History Main / DeconstructedCharacterArchetype

** Tywin Lannister is a deconstruction of the EvilOverlord. He ''is'' brutal and ruthless, but he's also genuinely talented politician and administrator. The years under his rule were some of the most peaceful in Westerosi history. He rules the way he does because he was haunted by the memory of his kind, but weak father nearly ruining their house because no-one respected him. His own personal life is in tatters and all of his children hate him, though.

** Jaime Lannister and several characters around him deconstruct the KnightInShiningArmor. Jaime had to break his oath to protect the king to honor his oath to protect the innocent and reviled for it. His childhood heroes, the Kingsguard of Aerys II, were immortalized despite going along with their liege's atrocities. The knights he current works with are almost all glorified thugs who ascended to their current positions because of politics.
** Cersei Lannister shows us [[SanitySlippage what]] [[TheAlcoholic would happen]] to the [[ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful vain and beautiful]] [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Evil Queen]]/ WickedStepmother of a fairy tale... if the story isn't a simple fairy tale. And, how such a [[PsychoticManchild woman]] [[FreudianExcuse could]] [[StupidEvil be]] [[DaddysGirl created]] in a [[CrapsackWorld world]] [[StayInTheKitchen where a woman trying to gain power]] is decidedly frowned on, regardless of their personal morality, place of birth and/or ability. And, so has to reach for [[ManipulativeBastard any]] [[LadyMacbeth method]] [[MyBelovedSmother she can get her hands on]]. Not. Pretty.

** The Ironborn, Dothraki and Wildlings/Free Folk show the realistic consequences of living in a ProudWarriorRace society.

** Stannis Baratheon deconstructs TheChosenOne and KnightTemplar, showing readers how thin the line between heroism and villainy can be. His abrasive attitude, unreasonable morals and unsavory company make him seem more like the realm's [[BigBad biggest threat]] instead of its greatest savior.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Half the characters are first presented as classic anime stereotypes, but as the series progresses they are revealed to be extremely messed-up individuals whose behavior is an endless source of troubles. For example, Asuka is a HotBlooded {{Tsundere}} AcePilot due to severe childhood trauma, and her inability to come to terms with and express her feelings towards Shinji -as well as her being a ClingyJealousGirl - is a source of tension between them that contributes to both their breakdowns. Shinji is an IdiotHero due to huge self-assuredness issues make him completely and utterly unreliable, and his lack of confidence contributes to further his BattleCouple's -Asuka- instability. Misato Katsuragi, initially presented as a classic HardDrinkingPartyGirl, is crippled by her failings, especially her inability to have real relationships, which is the reality behind her party girl persona.

* ''MetalGear'' deconstruct the most basic US Archetype: The BadAss hero who blows bad guys to hell and gets the girl. Rather than being a hardcore larger than life hero, Solid Snake ends up becoming a traumatized mess of a man in response to the hell he's put through throughout his adventures.

** Stannis Baratheon deconstructs TheChosenOne and KnightTemplar, showing readers how thin the line between heroism and villainy can be.

** Tyrion Lannister is a dig on the Dwarf stereotype in high fantasy. He and others with his condition are treated as freaks.

** The Night's Watch deconstructs TheChosenMany. It was created to defend the realm from an ancient evil whose existence has slipped into myth and legend. The Watch has gone from a hallowed institution to a joke, just when the realm needs it the most.

** Ned Stark and Jon Snow are both TheEveryman, who must use their simple values and common sense to rise above the petty political games and corruption surrounding them to save the realm. [[WrongGenreSavvy It doesn't go well]].

** Tywin Lannister is a deconstruction of the EvilOverlord. He ''is'' brutal and ruthless, but he's also genuinely talented politician and administrator. The years under his rule were some of the most peaceful in Westerosi history. He rules the way he does because he was haunted by the memory of his kind, but weak father nearly ruining their house because no-one respected him.

** Discord deconstructs the TokenEvilTeammates. Though he was a former villain who underwent a HeelFaceTurn, he only went so far as becoming a WildCard; he never really became "good", he was just friends with one of the heroes and there was the constant threat of being imprisoned again if he stepped out of line. In the Season 4 finale, with Discord trusted to capture the new villain Tirek, Tirek instead manipulates him into evil again. Celestia even lampshades they trusted Discord too much and overestimated what ThePowerOfFriendship meant to him.

** Lord Paetyr Baelish deconstructs the RagsToRiches GothicRomance hero. He runs away after failing to win the hand of the woman he loves, makes a fortune and gains a position in government, then triggers a civil war to become the most powerful lord in the land, seemingly to prove he can rise to greatness without using brute strength which Westerosi society values most of all.

** Robert Baratheon, in his youth, was the [[TheHero archetypal Fairy Tale hero]]: strong, handsome, charismatic, determined to save the DamselInDistress and overthrow a mad tyrant. He became king, married a beautiful maiden, and was beloved by the people. Then he grew up. Over a decade later, he cannot come to terms with the events of his rebellion and and went to seed because he was entirely unsuited to be king.

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* The movie ''{{Heat}}'' is such a treatment of the GentlemanThief stock character. Neil [=MacCauley=] has the charm and all the connections, but he's painfully lonely, and won't get close to anyone for fear that the cops will be right around the corner. The one major job he's involved in goes terribly awry, and results in over half of his team being killed by the cops. [=MacCauley=] gets more violent as the film progresses, culminating in his revenge overriding his need to escape. [[spoiler:He ends up proving his own adage right when he flees (and leaves his girlfriend) after he sees Vincent Hanna pursuing him, and winds up dead at the end of the film.]]

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:Webcomics]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* The CowboyCop is also deconstructed with Jimmy [=McNulty=] of ''Series/TheWire'', who, despite being an excellent detective, allows his free-wheeling ways to cause much destruction to both his personal life and performs numerous, possibly career-damaging moves on his way towards cracking any given case.

* ''HeyArnold'' deconstructs PuritySue with Olga Pataki, Helga's sister. In order to keep your [[ProperLady "pretty, intelligent, sweet, absolutely beloved young girl"]] image, you're likely to end up as a perfectionist, weepy, [[StepfordSmiler perpetually smily]], ''dangerously'' out-of-reality mess who [[HeroicBSOD will break down to melodramatic levels]] the very moment something doesn't seem to fit in such a bubble of perfection, while being almost completely unable to connect with people far more "flawed" than yourself.

* Sarah Connor in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' is a deconstruction of the ActionMom trope. While ''very'' badass, it's out necessity, as she's ProperlyParanoid due to robot assassins coming from the future to hunt her and her child. She is thus constantly training to keep herself in peak ability, as one mistake at the wrong time could cost her life. Additionally, her knowledge of her son John Connor as TheChosenOne has deteriorated their relationship, as she's spent more time training him for his future military career than she has to care and comforting him. By the time they meet again in his pre-teens, he's uncertain whether she actually loves him or just wants him to live long enough to defeat the machines.

[[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructing a trope]] involves taking an existing trope, playing it straight and examining the likely consequences or implications of that trope that tend to be ignored by straight examples of it. This trope does the same thing, but for fictional character archetypes.

One way to do this is to take a familiar character type and place the character in a realistic setting, and then explore what happens as a result of the character being WrongGenreSavvy. Another is to explore likely facets of the character's personality or background that straight examples of the trope tend to overlook. This can also be done as part of a GenreDeconstruction, if certain character archetypes are closely associated with a particular genre. A particularly interesting (and decidedly meta) way to do this is by taking an actor [[TypeCasting known only for playing certain kinds of roles]] and casting them in a role [[PlayingWithCharacterType which deconstructs that character type]]. Note, however, that an actor deconstructing their established persona or character type is not automatically an example of this trope, unless their persona is a recognizable character archetype in its own right.

As a rule of thumb, examples of this trope should be deconstructions of character archetypes which already have their own trope pages (TheHero, TheLancer, AntiVillain etc.), unless the character archetype is no longer in current use (DiscreditedTrope, ForgottenTrope etc.).

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!!Examples

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* Light Yagami of ''Anime/DeathNote'' is one for the {{Shonen}} hero archetype: a young, justice-loving ChasteHero (a narcissistic KnightTemplar with delusions of godhood) who discovers magical powers (a notebook that can be used to instantly murder anybody) and gains a Spirit Buddy (an amoral embodiment of death), makes a WorthyOpponent rival (a detective trying to apprehend him for his crimes) and picks up a persistent GenkiGirl love interest (a vapid pop idol who's fanatically obsessed with him and, despite barely knowing him, is instantly willing to kill for, die for and marry him).
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Half the characters are first presented as classic anime stereotypes, but as the series progresses they are revealed to be extremely messed-up individuals whose behavior is an endless source of troubles. For example, Asuka is a HotBlooded {{Tsundere}} AcePilot due to severe childhood trauma, and her inability to come to terms with and express her feelings towards Shinji -as well as her being a ClingyJealousGirl- is a source of tension between them that contributes to both their breakdowns. Shinji is an IdiotHero due to huge self-assuredness issues make him completely and utterly unreliable, and his lack of confidence contributes to further his BattleCouple's -Asuka- instability. Misato Katsuragi, initially presented as a classic HardDrinkingPartyGirl, is crippled by her failings, especially her inability to have real relationships, which is the reality behind her party girl persona.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. The comic book as a whole is a deconstruction of various SuperHero archetypes and tropes. Creator/AlanMoore wrote the characters of Rorschach and the Comedian as sociopathic jerks, deconstructing the Franchise/{{Batman}}[=-style=] AntiHero. Ironically enough, he ended up ''[[MisaimedFandom popularizing]]'' it instead, which lead to the rise of the NinetiesAntiHero.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* As part of ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'''s GenreDeconstruction of Westerns as a whole, William Munny is a deconstruction of Creator/ClintEastwood's earlier Western character(s), namely those from the Film/DollarsTrilogy. The film examines in detail the viciousness and amorality of the archetypical Western outlaw, and finds the elderly Munny filled with guilt and self-loathing at the monstrous things in his past.
* Many films have taken issue with the ManicPixieDreamGirl archetype:
** For the first half of ''Film/HeLovesMeHeLovesMeNot'', the protagonist appears to be a typically sweet, hopelessly romantic ManicPixieDreamGirl, only for the film to reveal that she is in fact a violent, insane {{Yandere}}, whose innocent romantic spirit is symptomatic of her complete and utter detachment from reality.
** ''Film/AnnieHall''. The title character is a cheerful Bohemian, who turns out to be a spoiled, unfocused, pseudo-intellectual, neurotic child in an adult's body; a horribly broken person. Which gives her something in common with Creator/WoodyAllen's character, who is likewise horribly broken, just in somewhat different ways.
** Clementine in ''Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'' is this type of character, though the relationship [[DeconstructedTrope plays out more realistically]]. She even references the "you complete me" line, to her distaste, from ''Film/JerryMaguire''. She also [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] this to a certain degree, saying that Joel shouldn't expect her to "save" him, and that she's "just a fucked-up girl looking for her own peace of mind." Joel sums up her MPDG-ness and the film's deconstruction of it during his tape recording for Lacuna:
--> "I think if there's a truly seductive quality about Clementine, it's that her personality promises to take you out of the mundane. It's like, you secure yourself with this amazing, burning meteorite to carry you to another world, a world where things are exciting. But, what you quickly learn is that it's really an elaborate ruse."
** Deconstructed in the 1969 film ''The Sterile Cuckoo'', one of Liza Minelli's early films. Pookie fulfills all of the requirements of a MPDG, including breaking the lead character out of his shell. But towards the end of the film is revealed she is much more damaged and vulnerable than anyone has expected. She completely breaks out of the traditional mold at the ending, where [[spoiler: she and her boyfriend break up, and she is literally PutOnABus.]]
** In ''Film/RubySparks'', all of Calvin's written/dreamt interactions with Ruby play out like she is a conventional ManicPixieDreamGirl. Once she's real, [[spoiler: their relationship becomes a {{Deconstruction}}]].
* ''Film/PunchDrunkLove'' deconstructs the PsychopathicManchild. Creator/AdamSandler's character is, like always, antisocial, [[ManChild emotionally immature]], and prone to uncontrollable fits of anger. Instead of that being a source of comedy, [[RealityEnsues it leads to awkward, embarrassing situations, and the character leads a lonely, depressing life.]] Creator/RogerEbert discussed this in his [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20021018/REVIEWS/210180308/1023 review]] of the film.
* ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' takes a very good look at what many of the "stock" characters of teen movies (especially those of TheEighties) would be like if they existed in real life, and what their real motivations would be like. Most American teen movies since have used elements of this film's deconstruction wholesale for their own characterization, to the point where, in many cases, what had once been deconstruction is now [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny old hat]].
** Andy, the JerkJock, only [[JerkassFacade behaves that way]] in order to fit in with the rest of the team and to impress his father, who raised him on stories of how he acted like that back when he was in school. He wishes that, one day, he'd get injured so that he wouldn't have to wrestle again, and thus never have to worry about [[WellDoneSonGuy living up to Dad's expectations]].
** Claire, the AlphaBitch, is a Type A StepfordSmiler who feels that her life is empty, and that her parents only use her as a tool in their endless arguments. And she's hardly the "queen bee" -- in fact, it's peer pressure that essentially molded her into the snobbish bitch that she is, and she feels miserably forced into it.
** Brian, the {{Nerd}}, hates how [[EducationMama his parents]] have destroyed his social life by pushing him so hard to succeed, and is so obsessed with his grades that [[spoiler:he [[DrivenToSuicide tried to kill himself]] (or [[AxesAtSchool worse]])]] after getting [[TheBGrade an F in shop class]]. [[InsufferableGenius His attitude]] is also little better than that of the "popular" kids that he hates, as shown when he talks about how he took shop class because he thought it was an easy A that only "losers" like Bender took (as opposed to his advanced math classes).
** Bender, the [[TeensAreMonsters juvenile delinquent]], is like that not because he's a bad person ''per se'', but as a result of his tough, working-class upbringing and his [[AbusiveParents abusive father]], both of which have taught him that violence is an acceptable solution to problems. His {{badass}} image is also [[MilesGloriosus easily disarmed by Andy]], even though he's armed with a knife.
** Allison, the [[LonersAreFreaks crazy]] loner, intentionally acts crazy and theatrically in order to [[AttentionWhore get attention]], something her parents don't give her. She doesn't bother to hide her blatant thefts and eccentricities, and her withdrawn persona is actually just a ploy to get people to give her more attention.

[[AC:Literature]]
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' is [[DeconstructorFleet prone to this sort of thing]].
** Lyanna Stark deconstructs the DistressedDamsel. While her abduction by crown prince Rhaegar Targaryen is certainly the stuff of songs, it also ''did'' cause a civil war wherein she, her brother, and her father all died.
** Ned Stark deconstructs TheGoodChancellor -- he looks out for his king, but trusts the wrong people, ending in his execution.
** His oldest son Robb deconstructs the KidHero and/or AChildShallLeadThem. After his father's death he's crowned King and attempts to avenge him. He's very talented in battle but makes several political blunders thanks to his naivete, including forsaking an ArrangedMarriage for his beautiful ladylove. The stuff of songs -- except [[spoiler: it gets him brutally murdered and causes the alliance to fall apart]].
** Robb's sister Sansa deconstructs the PrincessClassic and/or TheIngenue. She's a high lord's daughter, feminine, good at ladylike activities, painfully naive, and a tad haughty. However, her naivete and innocence only seem to make her life hell, as her father is killed, she's betrothed to a BastardBastard and is taken advantage of and treated like a pawn by people she trusts throughout the story.
** Ned's youngest daughter Arya deconstructs the TomboyPrincess: Initially a free-spirited, sword-slinging little girl who despises the gender norms of Westeros, upon her father's death she falls back onto the one thing she took solace in prior to that: sword fighting. She spends most of her time trying to avenge her family, and slowly becomes more and more violent and unstable until [[spoiler: she becomes a ProfessionalKiller before she even hits puberty.]]
** Robert Baratheon, in his youth, was the [[TheHero archetypal Fairy Tale hero]]: strong, handsome, charismatic, determined to save the DamselInDistress and overthrow a mad tyrant. He became king, married a beautiful maiden, and was beloved by the people. Then he grew up. Over a decade later, he cannot come to terms with the events of his rebellion and and went to seed because he was entirely unsuited to be king.
** Tywin Lannister is a deconstruction of the EvilOverlord. He ''is'' brutal and ruthless, but he's also genuinely talented politician and administrator. The years under his rule were some of the most peaceful in Westerosi history. He rules the way he does because he was haunted by the memory of his kind, but weak father nearly ruining their house because no-one respected him.
** Daenerys Targaryen is a typical "[[RightfulKingReturns raised in exile to avenge their family and retake their rightful throne]]" heroine. Expect she doesn't fully understand what happened all those years ago that led to her family's dethroning, has only a vague idea about what's being going on in Westeros since then, and her conquest gets put on hold when she has to face the consequences of raising an army of freed slaves.
** Jaime Lannister and several characters around him deconstruct the KnightInShiningArmor. Jaime had to break his oath to protect the king to honor his oath to protect the innocent and reviled for it. His childhood heroes, the Kingsguard of Aerys II, were immortalized despite going along with their liege's atrocities. The knights he current works with are almost all glorified thugs who ascended to their current positions because of politics.
* ''Literature/AHeroOfOurTime'' deconstructs ByronicHero in Pechorin: a brooding, selfish outcast from high society who inadvertently brings ruin to everyone he meets, especially the women who fall in love with his romantic persona.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has a few of these, since Sir Creator/TerryPratchett's brand of humour is largely based on taking something seriously that was not intended to stand up to it.
** Cohen the Barbarian is something of a deconstruction of a BarbarianHero; Sir Terry wondered what happened when [[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian Conan]] got old, and realised he'd have to ''keep doing it'', even if his back was going and he'd lost all his teeth.
** Moist von Lipwig, when he first appears in ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' is a deconstruction of a LovableRogue, who requires quite a lot of CharacterDevelopment to actually become lovable; he's initially a callous user who sees people as things (the ultimate Discworld crime).
* An early {{Deconstruction}} of KnightInShiningArmor exists in ''Literature/DonQuixote'', in which the eponymous character attempts to take up the role in an age when Knights are DeaderThanDisco. HilarityEnsues.
* "The Story of the Good Little Boy" by Creator/MarkTwain is a short story that deconstructs the "Good Little Sunday School Boy That Teaches Lessons" archetype that was popular at the time by making the protagonist try to fit the mold of the Sunday School characters, but ends up being ridiculously WrongGenreSavvy about it all. The boys that went sailing on Sunday instead of going to church didn't drown for their wickedness, but he nearly does trying to stop them. The dog he saves attacks him. In the end he gets ''blown up into multiple pieces'' and isn't even able to deliver a Bible passage before dying or make any kind of lasting impact. His obsession with good works and HolierThanThou attitude isn't just ineffective but literally gets him killed.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* The CowboyCop is also deconstructed with Jimmy [=McNulty=] of ''Series/TheWire'', who, despite being an excellent detective, allows his free-wheeling ways to cause much destruction to both his personal life and performs numerous, possibly career-damaging moves on his way towards cracking any given case.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is a deconstruction of the classical Greek hero and Spartan archetypes: a person who is defined by using his physical strength to do whatever he wants, seeks revenge for any affront, has a "MightMakesRight" morality and [[spoiler:has divine parentage]] is less likely to be a paragon and more likely to be a violent psychopath hellbent on killing his enemies - at the expense of the whole universe.

[[AC:Webcomics]]
* {{Webcomic/Xkcd}} deconstructs the "friendzoned" DoggedNiceGuy character in the strip [[http://xkcd.com/513/ "Friends"]], portraying the "nice guy" in question as an emotionally manipulative creep hoping to ingratiate himself into a relationship with the object of his affection by undermining her self-confidence and exploiting her loneliness. And in the end, the character [[DidNotGetTheGirl doesn't get the girl]] precisely because the woman in question realizes how unpleasant he is.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is fond of deconstructing common cartoon character archetypes.
** Twilight Sparkle resembles a common [[TheSmartGirl Smart Girl]] protagonist, but her intellect and no-nonsense behaviour are exaggerated to the point of being a SuperOCD perfectionist prone to mental breakdowns over the smallest slight, meaning she is just as often reliant on her friends' support as being the OnlySaneMan to arguments.
** Rarity resembles a traditional snobbish young entrepreneur, but rather than crossing into AlphaBitch territory, Rarity embodies generosity in her materialism and her ambitions and, while prone to delusions of grandeur at times, generally doesn't end up [[AmbitionIsEvil forsaking her friends]].
** Pinkie Pie deconstructs the PluckyComicRelief by often taking her comedy to genuinely obnoxious and even hurtful levels, and because she is intensely emotionally dependent on people liking her, especially her friends. Any comedian will tell you haw dangerously addictive making others laugh can be.
* ''HeyArnold'' deconstructs PuritySue with Olga Pataki, Helga's sister. In order to keep your [[ProperLady "pretty, intelligent, sweet, absolutely beloved young girl"]] image, you're likely to end up as a perfectionist, weepy, [[StepfordSmiler perpetually smily]], ''dangerously'' out-of-reality mess who [[HeroicBSOD will break down to melodramatic levels]] the very moment something doesn't seem to fit in such a bubble of perfection, while being almost completely unable to connect with people far more "flawed" than yourself.
** It also gives us Helga Pataki herself as a deconstruction of the {{Tsundere}} trope. She's got a relationship with Arnold that looks on the surface like the typical foundations of a SlapSlapKiss romance, but as we delve a bit farther into her family life we see that, along with her traumatized PuritySue sister, she has an abusive {{Jerkass}} dad and a LadyDrunk mother, neither of which can provide much support in her daily life -- if she's lucky. Looking at the show with slightly more jaded eyes, her volatile relationship with Arnold and her few friends become an increasingly obvious cry for help and an awkwardness with dealing with people nonviolently.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' deconstructed RedOniBlueOni through Moses and Ramesses, respectively, by showing the qualities associated with them evolving in positive and negative ways as they mature.