Why fictional heroes are mostly single?

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Post by **Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman** » 2002-08-29 08:16am

From James Bond to Kirk, from Batman to MacGyver, most of the major characters in the movie, comic books, TV shows, etc are single.

The same also happen on the major villains such as Lex Luthor, Khan, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine. Heck, even when the main heroes/villains are some kind of monarch (Emperor, King, etc), they are usually "Queenless".

So far the only married hero I know is Spider-Man (Peter Parker). Han and Leia are married each other but in the EU, not in SW movie.

Is that just the way they write the story in US or what? Or maybe it's just way COOLER to be single??

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Post by **Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman** » 2002-08-29 08:20am

PS: Even LORD BRITISH from Ultima series is single. As far as I've played Ultima, there have never been the "Queen of Britannia".

Cpt_Frank · Post by **Cpt_Frank** » 2002-08-29 01:13pm

Hey, actually you don't know if Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine frequently have hot affairs.... There seem to be enough girls who would do
it right Lusankya?

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2002-08-29 01:19pm

The characters HAVE to be single so they can fall in love in an unlikely situation!

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2002-08-29 03:54pm

Actually they have to be single so they can fill in the time between action scenes with stupid sentimental love crap or x-rated sex scenes.

thecreech · Post by **thecreech** » 2002-08-29 05:14pm

Thats just the whole image of heros and villians. There suppose to be loners. there suppose wander around kicking some ass.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-08-29 05:53pm

As a married man with kids, I would point out that we have too much to protect.

Heroes are invariably people who risk everything for some cause (a rather disturbing archetype when you think about it, because whenever that cause isn't yours, such a person looks an awful lot like a fanatic). Such a person cannot have a family and be a good man, because a good man recognizes his responsibility to his family.

The difference between a man and a boy (besides the size and price of his toys) is that a man understands his responsibilities. Action-movie heroes are invariably teenaged minds in adult bodies: it's a wet dream for geeky teenaged fanboys to see somebody as shallow and one-dimensional as themselves in a fully grown adult body.

So a hero can't have it both ways. If he's a family man, he has too many responsibilities to run off risking everything (and worse yet, putting them in harm's way). If he runs off risking everything, he sure as hell can't have a family; it simply wouldn't be fair to them. And if he has a family and decides to risk his own safety and theirs over his pet crusade, he's not much of a hero.

That's why there's only one kind of family-man hero in action movies: the guy whose wife and kids get blown away in the very beginning of the film by the bad guys, so he must spend the rest of the film wreaking terrible vengeance upon the bastards who did it (a la Charles Bronson movies, "Gladiator", etc).

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-08-29 06:41pm

As a married man with kids, I would point out that we have too much to protect.

Heroes are invariably people who risk everything for some cause (a rather disturbing archetype when you think about it, because whenever that cause isn't yours , such a person looks an awful lot like a fanatic). Such a person cannot have a family and be a good man, because a good man recognizes his responsibility to his family.

The difference between a man and a boy (besides the size and price of his toys) is that a man understands his responsibilities. Action-movie heroes are invariably teenaged minds in adult bodies: it's a wet dream for geeky teenaged fanboys to see somebody as shallow and one-dimensional as themselves in a fully grown adult body.

So a hero can't have it both ways. If he's a family man, he has too many responsibilities to run off risking everything (and worse yet, putting them in harm's way). If he runs off risking everything, he sure as hell can't have a family; it simply wouldn't be fair to them. And if he has a family and decides to risk his own safety and theirs over his pet crusade, he's not much of a hero.

That's why there's only one kind of family-man hero in action movies: the guy whose wife and kids get blown away in the very beginning of the film by the bad guys, so he must spend the rest of the film wreaking terrible vengeance upon the bastards who did it (a la Charles Bronson movies, "Gladiator", etc).

Well, I was going to mention that the hours are bad.

I think Mike's point is relevant to real life as well. The more you have to loose the less likely you are gonna try and be a "hero."

Now that I own my own home, Im not about to go on any grand adventure. I have a mortage to pay. Sounds boring, but its life.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2002-08-29 07:30pm

Actually Bond is Widdowed, and has a child from a previous relationship, but keeps her as far away from himself for her own protection.

Batman has been Married Twice:

Sandra Kinsolving & Talia respectivly, though neither marraige has been anulled, he has never considered them real.
Bats also has a kid by the Super Terrorist Talia.

Akm72 · Post by **Akm72** » 2002-08-29 07:55pm

Speaking as a single man with numerous married friends; it would seem to be related to exhaustion.
Married men are knacked from all the sex (I assume

) and helping out around the family home, much too tired for any hero or villain stuff.
And married women are too busy finding things for their husbands to do to be bothered with any heroic deeds (outside the family home) or world-domination campaigns.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2002-08-29 08:55pm

"How was work Dear?"
"Oh the usuall, Damn government interference"
"The kids are with (Insert name of Superhero group) let me figure out something to deal with that headache why you figure out how to deal with MI6"

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Post by **Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman** » 2002-08-29 09:49pm

Cpt_Frank wrote:Hey, actually you don't know if Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine frequently have hot affairs.... There seem to be enough girls who would do
it right Lusankya?

Well, Palpatine & Vader may have a lot of hot affairs, but they're still single, ain't they? The point is none of the heroes/villains are "family man" type.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Post by **Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman** » 2002-08-29 09:57pm

Darth Wong wrote:As a married man with kids, I would point out that we have too much to protect.

Heroes are invariably people who risk everything for some cause (a rather disturbing archetype when you think about it, because whenever that cause isn't yours, such a person looks an awful lot like a fanatic). Such a person cannot have a family and be a good man, because a good man recognizes his responsibility to his family.

Well, at least villains risk everything for THEIR OWN cause. That's why I found some heroes are just pathetic and villains (like Lex Luthor and Palpatine) are way cooler.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2002-08-29 10:17pm

How about in the Jack Ryan movies? He's the hero and he has a family. Also, in "The Insider", though it is based on a true story, Wigand acts pretty heroic, though I don't know if you would consider him a hero. He also has a family and a significant part of the movie focuses on the effect his actions has on his family. Then there's He-Man. Of course, he really is a teenager in a man's body, especially the new one.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2002-08-29 10:43pm

neoolong wrote:How about in the Jack Ryan movies? He's the hero and he has a family. Also, in "The Insider", though it is based on a true story, Wigand acts pretty heroic, though I don't know if you would consider him a hero. He also has a family and a significant part of the movie focuses on the effect his actions has on his family. Then there's He-Man. Of course, he really is a teenager in a man's body, especially the new one.

With Jack, it's just because he was married in many of the books. He is unmarried in both the book and the movie "Sum of All Fears."

Incidentally, the reason why heroes in movies TEND to be single is because they like to follow the hero's journey and bildingsroman. In order to do either, they must have a relatively young hero, and frequently they like ones who are at first insecure, so that they can easily show how much the hero changes over the course of the story. Also, they like to be able to show the hero's struggle to be accepted by woman/man (depending on the hero), and they like to be able to utilize natural human emotions on the subject of romance. They also like to show some of the rewards of success during the journey.

Galvatron · Post by **Galvatron** » 2002-08-29 10:47pm

As a hero of the Decepticon cause, I remain single so I can lay pipe whenever a gullible and nubile female Autobot falls victim to my charm.

Comrade Yuri · Post by **Comrade Yuri** » 2002-08-29 11:33pm

Foolish Westerners! The concept of marriage is pitiful remnant of that wonderful opiate of the masses, religion! I, Master Yuri, have no need for such pleasures of the mere, pitiful flesh! With my ability to command the mind of anyone, there is not need for me to be married! And besides, comrades, I am far too busy with global domination anyway!

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-08-29 11:56pm

Comrade Yuri wrote:Foolish Westerners! The concept of marriage is pitiful remnant of that wonderful opiate of the masses, religion! I, Master Yuri, have no need for such pleasures of the mere, pitiful flesh! With my ability to command the mind of anyone, there is not need for me to be married! And besides, comrades, I am far too busy with global domination anyway!

Man, you really need to get laid

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Post by **Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman** » 2002-08-30 05:50am

I guess our comrade Yuri confused MARRIAGE with SEX. I am single, but I enjoy my life since I can always find different chicks every weekend. Not to mention those wild parties... and those X-pills too.. YEAH!!! LET'S RAVE, EVERYBODY!! THIS IS WEEKEND!!!

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman · Post by **Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman** » 2002-08-30 05:54am

PS: I'm not a hero, just a hedonist... (well, maybe a villain someday

)

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2002-08-31 01:23am

Galvatron wrote:As a hero of the Decepticon cause, I remain single so I can lay pipe whenever a gullible and nubile female Autobot falls victim to my charm.

I thought the Decepticons were homosexual?? (Well, Soundwave and perhaps Cyclonus were anyway!!)

RayCav of ASVS · Post by **RayCav of ASVS** » 2002-08-31 02:18pm

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:I guess our comrade Yuri confused MARRIAGE with SEX. I am single, but I enjoy my life since I can always find different chicks every weekend. Not to mention those wild parties... and those X-pills too.. YEAH!!! LET'S RAVE, EVERYBODY!! THIS IS WEEKEND!!!

You do realize that was actually me just fucking around, right?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2002-08-31 04:55pm

Master of Ossus wrote:
neoolong wrote:How about in the Jack Ryan movies? He's the hero and he has a family. Also, in "The Insider", though it is based on a true story, Wigand acts pretty heroic, though I don't know if you would consider him a hero. He also has a family and a significant part of the movie focuses on the effect his actions has on his family. Then there's He-Man. Of course, he really is a teenager in a man's body, especially the new one.
With Jack, it's just because he was married in many of the books. He is unmarried in both the book and the movie "Sum of All Fears."

No! Jack is married in SOAF.

Evil Jerk · Post by **Evil Jerk** » 2002-08-31 05:05pm

Marriage is totally overrated.
How can you get things done (good or evil, but especially evil) with a nagging spouse around you?

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2002-08-31 06:51pm

Simon H.Johansen wrote:
Galvatron wrote:As a hero of the Decepticon cause, I remain single so I can lay pipe whenever a gullible and nubile female Autobot falls victim to my charm.

I thought the Decepticons were homosexual?? (Well, Soundwave and perhaps Cyclonus were anyway!!)

Naah... They're probably just AC/DC.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Why fictional heroes are mostly single?

Why fictional heroes are mostly single?

Gay Decepticons?