Building Character Archetype Constellations

When we first teased the Kickstarter for the Character Creator Kit, John described how this deck of cards is based on the idea that characters are never just one thing, but a constellation of archetypes.

So what does that look like?

With the Kickstarter going live today, we're taking a look at some examples that pair up heroes and villains. We'll deal out some of the cards from the deck as an example of the kind of archetypes that blend together to make these specific individuals (as well as the archetypes that the hero and villain might share).

Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman

Lex Luthor

The Overlap

Both see themselves as a kind of Champion, but from different perspectives. Clark sees himself as a champion for people who can't defend themselves from extreme threats like kaiju or entire armies. Luthor sees himself as a champion of humanity against unchecked alien power (like Superman).

One is a powerful being who will even make time to save a squirrel, humble to the core. The other is the smartest man in the room and also the first to tell you he's the smartest man in the room.

The Differences

Kent/Superman sees the world in a more innocent, naive way. And this can cause issues, like when he tries to defend his actions preventing Boravia from invading Jarhanpur. He's reminded by characters like Lois Lane that there are complicated geopolitics and optics involved in a superhero based in the United States inserting himself into a foreign conflict with no oversight. Superman's response? "People were going to die!"

Luthor sees this more complicated world, but instead of using that information to construct a more informed kind of altruism, he looks to exploit his knowledge to further enrich himself. He helps to engineer the conflict between Boravia and Jarhanpur as a way to increase his assets (expecting to claim territory after Boravia annexes its neighbor), but also sees this as a useful way to put Superman out of commission.

In context, they both see themselves as the most capable individual to accomplish their respective goals, but those goals couldn't be further apart.

Miles Morales/Spider-Man

Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099

Overlapping Archetype

Both Miles and Miguel see themselves as essential protectors. Miles has replaced the Spider-Man in his dimension, and watches over his version of New York City.

Miguel claims a larger domain, seeing himself as the one who needs to watch over an entire multiverse and prevent any thread of it from tearing apart the entire fabric of existence.

They're playing at opposite ends of the Protector archetype: Miles sees a place full of people who need protecting, while Miguel is constantly searching for anomalies to eliminate, making sure all of reality adheres to what he sees as canon.

The Differences

Miles does not fall in line. He has questions. Whether it's the way that Miguel has organized his organization and their goals, or if it's choosing what he wants to do after high school, Miles makes his own decisions and looks for his own answers. He knows he has a lot to learn, both as a scientist and a superhero, and he wants to reach the heights of that potential.

Miguel has built an army across the multiverse, bringing every Spider-Being into the fold that he can to enforce his sense of order. While it's clear many of them are believers in Miguel's explanation of what binds them all together and what they must do to prevent anomalies, there's also a clear indication that Miguel is manipulative. He can't do it all himself, so he crafts a mission for everyone to be a part of (and consequences if they refuse).

Because unlike Miles, Miguel sees a status quo and looks to maintain it. His experience of being Spider-Man is built on a series of sorrows that he canonized as the definitive path for all who wear the mask.

Miguel thinks every Spider-Being needs to suffer the way he suffered. Miles asks why.

Rick Deckard

Roy Batty

Overlapping Archetype

Both (supposed) human Deckard and replicant Batty have a mission that pushes against the border between man and machine. Deckard faces the contradictions of Rachael, a replicant who has no idea she's not human, as well as his limited strength and endurance compared to the replicants he's sent to "retire."

Roy Batty wants an answer to why he was built with a limited lifespan. Why can't he have more life? Why was he designed to be so human, and yet prevented from living longer than a child? How can a life intentionally engineered to be expendable create meaning out of its existence? Is he alive?

The Differences

While both characters are trying to uncover a larger truth that drives them forward, Rick Deckard exists as an enforcer for a system that requires clean lines and strict delineations between man and machine. His search for truth isn't wholly philosophical, as he's putting together clues and trying to fit everything into an objective sense of real and true. These are replicants. They went rogue. They have been terminated by me, and I have only ever terminated replicants.

Roy Batty exists outside this system. Designed as expendable slave labor, denied that he has rights or a soul or anything else that would put him on the same footing as the humans who use him and other replicants. He is abandoned by his creator, sent to far off colonies to do thankless, dangerous work. And his search for meaning acts as both a desire to settle a relationship with an absent father as it is a chance to argue before God that he and his fellow replicants deserve more.

Deckard is broken, body and spirit, over the course of the story because he tries to maintain that this is just another case, and that his world still has clear distinctions between human and replicant. Batty sees this as a kind of holy quest to come in from the outside, a blood-stained Pinocchio demanding to know why he can't become a real boy.

So how can you deal yourself some character constellations like these? Hop over to the Character Creator Kit Kickstarter and make your pledge!