The Real Heroes Weren’t The Protagonists

The members of The NPC Guild challenged some local fans to think about their favorite movies, TV shows, and video games differently during a panel at the Portland Fan Expo called The Real Heroes Weren’t The Protagonists.

Nathan Stewart, founder and managing director of The NPC Guild, Bruce Dugan, head of community and communications for The NPC Guild, and Sydney, the chief morale office of The NPC Guild, were joined by Desiree Rincon, head of Gaming Partnerships to talk about side characters who weren’t supposed to steal the spotlight but did anyway. These characters became the most beloved, most quoted, and most emotionally important characters in their franchises while toiling behind the “main” character.

Audience members were encouraged to express their own opinions about their favorite characters who weren’t the main hero but stole every scene they were in. QR codes were used for fans to vote in live polls and provide key words for thought clouds, which turned out to be quite a variety of opinions.

The panel focused on four categories of non-protagonists: Scene Stealers, Pets, Breaking Out, and Conspiracies. There was rarely a consensus on who fell into which category, but the discussion among the panelists and from the audience was energetic.

Scene Stealers included such characters as ClapTrap, from the Borderlands franchise, and Inigo Montoya, from The Princess Bride. These two and others became fan favorites through iconic lines, overwhelming humor, or tragic death, because they felt real despite their second level stardom.

Pets, like Princess Donut, from the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, or Scratch, from Baldur’s Gate, inspire emotional attachments and save at all cost mentalities. As many video game players know, you save the dog (or cat) first or you reload the game.

Breakout Characters are those you loved when they first appeared so much that they got their own franchise or story. The Minions, from Despicable Me, are one example of characters who spun off into their own movie, toys, and games. Ciri, from The Witcher franchise, will soon star in The Witcher 4 after winning over hearts and minds in The Witcher 3.

But the most contentious and entertaining part of the panel was the discussion about Conspiracy characters or those who were secret protagonists. These are characters who, in retrospect, should have been top tier characters in their franchises.

For example, Star Wars is really about R2-D2’s story with its constant presence, heroic actions, and infallible memory about everything that happens. The Lord of the Rings is really about Hobbits, with Sam as the emotional hero hiding in plain sight. Nothing gets done without good ol’ Sam.

The session finished off with a rousing discussion about how supporting characters sometimes become the main character. Without the burden of leading the franchise, these characters can be weird, aren’t trapped by destiny, and with whom fans seem to empathize.

They resonate in our minds long after the hero has concluded the story. And they are the reason we rewatch or replay those franchise moments – just to have them by our side one more time.