The power of powerlesness.

[The Necroswanso]

Games, movies, books, television, comics and even blackjack itself follows a simple starting rule.
Our hero, is just an ordinary boy/girl/vortigaunt leading an odinary life/undeath/slavery/job. Little did he/she/it know that the new school/town/space station that he/she/shim is going to is riddled with mosnters/magicians/HEV suits/twilight peoples/vampires, and this seemingly normal/useless/nerdy/lame/angsty person is now destined to become "the chosen one".
So, what I want to know, is why the heck can't "the fabled one" ever actually BE the fabled one? Why can't he be born with strange and randomly manifesting powers that he learnes to contorl. Then decides to put to good use?
Because seriously, if you pay attention to any form of adventure/actionesque media, all the BBEG has to do is find the least likely person to harm them, and commit murder all over their face.

Your thoughts on why it's so popular to suck?

[Fri]

Tv Tropes to the rescue!

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouSuck

Or at least I thought that's what you're asking for.

[kamikasei]

So, what I want to know, is why the heck can't "the fabled one" ever actually BE the fabled one? Why can't he be born with strange and randomly manifesting powers that he learnes to contorl. Then decides to put to good use?
Because seriously, if you pay attention to any form of adventure/actionesque media, all the BBEG has to do is find the least likely person to harm them, and commit murder all over their face.

Being an "ordinary guy" doesn't necessarily mean "you suck" - though in some cases protagonists do indeed suck. But we all for the most part fall under the "ordinary guy" heading, and a story in which another ordinary guy finds the strength within himself to be heroic, or discovers some hidden power of which he was unaware, is generally more relatable than one where a chosen one has been raised since birth with knowledge of his powers and how he must use them - because we can't pretend we could be that person. It's a lot easier to empathize with Luke Skywalker than with Bastila Shan, put it that way. (There are exceptions - I consider Paul Atreidies a good protagonist, for example. Still, though, most seem to prefer him to his son, which might further support my point.)

Identifying with the character aside, it's also true that a character who gains confidence and ability over the course of the story is generally more interesting than one who starts out good and maybe gets better (either in skill or in attitude).

[nothingclever]

There are also plenty of characters who are awesome or are known to be destined for awesomeness from birth so they really aren't that rare. You can find characters that are extraordinary from birth anywhere such as in numerous Samurai and martial arts often have plenty of prodigies who are X times younger than everyone else yet are instinctively better fighters even without any formal training.

You really are just making a ginormous overgeneralization.

Perfect example is comic book heroes such as in Marvel and DC.
Mutants like the x-men often are awesome from birth.
There is a large mix of characters who start out normal or super-powered.
Captain America starts as a scrawny army recruit that is later empowered by a special serum to reach the human peak of potential in all areas of being.
Professor Xavier starts out able to read the minds of everyone, a genius, able to cheat on tests but doesn't need to, hardworking, moral etc.

[hanzo66]

Yeah, generally people find the idea of a normal insignificant person rising up to the challenge and finding success to be more interesting than the Mary-Sue who is destined to kick evil in the ballsack, gifted with superliciously epical powers and is aided by a bunch of willing stooges who marvel at the power of how awesome the one guy is while the provide limited amounts of help.

[dehro]

Games, movies, books, television, comics and even blackjack itself follows a simple starting rule.
Our hero, is just an ordinary boy/girl/vortigaunt leading an odinary life/undeath/slavery/job. Little did he/she/it know that the new school/town/space station that he/she/shim is going to is riddled with mosnters/magicians/HEV suits/twilight peoples/vampires, and this seemingly normal/useless/nerdy/lame/angsty person is now destined to become "the chosen one".
So, what I want to know, is why the heck can't "the fabled one" ever actually BE the fabled one? Why can't he be born with strange and randomly manifesting powers that he learnes to contorl. Then decides to put to good use?
Because seriously, if you pay attention to any form of adventure/actionesque media, all the BBEG has to do is find the least likely person to harm them, and commit murder all over their face.

Your thoughts on why it's so popular to suck?

1)because if he was born with random powers, as a kid he'd have ended up in area 51 under a microscope
2)because being born as a common bloke allows him to relate to people in a normal way, and to blend in instead of standing out and being treated as an alien, with no common ground for debate (and consequently, a lot less dialogues with other characters)
3)because all the people who are born geniuses or hyperpowered tend to grow up as absolute twerps and chose the dark side (as over the years, standing out and being "apart" from anyone builds up loads of anger and bad feelings about the "simple mortals")
4)because the whole idea behind fiction, whatever the media, is to identify with the protagonists..and it's bloody difficult to identify with someone who graples drakes in his cradle, instead of vomiting over the nanny.
much easier to emphatize with the underdog turning main hero.

[sun_tzu]

And then, of course, there are the exceptions.
Superman, I'm looking at you.

[Manga Shoggoth]

4)because the whole idea behind fiction, whatever the media, is to identify with the protagonists..and it's bloody difficult to identify with someone who graples drakes in his cradle, instead of vomiting over the nanny.
much easier to emphatize with the underdog turning main hero.

Heracles, for example...

[dehro]

Heracles, for example...


precisely...quite a good read, the old classics..but can you really identify with or relate to Heracles?... I can't.

[WalkingTarget]

And then, of course, there are the exceptions.
Superman, I'm looking at you.

In his case, however, there's the mitigating circumstance that he was raised as the normal, all-American boyscout. His upbringing is what provides the ability to empathize with him somewhat (at least in my mind) which is more than can be said for, say, Heracles who is from a different enough culture that he doesn't get this benefit.

[warty goblin]

precisely...quite a good read, the old classics..but can you really identify with or relate to Heracles?... I can't.

Oh I can. Herakles, despite being disgustingly strong, is actually a very relatable character. The key to this is understanding how he is relatable is to look at all the things he's forced to do. He is, quite literally, the greatest man on earth, yet he is forced to work for one of the weakest, doing endless fetch quests, and generally being treated like dirt. It is, in short, the quintisential story of a person being beaten down, denegrated and abused by an unfair social system that's holding him back from his rightful place, and of how one mistake (namely slaughtering your entire family), even if you did not have a choice (being driven mad by Hera seems to me anyway to be a pretty good alibi), can completely ruin and change the direction of your life.

Being strong and exceptional from an early age is a key point in this, because it meant that Herakles had a life to ruin. If he had been regular Farmboy #28,000 it just wouldn't work, in order for the fall to be effective, it needs to be from a great height. Thus he starts out successful and great, despite the obstacles arrayed against them (that whole almost getting killed by snakes as a baby thing), before being brought lower than the lowest peasant before he finally overcomes and succeeds.

Ever been forced to work for somebody you are smarter, or stronger, or more capable than? Then you have something in common with Herakles. Ever made one mistake without even realizing you were doing it, yet had it fundamentally alter the course of your life? So did Herakles. Ever thought you had overcome your earlier mistake, only to commit it again, and be thrown back down again? Again, so did Herakles. Ever managed to overcome all of the obsticles thrown at you at long last, and then look back and realize that those barriers and frustrations are exactly what made you who you are? Then your story is Herakles'.

[Closet_Skeleton]

precisely...quite a good read, the old classics..but can you really identify with or relate to Heracles?... I can't.

He's a hopeless drunk that makes nothing but mistakes, that's relatable to some people.

[TheLogman]

Aang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aang)is a perfect example of what you were looking for. Raised by monks, endowed with the power of Air bending, trained since birth, destined to be the Avatar, and he's easy to relate to too because he's still a kid, with childish impulses and problems, plus you know he does Martial Arts, which are cool.

[Gael_Judicium]

Hmm... These are mostly true. Easier to relate with is true. Actually, I think its just less work for a storyteller to make you relate with an underdog instead of a superhero from birth. Tried, true, less effort, more filler (training). So, I guess laziness is the reason why.

You CAN make a story with the "Fabled one"" already in control of his powers, but it makes it harder on the storyteller. On the other hand, I find those more interesting to read.

[Mewtarthio]

What about Buffy the Vampire Slayer? When the series starts, she's already spent several years dealing with her power and her destiny, but she did spend ~14-15 years of her life living as a normal American child, and about 70% of her angst is related to wanting to live a normal life (the other 30% is because Joss Whedon is a vile, sadistic bastard).

[dehro]

yes, you can relate to the superhero from birth... but most of us will eventually chose the underdog..it's a simple matter of numbers.
also describing how the underdog gets to be the main hero and "evolves" into it, is quite fun..
and it takes quite some quality to make someone who wins automatically interesting (also, if he doesn't win automatically then he still isn't the "uber"superhero..because he is still on a par with his enemies)

[Kato]

First: There are just enough 'fabled ones' and I think hardly anyone really likes them... I mean... hm... damn, I can't make out a good example right now... Let's stay with Anime. Naruto's Uchiha Itachi was kinda a blessed child being a superior ninja right from birth. But those abilities about always come with a lot of disadvantages.

Itachi got ordered - for reasons yet to be revealed - to kill his family and friends, porbably because he was the only one able to do so

Also Kamui from X was destined to be the messiah or something and his life didn't go well because of this. They all kinda suck.

On the other hand, if you are normal - or think you are - you start living a normal life and become like a normal person, which actions should be kinda the same we would take, making him easier to understand. And he can go emo after 'I want my old life back! *sniff* I want my friends back! *sniff* I want to live a happy life and don't have to fight! *sniff*' Strangely many authors like to write these characters... I do not, but who cares ^^''' (Of course THE idol of all of them is Ikari Shinji of NGE'

Also among the latter type, there are two, or two and a half different types.
Either he is some all common guy, who somehow stumbled into his destiny, maybe because he... fell into an all ultra mecha and it's now configured to his DNA or something... - I can not really recall a good example right now... maybe someone can figure it one out. Maybe Naruto or so might fit...
Then there are those, who do not know of their superspecialawesome powers until they somehow learn of them or someone tells them they are there and need to be awakened and stuff. This would fit for people like the 'Bleach' guy... I think ^^'
And there are people who do not completely fit in either category... e.g. Kira Yamato or Shinji who are not very special but have some talent nobody else has, being the reason they have to save the world and stuff. They can be quite nice, but kinda... they often suck the most, because they somehow are most often the whiney 'Gimme back my life!' type.

[dehro]

daredevil

garion fromm the belgariad series (eddings)

any member of the ohmsford family (shannara books by brooks)