The Annual Comic Convention in San Diego (ComicCon) is going on right now and throughout this weekend. And while the spectacle of geeks and fanboys in various modes of costume always seems to steal the show, the most fantastic and appealing part of the convention, the whole reason for even going there, is the shear wealth of stories that are available to those who attend.

Unfortunately, yours truly can’t be there this weekend. But I am trying to read as much as I can about the various new films and series that will be coming out over the next year. In one post I came across this comic of the Hulk:

It got me thinking…could this Villain be used as an Impact Character?

The big-headed baddie is one of the Hulk’s arch-nemesis, The Leader, who is described on a collectibles site:

Once a lowly janitor at a gamma radiation research facility, The Leader was mutated into a formidable, though single-minded, villain. Like his long-time foe the Incredible Hulk, The Leader underwent a drastic metamorphosis following exposure to Gamma radiation.

Single-minded? Hmmmm….

The Hulk is obviously a Main Character dealing with a Problematic Situation (Universe); the baggage he carries with him is that of an external problem with his physicality. The Leader, while also suffering the same physical state (”You and I are so alike“), seems like he could have more of a dramatic impact on the Hulk because of his single-mindedness…which would put him squarely in the Mind Domain (Problems arousing from a fixed internal state).

While Bruce Banner’s transformation into the Hulk clouded his mind and endowed him with near-limitless physical strength, maintenance man Sam Stearns’ accidental Gamma bombardment changed him into a being of enormous intellect, with a towering cranium to encase his vastly enlarged brain

For those unfamiliar with the Dramatica Theory of Story, the Mind Throughline is directly opposite from the Situation Throughline. A Main Character in a Situation will be most influenced by an Impact Character in Mind. The Leader would fit this role perfectly. After all, he’s bound to have some problematic fixed attitudes to go along with that big fat head.

Apparently Tim Blake Nelson will be playing The Leader in the next Hulk film. It will be interesting to see if he fulfills the Impact Character role and develops a sort of symbiotic relationship with the Hulk (who I assume would be the Main Character).

My guess is that he won’t. He’ll just be treated as an Antagonist, and if not that, some sort of Contagonist in the Overall Story. It’s a shame because the dramatic possibilities of having such an Impact Character are rather enticing.

Oh well. The biggest bummer though is just thinking about the mountains of new and exciting stories just sitting in that convention center waiting for me to read.

Maybe next year. 

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Somewhat related to this article

• where is the Impact Character?→

• how the impact character relates to the main character→

• bringing the audience in→

• Induction vs. Deduction→

• the main character’s role in the OS→