Stock character

A stock character is a fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to members of a given culture. Because of this, a frequent device of both comedy and parody is to wildly exaggerate the expected mannerisms of stock characters.

Stock characters

• The absent-minded professor, an academic with important information whose focus on his learning leads him to ignore his surroundings. (Based in part on Archimedes or Isaac Newton?)
• The Angst-ridden Youth, a young male character, usually handsome and virile, but conflicted, sullen, and at odds with the establishment. Epitomized by James Dean. Anakin Skywalker is such a character before transitioning to Dark Lord as Darth Vader, as is Harry Potter.
• The Avenger, a hot-blooded young man who has had a loved one (usually a fiancée) cruelly murdered and/or raped and seeks his revenge outside the law. (Batman, Laertes in Hamlet and Hamlet himself, as well as Amsterdam from the film Gangs of New York, are examples of Avengers.) He can often be the son of a Rake.
• The Bad Fiancé, a villain who is romantically interested in the heroine despite a complete lack of interest on her part. Often, the Fiancé is rich and snobbish or macho and sexist. The heroine will typically choose a seemingly less desirably male character to become romantically involved, leading to jealousy on the part of the Fiancé. The Fiancé may be in cahoots with the heroine's mother, who is usually a snob. Caledon Hockley from Titanic is an example.
• The Bitter War Veteran, A man who fought as a soldier during a war, most often the Vietnam war, usually leaves home a naive young man, goes into harsh combat, usually is injured in combat, watches his friends die or be injured, or is captured by the enemy and tortured. He returns home bitter, deranged, and often has flashbacks and nightmares about the war. Two examples are Rambo and Solid Snake.
• The Competent Man, who can do anything well: repair a machine, fight, cook a meal, build a house — the heroes (and heroines) of Robert Heinlein's fiction are generally Competent Men. MacGyver is an example of a Hero who is also a Competent Man.
• The Contender: an athlete with raw talent, but who must rely on the guidance of a Wise Old Man or similar character in order to overcome internal limitations (lack of discipline or confidence) in order to triumph in an athletic competition.
• The Damsel in Distress: the young, beautiful, virginal woman who must be rescued from some cruel fate by the Hero (see below), à la Penelope Pitstop. The damsel in distress is now often subverted, with the damsel being secretly formidable and waiting for the right moment to strike back.
• The Ingenue, also young, beautiful and virginal, in mental or emotional rather than physical danger, usually a target of The Cad (see below).
• The Dark Lord, a sinister villain with an entourage of henchpersons, usually bent on conquest of the world or universe. Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Sauron, Lord Voldemort and Doctor Doom are examples.
• The Elderly Martial Arts Master is typically an extremely old Asian man who is nonetheless a near invincible master of the martial arts, for example Pai Mei from the Kill Bill movies.
• The Evil Albino, a villain distinguished from the main characters through pale skin, blue or red eyes and platinum-blonde hair, though said appearance is not always a function of albinism. Examples: The Twins, Sephiroth, or Silas (from The Da Vinci Code).
• The Evil Clown, a supposedly wholesome figure who hides inner horrors
• The Evil Genius, particularly as the foil of superheroes in comic books or of the hero in spy fiction such as the James Bond series.
• The English Butler, often present if the main character is upper-class or has wealth. Very proper, well-mannered, skillful, and loyal to his employers and always comes to their aid, when needed. Usually speaks with a posh English accent and may have a dry sense of humor or is prone to cynical remarks usually about his employers behavior. Examples include: Alfred Pennyworth from Batman, Cadbury from Richie Rich, Jeeves, and Mr. Belvedere. Such butlers or other servants sometimes overlap with the Competent Man in contrast to a less compent or intelligent employer character.
• The femme fatale, La belle dame sans merci, the Black Widow, the beautiful but evil woman who leads the hero to his doom.
• The Fool, the fool is a clown or joker who speaks in riddles and puns. Often, the fool is intelligent and witty and reveals key truths about the characters with whom he fools (Shakespeare's fools, such as the ones in Twelfth Night and King Lear, are well-known examples).
• The Fop, a highly fashionable aristocrat. He is typically overdressed and his speech is characterized by over-use or misuse of popular phrases (often French phrases) or various forms of hypercorrection. The fop is never intelligent and always talkative. (The Hero sometimes poses as a fop to allay his enemies' suspicions: Zorro hid behind the image of the Fop, Don Diego. The Scarlet Pimpernel hid behind the persona of Sir Percy Blakeney.)
• The Foreign Exchange Student, whose exotic appearance and/or mannerisms often serve as comic relief. Examples: Fez from That 70's Show, Kaolla Su from Love Hina, Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles, Uter from the Simpsons, and Rowlf from Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
• The Gang members, this may be a single character representing the whole, or a group of members (also causing the stormtrooper effect). Usually, the sterotype includes Asian (and mainly HongKong or any Cantonese speaking Asian) Triads, Russian Army, Japanese big coporate companies, Middle East guerilla troopers, etc.
• The Henchman, a major villain's frequently incompetent stooge. (Heroes have sidekicks; villains have henchmen.)
• Hooker with a heart of gold or the Tart with a Heart, outwardly tough and hard, hiding a heart of gold underneath. The modern interpretation of this character is often "The Stripper (also Whore or Hooker) with a Heart of Gold". Think Alabama from the 1993 film True Romance or Vivian from the 1990 film Pretty Woman.
• The knight-errant, a chivalric wanderer who searches for adventures to prove himself as a knight.
• The mad scientist, the insane man of science who either accidentally or intentionally "meddles with the forces of nature" and causes the trouble that the hero must correct. Well-known examples are Doctor Frankenstein and . The 20th century mad scientist is based in large part on Nikola Tesla or rather Thomas Edison's portrayal of him to the media, but sometimes based on Albert Einstein.
• The Military Man, typically career military (although there are retired variations), who is harsh and unforgiving authoritarian and is usually associated with the negative aspects of the military.
• The Miser, a wealthy, greedy man who lives miserably in order to save and increase his treasure. Though grumpy, he's not necessarily a villain. Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge is an obvious example.
• The Noble Savage (and a related subtype, the Magical Negro), a representative of a disadvantaged or disempowered ethnic group or culture who aids the (usually white) Hero by helping him out of a jam or introducing him to spiritual enlightenment.
• The Outlaw, sometimes a cold-blooded desperado, but also often a gallant highwayman or a dashing thief after the manner of Robin Hood.
• The Private Investigator, a hero archetype who stumbles into detective stories to solve a mystery case, whether it be a whodunnit murder or other crime activity. The Private Investigator (or P.I.) is usually cool, relaxed, intelligent, sardonic, and introspective, often relating events through an internal monologue. A stereotype look would see him drink whiskey, smoke cigarettes, dress in a raincoat and fedora and be an excellent shooter (based on Clint Eastwood or Humphrey Bogart).
• The Rake or Cad, a man who seduces a young woman and impregnates her before leaving, often to her social or financial ruin. Often portrayed as a heavy drinker or gambler. Also known as a rake-hell. To call the character a rake calls attention to his promiscuity and wild spending of money; to call the character a cad implies a callous seducer who coldly breaks his victim's heart. See: Hogarth's A Rake's Progress.
• Redshirt, an inconsequential character who is killed or injured soon after his or her introduction in order to indicate the dangerous circumstances faced by the main characters. The term originated in reference to the frequent use of such characters in the television series '. In the series, these characters usually wore red uniforms, signifying both their station as security personnel, and their insignificance.
• The Sidekick, the Hero's helper: Sancho Panza in Don Quixote, Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes. The Sidekick is often a figure of fun, but is trustworthy and sometimes shows surprising resourcefulness and bravery. In whodunnits and secondary literature on detective fiction in general, the Sidekick is often referred to as the Watson—slightly dumber than the average reader, time and again overlooking decisive clues, occasionally drawing the wrong conclusions (such as Captain Hastings, a friend of Hercule Poirot).
• The Wise Old Man, an elderly Merlin or Yoda figure who trains and advises the Hero; often portrayed as a wizard or hermit.
• Prince Charming, the prince who rescues the damsel in distress, appears in a number of fairy tales, including Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.
• The Town Drunk, serves as a figure of fun, serves as a moral example, or is used as a plot device to disrupt public gatherings. Marmeladov from Crime and Punishment is one example.
• The Whiz Kid, a brainy sidekick to the hero. Often, physically the weakest of the group. As a result, he can be useless in a fight, but knows his way around computers and technical stuff. Often witty in an erudite way. Typically talks using big words.
• The Jokester, often a part of a group of adventurers. Not to be confused with the fool, the Jokester copes with the seriousness of the situation (often war) with constant good humor. Sometimes he may be crying on the inside, or his laughter might mask insecurities. Occasionally, his perpetual good humor can be annoying, but he is always loved by his teammates. Nightcrawler or Iceman of the X-Men and Hawkeye Pierce of M*A*S*H are examples.
• The Womaniser, normally male persons characterized by having many love affairs with different women. Examples: Casanova and Don Juan.
• The Subservient Negro, an ethnic stereotype: an aide-de-camp or second-in-command, always the one the Caucasian leader is "depending upon", and always expendable. The character usually dies nobly.
• The Tough guy usually uses his attitude and no-nonsense skills, including physical persuasion and intimidation, to get what he wants. A typical tough guy would be an Italian-American gangster with significant capacity to deal out and take punishment, such as multiple characters on The Sopranos.
• The Vigilante, an anti-hero of sorts, who must serve justice, usually for the wrong causes or outside the law, usually killing at will or at random and showing no mercy. (Examples: The Punisher, Rorschach from Watchmen, Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.)
• The California Girl, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl who only ate health food and loved the environment more than anything else.
• The nerd who was a total genius, wore geeky clothes, and was the teacher's pet.
• The Clumsy Hero. a good meaning person, but usually accidently destroys friend and foe alike. ie. Coop of Megas XLR