Line #9 Main/TheEveryman


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10	->''"Uptown, just another Joe\
11	Downtown, where you gonna go?"''
12	-->-- '''Golden Boy''', "Night Song" (1964)
13
14	A character who is ordinary enough to be relatable to the average audience member. Everyman characters are often working or middle class people with regular jobs and they deal with everyday problems, be it school, work, family or romance. They may also be plunged by chance into extraordinary circumstances, such as getting tangled up in a wild [[CaperCrew caper]] or adventure, which makes them even more sympathetic as they are in over their head. Everyman characters are not necessary blank slates but are typically more grounded and less wacky than supporting characters.
15
16	When an AudienceSurrogate, you may expect them to be:
17
18	* A default character for the audience to latch on to, as a sufficient blank slate that the audience will know we are "expected" to identify with said character; [[ArrangedMarriage and love will come later]]. This can be useful in an unfamiliar setting; compare TheWatson. As the story develops, this type of Everyman may devolve into an inoffensive {{Foil}} or SupportingProtagonist. The audience may find them harmlessly uninteresting, and latch onto the action hero, EnsembleDarkHorse, [[DracoInLeatherPants or villain]] instead.
19	* An empty vessel for the audience's hopes, dreams and aspirations. (Not to be confused with an EscapistCharacter who already possesses what the audience craves.) These are the sort of Everyman characters where each audience member is willing to imagine ''themselves'' in the character's shoes, with no apparent contradiction. This may lead to some complication when the author forces them to undergo [[CharacterDevelopment some course of action]] that the audience, having already invested in the character, would not (at first) imagine themselves taking.
20
21	If a leader, then they're a StandardizedLeader. The video game version of this is a HeroicMime in terms of plot, JackOfAllStats in terms of ability, and a FeaturelessProtagonist when taken to its extreme.
22
23	In {{Dom Com}}s, the father is often an everyman, struggling just to maintain sanity in his family and keep it together through the {{zany scheme}}s set up by the wife or kids.
24
25	Not every character created with the intention of being The Everyman stays that way. If the writers think ViewersAreMorons, then this character can quickly devolve into a LoserArchetype, with the idea that this is how the average person acts. At this point, the character's message sort of devolves into telling viewers "ThisLoserIsYou".
26
27	Despite the name, everymen aren't AlwaysMale but they usually are because MostWritersAreMale.
28
29	See also NormalPeople, TheGenericGuy, VanillaProtagonist, and UnluckyEverydude. RidiculouslyAverageGuy is when this is taken to an extreme. Drop the Everyman into a fantasy setting and have him still act like everything is hunky-dory and you get the UnfazedEveryman. A character who ''starts out'' like this but later becomes a hero (or a villain) better fits the UnlikelyHero or FromNobodyToNightmare Tropes. Bonus points if his name is MrSmith.
30
31	No relation to [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos the popular Slender Man series]] ''[[WebVideo/EverymanHYBRID EverymanHYBRID.]]'' Or the [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Reaper Bird's]] AssistCharacter.
32
33	----
34	!!Examples:
35	[[foldercontrol]]
36
37	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
38	* Everyman leads occur more than you'd think in romantic[=/=]{{ecchi}} anime and/or arcs, letting the [[AudienceSurrogate audience project themselves upon them]]. In {{hentai}}, they're legion.
39	** Sasahara from ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'' is a general {{otaku}} who falls for [[spoiler:Ogiue]].
40	** His (unintentional?) {{expy}} Kosuda in ''Manga/BGataHKei'' is an ordinary schoolboy trying to make sense of [[LovableSexManiac Yamada's]] WANT/DO NOT WANT/WANT/DO NOT WANT behaviour.
41	* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Kaname Ougi is the very example of what an Everyman would most likely do when things go horrendously wrong. Diethard points out how this makes Ougi important to the Black Knights because they can't live on "stars alone" and need an average person for the common people to relate with.
42	* Krillin from ''Manga/DragonBall''. Unlike the Saiyans and Piccolo, Krillin has a life outside of martial arts training. We see him fall in love, get married and have a daughter. His extremely nondescript appearance also adds to his accessibility as a character.
43	* The Producer in the anime version of ''Anime/TheIdolmaster''. Even his description is nondescript.
44	* Minako from ''Anime/SailorMoon'' in the first series, prior to [[TookALevelInDumbass taking a level in dumbass]]. She was more of "the everygirl" compared to [[TheDitz Usagi]], [[TheSmartGuy Ami]], [[HotBlooded Rei]], and [[HugeSchoolGirl Makato]]. She had a few odd character quirks like messing up her proverbs but it wasn't until Sailor Moon S when she was [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]] into being just as dumb as Usagi.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
48	* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': Apart from his optimism, there's not much to say about Weslie compared to his quirky friends (Paddi likes eating food, Tibbie likes fashion, Sparky likes sports, Jonie is famous for every bad thing coming out of her mouth coming true, and Mr. Slowy is a GadgeteerGenius).
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Comic Books]]
52	* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, in his Steve Rogers not-so SecretIdentity anyway. Interestingly, he was originally a washed-up art student, to deliberately draw parallels to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler.
53	%%* Billy Batson, [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]'s secret identity.
54	* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' Hal Jordan and Barry Allen ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' are often thought of as these. Both were normal people who were great at their jobs with relatively normal lives. Until a magic super-advanced alien ring summoned Hal and Barry was struck by a lightning bolt while working in his lab. It helps that they're [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friends]].
55	%%* Kyle Rayner in ''ComicBook/GreenLantern''.
56	* ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} has been portrayed this way relative to the rest of the Marvel Universe, given that he has no powers and no super-genius/super-[[TheHeart heart]] to make him special. A lot of his conflicts deal more with relationships, disability, and personal/financial issues than with supervillains. Still, the comics reestablish his uniqueness from time to time.
57	-->'''Penny:''' Imagine you want to kill the Avengers... Who do you target first? The normal guy.\
58	'''Natasha:''' There is nothing normal about [[CircusBrat Cl]][[BadassNormal int]] [[ImprobableAimingSkills Bar]][[IdiotHero ton]].
59	* [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms Marvel]] has been repeatedly described as the true successor to Spider-Man for the millennial age. She's dorky, connected to the internet, constantly being underestimated by her conservative family for being unruly, ultimately wants to do some good in the world, and is a fan of all the heroes who have come before her.
60	** A huge part of her appeal also comes from the fact that she is a Pakistani-Muslim girl, reflecting the broader inclusion of different races, religions, and genders in the modern world. Her immediate group of non-superhero friends are also from a diverse range of races and religions, and one of them is even a lesbian.
61	* While he is incredibly smart and comes from a well off family [[note]]though his father bankrupting them later puts them squarely in the middle class[[/note]] [[ComicBook/Robin1993 Tim Drake]] takes this position in the [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Batfamily]] by being comparatively average when compared to Bruce, the other four Bat-kids and even his own girlfriend, who is the daughter of a villain. He also dealt with a lot of regular family and school drama in his ongoing. Tim was also the everyman of ComicBook/YoungJustice, where his teammates included a [[ComicBook/{{Wondergirl}} demi-god]], a telekinetic [[ComicBook/{{Superboy\|1994}} half-Kryptonian]], a [[ComicBook/{{Impulse}} speedster]] from the future, a second generation hero trained by her mother, and a teleporting psychopomp with precognition.
62	* The original Freedom Fighters seemed to have evolved this way in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', likely to act as foils to Sonic and the more abrasive additions from the games. A lot of their shortcomings are rather subdued or down more to circumstance than having prominent personality defects, and while a lot have unique abilities, they are played in a [[BadassNormal more realistic manner]] than their super powered comrades. This is less prominent in earlier issues and the [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM coinciding TV show]], where they have goofier, more prominant personality defects, but they still had visible shades of this at times.
63	* [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker/Spider-Man]] is often held up as the epitome of this within superhero comics, and possibly the key to the franchise success. Admittedly, he's not a strict example, as he's consistently portrayed as responsible, hardworking, highly intelligent, and when the going gets tough, [[YouFightLikeACow a wiseass]]. However, compare him to his contemporaries: he's the average working stiff where the others include [[ComicBook/FantasticFour super-scientists]], [[ComicBook/IronMan a millionaire playboy]], [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica an idolized war hero]], and [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor a god]]. Some writers (Creator/JoeQuesada especially) tend to turn this into ThisLoserIsYou. He fills the role so perfectly, many other attempts to make an Everyman superhero wind up compared to him.
64	* Clark Kent is just a guy from the mid-west, raised on a farm, got a job in the big city, crushes on his co-worker, likes cheeseburgers, classic movies, and books like ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''. Being ComicBook/{{Superman}} is just another job for him.
65	* Franchise/{{Tintin}} was intentionally written as a blank slate onto whom readers could project. His name literally means "nothing".
66	%%* Nite Owl II/Dan Dreiberg of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' could be a Practical Example. In Addition of ThisLoserisyou.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
70	* In ''ComicStrip/{{Conchy}}'', Conchy is by far the most normal inhabitant of the island. His main function is to ask the other inhabitants to explain their bizarre behaviour.
71	%%* ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}
72	* [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown.]] You can't help but identify with him. [[WordOfGod Charles Schulz]] relates a letter he got from a fan, who said, "My son came home from school one day with a sad frown, slammed his bookbag to the floor, and said, 'Mom, I feel just like Charlie Brown.' He didn't have to say another word. I knew exactly how he felt."
73	* Goat in ''ComicStrip/PearlsBeforeSwine.'' He's the only character who reacts to (or even ''notices'') the weirdness that surrounds them in the same way the audience would.
74	* Ernie from ''Piranha Club'' started as something of a loser but through reverse {{Flanderization}}, he eventually become one.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Fan Works]]
78	* ''Fanfic/AlwaysVisible'': It plays out curiously with Delia’s family. Just as the girl herself is essentially an ordinary child, so her father, instead of a congressman, is reduced to a simple medicine seller.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
82	* Sergeant [[MeaningfulName Eversmann]] from ''Film/BlackHawkDown''. He lacks many of the various character-building details that less important characters get, is somewhat more thoughtful about the war than many of his comrades, and has never been in combat before. He is primarily an AudienceSurrogate who interacts with [[OneDegreeOfSeparation most of the other important characters in the film.]]
83	%%* Gabe and Tucker from ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}''
84	* The quintessential example, from ''Film/DieHard'', is Lieutenant John [=McClane=]. He's just an average New York police officer, who flew into Los Angeles to see his estranged wife Holly. Then Hans and his gang attack, leaving John the only one in a position to stop them.
85	* Wikus, the "protagonist" of ''Film/{{District 9}}'' is a deconstruction of this trope. Whether he's a PunchClockVillain, IdiotHero, or JerkassWoobie is entirely up to interpretation. Ultimately, he reacts to extreme circumstances (that demand heroism) just as you'd expect an average nerdy professional bureaucrat thrust into a dangerous and unpredictable environment: [[TruthInTelevision poorly]].
86	* Joe, the main character of ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'' is described as the most average man in existence. The speaker then shows a series of graphs, all of which have Joe at the exact middle of the bell curve, a trend which he describes as "remarkable." It is unclear if he sees the irony.
87	* Tom Hanks in ''Film/JoeVersusTheVolcano''. His name is actually Joe.
88	* Max Rockatansky is the closest to a 'basic' human being in the ''Film/MadMax'' series. He has no weird costumes, no deformities, no tattoos, no fancy hairstyle or color, no gimmick, even his car is pretty basic compared to the crazy roadsters or giant flamethrowing trucks that the series is famous for. He is also a bit of a DecoyProtagonist, as the other characters are the ones who contribute more to the resolution of the plots, and he often has to be dragged along.
89	* ''Film/TheMask'': Stanley Ipkiss is like everyday person which he has a normal job, a normal life and living in an apartment and like some people has bad luck on his side but his life changes one night as he finds an ancient mask which he takes back with him to the apartment, he notices it glows so he puts it up to his face and it turns him into a green-headed man named The Mask.
90	%%* Nearly every character played by Ben Stiller.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Literature]]
94	%%* Nearly all FairyTale heroes and heroines (e.g., Literature/{{Cinderella}} and Literature/{{Aladdin}}).
95	* Winston Smith in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', whose sympathetic human characterization is said by [[spoiler:O'Brien]] to be "the last man."
96	* The title character of ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' is a fairly unremarkable Victorian child, in order to better contrast with the insanity of Wonderland.
97	%%* Jake from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' starts out this way.
98	* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Despite his impressive war record, Relkin's consistently portrayed as an ordinary young man and professional soldier just doing his job, with no particular skills in any area. [[spoiler:That is, until his dormant magic abilities are unlocked]]. Lampshaded in the final book when a fellow dragonboy shows surprise after Relkin introduces himself. Apparently, he thought that a famous war hero would look more imposing.
99	%%* Dante (the character, not the poet) in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy''.
100	* Orson Gregory in ''Literature/TheDreamsideRoad'' claims to have been an everyman before his first run-in with [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction the IHSA]] led him into becoming an adventurer, over a decade before the story begins.
101	* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''{{Literature/Franchise}}'': Every year, [[TheChosenOne Multivac chooses someone]] to ask apparently random opinion questions. These opinions (and their intensity) are missing data points that Multivac uses to [[PrescienceByAnalysis extrapolate the entire election process]]. The person chosen is the most average example of America that the Multivac can identify for that year.
102	* Ron Weasley in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series is an odd example of this: While Harry is the viewpoint character discovering the magical world, he hardly qualifies as ordinary, whereas Ron is ordinary for the magical world and would be unremarkable if he wasn't Harry's best friend.
103	* Arthur Dent in ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''; he considers himself more differed-''from'' than differing.
104	%%* Ralph from ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies''
105	* Discussed and PlayedWith in ''Literature/TheMarkAndTheVoid'' with Claude, the protagonist. Paul, a novelist who is trying to write a book based on Claude's life, explains that Claude will be the Everyman protagonist, because banking symbolizes and typifies the modern world. When Paul tries to ditch the novel idea, he argues disparagingly that Claude's abstract and affluent life has nothing to do with the ordinary man, something that Claude also realizes when he travels into the countryside and interacts with regular Ireland. However, Claude does fit the role. He comes from a modest background, and is generally a passive player to the wackier characters around him. When confronted with moral quandaries at work, he feels uncomfortable but usually does not take an active stance, as most probably would.
106	* ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'' has George, largely made distinctive by his relation to Lenny.
107	* ''Literature/TheNightRoom'' has an EnsembleCast, but the most prominent of these is Ira, who has a much more "average" relationship to school and parents who are remarkable in the series for only being a little kooky instead of abusive, dead, geniuses, or generally absent.
108	%%* The hero of ''Literature/APilgrimsProgress'' is actually named 'Everyman'; ''Christian'' Everyman.
109	* ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe'': Robinson himself is supposed to be an average Englishman from late 17th century stranded on an uninhabited island. He has no particular set of skills nor character traits (at least for his epoche), yet is able to hold on his own for two decades. Not to mention his adventures before he got shipwrecked.
110	* Dr. Watson fills this role in the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' stories. He does have certain distinct personality traits, such as his eye for attractive women ([[SarcasmMode how unusual]]), but in many other ways he reflects the typical Victorian citizen who read Arthur Conan Doyle's stories when they were first published, bridging the gap between the readers and the otherwise eccentric Holmes.
111	%%* Bella Swan in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
115	* [[Series/TheBigBangTheory Leonard Hofstadter]] is the nerd variation.
116	** Penny is more of a straight example, being an ordinary GirlNextDoor who's well-rounded in her knowledge and hobbies.
117	%%* [[Series/BoyMeetsWorld Cory Matthews.]]
118	* Earl Sinclair from ''{{Series/Dinosaurs}}'' is an every-dinosaur.
119	* Many of the Doctor's companions from ''Series/DoctorWho''.
120	** Mickey Smith and Rory Williams are both very deliberately ordinary people whose girlfriends become the Doctor's companions and end up crushing on him. A great deal is made of the contrast between the ordinary, happy life they could offer, and the adventurous, extraordinary one the Doctor provides. In Mickey's case, [[spoiler: he is somewhat unceremoniously dumped in favour of the Doctor]], with Rory, the episode "Amy's Choice" makes it clear that, despite her zigzagging feelings for both of them, if it came down to a choice between the two [[spoiler: she'd choose an ordinary life with Rory.]]
121	* Chris Rock from ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'' is an average boy from the 1980's.
122	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ned Stark might be a Lord, but he's a hard-working man who is unfamiliar with the twisted inner workings of King's Landing.
123	* Before [[TookALevelInJerkass taking a level in jerkass,]] Will Schuester from ''Series/{{Glee}}'' was this.
124	* Shinji Kido of ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' is clearly the most ordinary protagonist of the entire ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise; to a point, it can be said that his most remarkable trait ''is'' how very average he is. Unlike other protagonist who were either very skillful or intelligent men, had special abilities, a tragic past that define them, a (personal) connection to their enemies or some other quirks that made them abnormal. Shinji is a completely ordinary journalist who just happened to find an Advent Deck during an investigation, and as a result became Kamen Rider Ryuki and fights against the Mirror Monsters threatening people's lives, while trying to find out the truth of the Rider War. His lack of special skills is even reflected in his rider form which is a JackOfAllStats and has little to no true advantages against other riders. This was also his only form during the first half of the series which contradicts him with every other Heisei Kamen Rider, who usually have another one or several forms accessible during a fight[[note]]unless you count [[JokeCharacter blank form]][[/note]].
125	%%* Series/LizzieMcGuire
126	* Joe Miller of Series/TheLostRoom.
127	* Denzil from ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses''.
128	* ''Series/OliversTravels'': Diane's nice but ordinary son Michael.
129	* [[TheDanza Jerry]] Series/{{Seinfeld}} has strikingly average interests such as cereal, sneakers, and Comicbook/{{Superman}} comics, but [[{{Flanderization}} ends up]] a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], becoming one of the most {{Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist}}s of all time.
130	* Chief O'Brien from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. He's the only Starfleet non-com who gets to be a main character, his main desire is to get through his workday and go home to his wife and children, and the writers [[ButtMonkey enjoy making him suffer]] every so often (in what they call "O'Brien Must Suffer" episodes) because audiences will sympathize with him.
131	* Most of the perspective characters from ''Series/StrangerThings'' are Everymen. What is interesting is that many of them are based on the Everymen from other famous genre films, books, or TV series.
132	** Mike Wheeler is based on protagonists like [[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial Elliot]], [[Film/{{Gremlins}} Billy Peltzer]], and [[Film/TheGoonies Mikey Walsh]].
133	** His sister Nancy is based on Nancy Thompson from ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984''.
134	** Jim Hopper the police chief is based on [[Film/{{Jaws}} Chief Brody]]
135	** Joyce Byers is based on the likes of [[Film/{{Poltergeist\|1982}} Diane Freeling]], [[Literature/TheShining Wendy Torrance]], and [[Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind Roy Neary]].
136	* ''Series/TheWire'': The cast is chock full of these, to the point where it would be safe to say that 75% of the show's characters are everymen/women. One of the main attractions of the show was that every viewer had at least one (but probably more than that) character they could easily identify with.
137	* Kevin Arnold from ''Series/TheWonderYears'' is supposed to represent the life of an average teenage boy growing up in the 1960's.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
141	* ''Franchise/TheMuppets'': Kermit the Frog is a mild-mannered character who has to deal with the craziness of his supporting cast. Of course, as he himself points out to one of the guests, he ''hired'' everyone else, so he's not sure what that says about him.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Theater]]
145	* The TropeNamer is a late 15th century English morality play called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everyman_%28play%29 Everyman]].
146	* OlderThanPrint: These were often the protagonists of medieval everyman plays.
147	* The traditional Creator/CirqueDuSoleil protagonist (if the show has one) is usually a version of this: see ''Quidam'', ''Theatre/{{O}}'', ''Theatre/LaNouba'', ''Theatre/{{Corteo}}'', ''KOOZA'', even the ''Theatre/{{Delirium}}'' concert tour. Often they are pulled into the plot by a [[TheTrickster Trickster]]. In ''"O"'', it's set up that he [[FromBeyondTheFourthWall appears to be an audience member]].
148	** The headless titular character in ''Quidam'' is ''literally'' an Everyman (the word 'Quidam' means 'nameless passerby', and the soundtrack album version of the title song has the male singer explicitly state "I'm everyman"), but the main character Zoe is ''also'' a (less literal) Everygirl. With an Everyfamily made up of an Everyman and an Everywoman. It... gets a little bit confusing.
149	* The play ''Everyman'' is about an {{Everyman}} going on an adventure to {{Death}}.
150	* Mark from ''Theatre/{{Rent}}''. Via SupportingProtagonist.
151	* Stella from ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' is an everywoman.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Video Games]]
155	* Jimmy Hopkins of ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'' was intended to be this, says the WordOfGod. Even though he does have [[MadeOfIron incredible strength,]] he is easily relatable.
156	* Isaac Clark from ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' is just a ship systems engineer. Not a badass security officer or soldier, just a regular guy doing his job and trying to see his girlfriend who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
157	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', Basch was originally intended to be the main character, but it was later switched to IdiotHero Vaan because the creators thought that he would have more of an Everyman appeal.
158	* Several of the survivor characters in the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' series fall into the everyman trope:
159	** Louis works at the IT department of an electronics store and plays video games. Other than going to a gun rage on his lunch breaks, Louis doesn't do anything else out of the ordinary.
160	** Zoey is a college student whose parents are separated. She's a huge fan of zombie films as well, but nothing else stands out about her.
161	** Coach is a high school health teacher whose knees were injured from college football in his younger days.
162	** Ellis is a mechanic who occasionally plays in a band with his buddies during his downtime.
163	** Rochelle is an assistant for the local news and that's all that stands out about her.
164	* Kazuma Kiryu, despite all appearances, is the most 'normal' person in most of the ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'' games, reacting to every bonkers scenario with utter seriousness, and offering to help out (and start sidequests) every time. This allows him to fight Yakuza, manage hostesses, buy real estate, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick buy porn for children]], defend a MichaelHackson's music video shoot, sing karaoke, or train a woman to be a dominatrix.
165	* Dave in ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion''. He's Sandy's boyfriend, but other than that, he's pretty much just an Everyman. And while the other six characters can play an instrument (Syd/Razor), fix radios and/or telephones (Bernard/Jeff, although Jeff can only fix telephones), develop rolls of film (Michael), and proofread manuscripts (Wendy), Dave has no abilities or talents at all. Sadly, since he's the also the lead character, he's also the only one you can't NOT choose.
166	* Kaidan Alenko from ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' and Jacob Taylor from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' both stand out as ordinary in their DysfunctionJunction crews. They still have somewhat tragic personal backstories like most teammates, but are too emotionally well-adjusted for it to produce any meaningful conflict aside from Jacob's loyalty mission (where he basically has to be provoked by Miranda into cleaning up his own personal baggage).
167	* Pretty much every protagonist [[spoiler: except Alex Shepherd]] in the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series could count.
168	* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/TheSilentAge'' is this ''so much'' he's even named Joe, as well as given the lowly position of a janitor and a string of the most unfortunate preceding jobs you can think of.
169	* Big the Cat plays this role for the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series. In contrast to how the series' universe is usually a fast-paced FantasyKitchenSink, and how most of its cast are particularly action-oriented or goal-driven, Big stands out as just a simple guy who takes it easy, likes to fish, and gives a helping hand when he can, without any real concern about the crazier stuff going on in his world so long as the people he cares about are okay.
170	* Claude of ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'', who is even easier to identify with because the game's Private Action system allows you to choose many actions that show what kind of a person he is.
171	* Main characters of Creator/{{Nintendo}} games are often this, usually with HeroicMime for good measure:
172	** [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]. Keeping his characterization minimal is something the producers have done intentionally, so he can be put in to any given situation.
173	** [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]]. [[MeaningfulName This is the reason why he is named that]].
174	** [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Ness]]
175	** [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Captain Olimar]]
176	** [[VideoGame/ChibiRobo Chibi-Robo]]
177	** [[Platform/GameAndWatch Mr. Game and Watch]] is probably Nintendo's first everyman.
178	* Lee Everett, the player character of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne''. Having grown up in Atlanta Georgia and helped run his parents store alongside his brother, he's more or less just a guy from a poor neighborhood. His normal life gets turned on its head after [[AccidentalMurder accidentally killing]] of a State Senator whom his wife cheated with. This results in him sent to prison with a life sentence, but the police car taking him there gets interrupted by a ZombieApocalypse.
179	[[/folder]]
180
181	[[folder:Web Animation]]
182	* Toothy from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'', who is often used as a placeholder character because of this. The closest he has to a character trait is that he [[EyeScream gets hit in the eye]] a lot.
183	* This is the basic gist of OJ's character in ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity''. So much so that the creators officially labeled him "The Normal Guy".
184	[[/folder]]
185
186	[[folder:Webcomics]]
187	* The protagonist of ''Webcomic/ABeginnersGuideToTheEndOfTheUniverse''. Literally has the name Everyman. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he is literally a godlike anthropomorphic personification of humankind as a whole.]]
188	-->''You have no NAME, you are the EVERYMAN. Your interests are NONSPECIFIC ENTERTAINMENT and SPORTS. Job: wall paint watcher, amnesiac.''
189	* Bob in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is frequently touted as "the world's most average man," despite the fact that he has in fact developed a pretty clear personality.
190	* Reg, the title character of ''Webcomic/RegularGuy''.
191	[[/folder]]
192
193	[[folder:Western Animation]]
194	* The Everyman most famous to the average person would probably be WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse.
195	** Most early animation characters fit into this trope, for that matter -- such as Bosko, Felix the Cat, [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Porky Pig]], etc.
196	** WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} became this in the Fifties, starring as George Geef, with a son, a wife, and increased intelligence (though not much). In ''WesternAnimation/{{Aquamania}}'' he's even referred to as "Mr. X." He's mostly went back to his more famous personality since.
197	%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''.
198	* Charlie Collins from the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE22JokersFavor Joker's Favor]]" fits the description to a T, and that was the whole point. The fact that the Joker would spend two years keeping track of this poor guy only to find him and sadistically hold him up to a promise later, even though it [[ForTheEvulz didn't benefit him in the least]], only serves to show what a monster he is. Collins also exploits this when [[HorrifyingTheHorror he scares the everliving crap out of the Joker]] in the final act by threatening to [[TakingYouWithMe blow himself and the Joker sky-high]] and pointing out that [[UndignifiedDeath this is the way the Joker is going to die - no final battle with the Batman, but vaporized alongside a miserable nobody]].
199	%%* The titular character from ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}''.
200	* Rufus and Amberley in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'' for the line of work they had, were portrayed as rather normal acting kids who usually handle their jobs in a rather uneventful and conflictless manner until the Urpneys break the normality of things. Less prominent in earlier episodes where they are slightly wackier and brattier (something that actually cost Rufus at least three everyman jobs beforehand).
201	* Arnold eventually becomes this in the later seasons of [[WesternAnimation/HeyArnold his series.]]
202	* WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and WesternAnimation/MerrieMelodies:
203	** In the "Three Bears" series, Papa Bear will often try to come across as an Every Bear, mixing it with OnlySaneMan. Averted, of course, through his ill temperament, emotional issues and Junyer's bumbling.
204	** Several latter-day Elmer Fudd cartoons place the hunter into "everyman" roles, in satirical cartoons on such things as dog-master relationships. Even though he is anything but average and relatable in intellect, he is still the most conventionally acting out of the ensemble.
205	** Sylvester the Cat has also been cast as Every Cat, particularly when paired with Sylvester Jr where he tries to pass common wisdom to his son. He also often interacts with other felines in a typical way, displaying familiarity with social conventions.
206	* ''WesternAnimation/HowToCatchACold'': The protagonist is described as "common" and he doesn't really have that much of a personality besides wanting to do well at work.
207	* [[Characters/KingOfTheHillHankHill Hank Hill]] in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', although he [[{{Flanderization}} gradually grew into]] an uptight StrawVulcan who served as [[SitcomCharacterArchetypes the stick]] for everyone else.
208	** In later seasons, if the authors were feeling particularly conservative that week, he started giving lengthy {{Author Filibuster}}s on the evils of [=McMansions=], gratuitous lawsuits, gentrification, {{Hipster}}s, protesters, the porn industry, etc and ended up simply being right without any sort of comedic twist.
209	%% * Horace in ''WesternAnimation/TheProblemSolverz''. %% Please explain how Horace is an example.
210	* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': Downplayed with Mr. Peterson, who is pretty average compared to the other characters (all he does is work and act like a typical suburban American father), but can also be as comical as the rest of them.
211	%%* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife''.
212	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': [[Characters/TheSimpsonsHomerSimpson Homer Simpson]] started as one of these -- fat, lazy, under-educated, struggling to make ends meet, loyal to his family even when they were a perceived cause for his misfortune, etc. As the series went on and {{Flanderization}} seeped in, however, more and more absurd things happened to Homer and he became such a colossal IdiotHoudini that one episode ("Homer's Enemy") centered around one LogicalLatecomer (Frank Grimes, the titular "enemy") getting pissed off about this.
213	* [[Characters/SouthParkStanMarsh Stan Marsh]] in later episodes of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' since unlike his friends he's not poor like Kenny, isn't Jewish like Kyle, and lacks the fatness and emotional problems of Cartman, but is just a boy from a relatively normal family aside from his eccentric dad.
214	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsTitularCharacter SpongeBob SquarePants]] started out as one of these, even if he was unusually dedicated to his job at the Krusty Krab. In later seasons, he's become much more childish and kooky.
215	%%* The titular character from ''WesternAnimation/TimothyGoesToSchool''.
216	* Nitz in ''WesternAnimation/{{Undergrads}}''. He's lazy and sarcastic, but far less "out there" than any of his friends, and is known for having few extreme interests or opinions.
217	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheEveryman