Five-Man Band/Playing With
Basic Trope: A group of five heroes consists of its leader, the leader's counterpart, the muscle, the intellect and the peacekeeper. Their archetypes complement one another, and their skills contribute to the group in a unique way.
- Straight: Bob is the leader of The Guardians of Gameland, who also consist of the jealous and brooding Tony, the nerdy Jack, the muscular Charlie, and The Heart Alice.
- Exaggerated:
- Their roles on the band are their only defining traits.
- Or, their traits are very obvious: Bob is a Badass Abnormal, Tony is The Gunslinger, Jack has a big Brain and Psychic Powers, Charlie is a Gentle Giant and Made of Iron, Alice is an Innocent Fanservice Girl Action Girl with Healing Hands and Sam is a Death Seeker. Then they get Yuki the Penguin.
- Justified:
- There's safety in numbers, and they only have five Macguffins that will let people fight.
- In the RPG Tales of Troperia, Bob wants a well-balanced team, so he recruits Jack, Alice, Charlie, and Tony.
- Inverted:
- There are five teams, each one specializing in one thing.
- or: Five-Bad Band, five villains.
- The members of the team hate each other so much they vowed to never work together.
- Subverted:
- One of them eventually dies, or quits.
- Alternatively, their positions on the team don't match their appearances/skill.
- Double Subverted: The team goes through a succession of Optional Party Members.
- Parodied: Their traits are too obvious: Bob is an Idiot Hero dressed like a knight and fights with a giant spoon, Tony is a Psycho for Hire dressed like a pirate, Jack is a Brain In a Jar in a robot ninja body, Charlie is a Boisterous Bruiser dressed like a viking, Alice is a Straw Feminist Hot Amazon, Sam is The Ace and a dragon, and there's also Yuki the Wonder Penguin who has Elemental Powers and wears a cape. They always act like Big Damn Heroes even when doing mundane tasks.
- Deconstructed:
- The members of the Five-Man Band, when alone, are helpless. When Alice gets kidnapped, the rest of the members fight against each other. Without Jack, they don't have a plan. Emperor Evulz uses this to his advantage. He also forces Sam into sacrificing himself at their darkest hour with a game of Xanatos Speed Chess.
- Alternatively, they each become so tired of being constrained to their roles and having to deal with each other, so they all leave on their own adventures, but they all become injured without support. Sam realizes he's going to die and leaves the group, Tony gets sick of playing second fiddle, Jack gets fed up with being The Load, Charlie gets tired of not being as smart as the others, Alice gets bored with being The Medic, and Bob grows weary of being a vessel for Character Development, leaving Yuki asking everyone not to leave.
- Reconstructed: The members of the Five-Man Band learn from each other as the story goes on. Bob becomes a Guile Action Hero, Tony becomes a Chessmaster Friendly Sniper, Jack becomes a Badass Bookworm Gadgeteer Genius, Charlie becomes a Lightning Bruiser Genius Bruiser, and Alice becomes a Badass Normal Lady of War.
- Zig Zagged: They are the Animorphs. Seriously, go look at the entry on that page and at the discussion.
- Averted: Bob works alone, or with only one or two other people.
- Enforced: The writers use the Five-Man Band, since it is the ideal group.
- Lampshaded: "Only a five-man team can look this good while beating evil!"
- Invoked: Bob purposely seeks out other group members that fit certain roles.
- Defied: "I don't need four other members, one or two is just fine!"
- Discussed: Emperor Evulz: "Why do my troubles always come in fives?"
- Conversed: "Hey, that's The Chick. And that's The Lancer!"
Go back to Five-Man Band and remind them that they are the best team ever.