I am trying to help a friend on his superhero-ish (masked vigilante with skills, but no superpowers) script.
The problem I am running into is:
the vigilante is a bit far-fetched to have a compelling and believable "origin story" -although with them already established in their vigilante persona, they are intriguing and entertaining... from a distance. If I delve too much into their world, especially their non-vigilante life, I fear things may fall apart and the intrigue and believability will be lost. I don't want it to descend into a cartoonish caricature of a superhero movie.
I'm trying not to change my friend's characters too much though, as this is his baby. I may have to, but I'm trying to think of a way to work with the characters he originally conceived.
I have thought about focusing the events around another character (as the main protagonist). One who interacts closely with the vigilante through much of the script, but has a story of their own, too.
I cannot find any reference of this being done in a superhero-type script though (at least any successful ones). Most of the movies I have seen that are popular in this genre have the superhero/vigilante as the protagonist, and many also dive into their origin story.
I am not opposed to trying to "break the mold" but I also realize some things aren't done for a very good reason -no one will want to watch/they make no money.
Can anyone think of an example of a film of this type in which the protagonist is NOT the superhero?
What are your thoughts on this possible approach?
Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you.
The problem I am running into is:
the vigilante is a bit far-fetched to have a compelling and believable "origin story" -although with them already established in their vigilante persona, they are intriguing and entertaining... from a distance. If I delve too much into their world, especially their non-vigilante life, I fear things may fall apart and the intrigue and believability will be lost. I don't want it to descend into a cartoonish caricature of a superhero movie.
I'm trying not to change my friend's characters too much though, as this is his baby. I may have to, but I'm trying to think of a way to work with the characters he originally conceived.
I have thought about focusing the events around another character (as the main protagonist). One who interacts closely with the vigilante through much of the script, but has a story of their own, too.
I cannot find any reference of this being done in a superhero-type script though (at least any successful ones). Most of the movies I have seen that are popular in this genre have the superhero/vigilante as the protagonist, and many also dive into their origin story.
I am not opposed to trying to "break the mold" but I also realize some things aren't done for a very good reason -no one will want to watch/they make no money.
Can anyone think of an example of a film of this type in which the protagonist is NOT the superhero?
What are your thoughts on this possible approach?
Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you.