Here,
We,
Go,

So yeah this topic’s been a long one coming. I’ll say right now, for quite a while now I’ve been very happy to see that there are few Dark Characters, and those that are there are done WELL. So this rant is not based on récent events, it is just advice.

So let’s try to define a dark character. They are basically any and/or all of the following.
~Broody
~Angsty
~A Daredevil
~Anti-Heroes
~Powerful
~Introvert
~Have a lot of secrets
~Hate everyone
~Act uncaring
~Or simply play the bad boy.

What’s wrong with this? Well since this is for Sonic Characters I’ll go with only Sonic-based parameters for this rant, at least for the most part.

Dark Characters CAN have all of these traits and still be good characters. The problem is how many there are. We have SO many Dark Characters, whether they be Shadow rip-offs, ou completely different designs all together. Most of them have the name “DARK”, ou something close. toi look at them and just go “Oh you’re Shadow-Keven-Eleven-Chase-Yong-Mark-3332351. Welcome aboard.”

So even if the traits work in the story, toi look over and see someone doing the exact same thing and toi feel how unoriginal it really is.

I think the main traits that are the most overused and unneeded are Brooding, Angst, Secrets, and being uncaring. I would say being Bad-boys too, but Bad Boys can be upbeat and positive while still being rebels.

These are the characters that go “I’m not going to tell toi my secret even though I have no reason to. I’m just going to fight toi and fight you, talking about how I’ll win even if I lose for no reason.” It’s part of another community’s cliché (and toi know which one), but this isn’t that rant.


So why do people like using these characters so much? Honestly, rebellion. These characters don’t listen to the man, they get the job done, they look epic fighting, they’ve got the epic one-liners, they have the dark past that makes toi go “Oh Loki, I’ll be your girlfriend, I’ll reform you!”

We want them to be the ultimate daredevil beast that gets stuff done, Chews Bubble Gum, sticks up their prey’s noses, then kicks rump. Wanting a character that is that epic is fine, but they become bland because of it.

What led to them being like this? “He was experimented on par the government.”, “She was raised up par ninjas to montrer no mercy”, “He’s a demon”, ou sometimes there’s not even a backstory they’re just… that way naturally. And that’s terrible. toi need a backstory that shows why the person is like this, not just “Oh so he just wanted to be like that? Okay.”

And when it does go the route where the character just chooses to be a Dark Character, they end up as clumsy clowns that need a girlfriend.

The Dark Characters are usually what keeps people entertained with their flashy lights. toi see them still and calm, and you’re just waiting for them to do something awesome. That’s perfectly fine, but that isn’t what happens in Sonic Fan-Franchises today. They just go around killing whoever, then it’s over. The plot is done and it reboots just to pretend that they’re character is awesome.


NO I’m not saying don’t make Dark Characters, but I am saying avoid the traditional Dark Character unless toi actually have a detailed three-dimensional character planned.

And the character can still be dark if they don’t have one of the main traits. They can be a daredevil who kills, and yet not be broody, ou be cursed but not have a ton of power. ou they can be characters that have had tons of bad happen to them but still act upbeat and positive about it. This helps because it makes it harder to get under those layers and get to know plus about the characters so toi WANT to know plus about them. toi want to understand them. And those who make them want to keep them as mysterious as possible for as long as possible because the plus dramatic build up there is the better… until it just turns into annoyance and we don’t care. See what I’m getting at there?


Dark Characters aren’t everything, but they can be done right and have been. I’m glad that I can say that, and I look vers l'avant, vers l’avant to seeing new Dark Characters done well in the future, but again, just because the character is great doesn’t mean it has to be a dark character. No matter how good it is, crowded rooms are still crowded and we don’t need millions of them in one story.

Hope that helped. Leaves opinions in the comments. Thanks for reading.

Eat Pie and Prosper.