Archetypal Character - TV Tropes (2025)

"It may seem redundant at first as strictly speaking an archetype is simply an example of something, in short, every trope is a story archetype. However, here we are using the term about a concept in Jungian Psychology of the same name."

An Archetypal Character is a character who appears over and over in legends far and wide, even in cultures that have shut themselves off from the world; in other words, a Universal Character. The blood-drinking risen dead are an Archetype as almost every culture has come up with their legends independent of each other. Angel is an archetype: the tragic hero trying to overcome the evils of their past. Trickster God Coyote is an archetype. Xena is an archetype. Any of these may be disguised as a Space Alien. Some characters combine aspects of various archetypes to form more complex characterizations, like a being The Hero and The Trickster, or a combination of two opposing archetypes.

Some lit-theories classify archetypes by the role/purpose the character inhabits for the story. These classes are: Protagonist, Antagonist, Reason, Emotion, Sidekick, Skeptic, Guardian, and Contagonist.

A related concept is the 'ectype', a distorted or flawed version of the archetype. For example, Batman is archetypal. He's a rich man who dedicates himself to anonymously fighting crime (protecting society) with a variety of gadgets. Many of the characters in Watchmen are ectypes based on this archetype.

See also Stock Characters and Deconstructed Character Archetype.

Tropes

<!—index—>

• All-Loving Hero: A heroic character whose love and compassion are unlimited.
• The Antagonist: Opposes The Protagonist.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: Living, roughly hominoid embodiments of abstract concepts.
• Anti-Hero: A morally questionable hero who lacks conventional heroic qualities.
• The Archmage: Powerful and knowledgeable wizard ruling other mages.
• Audience Surrogate: Purposefully bland character that the audience can insert themselves into.
• Barefoot Sage: A wise person that is usually barefoot.
• Big Fun: Big, fat, fun-loving character.
• Blind Seer: Physically blind, but "sees" with other means, often better than the unimpaired.
• Blue-Collar Warlock: Modern, streetsmart spellcasters.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Tough characters are capable of having soft hearts.
• The Champion: A character devoted to sticking up for another character.
• A Chat with Satan: A character tests whether the hero would enact their darker desires if tempted.
• The Chosen One: The ancient prophecy says that only a certain person can save the world.
• The Chooser of the One: The one that decides who The Chosen One is.
• Classical Hunter: A character whose life and personality is built around game-hunting
• Classic Villain: A villain who acts as an evil foil to the hero's personality and is a main block to his journey towards his destiny.
• Commander Contrarian: This complainer's only purpose is to always be against a hero's suggestions, no matter how logical it is.
• The Conscience: A character that acts as another one's moral guide.
• The Corrupter: A villain who tempts people into doing evil things.
• The Cynic: Someone who always has low expectations for everything.
• Demiurge Archetype: Someone evil pretending to be the setting's Top God.
• The Dragonslayer: A character Famed in Story for killing dragons, or who is a specialist at dragon slaying.
• The Drunken Sailor: A sailor who is always seen drinking.
• Dumb Muscle: Lots of brawn, short on brains.
• Eccentric Mentor: A mentor who is quirky, yet still wise and skilled.
• Enigmatic Empowering Entity: A mysterious character who grants great power.
• Evil Overlord: An incredibly powerful, highly influential despot who is usually the Big Bad of the story.
• The Fair Folk: Fairies have Blue-and-Orange Morality.
• False Prophet: A savior or religious figure, or someone posing as such, lying for selfish reasons.
• Father Neptune: An old, gritty, experienced sailor.
• The Ferryman: A mythical figure whose boat is used as a vehicle to transport people to Other Worlds.
• The Fool: An uncannily lucky, fundamentally kind-hearted Ditz.
• Fool for Love: Tough, and possibly cynical, but still a sucker for love.
• Genki Girl: Determined, confident, and hyperactive character.
• Gentle Giant: An imposing and scary but kind-hearted Big Guy.
• The Good King: A king who is good at his job and beloved by the people.
• Granny Classic: A wise, nurturing, and reliable grandmother.
• The Grotesque: A character's ugliness is so extreme that it elicits pity instead of disgust.
• Herald: What sends The Hero on their journey.
• The Hero: The do-gooder protagonist.
• The Hero's Idol: The character who inspires The Hero to follow their path.
• Heroic Wannabe: Wants to be a hero, but lacks the skills and/or mindset for actual heroism.
• The High Queen: A woman of wealth, power, near-impossible beauty, and a calm demeanor.
• Higher Self: A character's wiser, dettached side.
• Hunter of Monsters: Someone who hunts and kills monsters and supernatural creatures.
• Ideal Hero: A morally perfect hero.
• The Idealist: A character defined by their hopefulness in the present and the future.
• Ineffectual Loner: A capable but solitary character whose efficiency is limited by their lack of friends.
• Jeanne d'Archétype: A young, soldier woman who is seen as her cause's symbol.
• Keet: A cutesy, hyperactive person.
• The Kirk: The balancer/combination of logic and emotion.
• The Klutz: A character whose defining trait is clumsiness.
• Knight in Shining Armor: A hero who champions the weak and innocent, especially women in distress.
• Lady and Knight: An honourable and courageous character is sworn to defend a high-ranking lady.
• Loser Archetype: A character whose disgrace comes from their lack of talent/skill.
• Lovable Rogue: A charming, likeable trickster.
• Madonna Archetype: Humble mother figure modeled after the Virgin Mary.
• Magical Barefooter: Casting magic is easier if you don't wear shoes.
• The McCoy: The emotional and sentimentalistic character.
• Mentor Archetype: Someone whose role is to ensure The Hero's Character Development.
• Messianic Archetype: Someone who endures great sacrifices to save others.
• Mock Millionaire: A millionaire wannabe.
• Modern Major General: Can do anything well except their actual job.
• Moses Archetype: A character who frees his people to lead them to a promised land.
• My Girl Back Home: The loved one who The Hero leaves when going on an adventure.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: A bureaucrat who hinders others with paperwork.
• Old Soldier: Military Old Master.
• The Paladin: Holy knight with healing and defensive powers and light based magic.
• The Paragon: An embodiment of virtue who inspires others to help society.
• The Patriarch: A male elder with the highest authority in his family.
• Person of Mass Destruction: A person with massively devastating abilities.
• The Pollyanna: A character who remains optimistic no matter what may happen to them.
• Powers That Be: Almighty, powerful, and invisible forces.
• Prince Charming: A blue-blooded, charming hero.
• Princess Classic: An innocent, good and kind princess.
• The Protagonist: The character whom the story is about.
• A Protagonist Shall Lead Them (a.k.a. Leader Archetype): The Hero takes (usually troubled) people and leads them to greatness.
• Rebel Leader: The character who leads La Résistance.
• Rebellious Spirit: A character who doesn't abide by the rules.
• Reluctant Monster: An Always Chaotic Evil species is oblivious/reluctant to their deeds.
• Satanic Archetype: An evil-doer modelled after Satan.
• Seeker Archetype: A character whose main motivation is to learn a certain truth.
• Shadow Archetype: A character embodies another character's rejected facets.
• Sidekick: The ever-reliable Number Two guy to every hero.
• The Sociopath: A self-centered and ruthless social predator.
• The Spock: The logical intellectual.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Lovers doomed to be kept apart.
• The Storyteller: A character who tells tales and sometimes is the narrator.
• Threshold Guardians: A character who tests The Hero's resolve before the latter's journey starts.
• Turn Coat: A character who changes sides and provides assistance to the other side.
• The Trickster: A cunning character who disregards the rules.
• Wandering Wizard: A traveler with magic powers.
• Wicked Stepmother: An evil step-parent who despises their stepchildren.
• Wicked Witch: Ugly, Obviously Evil version of the Witch Classic.
• Witch Classic: Witches as wise, old women whose magic is associated with nature and have an animal companion.
• Wizard Classic: Wizards as wise, old males who use magic, wear robes, and wield staffs.
• Wolf Man: Wolf-like humanoid.
• World's Best Warrior: Someone who, through skill and reputation, is the setting's best fighter.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: Someone who is noted In-Universe to be the setting's most attractive person.
• World's Strongest Man: Someone who is the setting's physically strongest person.

<!—/index—>