Character Analysis Template Do not attempt to complete this assignment if you have not read Lessons 1 and 2 carefully and completely. Once you have reviewed both lessons, you can use this Template to help you analyze the three main characters of the web series Doctor Horrible's Sing-­‐Along Blog. Use as much space as you need to answer each question fully and completely. Use complete sentences and be as specific as you can. It's not possible to write too much, but it's definitely possible to not write enough. General Questions 1. How does the dialogue reflect the medium in which this story was originally distributed? In other words, how did the fact that this was written for the web influence how the writer shaped his characters and their words? In traditional filmic mediums such as television or Hollywood film, writers have ample time to set up their characters, their arcs – both narratively and characteristically – and their character dialog. There can be long, silent scenes and short, punchy scenes, scenes with dialog and scenes without dialog. The mediums principally allow for many types of scenes and lengths of scenes. A web series, especially of lengths of less than one hour, doesn’t truly have the luxury of prolonged character arcs, narrative arcs, or character development. Establishing scenes that stumble along or are heavy on exposition aren’t viable. In the web series, it is the practice of concision that rules the day. And here, in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-­‐Along-­‐Blog, the writers showcase how to cram all that – character arcs, narrative arcs, and concise dialog – into a short, punchy piece. The dialog is perfect for each character and, even if “on the nose” or full of subtext, never ceases to move the story along. It is reliable in that it doesn’t cloak characters or characterization. It illuminates and does so without dragging on. It is dense and concise. It conveys character and emotion without relying fully on exposition; the format of the musical and the plot device of the blog fits perfectly as it allows for unobtrusive and solid exposition when needed, exposition that feels more informative than explanatory. 2. While the character of Captain Hammer serves as a traditional form of an antagonist in this narrative, it can be argued that Penny has a stronger antagonistic impact on the primary goal of the protagonist. Why is this the case? The argument that Penny has a stronger antagonistic impact on Dr. Horrible’s goals can be represented in Penny’s desires. She desires to be with Captain Hammer because he’s handsome, silly, and, on the outside, endearing. Moreover, he encompasses the visage, in this particular world, of the hero, a supposed beacon of hope, solidarity, and kindness. Penny, a physical Character Analysis Template 1
representation and manifestation of these qualities, is naturally drawn to him because of these outward, stereotypical qualities, which, ironically, Captain Hammer does not truly possess. Obviously, because of her feelings for Captain Hammer – who happens to be Dr. Horrible’s nemesis – a rift occurs between her and Dr. Horrible; she creates a monumental obstacle for Dr. Horrible. This negatively impacts one of Dr. Horrible’s primary goals: to date Penny. Moreover, Penny, being inherently good, is fundamentally at odds with Dr. Horrible from the outset simply in terms of ideology. She, or more accurately this quality, becomes an obstacle to his nefariousness, an obstacle to his growth, an obstacle to his happiness. While not a violent, malevolent, or a nefarious antagonist, Penny’s actions derail Dr. Horrible’s plans and, ultimately, shift him towards greater evil. 3. How does writer/director Joss Whedon use the musical numbers to aid in the storytelling process? What do they allow the characters to do that they would not normally be allowed? The musical numbers showcase the dichotomy between views, actions, emotions, and ideologies, often of evil and good, moral and amoral, happiness and sadness. The whole number about goodness rising inside of Penny – and the world – and evil rising inside of Dr. Horrible is one of these. But predominantly, the main rationale behind the musical numbers is for the characters involved is to showcase several things that often are discouraged in standard dialog instances. The first is to allow the characters to give monologues. While not completely discouraged in standard dialog instances, monologues are certainly not encouraged. And, in genres outside of the musical, monologues are often preferred only once per film; in musicals, they tend to occur every several minutes and are not seen as overly expository or obtrusive. The second reason is that the musical numbers allow the audience to hear the inner thoughts of the characters, to venture inside the minds of the characters. Normal filmic pedagogy strictly discourages showcasing a character’s inner thoughts and emotions through dialog; preferably, this should be shown through actions and visible occurrences instead. Here though, in the musical, the characters can gush about their feelings and thoughts and inner struggles and the audience doesn’t mind or truly notice because the delivering agent is fun and whimsical, not stilted and forced. Doctor Horrible (Dramatic function: protagonist) 1. What is Dr. Horrible's goal (Remember that it must be specific and filmable, i.e. you must be able to point a camera at it)? Dr. Horrible has two goals at the outset of the piece. The first, primary goal is to join the Evil League of Evil, a fraternity of evil doers of which he has, for quite some time, been attempting Character Analysis Template 2
to join. The second goal is to muster the courage to speak to, and eventually woo, Penny, his Laundromat-­‐of-­‐Love’s special someone, a special someone he’s developed quite an extensive love for despite their never officially meeting. Visually, the audience sees these goals in several ways. For the joining of the Evil League of Evil, the audience witnesses as Dr. Horrible goes about concocting various nefarious plans and, near the film’s beginning, a heist of a special compound – called Wonderflonium – that will enhance his freeze-­‐ray device. This will further aid him in future endeavors to join the League. For speaking to Penny, the audience witnesses Dr. Horrible’s buffoonery when it comes to romantic discourse. He fumbles over his words; he nervously ticks when Penny is present; he becomes visibly unnerved, even skittish at times, when she acknowledges him or catches him unawares. A scene where this is prominent is when Penny catches him off guard while heisting the Wonderflonium. Although he is engaged in the heist and that contributes to his distraction, the audience is acutely aware of his nervousness when he converses with her via his edgy, curt gestures, body language, and dialog. 2. What do we learn about Dr. Horrible in his resting period? The audience learns that Dr. Horrible is, as of the time, a mediocre, less-­‐than-­‐effective villain. He recounts his failings and his triumphs, the latter of which there are few. The audience also learns that he is motivated, goal-­‐oriented, and dutiful. The audience learns that he is shy, that he is, in certain situations, meek, and that he is determined. Through the reading of listener/viewer e-­‐mail, the audience also learns that he holds delusions of grandeur and that he thinks himself an elitist, a rebel outside of the bourgeoisie. The audience also learns of his overall plans which showcase many of the aforementioned qualities. In one sentence, Dr. Horrible coalesces many of those ideals: “… (and by the way it’s not about making money. It’s about TAKING money. Destroying the status-­‐quo because the “status” is NOT “quo”. The world is a mess and I just need to RULE it.)” 3. What is his inciting incident (Remember, it must be an external event that launches him after his goal)? The Inciting Incident for Dr. Horrible comes during the Wonderflonium heist. Just after signing Penny’s petition, Dr. Horrible hijacks the van in which the Wonderflonium rests. Here, Captain Hammer makes his first appearance. Again, he is out to foil Dr. Horrible’s plans. In the process of further cultivating his renown, Captain Hammer saves Penny from being run over by the van. Penny is immediately thrust into overpowering love with Captain Hammer and, once he lays eyes on her, so is Captain Hammer. Although, it is safe to postulate that Captain Hammer’s infatuation does not stem from the platonic plane but from an animalistic one. Here is the Inciting Incident: Dr. Horrible has, through his nefarious plotting to join the Evil League of Evil, been the catalyst for his nemesis to meet the woman of his dreams and whisk Character Analysis Template 3
her away. This meeting begins the Act II journey of obstacles through which Dr. Horrible must traverse to save Penny from the misogynistic clutches of Captain Hammer. Finally, it thrusts Dr. Horrible into action to gain Penny’s greater attention, her love, and her affection. 4. What is his motivation for winning this goal? What will he lose if he doesn't win this goal? As mentioned, Dr. Horrible will lose Penny if he doesn’t win his goal. At the point of the Inciting Incident, Dr. Horrible becomes predominantly focused on rescuing Penny from Captain Hammer and becoming her boyfriend. So much so that even his once ultimate goal of joining the Evil League of Evil becomes secondary and, one could argue, even completely irrelevant for most, if not all, of the Second Act. His other motivations for rescuing her are to finally, and ultimately, defeat Captain Hammer, his rival and nemesis. Dr. Horrible is motivated by anger. He is motivated by fear. He is motivated by a sense of duty to Penny, that he owes her salvation, that she deserves better than Captain Hammer even if it’s not Dr. Horrible himself that she ultimately loves. 5. What are at least five obstacles that he faces during his rising action (be specific with each example)? • Captain Hammer learning his identity in the Laundromat. • The malfunction of his Freeze Ray that forces him to reevaluate his plans for joining the Evil League of Evil. • His own prodding doubts of whether he’ll be successful in, or if he stills wants, to upset the status quo. • Captain Hammer wooing Penny. • His inner conflict between good and evil; his escalation towards greater evil. • His ideologies of evil vs. Penny’s ideologies of good. • Penny’s continuing downward spiral into the arms of Captain Hammer. • His conflict in the Evil League of Evil’s request that he kill someone. • His continual attempts to hide his true identity – that he in fact is Dr. Horrible – from Penny. 6. What is his crisis point? Which kind of crisis does he encounter? Dr. Horrible’s crisis point is the type in which he must make a choice between his want to join the Evil League of Evil and his want to be with Penny. Dr. Horrible’s crisis point occurs when he learns that Captain Hammer has Penny fully in his clutches. The audience sees this visually in the montage of Dr. Horrible concocting and readying his plan to kill Captain Hammer. 7. What is his climax? Character Analysis Template 4
Dr. Horrible’s climax comes during the unveiling of Captain Hammer’s statue. Here, Dr. Horrible bests Captain Hammer using his Freeze Ray and Death Ray. But the climax is when Dr. Horrible realizes he has, through his blind rage and sense of revenge, been the catalyst of Penny’s death. 8. Does he win or lose his goal? How is this win/loss ironic? First, Dr. Horrible loses his goal of gaining Penny as his girlfriend. The irony here is that he, for a majority of the film, jeopardized and even undermined his evilness in order to woo her, in order to express himself to her. The greater irony is that, in his blind journey of revenge, the evil he continually subdued ultimately overflowed and contributed to Penny’s death. Second, Dr. Horrible ultimately achieves his goal of entry into the Evil League of Evil. The irony of this, though, is that the act through which he gains entry, the act that aids his evil in usurping his inherent good, is the same act that kills Penny. As an aside, Penny’s death is a symbolic representation of the death of Horrible’s virtuousness. 9. Describe Dr. Horrible's new place of rest. Be sure to include your analysis of the last shot. Dr. Horrible’s new place of rest is a place of true, impassioned evil. He has lost his true love, been the agent of her death, tasted the nectar of power, and finally discovered the renown that he has constantly sought. The last shot encompasses this. Dr. Horrible has finally acquired a seat at the table of Bad Horse, has become a bona fide member of the Evil League of Evil. In fact, the confidence and swagger Dr. Horrible exudes upon sauntering into the inner chamber of the Evil League of Evil could infer that he has set a new goal for himself: to usurp Bad Horse and become the new leader of the League. There is an ominous quality to the screen direction and the expressions of the other members that could, arguably, reinforce this hypothesis. 10. How does Dr. Horrible change as a result of the events of the story? His evil has overtaken him. Now, he holds no mercy, no love, and no goodness in his heart. As Penny died, so his light died. He has become more confident, more determined. He has shed the skin of his meek nature. He has become more tortured, has grown a callousness that he never thought he could. He has supplanted himself firmly in the shadow of horribleness and evil. Moreover, he has fully moved from being a passive character, to being an active character. 11. What are three specific, quotable lines of dialogue that help to establish his character? • “*Pfft* I'm not a henchman. I'm Dr. Horrible. I have a P.H.D. in horribleness… But killing? Really?” This shows that he wants to be evil, he wants to be the apex baddie, not a henchman. But he isn’t quite ready to take the necessary steps to become completely evil, to become that apex entity. Character Analysis Template 5
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“I wanna do great things, you know? I wanna be an achiever. Like Bad Horse...” This line showcases his delusions of grandeur, his goals, his unwavering duty to those goals, and his endearing awe towards a perceived maleficence. “Take the chance to build a brand new day.” This showcases the change occurring within Dr. Horrible, the change from passive protagonist to active protagonist. It shows that his character is ready to move on, ready to unshackle himself from his meager persona and craft a new, much more robust and memorable one. “Now the nightmare's real. Now Dr. Horrible is here… To make you quake with fear… To make the whole world kneel.” This quote showcases that Dr. Horrible has fully transitioned into Evil. It shows that he has become aware that, now, there is no hope for his redemption. He has been consumed and given himself fully to the endeavor of disrupting the status quo and climbing the ladder of the Evil League of Evil to one day be its leader. 12. How does Dr. Horrible speak? Include references to sentence structure, syntax, imagery, diction, verbs and length of speeches. How does his way of speaking change throughout the series (when he speaks to different characters, when he with Penny versus when he is recording his vlog, etc)? Predominantly, Dr. Horrible speaks in curt, sarcastic sentences that often dabble in sub-­‐text and habitually skirt the point when speaking with Penny and Captain Hammer. This showcases his shyness around Penny and his nervousness and feelings of inferiority around Captain Hammer. On the contrary, he is articulate, speaking in longer, more verbose verbiage when speaking with Moist. This reflects his confidence around Moist; it alludes to a superior mentality. Moreover, when dabbling in his video blog, Dr. Horrible often finds himself befuddled at times, unable to articulate his thoughts, jumping from subject to subject, taking long pauses to formulate his thoughts. He often resorts to patronization in these scenes. Here, he is regularly pseudo-­‐
confident. As the story progresses, Dr. Horrible becomes more and more articulate around Penny and, near the end, Captain Hammer. In fact, in some scenes he even patronizes Penny as he does his blog followers. His diction becomes more verbose. His syntax longer and, while at times rambling, focused. The imagery he uses when speaking to her at the Laundromat moves from goofy, inviting, and endearing to odd, sardonic, and, at times, repulsive. This latter grouping is highly influenced by his disdain for Captain Hammer. The musical pieces are an exception to Dr. Horrible’s usual cageyness. In these, he is continually and reliably concise in his speech. He is almost always “on the nose,” conveying what he truly feels without frill or fancy. Penny (Dramatic function: love interest/obstacle) 1. What is Penny's goal? Character Analysis Template 6
Penny’s primary goal is to acquire a decrepit building that is in danger of being torn down by the city in order to retrofit it into a homeless shelter. Her secondary goal is to obtain signatures for a petition regarding her acquisition of the building to bring before the mayor. 2. Why is this goal important to her? What will she lose if she doesn't win this goal? The new building will be an upgrade from the current one in many ways: it will supply more room for more beds; it will supply a bigger space for the business of the shelter; it will allocate more comfortable surroundings for the homeless; it will allocate the homeless shelter with a secondary, more centralized location. If Penny does not achieve this goal, she risks letting herself, but more importantly, the homeless, down. She risks not following through on her goals and aspirations. Moreover, the risk of the homeless shelter becoming overcrowded and unable to support the homeless population becomes very real. 3. Detail all the points of Penny's Major Dramatic Curve, and indicate which moments are on screen and which are off screen. If there are moments that aren't revealed, take an educated guess about what those moments might be, and explain why you think this is so. • Resting Period: (Off Screen) Penny works at the homeless shelter and is commissioned to seek out a new shelter. She doesn’t truly believe in heroes, but she does in villains. Penny mentions that she has been tasked with getting signatures for the new, expanded shelter. And while she seems hopeful, gullible even, she doesn’t seem the type to really believe in heroes. In fact, her mannerisms and dialog and attitude infer that she hasn’t gotten many signatures and that she feels many would turn their back on the poor. • Inciting Incident: (Off Screen) Penny learns that the city will soon tear down a historic downtown building. It is a perfect homeless shelter. She is told the building will be torn down without a petition. Penny says she was tasked with finding a new shelter, but not any in particular. She says she heard about the building being torn down and that she thought it would be the perfect place. Her efforts to acquire the building outright were obviously thwarted due to her needing the petition. • The Rising Action: (Off Screen/On Screen) Penny faces the challenge of acquiring signatures. She Meets Captain Hammer. Penny is pushy about getting Dr. Horrible’s signature and is relieved when he signs. This infers she hasn’t had much luck getting signatures. • The Crisis Point: (Off Screen) It seems as if she isn’t going to get the signatures she needs. The building is sure to be torn down and the homeless shelter will not expand. Character Analysis Template 7
Logically, if Penny weren’t having a hard time acquiring signatures, would Captain Hammer have to cajole the mayor to sign the building over? • The Climax: (On Screen/Off Screen) Captain Hammer “convinces” the mayor to sign the building over to the homeless shelter. Penny gains her goal. • The Falling Period: (Off Screen) Penny falls deeper into love with Captain Hammer. Penny forgets about Dr. Horrible and commissions the city to erect a statue of Captain Hammer. Captain Hammer is Penny’s hero. He is the city’s hero. She, to show her appreciation, and knowing his ego, knows a statue is the perfect gift. She has to ask the mayor and the mayor doe not refuse out of fear of Captain Hammer. • The New Resting Period: (On Screen/Off Screen) Penny is much more reserved now. She has her homeless shelter. She is enamored with Captain Hammer. She truly believes that love conquers all and that Captain Hammer is a genuine hero. She dies believing that heroes exist. 4. Does Penny win or lose her goal? At what specific point? Penny gains her goal. She gains it in the Laundromat when Captain Hammer informs her that he convinced – the subtext of this is that he “forcibly” convinced – the mayor to sign the building over to Penny and the homeless society. 5. How does Penny change as a result of the story? Penny doesn’t really change throughout the story. She begins as a beacon of hope and ends as a beacon of hope. Even as she dies she clings to the glimmer that all will be set straight, that goodness and happiness will prevail. There are times, such as when Dr. Horrible confronts Captain Hammer at the statue unveiling, that she shows fear, but this is rare. She is the story’s constant. The only true, remarkable change that occurs in Penny is her seduction by Captain Hammer; she moves from the virginal allegory – an untainted ideology – to one that has been, through sex, sullied to some extent – the malformed, manipulated ideology. Yet even here, she does not lose her hope and happiness. 6. How does Penny speak? Include references to sentence structure, syntax, imagery, diction, verbs and length of speeches. How does her way of speaking change throughout the series (before and after she meets Captain Hammer)? Before meeting Captain Hammer, Penny’s verbiage and diction are, although not scholarly or academic by any means, vibrant and robust. She never truly speaks in long, protracted speeches even as she is the vociferous representative of the homeless organization. She uses Character Analysis Template 8
imagery from time to time, but this is a rarity and her syntax is breezy and often uninterrupted by pauses or confusion. Once Penny meets Captain Hammer, her syntax becomes truncated. She begins speaking in shorter sentences and becomes less and less outspoken and outgoing. Her diction is relegated to simplistic phrases and words. In fact, the further into the relationship with Captain Hammer she falls, the less she speaks. 7. What is one specific, quotable line of dialogue that helps to establish her character? “But, he turned out to be totally sweet. Sometimes people are layered like that. There's something totally different underneath than what's on the surface.” This quote shows two things: Penny’s gullibility and her insight. It shows that, although insightful and able see an individual’s multiple layers, she ironically cannot see those layers for what they truly are. Perhaps it is a coping mechanism that allows her to fall in love with Captain Hammer, a way for her to overlook his inner nefarious nature in order to accept his love. Captain Hammer (Dramatic function: antagonist) 1. What is Captain Hammer's goal? Captain Hammer has two goals. His first and primary goal is to defeat, defame, disparage, and depress Dr. Horrible. His secondary goal, more an ancillary agent of the primary, is to woo and court Penny. 2. Why is this goal important to him? What will he lose if he doesn't win this goal? The goal is important to him because it is important to his ego. Captain Hammer thrives on the renown he has garnered from the people of the city, the mayor, and the city’s evil-­‐doers-­‐in-­‐
training. He must not lose this and, more importantly, he must not lose this to his ultimate nemesis, Dr. Horrible. To lose the respect of Dr. Horrible is to lose the respect of the city. To lose the respect of the city is to lose respect for himself. As an aside, it can be argued that his ultimate nemesis is, in fact, himself, his ego. But this cannot be visually represented as well as Dr. Horrible can. Thusly, his nemesis must be Dr. Horrible. 3. Detail all the points of Captain Hammer's Major Dramatic Curve, and indicate which moments are on screen and which are off screen. If there are moments that aren't revealed, take an educated guess about what those moments might be, and explain why you think this is so. Character Analysis Template 9
Resting Period: (Off Screen) Here, Captain Hammer is out “saving the day,” beating up bad guys – including Dr. Horrible – and keeping up his reputation. Dr. Horrible references this period when he mentions very early on that Captain Hammer dislocated Dr. Horrible’s shoulder a week prior. • Inciting Incident: (Off Screen) Captain Hammer learns of Dr. Horrible’s nefarious plan to heist the Wonderflonium from Dr. Horrible’s blog. Logically it makes sense that Captain Hammer would be a follower of Dr. Horrible’s blog. Moreover, Captain Hammer subverts one of Dr. Horrible’s plans later on by learning about the plan through Dr. Horrible’s blog. • The Rising Action: (On Screen/Off Screen) Captain Hammer woos Penny, foils Dr. Horrible’s plans at world domination, and gains greater renown in the city. Dr. Horrible mentions some of Captain Hammer’s activities such as subverting Dr. Horrible’s plan with the initial Freeze Ray plot. Captain Hammer cajoles the mayor – most likely by force – to sign the downtown building to homeless society for a new homeless shelter. Through these actions, and others alluded to, Captain Hammer gains greater support throughout the city as referenced by reports, anecdotes by Dr. Horrible and Penny, and the statue dedication ceremony. • The Crisis Point: (Off Screen) This occurs as Captain Hammer must decide whether he is going to truly begin to love Penny or continue to treat her with misogyny and use her to prod Dr. Horrible. Captain Hammer references this at the statue dedication ceremony as he refers to Penny as his long-­‐time girlfriend. One, Captain Hammer is a playboy, so for him to have a “girlfriend” is a step he has chosen –whether justly or not – to make. Second, Captain Hammer, however little, does act more “loving and protective” of Penny as the film progresses – especially in the climactic scene. • The Climax: (On Screen) This occurs when Dr. Horrible defeats Captain Hammer at the statue dedication ceremony. • The Falling Action: (On Screen) Captain Hammer copes and with defeat and the acquisition of fear by gushing to a psychologist. • The New Resting Period: (On Screen/Off Screen) Captain Hammer never recovers from the wounds sustained at the hands of Dr. Horrible. He languishes in self-­‐pity and is forgotten by the city. The scene in which he speaks with the psychologist infers this; as evidenced by this scene, Captain Hammer has obviously come unhinged at best. The on-­‐screen element refers to the scene in which the citizens are wearing Dr. Horrible shirts instead of Captain Hammer shirts. •
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4. How does Captain Hammer change as a result of the story? By the end of the story, Captain Hammer has lost his renown and the respect of the city. Many in the city now regard Dr. Horrible as their hero. This can be visually seen in the three “groupie” individuals who once wore Captain Hammer shirts, but by the end of the film wear Dr. Horrible shirts. But, returning to the greater point, Captain Hammer becomes a shell of his former self. He loses his confidence. He loses his respect for himself. He loses his ego. One shot in particular sums up Captain Hammer’s entire transformation and it is scene in which he is in the psychiatrist’s office, balling his eyes out, and recounting the “terror” inflicted upon him by Dr. Horrible. Captain Hammer slowly changes, symbolically, from a man to a boy, and, physically, from a hero to a nobody. 5. How does Captain Hammer speak? Include references to sentence structure, syntax, imagery, diction, verbs and length of speeches. How does his way of speaking change throughout the series (when he is in public versus when he is alone with Dr. Horrible)? Captain Hammer often speaks, as discussed below, “on the nose.” This way of speaking gives him a comical quality, but, in the same vein, a quality of one dimensionality. But moving on from this, Captain Hammer often speaks in protracted, almost-­‐monologues more often than is necessary. This, while also adding to his comedic effect, also shows how inarticulate and, at times, dimwitted he is. His verbiage is quite marginal and his syntax often either finds itself in fragments or in a competition with itself for the best run-­‐ons in the script. His diction is often pedantic and verges on the stereotypical. Imagery, due to his matter of fact, “on the nose” qualities, is essentially foreign to any of his dialog. 6. What is one specific, quotable line of dialogue that helps to establish his character? “You got a little crush, don't you Doc? Well that's gonna make this hard to hear. See, later I'm gonna take little Penny back to my place, show her the Command Center, Hammer Cycle, maybe even the Ham-­‐Jet. You think she likes me now? I'm gonna give Penny the night of her life. Just because you want her, and I get what you want. See, Penny's giving it up. She's givin it up hard, cause she's with Captain Hammer. And THESE are not the hammer…The hammer is my penis.” This section of dialog perfectly encompasses Captain Hammer: silly, daft, unscrupulous, matter of fact, misogynistic, treacherous, manipulative, and “on the nose,” among others. 7. Captain Hammer often deliberately speaks "on the nose". What is gained by having this character do it? Character Analysis Template 11
Having Captain Hammer speak “on the nose” has several effects on his character. The first is that it lends a sense of satire, parody, and sappiness to his character. He is the quintessential little brain, all brawn superhero. He embodies an allegorical commentary on pop culture – he is the all too often stilted hero, or antihero, or villain who leaves no questions on the table; he is, principally, un-­‐layered. The second is that “on the nose” dialog, in this context, heightens the comedic effect of his character. Although an antagonist, it can be argued that Captain Hammer also dons the persona of “jester” or “trickster;” essentially, Captain Hammer is largely successful in his comedic role due to his “on the nose” dialog. Character Analysis Template 12