Shadow Archetype: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Shadow Archetype has to do with two elements of writing; characters and settings. In this part of the wiki we're talking about character archetypes. For the settings viewpoint, see [[Shadowland]].

** Anime!Wrath is a shadow archetype to anime!Envy. They're both [[Artificial Human|Artificial Humans]] of [[Ambiguous Gender]], with the [[Fashion Victim Villain|same bad taste in fashion]], vindictive streak ({{spoiler|watch Wrath kill Lust and tell me there's no sadism there}}), impulsive tendencies (although Envy's are slightly more controlled due to his greater experience), [[Parental Abandonment|abandonment issues]] and fondness of displaying a [[Slasher Smile]] in combat.The difference is that Wrath has people who genuinely care about him, and is eventually able to lose that anger and pull a [[Heel Face Turn]], whereas Envy, after 400 years of nurturing his spite, has nothing but deep-seated rage left to him; all that remains is psychosis and self-loathing, which eventually drives him into [[Complete Monster]] territory.

* Haruhi and Kyon of her [[Haruhi Suzumiya|her eponymous anime]] are shadows of each other - Haruhi is the [[Daydream Believer]] that Kyon keeps locked away in his mind, and Kyon is the rational aspect of Haruhi that she tries to ignore.

* ''[[Prince of Tennis]]'' has a few as well. Fuji originally did not care as much for winning as enjoying the thrill of the game. Shiraishi, on the other hand, finds his own tennis boring but is committed to winning no matter what. Both are also considered the most formidable members of their respective teams, even more than their captain/lancer.

** Of course, Kira doesn't have any superpowers, just a powerful weapon, and he isn't actually distinct from Light. And what he mostly appears to really ''hate'' are useless no-accounts and disorder, and the fact that the world is petty and hollow and small. (All of which he increasingly becomes as his power over the world increases, but he doesn't see it.)

** L and Light have a whole reciprocal shadow ''thing'' going, though. Light is the social one, who not only understands but really '''cares''' about proper socialization and not being indecorous, but as Kira he's also the one who's the most prolific serial killer in history. L is antisocial and willfully unsocialized, and he doesn't really care about a little thing like legality, let alone propriety, but he's the one trying to enforce the social stricture ''you don't go around killing people,'' and he means it. Enough to be unwilling to test the Note. Shadow stack.

* [[Big Bad]] Shishio in [[Rurouni Kenshin]] is the assassin who succeeded to Kenshin. He represents what Kenshin could have become if not for a certain incident in his past.

* In ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'', it's shown that Kotetsu and {{spoiler|Kriem}} both had very similar histories. Both were [[Differently-Powered Individual|NEXT]] that grew up during the height of [[Fantastic Racism|NEXT prejudice]] and had come to hate themselves before encountering someone that inspired them to embrace their abilities and follow in their new idol's footsteps. The key difference is that Kotetsu's encounter was with Sternbild's first [[Superhero]] Mr. Legend, while {{spoiler|Kriem}} ran into NEXT-supremacist [[Super Villain]] Jake Martinez.

* ''[[Black Lagoon]]'': The protagonist Rock serves as a shadow for later character Yukio, who chose to take leadership in her yakuza family {{spoiler|not that she had much choice}}. Later, Yukio even calls him out on his motivations for saving her, citing that he only sees her as his old self, but is unwilling to let go of his past.

* Hachimaki talks with his Shadow in ''[[Planetes]]''.

* Shadow Yuuko from [[Tasogare Otome X Amnesia]] is a literal version of [[Ghostgirl|Kanoe Yuuko]]

 

** To a lesser extent, Deadshot, Catman, the original Black Mask, and Jean-Paul Valley as Batman can also be seen as shadow versions of Bruce Wayne.

** The best example may be Bane, trained to physical perfection? Check. Genius-level intellect? Check. Lack of parents in his formative years? Check. [[Papa Wolf]] tendencies? Just ask [[Secret Six|Scandal]].

* [[Aquaman (Comic Book)|Aquaman]] had an explicit Shadow Archetype in the Thirst, which was literally the dark side of his then-newfound Waterbearer abilities; As his mentor the Lady of the Lake put it, "he is ''you'' Arthur".

** It's also in this same series that Batman is established as the clearly defined opposite of Superman, the pair taking roles previously held by Hades and Apollo.

* Quite literally in the form of Nega-Scott of ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]''.

** In the true Jungian tradition. {{spoiler|Scott is kind of a jerkass, Nega-Scott is kind of cool.}}

* Baron Mordo to [[Doctor Strange]], who represents what Strange might have become if he hadn't learned humility, patience, and respect for others. ''Doctor Strange: The Oath'' introduces Nicodemus West, yet another student of the Ancient One, with the added resonance of also being a physician.

 

 

== Fan Fiction ==

* One of [[Stray (Fanfic)|Stray]]'s major themes is [[Arc Words|"What can change the nature of a man?"]] The protagonist, Adamska, has two shadow counterparts within the story who represent different variants of himself-gone-wrong. One is an older version of himself that represents everything he doesn't want to become {{spoiler|and the other is a former [[Tyke Bomb]] raised by the setting's [[Ancient Conspiracy]] as a successor when Adamska himself broke free of their control.}}

* In keeping with the Shinji/Gendo dynamic mentioned above, ''[[Shinji and Warhammer 40 K (Fanfic)|Shinji and Warhammer 40 K]]'' makes the comparisons between the two quite explicit, which Shinji fervently hopes to avoid coming to pass. Ritsuko even goes as far as to label Shinji "mini-Gendo".

* JLA Watchtower-[[DC Nation]] - [http://community.livejournal.com/jla_watchtower/tag/strangers the "Strangers" plot]. Dark Angel "swapped out" several Titans with [[Evil Counterpart|Evil Counterparts]], and twisted reality so that the feelings people had towards the "replaced" Titan went to the villain instead. Nastiest in the case of Cheshire and Troia, but also pretty bad with Starfire's husband and a creepy shapeshifter, and between Fauna and Terra.

 

== Literature ==

 

== Live Action TV ==

** ''[[Star Trek]]'' being, well [[The Philosopher|Star]] [[So Cool Its Awesome|Trek]], it also does this on a species level with Romulan being the shadows of the Vulcans, and on dimensional level, the [[Mirror Universe]] being he shadow of the ''[[Star Trek]]'' 'verse.

** Really both the good and evil Kirk are Shadow Archetypes to the real Kirk, he wouldn't want to be either one of them.

* Shadow pairs are very common on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', where they are what the good character could have been [[For Want of a Nail|if they'd gone wrong]]. Faith is Buffy's shadow; Ethan is Giles's shadow; Adam is Riley's shadow. Vampires are sometimes seen as the shadow of the people they were when alive. Some characters manage to be their own shadows: Angel, Willow, Oz, Spike, and (in one episode) Xander. Willow's shadow, the vampire from the Wish Dimension, gets extra points - not just dangerous and creepy, but also showing signs of Willow's latent sexuality.

* Similarly, the Miniature Killer (and her presumably-incestuous foster father Ernie Dell) are shadows of Sara and Grissom on ''[[CSI]]''. The Miniature Killer represents everything that Sara and Grissom are unwilling to face about Sara's past and her consequent incompleteness as a person.

* On ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'', Boober Fraggle came into conflict with the fun-loving, irresponsible part of his personality, which manifested as his [[Evil Twin]] Sidebottom (the side of himself which he keeps on the bottom). It wasn't until Boober accepted Sidebottom as a part of himself that he was able to make his [[Evil Twin]] go away.

** Also, lively, enthusiastic Red met her own opposite -- the modest, cautious Beige -- when the Fraggles encountered another colony of their species.

* [[Doctor Who|The Doctor]] and the Master, particularly in the revamped series.

** The show also plays about the darkness within the Doctor himself, most recently in "Amy's Choice". This darker self shows the Doctor's wishes for control, power, and interestingly, his own self-hatred.

* Tony's second series episode of ''[[Skins]]'' is a study in Jungian psychology; Sean Pertwee's character(s), the crazy dude on the train and the admissions counselor at the university, together form Tony's shadow (Tony explicitly describes himself as "<the counselor>'s bad dream, him before he was destroyed by the system").

* [[Dexter|Dexter's]] whole shtick is that he kills people who represent what he would be if he didn't have a code. So, in effect, he has murdered literally hundreds of manifestations of his Shadow Archetype. On top of that, every season introduces a new mentor-type figure who presents a more personal version of the archetype.

** On a series-wide level, House and Wilson are shadows of each other. Wilson's cheerful [[Nice Guy]] personality is, at least in part, a deliberate persona he puts up because he doesn't want to be hurt by rejection. House's abrasive [[Jerkass]] personality is, at least in part, a deliberate persona he puts up to prop up his ego (thus preventing himself from being hurt by rejection). Both frequently note that the reason they're such good friends is because the other allows them to release a little bit of what they hide from everyone else, and because both can see right through each other.

* In ''[[Smallville]]'' [[Lex Luthor]] was always being warned about the darkness that he carried within himself. Enter Lx-3, a failed clone of Lex in the Season 10 premiere, "Lazarus". Lx-3 was essentially Lex without the [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|facade]], with all the rage and anger simmering at the very surface. An [[Axe Crazy]] psycho to Lex's [[Manipulative Bastard]], Lx-3 showcases exactly what is lurking beneath the surface of our favourite [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], while demonstrating how vital that restraint really is if Lex is to be a successful supervillain.

* [[Devil May Cry]] has one, in its 3rd game. One of the final bosses in the game (in fact the last you face before the Boss Rush) is literally a shadow version of Dante. When it first confronts him, Dante demonstrates an oddly adroit knowledge of literature and culture (pointing out that the Shadow typically represents aspects of themselves the hero must overcome) before defaulting to his typical persona.

{{quote| "I know why you're here. You want to ask me some questions. Well too bad! I've already answered them myself. I don't need you. Get lost, you poser."}}

** Interestingly, [[Ni GHTS]], a shadow archetype, has ''his/her own shadow archetype'': Reala, a servant to Wizeman. (Damn, it's hard to write anything involving [[Ni GHTS]]. The guy...er, girl...whatever is the Patron Saint of [[No Biological Sex]].)

{{quote| '''{{spoiler|Mithos:}}''' Farewell, my shadow, you who stand at the end of the path I chose not to follow.}}

* [[Silent Hill]] - From the second game on, the hero and antagonist are more or less shadow archetypes of each other:

** [[Silent Hill 2]] - James and [[Memetic Molester|Pyramid Head]]

** [[Silent Hill 3]] - Heather and Claudia (Heather and Alessa as well)

** [[Silent Hill 4]] - Henry and Walter

* Ryu's "evil" side (more like unrestrained) from ''[[Street Fighter]]'', the result of Ryu letting go of his humanity to win at any cost. Akuma wants to permanently draw this out of him while Gouken (Ryu's master) teaches him that this is not the way of the warrior. In the actual canon of the story, this is more metaphorical than realized (Ryu never rampages around in his dark side, though he is always afraid it will get the better of him) but some games do allow the player to use this version of Ryu.

* In ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', Mordin is a scientist who struggles with the guilt of unleashing a virus that reduced the fertility rate of an entire species, in order to save the galaxy from them. During his loyalty mission, you meet Maleon, another scientist who represents what Mordin would be if he let his guilt overtake him and [[Jumped Off the Slippery Slope]].

 

== Web Comics ==

* Probably {{spoiler|Jadesprite to Jade}} in ''[[Homestuck]]'', seeing as {{spoiler|Jade is optimistic despite the future not looking too good while Jadesprite believes everything is doomed and won't even listen to a "the future's worth fighting for" speech, for chrissakes! Jadesprite's hysterics drive Jade from a get-ahold-of-yourself-man-slap to assault. This is eventually lampshaded by acting-psychiatrist Karkat.}}

** A [[Dark Is Not Evil]] example in ''[[Homestuck]]'' is Karkat to John. Both have similar rooms, fulfil similar roles in the plot, and even use weapons with a symbolic similarity (John uses a hammer, Karkat uses a sickle). However, their personalities are quite different - John is sweet, mischievous and innocent, and Karkat is bitter, angry, but rather wise. John types in all lower-case, but Karkat types in [[No Indoor Voice|ALL CAPS]]. And while both of them love terrible movies, John [[There's No B in Movie|just has really bad taste]] and defends the quality of the films he loves - Karkat is aware his favourite romcoms are terrible, but [[Guilty Pleasure|loves them passionately anyway]]. This is one of the reasons why Karkat, at one point, [[Foe Yay|falls in hate with John]] (and also one of the reasons why John doesn't reciprocate).

* On ''[[Samurai Jack]]'', Aku used a spell to create a Shadow duplicate of Jack. Aku theorized that Jack could not defeat himself in combat, which proved to be true. Jack prevailed by becoming peaceful and calm, proved his mastery over his own anger and drew the Shadow into himself

* [[The Dragon|Shego]] is [[Kim Possible]] if she got bored of being good.

** From the same series, though it isn't really played up, Terra can be seen as Raven's shadow. Both are [[Dark Magical Girl|Dark Magical Girls]] with uncontrollable powers, but Raven practices intense self-discipline to keep herself on the good guys' side, while Terra is an emotional wreck who doesn't really mean evil, but turns out to be very susceptible to serious temptation the first time it comes down the pipe. This could easily be seen as part of the reason why the two characters took an instant dislike to each other...

*** Raven even calls Terra out on how much she has to work to control her powers while Terra won't take that responsibility.

**** From a metafanbase [[Po V]], their both Beastboy's Love Interest. Puts a weird spin on the Terra VS Raven Mudfight when you think about it...

*** To a lesser extent, Raven and Jinx. Raven tries to be a hero in spite of being the daughter of an [[Eldritch Abomination]] (and being one herself when she gets angry enough), while Jinx became a villain solely because she figured her 'bad luck' powers couldn't be used for good.

* Katara and Azula of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''.

** A better example would be Azula and Zuko: he spends most of the series on the verge of becoming as ruthless and as cruel as his sister, but pulls back when he realizes she's willing to commit genocide.

** More like he spends a long time trying to ''be'' her, because that's what his father wants; his successes are moderate at best. Eventually, after much [[Character Development]], he is allowed to reap the rewards of becoming like her even though he hasn't (though he did do something evil enough to freak ''him'' out), and discovers they're totally not worth even being an accomplice, because this isn't him.

** Hama is a fellow Waterbender whose [[Irrational Hatred]] of the entire Fire Nation is similar to Jet's in that she has no qualms about harming innocent people. She develops a deadly Waterbending technique and becomes ruthless in order to survive in the Fire Nation and teaches Katara the same technique. Katara very nearly became consumed with the same vengeance when faced with her mother's killer but decides it wasn't worth it after a little help from Aang.

* ''[[American Dragon Jake Long]]'': Huntsgirl and Jake are both forced by their roles to be enemies. Jake being the protector of magical creatures, against Huntsgirl who has to hunt them. Jake has to deal with accepting responsibilities while Huntsgirl has to fight her fate.

* [[Hey Arnold]]: Helga is an [[Hypocrite]] with [[Hidden Depths]] who denies her feelings. Brainy is a guy with [[Hidden Depths]] who always try to say her feelings (but cannot for the asthma). Why Helga is [[Running Gag|continously]] giving [[Offhand Backhand|OffhandBackhands]] to Brainy? [[Be Yourself|Because Brainy is the one thing Helga wants and fears to be]]. Brainy is Helga's [[Satellite Character]] ''because Brainy is Helga's self, and Helga is his'' [[Shadow Archetype]].