False heroes and fake protagonists

I want my new WIP to be about a character with a hero complex/heroism addiction. I've been looking for stories with this theme, but couldn't find anything even remotely similar. There were a whole lot of stories where a similar character played a role of a villain/fallen hero (who can be possibly redeemed)/side character.

I wanted my character to play the role of a false protagonist. I have a general idea of how I'd like to do it, but I don't know how to frame the POV. If you know a story with a theme like that, I'd certainly appreciate it as a point of reference. But without it, I'm not sure how the novel should treat this character. Framing the whole thing straight would mean a weak, cliched beginning. Irony would ruin the plot twist. Writing in 1st person would make the second half extremely difficult to pull off. Using multiple perspectives has the same problem as the first option since the fake protag's story would still need to mostly be told through his eyes.

So, my question is, what approach seems the best to you? Did you ever come across a similar concept? Do you think this kind of story needs a specific POV?

 

Do you draw any distinction between false heroes and false protagonists?

The distinction seems to be that:-
False protagonist is for characters who are (misleadingly) built up as the hero
False hero is for a character who comes in at the end and claims they were the hero of the story

For a heroism addition there's Kick-Ass (2010), but he isn't a false protagonist he's the hero of a story about pretending to be a hero. What the OP is after also seems different from the Han Solo type story arc where someone starts off pretending to be a hero and then makes a profound realisation that "true is better than false". The examples on wikipedia and that I can think of are nearly all either children's stories or movies (which nowadays is the same thing) and I guess it might be because of (as the OP I think highlights) the need for the POV to be authentic. In film we don't see the characters' thoughts so a rug-pull can work, but in writing it tends to open a need to deceive the reader about the character's thoughts. I'm not saying it can't be done - but that it's likely to involve an unreliable narrator. And one whose unreliability is at an extreme (and might be at risk of becoming inauthentic). Which I guess pushes toward 1st-P, and the plot twist ends up as a rug-pull.

Something to consider might be turning this story into a side-plot for something else and making the main character into a supporting character - as that might give the breathing space needed to keep a surprise going without it being at the expense of closeness to character. It might also save the difficulties of researching and writing the psychology of a hero-complex - these are the people who work as nurses so they can inject things into babies and then "save" them, so there might be a trade-off between keeping an authentic voice of someone with the complex and sanitising it down to a character that anyone would want to spend time with. In a supporting character the authenticity is easier to trade off.

 

Final Fantasy VIII has the character of Seifer who really, really, reeeeally thinks he's the hero of the story, and a rival to the actual hero. In the end, poor old Seifer turns out to be a mildly challenging sub-boss - he's not even the main villain, and ends up on a (literal) fishing trip with his loyal friends, who stuck with him on his misguided journey.

 

There's Trish in the Netflix Jessica Jones series. From the very beginning she's jealous of Jessica's powers and wants to have her own, and she's totally obsessed with it. She's working out hard and training in Krav maga to become as powerd as possible. She continues her obsession through season 2 and starts to go off the rails a bit, but in season three she actually finds a very dangrous way to get powers that almost kills her and she develps the agility of a cat and night vision. She then puts on a costume and starts playing vigilante, but her sense of justice is so warped she's actually a villain. At one point she has the realization "I'm the bad guy".

The theme of the whole show is heroism, and the qustion is 'What makes someone a hero?' Each character has a different take on it. Jessica repeatedly states that she isn't a hero, but her actions, decisions and sacrifices say otherwise, while some other characters poudly proclaim their heroism but in various ways reveal otherwise.

I'm also reminded of the Michael Douglas movie Falling Down from the early 90's where he got fed up in a big traffic jam and just walked away from his car and went on a big rampage, becoming a folk hero, but at the end he stops and says "When did I become the bad guy?" At first everybody loved what he was doing, but it was really selfishness and violence for his own benefit.

 

He thinks he's the MC, even uses his John Wayne shtick, but really he's the comic-relief sidekick and Wang is the hero—the guy he thinks of as his sidekick. John Carpenter even presents the movie so Russel seems like the hero, but by the end you realize he never was.

 

Not maybe quite what you're thinking of, but similar—Brad Pit in Fight Club. Or even Edward Norton. It's subversive, at first all his stuff getting blown up and joining the fight club seems liberating and empowering, but soon it becomes clear there's a much darker motive behind it all involving terrorism.

 

This got me thinking of Inspector Clouseau - which wasn't a book, but perhaps this is something that comes in from stage comedy rather than literature.
And then what about Malvolio in Twelfth Night where they trick him into thinking he's the protagonist in a love story?

Or Don Quixote? It matters to this when the reader becomes aware the MC isn't a hero. It's much easier if they are aware all along.

 

Yes, but my definition of a false hero is someone who pretends to be altruistic and helpful only as long as he/she gets positive affirmation in return. Someone who truly partakes in heroic deeds but not because of some sort of a moral code or empathy, but because they crave positive attention. I might've used the wrong term here though - maybe it should be "fake altruist"? My definition of a false protagonist is parallel to yours.

Kick-Ass can be a good example of what I'm going for in the first half of the story. Someone who starts out being a superhero cause his life sucks otherwise. The way I wanted to combine this concept with the false protagonist was by forcing the hero to create more problems once his fame was about to dwindle, slowly turning him into a villain while giving the role of a protagonist to a girl he forced into a relationship with him. Most stories like Kick-Ass seem to have the protagonist grow into the "hero" role eventually, usually once they realize their problems are not the center of the universe, but that's not what I'm going for. I want my character to turn out to be a real monster, only forced to do good because of the combination of social constructs and his constant need for attention.

I think I'm leaning towards that option. Maybe every so often I could switch the perspective to a different character, to further cement the "unreliable" trait of the main narrator?

That's also a good suggestion. I'll keep that in mind when writing the synopsis.

Now that you mentioned it, Seifer might be a very good source of inspiration. I guess I'll try to theorize a scenario where Seifer and Squall would trade their roles in the story to get a better grasp at how my character could act.

Well, I know what movie I'm gonna watch this evening.

Although it might be an internet term, I'm pretty sure it's at least an existing trope. Kind of how "Mary Sue" has recently become a shorthand for a trope that existed since the dawn of literature.

Both of these seem like the exact point of reference I was looking for. The question of "What makes someone a hero" is something I'm going for as well, though I'd like to explore the derivative subject of "why so many villains think they are a hero". Thanks a lot!

 

Fight Club is an interesting take on the subject, but I'll admit I've grown a bit tired of this movie once I realized how many people seem not to understand what it's actually about, acting as if Tyler's character was right all along and the means he takes to achieve his goals are completely justified. Kind of how a lot of people started glorifying Patrick Bateman from American psycho. That's one of the things I'd like to balance in my story - make the character likable enough so that the first half is at least enjoyable, but make him into an unquestionable monster in the finale.

 

Anyone with really strong moral convictions always sees themself as the hero. Thanos for instance thought he was the only one strong enough to do what had to be done. And usually people with such strong convictions like to push them onto other people.

 

I'll admit - I never though about Don Quixote in this context. Completely unrelated - whenever someone mentions Don Quixote, I feel like I must've heard about it, but the title doesn't ring a bell for some reason. Then I realise why - it's called "Don Kichot" in Polish and my mind is so used to this version I just cannot get used to the English one

 

Doctor Zachary Smith from Lost in Space always pretending he was a protag but had his own devious agenda. Since that series came out, I've noticed writers seem to put 'that guy' in every genre.
I've tried to write 'that guy' into my work, but found it difficult to pull off.

 

It helps to understand the psychology of narcissistic personality disorder.

 

You're right, although I believe there are more factors that play a part in making such a conclusion. There is this thing in psychology called "Willful Empathy" (not sure if that's how the term is translated into English though). It's a form of empathy that is usually associated with histrionics, narcissists, and psychopaths, where a person is capable of effortlessly "switch on" their empathy if an empathetic reaction would benefit them. What is interesting is that some psychological disorders and diseases make a person unable to actually emphasize with other people (theorized to be caused by an underdeveloped part of a brain responsible for moral development, causing a person to never develop beyond Lawrence Kohlberg's pre-conventional stage.)

What is even more interesting is that in order to appeal to a wider demographic, populist writers often shaped their stories to have their heroes' internal growth rewarded by an external prize - again, going back to Kohlberg's theory, this effectively placed the morality of those characters in the "what's in it for me" stage. But most of those stories were still framed as the go-to examples of empathy. To me, it's fascinating, because that line of thought leads us back to the concept of "Willful Empathy", only now propagated by mainstream media. And shown to be the only - or, at least the most desirable - form of empathy.

Now, combine this with an actual lack of a personalized moral compass. And maybe delusions of self-importance. A person who sees themself as a hero for simply abiding by the social norms and expecting a reward in return. Someone who only sees empathy as means to gain affirmation. Pretty far-fetched concept. Until you venture into the depths of r/niceguys, where it becomes a horrific reality

 

Or pretty much anywhere on Twitter or all the other social media platforms. What you're calling Willful Empathy is probably what I would think of as false empathy, or putting on a mask of empathy. It's also closely related to virtue signalling, which is putting on a big public act of empathy and good moral character while not really living up to it in your actual life. People who did this were referred to in the Bible as the Pharisees, who would make a big public show of prayer and morality but had no actual morality to back it up. In fact they were covering the fact that in reality they were anything but moral. People who make a big show of it often are hiding their true nature. And the ones who are quick to point the finger of blame and call out people for bad behavior are often projecting.

Understanding this stuff is good for a writer, and it sounds like you have a pretty solid understanding of it. Narcissism is also the base condition for sociopathy and psychopathy.

 

Maybe the ultimate false hero is Satan in Paradise Lost. Milton slyly subverts the classical cult of heroes with his depiction of Satan- charismatic, courageous, and a damn fine speech maker. Some people come away saying Satan is the real hero, because the good guys are, well, just not as interesting. In this Milton has set a great trap for readers, showing how alluring sin can be, especially when clothed in martial prowess, honor, noble sentiments, or other qualities traditionally deemed heroic.