My Top 10 Examples of Strong Male Protagonists

There's a lot of hype over "strong" female protagonists. Some love how women characters are portrayed nowadays, especially those who can outshoot, outrun, and outsmart every man on the street because of some nasty background (or no reason at all). Others abhor how female protagonists have lost a lot of what makes a woman different from a man: her gentleness, compassion, and naturally softer nature.

Let's take a step back from that whole popular debate and instead focus on a less-publicized side of the coin: strong male protagonists. What makes them strong? Why do we like them so much? How can we make a clear distinction between them and our "strong" ladies?

I'm going to share my top 10 favorite male characters, from books and movies, and see if I can gather five commonalities between them that might point to why they are so likeable. Ready? Let's get started!

(Note: I tried to limit it to only one character from each book/movie, but there is some overlap purely because I couldn't help myself. Sorry 'bout that. XD)

10. Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games - films)

I know, I know. I've stated before that Hunger Games isn't one of my favorite stories - especially the books. But Peeta is part of the reason why I don't just get rid of the whole series. He's an excellent example of what most of my favorite male characters embody: loyalty, courage, sacrifice, a protective spirit, and a breaking point. Peeta is no Superman. He's merely a broken human fighting to survive what the world is throwing at him, and he does that with love. He's not overly-emotional, though. Yes, he cries. Yes, he has his moments. But they're realistic in that he does that in private when he can and does his best to keep it together when he's in public. He's got high emotional intelligence without being stupid about everything else. While he has his strengths, he's got plenty of his own flaws as well, which only serve to make him stronger.

8. Peter Pan (Peter Pan)

Y'all, I had so many dreams about Peter Pan and Neverland and Captain Hook and all of it when I was younger. As in literally two or three times a week. Why? Because that story took a hold of my imagination, mostly through the fascination of the main character. Peter's passion, enthusiasm, optimism, and ridiculous cockiness somehow always painted him in the best light, even though I now see that most adults probably wouldn't be able to stand him. XD Like Peeta, Peter has his flaws (*cough* aforementioned cockiness *cough cough*), but those only seem to make him more likeable.

(P.S. This version of Peter (2003) looks insanely like my cousin. 0_0)

9. Poe Dameron (Star Wars)

This guy is the definition of "reckless idiot", and it's hilarious. Just like the other two, he's loyal (sometimes stupidly so), passionate, and courageous. While he could learn a thing or two about respecting authority, he also knows how to get the job done and is willing to pay any price to do so. He's funny, warm, and charismatic. His flaws are many: arrogance, recklessness, disrespect, a dash of selfishness, etc. Once again, though, those flaws are part of what make him so likeable. Maybe it's because it's those flaws coupled with his strengths mold him into a very realistic character, so much so that I feel like I could run into him in the supermarket and not know that he was from another galaxy entirely. XD

7. Grug (Croods)

Some of you may be thinking that this is a strange choice for a favorite male character. After all, he doesn't exactly hop in an X-wing and blow something up, or get involved in a love triangle, or take kids to a place where they'll never grow up. He's a dad. And that's about it.

The thing is, Grug is one of the most realistic portrayals of a good dad that I've seen in movies (not that there are many of those... *coughs*). He's protective, sweet, maybe a little overbearing, and passionate. He'd do anything for his family, including sacrificing his pride (or his mother-in-law), and honestly just wants to prove himself to the daughter he feels like he's losing. If that doesn't pull on your heartstrings, I don't know what will.

6. Tom Natsworthy (Mortal Engines)

Mortal Engines isn't a super well-known movie, but if you haven't seen it yet, go ahead and watch it because it is so. good. (Aside from the occasional cuss word, that is... *rolls eyes*) Part of what makes it so good is the very well-developed cast: from hardened and bitter Hester to power-hungry Valentine to well-meaning Katherine, wounded Shrike, snarky Anna Fang, and, of course, Tom Natsworthy.

Tom is not your typical hero. He can't fight to save his life, gets lost easier than getting found, and forsook his dreams of flying long before the story even begins with no interest of ever chasing them again. But he's passionate. (Noticing a theme here?) He'll die for what he believes is right, and he proves that. He may be completely useless in the wild, but he values life and will protect it no matter the cost. He's sweet but not an emotional puddle, kind but not sissy, strong but realistically so. (Seriously, he tries so hard to protect his ego and fails miserably over and over. It's kinda hilarious. XD)

5. Dustfinger (Inkheart)

This guy is not even close to a hero. He's selfish, cowardly, and about as committed as a soggy cracker to anything but his own wants and needs. And that's kinda why I like him so much. He's hardcore passionate, even if his morals are a little shady, and will fight to the death for what he believes in. Plus, he has an animal sidekick to die for. ;) (Comment if you caught the reference.)

Dustfinger is what we writers would categorize as an antihero: a hero without typical heroic qualities. That's part of why I like him as a character so much: I can see where he's coming from and root for him even while I disagree about his tactics and morals. He's incredibly realistic, even though he's from a completely different world. Plus, his arc is amazing. *chef's kiss*

4. Artham Wingfeather (The Wingfeather Saga)

(Because I like the book illustrations better than the animated characters, behold illustrated Artham.)

Like Dustfinger, Artham has a complicated background that results in things that may be seen as selfish, cowardly, and uncommitted to outsiders. (In fact... I kinda never realized how extremely similar Artham and Dustfinger are until now... wowza. 0_0) Artham is also passionate in the extreme, but has to fight his own personal battles before that passion can take him anywhere. He's courageous despite his cowardly moves, selfless despite how selfish he seems, and loyal to a fault. Poor guy. *pats him* His is definitely one of the sadder stories I've ever heard. :(

3. Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings)

Aragorn doesn't appear to have many flaws at first glance. He's courageous, loyal, brilliantly smart, passionate, humble, kind, gentle but firm, and a great leader despite his protests. But if you peel back the layers, you see that he does, in fact, struggle with a deep-seated fear of failing, so much so that he's willing to stand back and let his people struggle along without a king. He's afraid of not measuring up, of not being good enough. Ultimately, though, Aragorn has to learn the lesson that so many of us do: you'll never find out if you measure up until you try. And if you don't, then work at it until you do. For those of us who are Christians, that means relying on God to mold us into what we need to be and to use our mistakes for his glory, our good, and the joy of many. For those of you who are not Christians, I can't imagine what kind of a depressing battle that must be.

2. Caleb Westmore (100 Cupboards)

(Because Caleb is a book character who has yet to have any fanart (tsk tsk) or be in a movie (tsk tsk tsk), I resorted to taking a picture of the only illustration that exists of him. My apologies for how sad this is.)

I'm not sure how N.D. Wilson does it, but he somehow manages to make almost all of his adult good guys, both male and female, people I aspire to be. His female characters are strongly feminine without being weak, and his male characters are strongly masculine without being overbearing or ridiculously overpowered. Caleb is no exception. He's chivalrous, eloquent, courageous, passionate (again, shocker), humorous, optimistic without being air-headed or unrealistic, loyal to a fault, sacrificial, and protective. He can be a little headstrong and reckless from time to time, especially when he was younger, but he knows when to take things seriously and is a master with a bow and arrow. Something that I really appreciate about Caleb (and most if not all of N.D. Wilson's good guys) is the way he treats women. He doesn't treat them as lesser or better, but it's not quite equals either. He respects them without deferring to them and... gah, I don't know. I can't put words to it, but I love that in Caleb (and Mordecai, and James, and Rupert, etc.).

1. Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)

(Caleb came close to being #1, guys. So, so close. But Sam takes the cake in the end. :P)

Samwise Gamgee. Many claim that he is the real hero of LOTR, for all that he put up with and went through for Frodo's sake. Regardless of his role, he's the very definition of loyal. And patient. And brave. And protective. He's sweet and gentle too, often openly emotional in an endearing way. And, of course, he's not without his flaws: like how hard he is on himself and others, or how he holds grudges.

One of the things I like the most about Sam - and several of these characters, it appears - is how normal he is. He wasn't born a king. He doesn't know a thing about battles or royalty or powers or spacecraft. His skills are in cooking and gardening, for crying out loud. He's not especially handsome or strong physically or eloquent or charismatic. And that's exactly the way it should be. He's the kind of guy that you see in the grocery store that would stop a bullet for you, but you wouldn't know that until the shot was fired. He's sweet, selfless, and humble. He's not as clearly passionate as the others, but... he knows what he's fighting for, and he'd do anything, including giving up his home and life, to claim victory.

Conclusion

There you have it: ten male characters that I would love to plagiarize into my novels. *waggles eyebrows* Overall, what are five common traits I see between all of them that I could add to my own male characters to make them more like this?

1. Passion. These guys love something with all of their beings, be it their families or countries or freedom. They'd die for these things, and often go to the extremes in order to protect or regain what they love.

2. Purpose. This is similar to passion, but in a different vein. You see, none of these guys are aimless. Those who are rebels aren't rebels purely because it's fun to shoot at the enemy, but because they truly feel that their deepest values are being violated. Those who aren't are fighting for something else, and that's what drives them through the whole story. That purpose is behind every good or bad choice that they make, every wound received or tear shed.

3. Realisticity. (Is that a word? *shrugs* It should be.) None of these people are so flawless or otherwise equipped that I can't see myself running into a modern-day Aragorn in real life. Despite their different settings or abilities or backgrounds that are difficult if not impossible to find in real life, they all go back to humanity's basics at their roots. They have strengths and weaknesses. They love and they hate. They win and they lose. They laugh and they cry for the same reasons I do. It's those things that bond them to their readers/viewers across all the differences in our stories.

4. Masculinity. And no, I'm not talking about their beards or muscles or their size. I'm talking about how they act. When they have differences, they'll yell or punch or kick instead of gossip and fake friendships like women. When they hurt, they don't share that unless it breaks them. They're offensively protective, willing to fight tooth and nail for their loved ones and countries, and are the providers. If I were to compare these characters to female characters that acted almost exactly like them, I'd say the female characters were the unrealistic ones.

5. Emotions. This could be just me that likes this, but... all of these guys have emotions that show. No, they don't break down in tears and run to their friends for comfort. But they do cry. They get angry. They feel hopelessness and joy. They go through as much of an emotional roller coaster as the women, they just don't display it as clearly. None of them are controlled by their emotions, but they're certainly not robots. And I really appreciate that.

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So what are some of your favorite male characters? Why? Did you notice any other common threads between my picks? What's your favorite movie? Book? What order would you put these 10 in, with 10 being the least favorite and 1 being the best? Would you like to see a version of this with female characters?

Until next time,

Take courage, pursue Christ, and smile while you still have teeth!! ^_^

-Joelle