How should my protagonist join the heroes?

I'm trying to figure out how my protagonist - an Action Girl with strong athletic skills but no professional fighting experience - ends up joining the Heroes "R" Us in my story. The heroes in question are a group of space rangers whose current mission focuses on defending against the Big Bad and his faction.

I have several ideas floating around about how she'd end up with them, but I want to pick the one that's the most sympathetic and/or makes the most sense, and I'm having trouble figuring out the details. Here's what I've brainstormed so far:

1. (Naïve Newcomer) Ever since her best friend was murdered, she vowed to find the people responsible, and she believed that joining the heroes was her best bet, so she spent time rising through their ranks the normal way. Her eagerness to be a hero causes her to get into trouble several times throughout her adventures.

2. (Accidental Hero) She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she ends up saving some of the characters who are under attack in the beginning of the story. Because of her quick reflexes, they mistake her for an active member of the space rangers, and instead of correcting them, she plays along. From this point, she has to carry the lie with her wherever she goes and pretend to know what she's doing even though she doesn't. Eventually she adapts to her new identity.

3. (Dead Person Impersonation) The same as number 2, but instead of assuming a fake identity, she is mistaken for a hero that was previously killed in action and doesn't have the heart to correct their mistake. (Essentially what Seymour Skinner does in The Simpsons.)

4. Same as number 2 or 3, but one of the villains could be hunting her down for some reason and she does it to save her own hide. In this case, she has almost no idea what she's gotten herself into.

5. (Fake Ultimate Hero) The heroes have disbanded or been gone for a noticeable amount of time, so when she forms a new identity as one of them, it gets noticed, and the heroes come to her instead of her going to them. Of course, when they find out it's a lie, it's likely to have a far worse effect than the other four options.

Number 1 is the easiest for me to do, but also pretty cliche. Number 2 and 5 would be really difficult to pull off effectively, since the heroes would logically figure out right away that she's not the experienced professional she claimed to be. Number 3 has a similar issue since they'd recognize her right away, unless the Heroes "R" Us is big enough so that the person she's pretending to be was just a Red Shirt.

Sooo, while each option has their uses in the plot, they each have potential flaws. Which would you guys recommend for a sci-fi story that's cartoonish but still takes itself seriously, kinda like a Pixar film?

Thank you in advance. ^_^

A mix of no. 1 and 2, I suggest. Ze Action Girl tries her best to fend against the bad guys; she doesn't quite make it, but her efforts do not go down in vain, as the band of heroes notice she's got guts. As she falls, they take over the battle, and afterwards offer her a chance to join them.

British Army has regular grunts and elite special forces SAS. America has grunts and elite Marines. France has regulars and elite Foreign Legion. Star Wars has Red Shirts and elite Han Solo's squad.

Don't make her the Protagonist, make her the viewpoint character. For this particular mission, Helen has local knowledge and is assigned to Han's squad. She helps out, but most of the awesome stuff is done by the Elites.

Likewise for the second mission. On the third mission, she does some awesome stuff, not as awesome as the Elites can do obviously, but awesome enough for them to keep her on for the 4th mission etc.

She is Bad Ass Normal trying to join the super hero squad.

edited 14th Jul '11 4:36:44 PM by Trotzky

i usually dont like Fake Ultimate Hero, but the way you described it inexplicably makes me like it. maybe because it seems intentional, and ive only ever seen it used as an accident.

id suggest either 3 or 5.

buuuut looking at the issues you brought up...i guess 2. 1 manages to...annoy me. maybe because the others feel like she has more depth than in 1? ive also always loved Becoming the Mask, which i dont think happens to the main character all that often.

ultimately Fake Ultimate Hero and Accidental Hero are both the kind of things that tend to happen due to luck, good or bad, and through the magical convenience of the so called plot device, you could go surprisingly long before anyone notices a lack of professional efficiency, and if long enough time goes by, she could manage to pick up some degree of professionalism that could keep the hounds off her back right up untill the climax, if the story doesnt happen within a really short time frame

edited 14th Jul '11 4:35:36 PM by Tarsen

Thanks for the input, folks. ^_^

Combing 1 with 2 would certainly give her a good reason to want to join the cause. I kinda like 5 as well, but the way I described it would rely on the space rangers being a legendary force of good (else she'd never know about them), and they're pretty new to the verse I created. Though, they could be legends on a local scale...

As for her being the viewpoint character rather than the protagonist, it might end up becoming that way naturally, as the story is for a Video Game with two playable characters and my male character has more solid leadership skills.

So let's suppose that I expand on options 2 and 5:

2. The space rangers, despite being new, are pretty well-known in the area she lives in because of their bravery and effectiveness. Instead of a battle between heroes and villains, though, there is a more secluded incident in which civilians (or, well, people who aren't the heroes) are in grave danger. Bystanders are too nervous to step in, so the heroine takes it upon herself to save them. At that point, she's mistaken for a space ranger, and her false reputation spreads and inflates until it reaches the actual space rangers themselves. As they desperately need more recruits, they accept her in and expect more from her than she can actually provide at the time. This leads to a few significant failures before she eventually picks up the pace and adapts.

5. Before the events of the story, the space rangers were a very prominent fighting force and defenders of the area the heroine lives in, but the Big Bad eventually wins against them, and they are left crippled and divided to the point where they eventually disband. So, while they technically no longer exist, they're still known. The heroine takes it upon herself to invent a new identity as one of these fallen heroes. Because of the desperateness of the situation, there are a lot of folks who are Holding Out for a Hero, so with a little work, she is eventually believed. Through her actions, she manages to find one of the remnants of the space rangers (i.e. the other Player Character) and the two of them hunt together for the rest to try and rebuild the Heroes "R" Us.

Which one do you think sounds more believable?

edited 15th Jul '11 1:30:20 AM by SpacemanStrife

5.

if the first significant failure comes before any significant success, or just a string or small successes, the heroes have little reason to follow her, even in desperation, because she's shown little competance from their perspective. well, that being said its otherwise slightly more plausible than 5.

in 5, id imagine she'd get plenty of experience while seeking the others out, and the other pc, in the know or not, keen to guide her into becoming a better leader. he probably has reasons why he didnt take up that position himself, so he's not going to look a gifthorse in the mouth, even if she turns out to be lying. so i take it he would be one of the few not pissed off when everyone finds out she lied?

That's true about number 2. Perhaps she does experience success at first, and then alternates between successes and failures such that she doesn't fall into Sue territory. That is, if I even go with number 2.

From the way you describe number 5, it does seem like it would fit the context of a Video Game better; Both main characters meet fairly early in the plot and would stay together for most of it, which means less work since I wouldn't have to make as many character-specific levels. Also, both of them would act as leaders in their own right, since they're both seeking to rebuild the space rangers.

As for people getting angry when they find out she's been masquerading the whole time, I'm not sure if they would be that upset, because her background would have little significance in the face of everything she's done to help. Unless of course they mistakingly believe that she's part of a Xanatos Gambit to gather all the heroes back together so they can be slaughtered once and for all, but that's a stretch.

I like the idea, and can't wait for you to write it out!

And I'm going to second your opinion that in option 5, even if they do find out she's not quite what they thought she was, most are likely to just shrug their shoulders and go back to business as usual. I'd only really see them getting really angry if they find out early on, or if she's been milking her false reputation ala Ciaphas Cain (which from how you've been describing her does not seem to be the case).

An additional wrinkle could be that your main character becomes the "face" of the new rangers, while the other partner she finds later could be The Strategist or the one handling the logistics and planning of what they do. Or some variation thereof.

Just my (admittedly small) two cents. Again, can't wait to see where you take this.

I think I like that wrinkle, Basar. Both main characters form a Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl duo, so it'd make sense if she ends up being their face. She's also much more of a risk-taker than the guy, who has Technical Pacifist tendencies.

Also, thanks. ^_^

No problem! Just let us know where and when you're going to post this.