Escapist Character: Difference between revisions

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** More specifically, he was the 'Man of ''Tomorrow'' ', i.e. he was supposed to be what ordinary people might dream of someday becoming.

* [[Batman]]. [[Grant Morrison]] actually talked about this and claims that for all the talk about how much of a fantasy Superman is, Batman is even more so:

{{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."}}

{{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."}}

** Or as a comedian put it: "I wish I was Batman; not so much the fighting crime, I just wish I was rich and my parents were dead."

* [[Captain Marvel]] took up the [[Wish Fulfillment]] a notch by taking Billy Batson, a boy within the age range of the target demographic, and giving him the ability to transform into a superhero very much like [[Superman|the one kids were into at the time]]. Unfortunately, the courts agreed with DC that it was a little too similar (which interestingly ended up with them in the same universe).

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* Tavi of Calderon from [[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]].

* Tyler Durden of [[Fight Club]] basically exists to pass on [[Testosterone Poisoning]] to the men of [[The Nineties]]. This was subtly parodied in the book, but lampshaded like a mofo in the movie.

{{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.''}}

{{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]]'' is a rather shameless one of these.

* [[Honor Harrington]], at the latest point in her series, is a starship commander, the most victorious admiral in her either of her two nations' histories, the first or second highest ranking officer in both militaries, a feudal lord in both those nations, filthy rich from prize money and her landholdings, is genetically engineered to be stronger and faster than the average human, has several bionic implants, is one of the few humans to be mentally bonded with a friendly but badass alien companion, and {{spoiler|Married both to a handsome, intelligent man ''and'' his kind and loving wife}}. To top it all off, every one of her victories, titles and ranks was earned by her own hard work and talent. If only all of our toils paid off as well as hers!

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** 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.

* 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.]]}}

{{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?