Non-Humans R Us Newsletters

You need an Ally

Let’s see here – you have your Hero in a bad spot – The Villain has captured them, chained them up, and is in the process of torturing him. Let’s see, hot iron to the left side of the face, the right side has a longer smile due to it being cut open, two slugs are in the right shoulder, a ten inch nail has been driven through the left, the knees on both legs have been smashed in, and now the bad guy is out getting the pliers to remove the toenails. Not to worry, the Hero can heal up, but it’s still a pain in the rear, especially since he’s stuck in one of those chairs that are made up of nothing but nails and he has a forty pound weight in his lap. Yeah, just your typical over-the-top torture. So, at this point, your Hero is probably wishing for help from someone. Let’s take a look at potential allies.

The Sidekick – He’s that buddy that hangs around with the Hero. In many cases, he’s a Hero-In-Training, or some such thing. He’d be quite willing to help out the Hero.

The Ex-Sidekick – As the name suggests, he was trained by the Hero, but went on his own. The reason for him to save the hero – it’s his mentor, and it wouldn’t look good for him otherwise.

The Rival – This guy hates the Hero – pick a reason – cheated on the Rival’s sister, copied his homework, borrowed the car without permission, totaled said car, and dumped the sister for some dumb blond, dated the guy’s girlfriend, and stole his pet goldfish, Goldie. Yeah, the Rival would like to smash the guy’s face in, but maybe not kill him.

Another Hero – With any luck, the Villain has a few other Heroes as enemies. They wouldn’t let a fellow Hero remain held captive.

Another Villain – With any luck, your Hero has a number of enemies – they’d help out the Hero, so that they’d have the pleasure of killing the Hero themselves – of course, by this time, the Hero has healed up, and can tan the new villain’s hide, along with the other one.

A Traitor Mook – Yeah, one of the Bad Guy’s underlings frees the Hero. Why? The Big Bad plans to destroy Boca Florida, and the Mook likes Boca, and happens to have family there, and, despite their past badness, they don’t want bad things to happen to their family.

The Villain Themselves – They got an enemy that scares them more than the Hero, and they need the Hero’s help. I guess when someone else plans on destroying the planet, they find out that they have a strong desire to live.

The Hero’s Family – If regular Momma Bears and Papa Wolves are already dangerous when their children are in danger, what about those who happen to be parents of a Hero. Oh, and don’t forget about Big Brother, who doesn’t like it when someone messes with his Little Brother. Also, don’t forget about the pissed-off-wife, and, in the case of a comedy, Bouncing Baby Boy – (expect at some point during the fight that someone will holler “Halt!”, sniff the air, find out that Bouncing Baby made a mess in their diaper, change the diaper – using the villain’s cloak (which the villain lends), after it turns out that mother forgot to bring a spare – then feed/burp the baby, at which point, the baby will fall fast asleep, allowing the rest to resume the fight). Also, there’s all of the other relations, which might even include Grandma and Grandpa. Lots of potential craziness.

That Bystander on the Street – This guy saw the Bad Guys knock out/abduct the Hero, or whatever, and decided to defend the defenseless Hero. If the Bystander happens to be a Grandfather, or Grandmother, with a cane, expect some hilarity. Also, the Bad Guy/Mooks may not fight back – Heroes, Soldiers, Police, or Rival Villains are one thing – Civilians are different. Harm one of them, and the Villain will be in big trouble.

The Calvary has Arrived – I’m not talking about the guys on the horses, but if they show up, fine. Basically, I mean this is the military, police, or other “ordinary” people who come to help out the Hero – maybe they can’t kill the Big Bad, as they lack the special powers to do so, but they can rescue the Hero, hold off the Mooks, and delay the Big Bad until the Hero can get up on his feet to either get out of the place, or kick the Villain’s ass.

Over all, in any given story, the Hero will come to a point where they will need help. Thus, you’d best make sure that he has some friends. After all, even the greatest of Heroes needs help once in a while, especially to keep someone from stabbing them in the back. Well, have fun as you create your stories.