What makes a character good (as in worth reading)?

[Shockwave]

This is something I thought I would ask stemming from several threads here but mostly the recent debate in the MTMTE thread. So I'm asking what makes for a good character? Is it the look, what they do, how they're used, what they're capable of? What is it that makes a character worth reading and subsequently worth buying figures of?

[Tigermegatron]

I enjoyed reading Kup in the IDW TF comics. Because he had a Cy-gar,That reminded me of my Cuban uncle from Cuba. I didn't buy the Generations Kup toy because it didn't have the Cy-gar accessory.

[Dominic]

So I'm asking what makes for a good character? Is it the look, what they do, how they're used, what they're capable of? What is it that makes a character worth reading and subsequently worth buying figures of?

How the character is used by the writer is the biggest consideration.

The writer is responsible for what the character does. The writer establishes the setting and concept of the story.

(By "writer", assume that I am also including editors.)

I will avoid books written by Stan Lee the way I would avoid food poisoning. (In fact, I would rather get food poisoning that read anything by Lee.) But, there are plenty of characters that he is credited with creating that have been used by better writers over the years.


Generally, to be worth buying a figure of, the character has to have been used well *and* the toy has to be good. Even if "Iron Man 3" was the best movie of all time (mind you, I have not even seen it), the toys are all crap. I would not buy any of them.

And, in some cases, I would buy a good toy of a character that I was not overly impressed by. (Dropshot did not do a hell of a lot during "All Hail Megatron". But, the toy is good enough. Similarly, I have only seen a few episodes of "Prime", and not been impressed. But, I have a few Vehicons because those are good troop-builders.)

[Onslaught Six]

Sometimes, I just get inexplicably attached to a character. Elements of backstory, colours/"look," all these come into play. One also has to take into account things like, gasp, personal taste. I love obscure TF characters. You find me a dude from 1985 with a handful of UK comic appearances or a Japanese exclusive Diaclone repaint with a new name and I'll be all over that like scampers on Hot Wheels. I don't even know 'why,' but I'm sure it spreads from early fanfiction days when we'd have a bunch of RID and BW toys who never appeared in the cartoons and were begging to be fleshed out. A little work turns Retrax from a forgettable '97 Basic to a Demigod corrupted by Godmaster power and ruling a planet of giant pillbugs.

I've loved Spiderman as long as I can remember, and I can't tell you why. He has a cool costume. His rogues gallery is one of the best in Marvel. But I dunno what initially interested me in him and I dunno what keeps me there--besides awesome alternate costumes.

[Almighty Unicron]

Girth, length, and stamina. In that order.

[andersonh1]

This is something I thought I would ask stemming from several threads here but mostly the recent debate in the MTMTE thread. So I'm asking what makes for a good character? Is it the look, what they do, how they're used, what they're capable of? What is it that makes a character worth reading and subsequently worth buying figures of?

That's an interesting question. There's usually one or two characteristics that serve as a "hook" to get my interest. It's not really any more complicated than that. I don't have to agree with everything the character does as written, but there always has to be something that makes it worth the investment of my time. I guess as long as I'm entertained, that's all that matters. I know that's fairly broad, but it's a broad question. And it's different for print media as opposed to a performed media. I can watch a movie or television epsiode and an actor's performance can make the difference with regard to a character that I wouldn't care about at all on the printed page.

And sometimes certain versions of characters appeal to me while others don't. I'm watching the old Lone Ranger and Tonto series with my kids right now, and I'm really fond of the characters as played by Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. Arnie Hammer and Johnny Depp? Not so much. And it's all down to character interpretation and tone. On the printed page, New 52 Superman leaves me cold, while many other versions of the character are much more to my liking. I like Marvel and Sunbow Hot Rod much more than IDW Hot Rod, because I prefer the character largely earnest and straightforward rather than as a pompous and arrogant screw-up. And so on.

[Shockwave]

For me it depends. Sometimes a character can exhibit traits that endear me to them or sometimes it's something I can identify with personally. Sometimes it's because they exhibit traits I would like to have or sometimes it's just the cool factor. Examples included Knockout. I really like Knockout from Prime even though I was kind of "meh" to the show itself. I just liked the character's snarkyness and I also like the idea of the Decepticons finally having a dedicated actual medic. Another example would be Mortal Kombat. I was taking Tae Kwon Do at the time and this was the first video game where I saw the characters using moves I was learning and could do. And I've been a fan ever since. One of the things that has often attracted me to certain characters in Star Trek is that many of them have traits that I would like to have such as courage, honor, and intelligence (one of the reasons I have gravitated so heavily to Spock, Data, and sebsequently, Shockwave). As for cool factor, I would cite Darth Maul. His look, that double bladed lightsaber that we'd never seen before were all cool even though he didn't really last long enough to say or do anything of any real significance.

As for buying toys of figures... I like to make Toyfare style cartoon with my toys so buying toys is mostly predicated on whether or not I have an idea for a sketch to use them for (for example, I am currently in the market for the 3 3/4" Mortal Kombat ninjas. Mostly I want Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Ermac to use as a Starfleet ninja away team). Transformers is an exception to a line where I would buy figures without already having something planned on the basis that I want those characters or am otherwise army building. But even then, they get displayed in some sort of battle scene (pics are on my fb page for those of you that are on it. Which is most of you.)

[Sparky Prime]

That's a hard question to answer... Mostly I think really just depends on personal tastes. But I would have to say a really big part of it I'd have to say is being able to identify with or at least relating to the characters to some extent. And a more complex character is a lot more fun and interesting to read about. I think a reader wants to be pulled into a story and it's the characters in large part that allows that to happen.