Alignment of popular characters.


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


A thread where everyone disagreed with me on the alignment of a popular character made me think about what alignments other people view characters as.

What alignment do you view the following characters as?

- Superman
- Batman
- Joker
- Lex Luther
- Spiderman
- J J Jamerson
- Captain America
- The Punisher
- Iron Man
- Thor "the god of lightning" Odinson
- Captain Kirk
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- The Doctor (regeneration #)
- Han Solo
ect

edit: It's not the answer that matters, it's why.

The Exchange

And the answers is all and none depending on what version of the character and how we each define the alignments differently


Andrew R wrote:
And the answers is all and none depending on what version of the character and how we each define the alignments differently

That's the point of this thread. To expand our views on what an alignment means.


Yeah, this is going to boil down to a) differing views on alignments and b) comic book characters' tendency to swing wildly through all of them as editors attempt to be trendy and modern by ignoring the origins and motives of the characters they use.


In before "Batman is every alignment" image macro.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

Barathos wrote:

A thread where everyone disagreed with me on the alignment of a popular character made me think about what alignments other people view characters as.

What alignment do you view the following characters as?

- Superman
- Batman
- Joker
- Lex Luther
- Spiderman
- J J Jamerson
- Captain America
- The Punisher
- Iron Man
- Thor "the god of lightning" Odinson
- Captain Kirk
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard
- The Doctor (regeneration #)
- Han Solo
ect

edit: It's not the answer that matters, it's why.

mmm.

Superman - LG Godly good...kinda too good to be believed.
Batman - NG Working for the law outside the law, master of team play, superb solo operator. Kinda the epitome of the alignment.
Joker - CE. Unpredictable even to himself.
Lex Luthor - Current Version is classic NE. Laws apply to everyone but him, classic depraved nobility mindset.
Spiderman - NG. Having a sense of humor doesn't make you CG, and he's got great respect for the law. He plays well with others and solo.
JJJ - LN. Extremely rigid and predictably hide-bound in his views, but not a bad man...and a master of using the system.
Captain AMerica - Classic LG military officer.
The Punisher - N Motivated by revenge to completely operate outside the law and do some really nasty stuff, but doesn't act AGAINST the law, nor does he prey on 'innocents'. Highly disciplined but willing to break the laws in every way to go after the guilty. He's probably closer to a classic D&D adventurer then anyone else on the list.
Iron Man - The anti-Lex Luthor. NG. Laws are something money can get around, but he's a master of working and using the political system, too.
Thor - Marvel Comics Thor is either LG or NG, depending on the time of day. Extremely honorable, but as a god prone to letting his emotions run away with him. Classic mythology Thor is far more concerned about personal honor and glory, and is classic CG.
Captain Kirk - Regardless of his amorous escapades, he's military and in a rigid hierarchy. L/N G.
Picard - Classic LG military cerebral. A deep believer in the spirit of the Federation and all it stands for.
The Doctor - N/C G. The personality changes fairly force the chaotic leanings, but he has a fairly strong moral code.
Han Solo - Episode IV? CG. He moves to more NG as the series progresses, but he never goes back to the lawfulness of his military training, he's too spontaneous. His goodness comes out in his willingness to stand up to others for what he believes is right (which is how Chewbacca became his partner), even at personal risk or loss. At the end of the day, he's a hero despite how he tries to hide it.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Oh, these are fun...until they get out of hand. But, whatever. From my extremely limited knowledge of the source material...

Superman-The guy is a walking advertisement of the LG alignment. They call him the Big Blue Boyscout for a reason.
Batman-Dude I have no idea. Every different version of Batman gets such inconsistent depictions that the whole "he is every alignment" spreadsheet begin to sound more reasonable every year.
Joker-CE. "Some men just want to watch the world burn" or whatever.
Lex Luthor-Dunno. From what I remember as a kid from the old JLA cartoons, he always seemed NE. A villain willing to double-cross people but also holding to a certain standard. Maybe.
Spiderman-LG. Great power comes with yadda yadda yadda.
J.J.J.-No idea
Captain America-So LG it's almost painful. "i don't want to kill people, i just don't like bullies." That's put him in the NG camp, but the fact that he sticks rigidly to what he believes is right no matter what, and has a strict code of...well, essentially honor that he adheres to sorta puts the Lawful in there.
The Punisher-Also no clue
Iron Man-All i know of Iron Man is from the movies, and there he seems like a mix between CN and CG. See, he seems initially selfish, but over time I sort of think he's generally a good guy who has MASSIVE authority and teamwork issues. So, CG. Mostly.
Thor-Again, all i know is the movies. Marvel comics were never something I got into. In those he seems...a vague mix between LG (at least in the later films) or something similar. he wants to do right by his dad and the honor his position demands. In the first film he was more CN.
Captain Kirk-NG? Hard to explain but that's the vibe I get.
Picard-Dunno. Never got to Next Gen
The Doctor-That's worse than the Batman one. Unlike Batman, who gets re-interpreted by different writers every few years but is still the same dude, the Doctor literally changes run to run. Like, not just in appearance, but in temperament as well. I'd say the Good part is in there, but whether he's L/N/C is impossible to pin down. Though I'd say the only truly full LG Doctor was probably John Hurt, and he's not technically "the Doctor" as he was a soldier at the time...soooooo...meh
Han Solo-I dunno, CG? CN initially, maybe?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
The Drunken Dragon wrote:
The Doctor-That's worse than the Batman one. Unlike Batman, who gets re-interpreted by different writers every few years but is still the same dude, the Doctor literally changes run to run. Like, not just in appearance, but in temperament as well. I'd say the Good part is in there, but whether he's L/N/C is impossible to pin down. Though I'd say the only truly full LG Doctor was probably John Hurt, and he's not technically "the Doctor" as he was a soldier at the time...soooooo...meh

"You were the Doctor, more so than any of us. "

Eleven to the War Doctor.

And while he may have though thought of himself as a warrior, he was neither side's soldier.

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