| The ideas of character archetypes have been around almost as long as there have been stories. Some changes have been made over time, but the basic idea of heroes, villains, and the characters who surround them have always stayed the same. In the times of the ancient Greeks, heroes were usually male and honorable. Some like Achilles fought for vengeance and obtaining fame, while others like Hector fought for his family. But all fought to protect the people they care about. Todays heroes are far more diverse. We now have male and female heroes, and our protagonists come in all shapes and sizes. We have characters like Spiderman or Batman, who battle constantly to protect their cities from threat. Others like Charlotte Mealswetski from The Kronos Cronicles protect their friends and family. Sometimes being a hero is as simple as saving one man, such as Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. Our stories and characters may have changed, but their basic idea has been passed down for centuries. From Gilgamesh to Bilbo Baggins, Achilles to Luke Skywalker, our stories have kept (for the most part) to the same basic formula. Every story has at least one of these archetypes, a hero to love or a villain to hate. A sidekick to root for, or a thief to not trust. They are what make up the worlds in our imaginations. |
By far the largest character in this list is the king of monsters himself, Godzilla. Over the 60 years the radioactive kaju has spent stomping around Tokyo (and other unfortunate cities), he has been a villain and an anti-hero. Even creatures like Godzilla fall under the character archetypes. http://www.godzilla-movies.com/community/forums/topic/35222