Smart Heroes vs Strong Heroes

 Hail and well met, you Terrifically Avid Subscribers!

I don't know about you, but I like Heroic Heroes having hard times while horrible things happen...  I like death-defying daredevils who dare to do their daring-do despite indomitable doom!  I like plucky protagonists who make a practice of protecting princesses from preposterous perils and disreputable profligates!

I like good, old-fashioned, two-fisted, blood pumping, awe-inspiring, swashbuckling, fun-to-read, fun-to-watch, escapist adventure fiction. 

Of course, an adventure needs a Hero, and speaking in wide generalities, there seem to be two types:  Smart Heroes and Strong Heroes.  

As a member of the audience (the reader, the watcher), I must admit that I enjoy the Smart Hero.  He or she is usually the smartest person in the room, and they know it.  They are often unsurprised by twists throughout the story, and know all the details of everything involved in the story.  The first two characters that fit in this trope who immediately spring to mind are Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who... by some strange coincidence, both are English creations.

And they have several similarities.  They are both kind of pompous, require sidekicks that we--the audience--can better identify with (and also so the Smart Hero can explain things to Us by talking to Them).  They often seem to resent having to do all that explanation in a "how can you be so dense" tone of voice.  Also, they are to some degree socially awkward, being unable to properly relate with people of such lesser intellect, to the point that they are condescending, off-putting, and often tedious to be around.  

But they can solve puzzles and riddles in mere seconds once they have collected all the pertinent information relating to it.  They rarely resort to distasteful physical confrontation, although they may have a sidekick for that sort of thing.  Instead, they usually overcome the villain with superior intellect, outmaneuvering and overcoming their fiendish plan.  Sometimes these manipulations cause the villain's death, but sometimes the villain--thoroughly outsmarted and humiliated--merely concedes defeat.

On the flip side, we have the Strong Hero.  The Strong Hero may or may not be smart, but more importantly the Strong Hero has physical endurance and stamina, capable of devastating fight scenes with multiple opponents.  Typically, the cliche that comes to mind is a barrel-chested barbarian or streetwise brawler.  

This type of hero takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'!  Too dumb to know when he's beaten, he just keeps going, like a stubborn juggernaut.  Not all members of this trope are dumb, Conan, for instance, is actually quite learned in the stories.  So was Tarzan.  

Smart or not, the Strong Hero usually overcomes a problem by hitting it until it stops moving.  Any "clever" maneuvers or circumstances that occur for this Hero are not planned out, but usually the development of dumb luck.

I recall reading somewhere (but I don't remember where, so please don't ask) that Robert E. Howard himself once said that he preferred to write Strong Heroes instead of Smart Heroes.  His reasoning was that for the Smart Hero to come up with some incredibly clever plan, the writer had to come up with it, too.  Whereas the Strong Hero was easier to write, because he just hits the problem until it stops moving.  

I'm paraphrasing of course.

I've written both types of Heroes, and while I do enjoy both types, I have to agree that the Strong ones are easier to write!  I try to have heroes that are a little bit of both, and sometimes it even works.

Which kind of heroes to do prefer?  Leave a comment below to share with everyone!  We're all looking for to it!  I guess that's all for now, but we'll be back later to talk about something else, and don't forget there's a new, exciting chapter coming up on the next Serial Saturday!  Don't miss it!

Until then, I wish you all...

Good Adventuring!
Timothy A. Sayell