]] [[Hot Witch]] with [[Sexy Spectacles]] who summons demons with her [[Prehensile Hair]] and has a wide range of weaponry including a quartet of guns - two of which [[Up to Eleven|are attached to her shoes]]. She also gains some temporary power ups from [[Erotic Eating|eating lollipops]].
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[[Category:Wish Fulfillment]]
[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
[[Category:Meta Concepts]]
[[Category:Normal People]]
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