No matter what kind of
personality a character has, helping others will win approval. Batman and
Superman have very different approaches to fighting crime, but both are
regarded as admirable.
As long as you show the character being helpful, you can get away with all sorts of other questionable behaviour.
This is sometimes referred to as ‘save the cat’ or ‘pat the dog’. You see the character do something nice and you like them for it.
But this is the concept at its most basic, and most transparent. A superhero who helps random people makes sense, it’s part of the job. An accountant who suddenly risks his life to get a cat out of a tree to make your character come across like a good guy, is going to feel like the obvious 80s movie device it is.
As long as you show the character being helpful, you can get away with all sorts of other questionable behaviour.
This is sometimes referred to as ‘save the cat’ or ‘pat the dog’. You see the character do something nice and you like them for it.
But this is the concept at its most basic, and most transparent. A superhero who helps random people makes sense, it’s part of the job. An accountant who suddenly risks his life to get a cat out of a tree to make your character come across like a good guy, is going to feel like the obvious 80s movie device it is.























































