This was first published on February 16, 2013 and it’s a weird one. Only because I would go on to make Nyx and Clyde more susceptible to losing. I still think a ‘versus’ between characters from different worlds is inherently flawed because people will always choose their favorite. I also think Luke Callindor now has a better chance at defeating Skywalker since I know his powers now. Still, I can’t even say it would be a full trouncing or even entertaining. For one thing, I don’t even think they would fight unless there was a misunderstanding and that’s what these ‘versus’ things tend to revolve around. So, the entire activity seems fruitless.
By Kayla Matt
I’ve mentioned once or twice that I don’t like perfect characters. I love flaws in my characters and I love flaws in other characters. It makes them more realistic and the reader can relate to them more. Still, I do have a few characters who I would label as unstoppable. They aren’t perfect, but for some reason, I can never see them losing in my head.
This came to mind when somebody was talking to me about how my character, Luke Callindor, would lose to Luke Skywalker. First of all, this isn’t a fair fight because Skywalker has the Force and an energy sword. My Luke is out of his league and will probably lose 7 out of 10 times because of a Force push, Force choke (I know he isn’t a Sith Lord), or his sabers getting sliced through by the lightsaber. I could argue about situational and sneak attacks, but that’s why I’m still giving my Luke a chance at winning. When he gets more abilities then I’d up him to 5 out of 10 times, but that Force thing is still a challenge for a close-range fighter. So, I conceded the point and then pointed out that Skywalker would be slaughtered as soon as Callindor hit the ground.
Here’s my reason: Nyx.
She has the power to incinerate cities and she’d go berserk on the person who kills Luke, her ‘little brother’. This guy continued to argue in favor of the Force and I continued to argue in favor of my walking magical powerhouse. Eventually, it got ridiculous when I had Nyx scorch earth the entire planet. It was at that point that I realized that I couldn’t rationalize Nyx losing in a fight that she could use her magic in. I mean, she loses a few fights in the books due to having to use restraint or something else that minimizes or negates her magic. Yet, here I was basically saying that she was unbeatable and getting angrier the more I’m being denied.
In the end, I left the conversation in a funk and continued dreaming about Nyx laying waste to every Star Wars character that I could think of. Eventually, I calmed down and tried to figure out why I do this. I still don’t have a good answer. Though, I did realize that Nyx isn’t my worst offender. That would be Clyde, my progenitor vampire. Unlike Nyx, I don’t think I ever have him lose in his series. Maybe once or twice, but those times are because he didn’t feel like fighting. I would assume that this is because I never lost a fight with him when I played him in a game.
Maybe my main confusion is why I’m more than willing to concede that Luke Callindor would lose a fight, but I get angry that somebody states that Nyx would lose. Luke was me for two and a half years, so one would assume that I’d make myself out to be the constant winner. It just doesn’t make any sense to me, but it also makes me wonder if this is unique or common.
Do any other authors out there have characters that they can never imagine losing a fight or hold them up to an insanely high pedestal?
Legends of Windemere 
I think it’s natural to want a character who has that much prowess. The good thing about the characters you mentioned is that they don’t just waltz in and win. They have to put forth effort and sometimes have to recharge or put themselves back together. In some stories nowadays, the characters barely break a sweat. There is little cost to them.
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I’m noticing an increase in these characters. I’m seeing they are used a lot with minority groups and the idea that everyone needs a Superman.
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Well, some things are wish fulfillment. Like I wish this could be me with all of this power. But I can’t help thinking of Rey in Star Wars and how divisive this sort of character can be.
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I always see two arguments against Rey with one lacking. That would be the ‘hate woman’ argument. I do agree with the Mary Sue thing and got a bad feeling it was going that way at the end of ‘Force Awakens’. Rey ended with the lightsaber, Falcon, Chewbacca copilot, R2, Force powers, and main quest. She pretty much held the role of Luke, Leia, and Han at the same time, which meant it wasn’t a team story like the originals. She didn’t really need Poe or Finn, which showed in the preceding movies. This is the danger of a character who gets all of the toys and doesn’t seem to work or suffer greatly for them. It diminishes everyone around them.
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I think the issue was there was no plan for Rey. She could have had a great story like some of the other female Jedi (like Luminara)—someone with an interesting backstory and skillset. But they decided to make her an instant Jedi without much training. Who can build an arc around someone who doesn’t overcome anything and whose origins seemed shrouded in mystery only because her story hadn’t been developed? And making her a Palpatine instantly made me lose all interest.
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I thought they had a plan, but having different directors for movies 1 and 2 screwed it up.
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I don’t think they had much of a plan. Look at the MCU (at least to Endgame). Several different directors but sitll a unified vision for the characters. None of the characters introduced in epside 7 had much of an arc. They had promise but all of that seemed dropped in the subsequent movies.
I can’t help thinking of the Clone Wars animated series and how all of those clone troopers were introduced. They all looked the same; yet they had different personalities and great storylines. Granted, they had room to develop them since they had a TV series. But some of them had more of a character arc in one episode than Rey did in three movies.
I can’t help thinking of Babylon 5 and how the writer director wrote most of the five-year series. Now, that’s a plan!
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This is a strange post. It smacks of, “My dad is tougher than your dad.” My goal is to keep them interesting and sometimes that includes getting their butts kicked when they overreach.
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I’ve seen that with characters plenty of times.
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I think everyone has characters like that. Mine is a superhero from the Champions game. Her powers were invisible, so she could make people faint without them knowing she was the reason.
But like you said, for a story purpose, you have to balance the characters so all of them have potential to do great, exciting things.
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Interesting power. How did she make them faint?
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It was an endurance drain. Endurance in Champions is the stat characters “spend” to use their powers. No Endurance, no powers, and if you get into negative Endurance, they faint.
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Sounds like stamina in a few games.
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