Beyond Heroes, Beyond Villains: Populating the Writer’s World—Part 1
For example, Spider-Man has the best supporting cast in comic book history. Who can forget J. Jonah Jameson, Aunt May, or Mary Jane? Even some of his deadliest enemies are his friends when they’re not under the influence of their demented super-villain alter-egos (Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard). Talk about conflict!
Defining the Supporting Cast“Supporting characters are a great source to use to develop conflict within a story. In their own unique way each one of the supporting characters can create obstacles for the hero to overcome.”— Victoria Lynn Schmidt, 45 Master Characters
Your supporting cast includes the hero’s love interest, best friend, mentor, and other primary allies—and sometimes rivals. These are the people your hero is willing to sacrifice herself for, and who would gladly sacrifice themselves for her cause. They need to be every bit as likable as your hero, perhaps even more so.
- What would Star Wars: Episode IV be without Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Princess Leia? Inexperienced farm boy Luke Skywalker isn’t interesting enough to carry the picture, let alone save the galaxy.
- What about a less vanilla, more badass character like Hellboy? Sure, he could take on most enemies by himself, but how much more fun will his adventures be when Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, and Johann Krauss are along for the ride? (The answer is a lot!)
A ton of other great supporting cast examples exist: Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes, Tonto in The Lone Ranger, etc. The reason these characters exist is to balance the hero, to give him advice, to move the story along while deepening it with bonds of love and friendship, romance and rivalry.
Even a “lone wolf” like James Bond has his Bond girls and supporting characters like Q and Moneypenny. They may not all go with him on his adventures, but they put a face on the cause he’s fighting for, and are a big part of what he has to look forward to in-between missions.
Opposites Attract
When designing supporting cast members, keep in mind that they should complement each other as well as the hero:
- Being strong where the others are weak, and weak where the others are strong.
- They should be opposites in logic vs. emotion, courage vs. caution, etc.
- They should have their own back stories, goals, and ambitions. And quirks. Plenty of quirks.
- They should each provide at least one idea that helps the hero and one that hinders him per story. The bigger the help or hindrance, the more readers will like them. That shows they are useful, but not suited to be the star of the show. That’s your hero’s job.
Designing the Villain’s Team
When creating your villain’s supporting cast, they should be mirror images of the hero’s team.
- Remember that only insane bad guys think of themselves as “evil” (and even then, only rarely), so give them a strong, logical motive to be on the villain’s team. If they are emotionally connected to the villain, even better.
- Give them a quirk or two to make them memorable. Top hats are OK, just no mustache-twirling and “Mwa-ha-ha-ha!” Save that for the cartoons.
- Humanize your bad guys with one or two sympathetic traits on top of their ruthlessness. Maybe they refuse to follow the villain’s orders to kill innocents because it goes against their personal code.
The Old Switcheroo
Keep in mind the potential for great drama when one of the supporting cast is blackmailed or willingly switches sides—whether from evil to good or good to evil. Are they double agents, in it for themselves, or have they really had a change of heart?
Further Reading
For a fascinating discussion of how the supporting cast relate to each other and to your hero and villain, read My Story Can Beat Up Your Story by Jeffrey Alan Schechter. There is no better example.
Up next in Part 2: Defining Minor Characters. Read it now!
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Question: Who are your favorite supporting cast and why?
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