Friday, May 5, 2017

The Masterpiece: Fighter

Also, I can block any attack and kill anything that bleeds.  Hint.

Fighter is stupid.  Well, kind of.  He's certainly naive, and he has his stupid moments, but he's not completely stupid.  He's not Bikke for dog's sake.  But he isn't smart, that's for sure.

In a comic where "stupid" is the standard, Fighter isn't really that high on the list.  Oh, he's on it, but there are far, far worse.  Bikke, I mentioned, is one, Dragoon is pretty dumb, and King Steve is, um, well he's probably inanely stupid.  Most of the unnamed characters are pretty oblivious to things going on around them, which doesn't make them stupid per say, but they might as well be in terms of the comic.  Which actually makes Fighter pretty smart, all things considered.

Fighter is a master of the physical arts, even before his class change he was a whirlwind of death and destruction.  He has some education, he can read, and write, and is smart enough to know he isn't that smart.  Still, the other characters often treat him as stupid enough to be an actual threat, to the point that they tell him to go bother Chaos in the hopes that the stupidity will kill it.  It doesn't work.

When it comes time for quick thinking though, he can do it.  Sure, it's probably not the best thoughts at any given moment (Mr Pibb and Dr Pepper are not a conspiracy, really), but it can work.  His magnum opus is blocking the ground so the party survives a massive fall.  His logic is impeccable, if improbable, still, it was his thought, no one suggested it to him or anything, he just did it.

That's because he is a hero, the stereotypical dumb hero.  He WANTS to do the right thing, and as long as the people who he considers friends tell him it is, he'll do it.  Of course his best "friend" also happens to be the most evil person on earth, so you can see where this can go wrong quickly.  Despite this, he is genuinely a good guy, and ultimately the architect of the entire comic.

It is HIS decision to try to become a Light Warrior that starts everything off.  HIS vote allowed Red Mage to join the group, and his insistence that Black Mage be part of it, rather than White Mage, likely changed the entire path of the story.

He was rewarded, eventually, he got to wander the land with is best friend.  Of course, that also became Black Mage's punishment, but that's another story.

That said, throughout the length of the comic, Fighter did get dumber, but given that it's a comedy, I suppose that's a given.  Even so, there is some depth to him and he's not just a dumb meat shield.  I mean, he's MOSTLY a dumb meat shield, but when push comes to shove comes to hack and slash, he's not the dullest knife.  Mostly because he has swords, lots of swords, and he knows how to use all of them.  Honestly, he's probably the most dangerous character in the entire comic.

Next time, the one character you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, without a lawyer.