Brooklyn vs. Drizzt / Seyonne / Spider-Man

My favorite type of hero comes in a certain form...

They tend to be lean, muscular and agile.

They have dark / tragic / painful pasts or situations happen to them that they have to overcome.

They often have to continue to struggle to do the right thing, for reasons that are internal or external to the character.

They often have a sarcastic or acerbic wit.

So why does Brooklyn come out on top?

(You'd have to live under a fantasy/fiction rock to not know who Drizzt or Spider-Man are... but I hear a lot of people asking, who the hell is Seyonne?)

(Anyone who knows how Carol Berg writes can figure out that I absolutely adore her books, based off of the list I gave above as to what I really love in a protagonist.)

Let's look at Seyonne first, shall we?

He's got most of the things that I like in a character. The dark tragic past, the leanly muscular frame, the struggle to continue to do what is RIGHT when internal and external events are all weighing against him, and the physical trauma that he suffers, both in the past and in the course of the story that he bulls through to continue doing what he needs to get done. He uses his words as careful weapons, instruments of fate as he helps the other protagonist of the story evolve. What's more, he struggles up from a place where he had given up everything... to become what he needed to be again to save the world.

What don't I like?

Not too much, honestly. If it had been a question of just the first book and not the second or third, I think there would be a tie between Seyonne and Brooklyn, with maybe Seyonne edging out slightly over Brooklyn. However, the second and third books ... it's hard to explain. They just weren't AS GOOD as the first. Seyonne wasn't AS GOOD of a "K's ideal protagonist" character. Something, something I can't put a finger on, just dropped him from the pedestal.

Seyonne also isn't as sarcastic as Brooklyn. What's the point of having a cool character if they don't deliver snappy comebacks? Granted, such a thing is completely OUT of character for Seyonne, and I think he did just fine without it. But it is a point to consider.

What about Spider-Man?

C'mon, he has it EASY. He pulls off his costume and BOOM... he's Peter Parker, average guy, average world. He can escape anytime he wants to. He's got tragedy in his past (oh wah, Uncle Ben, nooo!) sure, but pretty minor compared to the other protagonists on the table.

What he does have going for him? The wit. Oh gosh, I LOVE the humor. The easy strength to lift a car without looking like Arnold on steroids, but without looking like the cartoon version of Mr. Fantastic with no musculature what-so-ever.

How about Drizzt? Drizzt used to be my favorite... oh le sigh, the fond teenaged daydreams I had.

Drizzt Do'Urden, the shining trophy boy of the Forgotten Realms, along with Elminster and some other realm 'notables'... who doesn't lurrrrv Drizzt? He even has his own cameo in a video game!

He seems to have it all. He's a Forgotten Realms elf (thus leanly muscular, very agile). He's a drow that has suffered at the hands of his own people, and then also suffers at the hands of the surface dwellers he tries to help. He tries to help people, time and again, and is rebuffed because of his race.

What does Drizzt lack?

He is content in his life because he has his friends and companions and knows he is on the right path. There is no internal drive or struggle against himself and what he wants to do or be. Sure, he had that tiff with Artemis Entreri, but other than that...

He is quiet, contemplative and while he is given to flourishes of humor and shots of sarcasm and sharp wit, he spends most of his time writing journal entries about the morality of the world and his people and etc, etc.

And sometimes, when he gets really upset, he runs around without his shoes.

He's a pretty boy and at least in the latter books of the Legacy books, has become accepted in the surface society because of his deeds.

In fact, there's a short story where Drizzt rescues some people... and a good goblin. The goblin confronts Drizzt about his assumptions... because the goblin is ugly, no matter how good his heart is... people will always see him as a monster. Drizzt is beautiful, exotic. Even people who fear him cannot help but see his beauty. And eventually, they will come to believe their eyes, because they give him a chance... because who doesn't naturally assume that beautiful creatures are good?

And finally... we have Brooklyn.

Brooklyn is not as massive as Broadway or Goliath, instead favoring a leaner frame, but is as strong as one would imagine a gargoyle should be. He has a very tragic past (I'd say having your entire family massacred counts as more tragic than losing Uncle Ben or Zaknafien. The only contender that comes close to this level of personal historical tragedy is Seyonne.) and has struggled to overcome heavy odds to continue to protect people who, if they don't run screaming, try to attack him.

He's a large, winged, red skinned, beaked, clawed, taloned, tailed, fanged gargoyle. He falls under the initial designation 'monster'. In fact, he's very devilish looking. He doesn't get that first impression of 'Hey, maybe I should stay and listen to the pretty elf talk to me, he doesn't seem aggressive.' that Drizzt occasionally gets. Instead he gets 'OMFG! MONSTER *scamperscamper*'

He has been well known, of all the gargoyles, to be the most sarcastic and dry witted, with a dark self-depreciating humor at times.

On top of it, you then add the Timedancer series, where he's wrested away from his family, sent spinning through time and tragedy after tragedy, finding love and family again only to become separated from them yet again...

And then there is the fragile counterpoint to the gargoyle life... sure, they're powerful, they age slowly, they can heal from almost anything during their stone sleep cycle... but they are REMARKABLY fragile creatures if found during the day. You could maim them easily by breaking off a wing, or their face, or their arm.... and they can do absolutely nothing to prevent you from doing it.

Can it get any better?

I think not.