Are my characters too cliché?

[yisetab28 89]

I've been going on TV Tropes lately to get a better idea of how I should write to prevent clichés, and it stroked me that my 5 main characters, who are a tank crew, in my fanfic looked really like they had the "5 man band" trope. 

 

-There's Silver Streak, tank commander. Served in the last war, and had a lobotomy after it, making him devoid of any emotions. Just thinks very rationally, and is very focused on keeping his crew and his platoon alive.

 

- Blitzkrieg is the gunner. Pegasi mare who grew up in the ruins of Cloudsdale, is missing a wing. She has a more positive perspective of life than most of the crew. Familiar with machines.

 

-Focus Point is the radio operator. He considers the morality of his actions a little bit more than the rest of his crew (even though they all know that what they do isn't necessarily right), and is a little more experienced in mechanics, like Blitzkrieg.

 

-Whirlwind is the driver. Oldest member of the crew after Silver Streak. He's got a fair amount of experience in combat, and likes to joke about it and his past stories. Even though he isn't that pessimistic, he has a cynical view of the "ponies above" who command them.

 

-Firestorm is the loader, didn't develop him that much as he's only seen bleeding heavily and being evacuated in the beginning of the fic.

 

So, I would have 2 questions for you guys:

 

1) Are my characters too similar to the ones of the five man band trope?

 

2) Even if they are or not, would there be any way to make them more interesting or are they just fine this way and why?

 

If you need more info feel free to ask me questions.

Edited June 7, 2015 by MCAsomm

[SFyr 1,982]

I'm sadly not familiar with the 5-man-band chiche. Off hand, and thinking on a few series, if such a thing existed (I'm not looking it up, so I only go off of what I've repeatedly been exposed to, for cliche-sake)... There's the idealist, the trouble-maker, the voice of reason, the softer/kinder soul, and the innocent/young one.

Personally, they don't strike me as overly cliche. I like that the gunner is an optimist rather than a killing machine, and that the older member is remarked as humerous rather than the voice-of-reason or calm one. Those seem to conflict with cliches a bit.

Though, the commander being literally without emotion seems a little off to me. As an outsider, it feels a little bit of a stretch, like you're deciding how you want him to be and then trying to justify it--and it also feels just a tad cliche.

 

But yeah, I personally haven't really encountered the five man band thing enough to really feel off about it. I think think there's key extreme personalities that show up a lot in groups of characters, especially in groups of three or so, but overall I think you're on a decent track. 

[yisetab28 89]

I'm sadly not familiar with the 5-man-band chiche.

 

Well it's the basic "super team" you have. Charismatic leader, second in command with personality which differs from the leader, though guy, team's brain and the chick. I was worrying that Silver fell into the leader, Whirlwind into the anti-leader, Firestorm as potentially being the though guy, Focus being obviously the brains and Blitzkrieg being the chick.

 

As for the commander, lobotomy was a common practice for people who had mental illness back then, including PTSD. He was supposed to have PTSD as the symptoms of the previous war, but that put many problems in for the fic, including finding why he would still be fighting instead of just being in an asylum, which was the second option for people with mental illness before we went more in depth with psychology.

Edited June 7, 2015 by MCAsomm

[cwhip9 1,078]

I'm sensing a "Fury" vibe with the set up for the flick, for the charters you got the clichés working in your favor for this, not sure about Firestorm being wheeled and bleeding. If you could work the charters to focus half on that to moving to their next mission it could give you charter depth to work with them. Not sure if helped but I hope your fix turns out well

[Red Cedar 1,408]

Well, you've got Mr. Spock, Geordi LaForge, Captain Picard and Mr. Scott, in that order, by the descriptions.

 

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, but in truth, from simple descriptions such as what you've given, it's hard to come up with original concepts because so much has been done before. Just on this earth you could find millions of people who have had the same shared experience, for example. What sets them apart is not how they're described, but how they act, react and interact within a story. That is where they get their chance to shine.

[yisetab28 89]

I'm sensing a "Fury" vibe with the set up for the flick, for the charters you got the clichés working in your favor for this, not sure about Firestorm being wheeled and bleeding. If you could work the charters to focus half on that to moving to their next mission it could give you charter depth to work with them. Not sure if helped but I hope your fix turns out well

 

I'm not sure to understand what you're saying. Maybe reformulate it? As for Firestorm, he's heavily injured when the tank is hit by a rocket, hence why he's gotta be evacuated.

 

 

Well, you've got Mr. Spock, Geordi LaForge, Captain Picard and Mr. Scott, in that order, by the descriptions.

 

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, but in truth, from simple descriptions such as what you've given, it's hard to come up with original concepts because so much has been done before. Just on this earth you could find millions of people who have had the same shared experience, for example. What sets them apart is not how they're described, but how they act, react and interact within a story. That is where they get their chance to shine.

 

Well I could give you a draft of the fic or write a more intricate description if you want more info. And I really don't watch Star Trek, so I guess it's kind of a coincidence they got to be that way... To create the characters, I just found them a backstory first, then kind of simulated how they would react to the main events that happened before the fics to get an idea of how they will be during it,

Edited June 7, 2015 by MCAsomm