What are good "comfort characters" for men?

dr-korbo · 2022-08-13T07:59:08+00:00

Iroh in The Last Airbender

griii2 · 2022-08-13T06:58:32+00:00

MacGyver. Using applied sciences to save the world :)

Tinfoil_Haberdashery · 2022-08-13T08:49:42+00:00

Mark Wattney and everyone else in The Martian.

I can't overstate how soothing it is to read a book with no malicious actors. Just everyone working together for an unambiguously noble goal. It...makes me cry. A lot. But it feels very cathartic.

shit-zen-giggles · 2022-08-13T10:37:15+00:00

Gandalf from „the Lord of the Rings“

Dunkolunko · 2022-08-13T06:38:21+00:00

If we're talking male characters:

Sherlock Holmes (books)

Ned Stark and Davos Seaworth

Elwood P Dowd

Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)

The Dude

Linus and Charlie Brown

DifferentWinter9 · 2022-08-13T19:26:36+00:00

Po from Kung Fu Panda.

Peptocoptr · 2022-08-13T06:25:22+00:00

It might be a really odd choice at first glance, but Guts from Berserk. Berserk is in no way a comforting world, but Guts is a comforting character within it, and a really inspiring one at that

SilverBackBonobo · 2022-08-13T07:30:59+00:00

Michael Scott

respect_the_potato · 2022-08-13T16:09:08+00:00

Mine are Captain Picard and Data from Star Trek, Gintoki from Gintama, another vote for Sherlock Holmes from the books, and maybe House from House MD

Snow_Ghost · 2022-08-13T08:25:13+00:00

Is this different from asking, "Who are the good fictional male role models?"

I can't tell if you're asking who we should want to be, or who we should feel ok to hang out with?

BloomingBrains · 2022-08-13T07:23:20+00:00

My icon is Hikigaya Hachiman from Oregairu.

That may seem like a weird choice since he is basically the penultimate "incel" archetype (I'm talking about true involuntarily celibate, not blackpill). I.E. lonely, depressed, hated by everyone, no romantic prospects.

The reason I like the character so much is that instead of portraying all this as a negative thing, the show actually makes him sympathetic. At first you think he is just a cynical asshole who deserves his situation, but you begin to slowly discover that he only pretends to hate everyone and act as if he doesn't want intimate connection because he's actually a hardcore romantic who had been so badly damaged in the past. Two girls go through the same discovery process as well, warm up to him, and slowly but surely heal him with their love.

Its precisely because he is a character that starts off so low but ascends by the end that I find it a more fulfilling fantasy. Much more than an empty power fantasy that doesn't have a dash of bitter reality in it. I'd rather see that familiar, bitter reality defeated and overcome, than something that is completely fantastical, like a nerdy guy instantly getting 40 girlfriends without effort or something like that.

EDIT: I suppose the same goes for any of the protagonist characters in the subgenre this show started (Horimiya, My Dress Up Darling, Beastars, etc.) AKA: "unpopular/non-traditionally attractive guy gets a girlfriend". Its girlfriend porn, essentially.

But I count Hachiman/Oregairu as the best because unlike those others it is much more philosophical and complex.

rochesterslim · 2022-08-13T05:41:14+00:00

Batman (in TDK trilogy/Arkham games)

devasiaachayan · 2022-08-13T09:52:34+00:00

Some characters have that Fatherly feeling if that's what you mean. My father never really helped me much and has only made me feel bad for being born, so I'm naturally attracted to good Father figures in fiction. But rn my comfort character might not be fictional, since it's the Arsenal Manager/coach Mikel Arteta. I already looked up to him a lot especially his stoic demeanor during interviews and how he treated his players but the new all or nothing documentary also showed his relatable side where he's not always perfect but tries his best and isn't that Stoic.

Other characters like Batman, Travis Bickle, Tyler Durden etc are very relatable

UnHope20 · 2022-08-13T14:09:31+00:00

Films 1. John Preston from Equilibrium

Blade from Blade
Clark Kent from Man of Steel

Anime 1. Kenshin Himura from Rurouni Kenshin

Vash the Stampede from Trigun
Alucard from Hellsing
Ryuk from Death Note
Ryu from Street Fighter
Akuma (Gouki) from Street Fighter

With the exception of Ryuk from Death Note, all of these characters share some commonalities. They've all done things that they regret or have personal struggles with the darker aspects of who themselves.

They're powerful far beyond their peers, yet are incredibly gentle. Those who are familiar with these characters may disagree given the horrific awe-inspiring tools they've used to achieve victory (Looking at you Alucard).

However, they always seem to opt for the least crude tool at their disposal to get the job done. For example, Akuma from street fighter (The epitome of evil imo) will not even fight a character who is too weak to stand a change in combat, and will only kill those who have demonstrated a certain level of power. To him killing is reserved for those people who could've killed him.

Ryuk from Death Note is the one exception on this list. Everything that he does is for his own entertainment. Yet he is morally neutral in the main conflict of the story. He is completely honest about who he is and what his goals are from the start. Probably the most entertaining to watch his lack of empathy, complete invulnerability to outside attacks and power level being tempered by an unending amount of moral agnosticism. It isn't clear whether this indifference is by choice or nature.

34T_y3r_v3ggi3s · 2022-08-14T02:59:33+00:00

Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings. He shows a more love-based version of friendship between men that is more common in Europe, where Tolkien based Middle Earth off of. He is incredibly loyal, humble, and is the only one tempted by the One Ring who willingly gave it up to Frodo. He's also the kind who seems to have been romantically troubled in life (like me) but overcame the odds and married Rosie Cotton when he returned to the Shire. Its also not touched up upon in the films but I believe he even reunited with Frodo in the Grey Havens after the events of LOTR.

FinallyReborn · 2022-08-13T08:40:58+00:00

For men, comfort characters are usually female characters that they have a crush on.

As for male characters, the most common choices are Tyler Durden and Travis Bickle. Travis represents the mostly male issue of extreme loneliness and how that can manifest into the extreme. And Tyler, the idealized version of themselves who opposes the way the world is formed around them and how it is primarily designed for women.

AdAcademic4290 · 2022-08-13T17:08:51+00:00

Mr Poirot. So intelligent , but with kindness, and honour. Also an eccentric and stylish gent!

sexismisbullshit · 2022-08-13T17:10:40+00:00

Eliot Alderson from Mr. Robot

The scene in S1E8 where after he forgets his sister he is calling himself schizo on the train and also the scene in season 3 where he forgets his birthday are some of the most relatable scenes to me. He's also MLG haxor and talked shit on capitalism

Snow_Ghost · 2022-08-13T17:18:52+00:00

Dr. Jones

Lived by a diehard personal code of ethics
Had a contentious but strong relationship with his father
Showed that one can be both a nerd and a popular person
Had a clearly defined set of unambiguously evil enemies

open_the_doors · 2022-08-13T18:06:57+00:00

Apu Apustaja

Talik1978 · 2022-08-13T18:38:51+00:00

Wash from Firefly.

flynn42069 · 2022-08-13T15:14:02+00:00

I don’t belong on this sub lmao

Super_Solver · 2022-08-13T09:54:07+00:00

Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fido Dido as well

HyakuBikki · 2022-08-13T10:57:56+00:00

Guy Shishioh from GaoGaiGar. He's a great male role model.

WokePyramids · 2022-08-13T15:34:33+00:00

Peter Gibbons from office space.

DefiantDepth8932 · 2022-08-13T18:45:35+00:00

Arthur Morgan

A9SteakSauce · 2022-08-14T02:17:08+00:00

Jim from The Office is one i liked in high school

Brandwein · 2022-08-14T08:31:23+00:00

Nope, sadly no male comfort characters. Only female ones, i like capable women like Wonder Woman and Gamora (game version) accompany me on some fictional adventures with mutual support. Sometimes borderling on being flirtatious but not sexual.

Clemicus · 2022-08-14T13:06:15+00:00

Peter Parker, in the The Amazing Spider-Man comic. Started reading it early lockdowns. Originally was going to re-read Legends of the Dark Knight but had problems reading the recursive hand-writing. So far I've read almost 300 issues. It's a mixed bag with storylines. Most are easily to read through but with any long running series it has its downs and annoying retcons

My other options would have been Rincewind (in The Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic), Mort (title of the book and adapted comic book) and, Elijah Bailey (Isaac Asimov Robot series -- Cave of Steel, The Naked Sun and, The Robots of Dawn). I did liked reading them but I don't remember much about them

There's also 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea but not one specific character. If I had to pick one it'd have to be the narrator -- who according to Google is Prof. Pierre Aronnnax

There's Guts from the Berserk manga (someone else mentioned it). Got so far and gave up then started reading it from the beginning a few times. It's a bit over the top and it can be a bit of a task to read some of the volumes. Overall doesn't fit the criteria for me but does have some pretty good storylines

sad_femboi · 2022-08-14T21:37:48+00:00

The Gigachad

VeganGuy001 · 2022-08-16T14:47:23+00:00

Michael and Chidi from The Good Place.

Title	What are good "comfort characters" for men?
Author	Alfamangos
Upvotes	37
Comments	61
Date	August 13, 2022 5:00 AM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/comments/wn5ykq/what_are_good_comfort_characters_for_men/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/what-are-good-comfort-characters-for-men.1127515 https://theredarchive.com/post/1127515

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