Epic Hero Epic Plot Epic Setting Archetypes Epic Themes

Has superhuman strength, intelligence and confidence Is helped or harmed by interfering gods Embodies ideals or values a culture thinks is admirable Emerges victorious from dangerous situations

Involves a long journey, full of complications, such as: Strange Creatures Divine Intervention Large-Scale Events Treacherous Weather

Includes fantastic or exotic lands Involves more than one nation

Characters, situations, and images that are widely recognized Sea monsters Wicked temptresses Buried treasure Suitors’ contest Epic hero Loyal servant

Courage The fate of a nation A homecoming Beauty Loyalty Life and death

Jake Sully emerges from many dangerous situations All the creatures on Pandora are strange Pandora is a fantastic setting, and includes the Humans and Na’vi Unobtainium is the buried treasure Fate of a nation, courage, loyalty

The basic steps a hero takes in their journey

The point in a person’s life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.

Once the hero has committed to the quest, their guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known.

The point when the person first goes into the field of adventure They leave their known world and venture into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.

The hero must undergo a series of tests, trials, tasks, or ordeals in order to begin a transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests.

The hero is often accompanied on the journey by a helper who assists in the series of tests and generally serves as a loyal companion. Alternately, the hero may encounter a supernatural helper in the world of adventure who fulfills this function.

Here the fortunes of the hero hit bottom in a direct confrontation with his greatest fear. He faces the possibility of death and is brought to the brink in a battle with a hostile force. The audience does not know if the hero will live or die.

After accomplishing the mission, the hero must return to the threshold of adventure and prepare for a return to the everyday world. If the hero has angered the opposing forces by stealing the elixir or killing a powerful monster, the return may take the form of a hasty flight. If the hero has been given the elixir freely, the flight may be a benign stage of the journey.

The hero again crosses the threshold of adventure and returns to the everyday world of daylight. The return usually takes the form of an awakening, rebirth, resurrection, or a simple emergence from a cave or forest. Sometimes the hero is pulled out of the adventure world by a force from the daylight world.

The benefit, favor, or blessing that is bestowed on the hero figure. The hero wants to share the boon with humankind.