History Creator / MichaelMoorcock

He strongly dislikes Creator/JRRTolkien's works despite having met him personally and finding him sympathetic on a personal level (although he has also stated that certain accounts have overstated his dislike of Tolkien's works; notably, he did use ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' as a favourable reference point for the inventiveness of Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Literature/TheLeftHandOfDarkness''. However, there is also the essay "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20080324100956/http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=953 Epic Pooh]]", which spells out what he ''does'' dislike about Tolkien's works). He also loathes [[https://web.archive.org/web/20011127061544/http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/moorcock.html Robert Heinlein and his ilk]]. These people's opinions on him are unreported. On the other hand he greatly admires Mervyn Peake and considered the ''Literature/{{Gormenghast}}'' trilogy an injustly-overlooked masterpiece.

The Eternal Champion commonly has a sidekick of some sort, if only briefly. Just as the Champion has many incarnations, so does the sidekick, and is commonly referred to as the Eternal Companion. The nature of the Companion varies, from HypercompetentSidekick, to TheWatson, to DistressedDamsel, to almost pure comic relief. The various sidekicks are also commonly more down-to-earth than the Champion; and frequently GenreSavvy, being aware of the nature of TheMultiverse, the Champion, and themselves.

* DistressedDamsel: Several. Examples, Shaarilla of the Dancing Mists, and Cymoril of Melnibone.

* ShiningCity: Tanelorn.

* CrystalDragonJesus: The Fireclown. This novel was set to music Moorcock's other collaborator band, the Music/BlueOysterCult. Their album ''Music/{{Mirrors}}'' has "The Great Sun Jester", which is this novel with music. ''The Fireclown'' is about a cosmic Messiah who comes to Earth on a mission of love, peace and redemption, preaching, in the words of Creator/DouglasAdams, that people should be nicer to each other for a change. Sure enough, the Fireclown ends up being crucified.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfCorum'' (Corum Jhaelen Irsei)

* CrapsackWorld: Many characters live here.

* DownerEnding: Moorcock is fond of these, especially the KillEmAll and ShootTheShaggyDog variety.

* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne

He strongly dislikes Creator/JRRTolkien's works despite having met him personally and finding him sympathetic on a personal level (although he has also stated that certain accounts have overstated his dislike of Tolkien's works; notably, he did use ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' as a favourable reference point for the inventiveness of Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Literature/TheLeftHandOfDarkness''. However, there is also the essay "[[http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=953 Epic Pooh]]", which spells out what he ''does'' dislike about Tolkien's works). He also loathes [[https://web.archive.org/web/20011127061544/http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/moorcock.html Robert Heinlein and his ilk]]. These people's opinions on him are unreported. On the other hand he greatly admires Mervyn Peake and considered the ''Literature/{{Gormenghast}}'' trilogy an injustly-overlooked masterpiece.

* TheMultiverse: The TropeNamer and TropeCodifier for the usage of the Multiverse concept in fiction. He wasn't the one who invented the term itselt, with that honor going to American philosopher and psychologist William James, but James used it in a different context than how its it is commonly understood in the modern era. Moorcock was the first to use the phrase in current physics in context and in fiction in his novella ''The Sundered Worlds''.

* TheMultiverse: The TropeNamer and TropeCodifier for the usage of the Multiverse concept in fiction. He wasn't the one who invented the term itselt, with that honor American philosopher and psychologist William James, but James used it in a different context than how its it is commonly understood in the modern era. Moorcock was the first to use the phrase in current physics in context and in fiction in his novella ''The Sundered Worlds''.

* TraumaCongaLine: Inflicted on multiple Eternal Champions with varying effects (usually a RoaringRampageOfRage or a KnightInSourArmor).

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: What did humanity do to set Erekosë/John Daker against them and wipe them out? When humanity started winning against the more advanced Eldren race thanks to Erekos&euml initially siding with them, they would rape Eldren women and children. And in the Corum stories, Corum is already pissed at humanity for mutilating him and killing his family, when he receives a vision of humans raping his mother and sisters before their murder, he really wants to put humans to the sword (though he gets better about this unlike Erekos&euml).

* ''Literature/TheHistoryOfTheRunestaff'' (Dorian Hawkmoon)
* ''Count Brass'' (Earl Aubec)

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfCorum'' (Corum Jhaelen Irsei)

* ''Behold the Man'' (Karl Glogauer)

** The first Erekos&euml novel, ''The Eternal Champion'', is the most explicit early statement of the Eternal Champion concept and names several of the other versions.

* MoneyDearBoy: He has admitted to writing some of his works (in particular, the first four books of ''Literature/TheHistoryOfTheRunestaff'' and the first ''Literature/{{Corum}}'' trilogy, each of which were dashed off in under a week per book) simply for quick cash.

** Two different works were edited in later editions, because the first editions appeared to endorse rape in certain circumstances and Moorcock was convinced by feminist criticism that this was morally wrong:

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: What did humanity do to set Erekos&euml/John Daker against them and wipe them out? When humanity started winning against the more advanced Eldren race thanks to Erekos&euml initially siding with them, they would rape Eldren women and children. And in the Corum stories, Corum is already pissed at humanity for mutilating him and killing his family, when he receives a vision of humans raping his mother and sisters before their murder, he really wants to put humans to the sword (though he gets better about this unlike Erekos&euml).

* SpaceIsolationHorror: His novel about escaping from a lunatic dying Earth, ''The Black Corridor'', uses this trope repeatedly, in the isolation felt by a crew-member on the escape ship who is doing his twenty-five year solo stint at flying the ship, attending to emergencies, and seeing nobody dies in suspended animation. This gives him time to brood and go quietly insane. This novel also inspired songs by Music/{{Hawkwind}}.

** The first Erekose novel, ''The Eternal Champion'', is the most explicit early statement of the Eternal Champion concept and names several of the other versions.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: What did humanity do to set Erekose/John Daker against them and wipe them out? When humanity started winning against the more advanced Eldren race thanks to Erekose initially siding with them, they would rape Eldren women and children. And in the Corum stories, Corum is already pissed at humanity for mutilating him and killing his family, when he receives a vision of humans raping his mother and sisters before their murder, he really wants to put humans to the sword (though he gets better about this unlike Erekose).

* ''The Pyat Quartet'' (a.k.a. ''Between the Wars'')

Michael Moorcock (born December 18, 1939, London) is a british SpeculativeFiction author of roughly 80 novels and short stories collections. Combines a graphic and powerful imagination with an often frustrating inability to resolve a plot except by DeusExMachina.

* TraumaCongaLine: Inflicted on multiple Eternal Champions; with varying effects.

* TraumaCongaLine: Inflicted on multiple Eternal Champions; with varying effects, most commonly Result D, E, or F.

* JerkassGods: Regardless of which side of the Order-Chaos divide they're on, they don't really seem to care too much about what happens to their pawns, so long as they do as they're told. The few TrueNeutral gods that exist aren't much better.

->''"They called for me and I went to them. I could not do otherwise. The will of the whole of humanity
->was a strong thing. It smashed through the ties of time and the chains of space and dragged me to
->itself."''
-->--From '''The Eternal Champion'''