How do you make a character badass?

Yeah, Selbbin - you can't just question badass. Badass is simply badass, and there is no argument against it, no logic that can refute it, because its very nature is badass.

 

Like in the horror thread, character reactions to him would help. They would stand in awe, be jealous or afraid. And the interaction of MC with these people helps, he wouldn't have a heart felt conversation with them, but wouldn't be overly mean either (that would go from badass to ar*hole). Its a fine line. Also his reactions to situations, he wouldn't run, cry or plead. But the addition of an internal monologue will allow his true feeling to be known only to us readers. We know he's a bad ass but what makes him believable is his human qualities which he hides from the rest of the surrounding cast. Guns do not make the badass. Give them a rolled up news paper they would still kick ass. Take for example anime Riding Bean from the 80's he never used a gun, had a knife and car only. Or Brock Sampson from Venture Bros. again no gun knife only.

I myself prefer the underdog to the badass, much more conflict and achievement to be had.

 

Being badass is also not all about blowing up crap and shooting people. It is about not caring of what action you take as long as it solves the problem in an intense way.

 

Ditto that. The example that keeps coming to mind is Jack Nicholson's character in The Last Detail. He loses about five points for telling people to call him "Badass" Budusky, but gains about 75 points for actually being a badass.

 

Sounds like you're thinking of a particular character, Miles.

 

NEVER say directly that they are a badass. As a writer, you want to show that they are a badass and give that impression. Pretty much everything in this thread seems to have been covered that I could come up with, except KILLER comeback lines. You can also learn a great deal about the badass attitude by watching the villains/outlaws in American Western movies.

Here's what I notice about the badass attitude from watching those movies:

1. Don't give a flip what anyone thinks.
2. Flips the finger to authority when it is not in their interest and laughs in their face.
3. A badass rarely, if ever, sweats anything. Almost always remains unfazed.
4. He has a devilish style that can oftentimes get him into trouble. That's the price that must be paid.
5. Is reckless, but the type of guy that guarantees a good time.

Now back to comeback lines -- I got off track, lol. A cool, memorable comeback line can leave a long lasting impression of a pure badass without having to state anything. In the movie Tombstone, (You can watch it on Youtube) the villain said just about one of the coolest lines that I have ever heard in my entire life.

So the bad guy interrupts this wedding with a shootout and has all the good guys shot and killed. Then he saunters up to the groom who is lying on the ground injured and is like,

"Any last words?"

The groom shouts, "Go to hell!"

The badass villain just laughs unfazed and goes, "You first!" And then proceeds to blow his brains out the back of his head.

One of the coolest comeback lines that I have EVER seen. Well worth the watch just for that part alone. It is right at the beginning if I remember correctly.

EDIT: I guess it would also depend on the type of badass character that you want to portray. If you want a more serious type of badass look at the character Hitman in the Hitman video series.

What makes that character a badass is more the level of fear that he can arouse. I would NOT want to meet that guy in a dark alley.

Both have two distinct different styles though.

 

I wonder if people like badasses so much because they represent a part of ourselves that we wish we could always have in command - I for one would love to never be fazed by anything and not care about what others think, but life just hasn't worked out that way so far.

 

Bad asses can show sweat-look at John McClane, but they do what they need to do. They can also feel bad about the things they need to do, but will get it done when the job requires it. My MC would fit into the category of "bad ass" even though she has a conscience and doesn't like doing what she does.

A bad ass isn't just actions and conscious attitudes also. Soldiers are 'bad asses' too and they don't flip off superiors (at least not openly). Think of lines said also to show the attitude. "She always liked a good squeeze." By James Bond. Or, after my MC takes care of a bad guy she looks at a friend and say "That was oddly satisfying." Which is also a 'bad ass' type attitude.

I just think it's a combination of what's been said above and someone just having to do what needs to be done because they're at the wrong place at the wrong time (aka John McClane).

 

Hi,

Just to add to the others. It's about what they do and what other people think of them. But it's also about what they think of others. So add that to their internal dialogue. For example a nice guy might pass a nun in the street panhandling. A bad ass might pass the same person but for him its a cassock wearing waste of space god freak begging for coin for people that don't deserve it.

Cheers, Greg.

 

Badass is someone who simmers, simmers, simmers, simmers. When he or she finally acts, its the unexpected level of retribution that defines the character as badass. (e.g. Indiana Jones pulling out a gun to blow away the guy with the sword. We're weren't expecting that.)

 

There's a thousand and one interpretations of what a 'badass' is. Everyone will have the same definition. Most of them fit nicely into one of three umbrella categories:

- The strong, dependable type (Jethrow Gibbs)
- The sardonic, pithy gunslinger (Horatio Cain)
- The violent rebel (a renegade Commander John Shepard)

Your character seems to be a combination of the latter two. Look for examples of these characters in the movies and books you already watch and read, and take inspiration from how they are portrayed. I disagree with some of the others here: it is more than possible to make a badass character who's not a dick. It's just not often done.

 

I love Cogito's take on badass, it is the perfect segue to what I was about to say. Badass is pretty subjective. What one person interprets as badass to another is just ... well, if he doesn't FEEL the bullets and the knives, does that really count?
So a dozen people can tell you their interpretation of badass and you'll get a dozen different images. Strength is as the core of badass, and that strength begins in the mind. There will always be some kind of baggage that goes along with that strength and, from that, you get attitude. The question is, where do you draw your interconnecting lines for YOUR badass?

 

Well Badass can be look on different ways. Just a few tips.

Do not make your character the kind of character that always win, always get the lady, is perfect at all, it has all, etc. That would be just a gary stu.
A badass may lose the game, lose the lady, be bad at a lot of stuff, it could be poor. But it still manages to look cool on it.

 

Do things out of the normal but in such a grandiose way that makes you involuntarily say "OMG".

Also to be funnier. She could forget to pray which would lead to quite disastrous situations?

 

Badass is badass because it stops caring about the rules and practicality. Cogito mentioned early on that Superman isn't badass... The reason is, he follows the rules. he's often called the Big Blue Boy Scout. That's who he's meant to be. DC had to take away half his power set to make him more entertaining for modern viewers. But when Superman is his most badass is when he gets a chance to make his own rules. In the first Movie, he was badass when he turned back time. In modern video games, he is badass when he has a bit of an edge to him, or when he is ticked off. Why? because he he gets to cut loose and do what he wants.

Hulk is badass, He's a green ragemonster and no one tell him what to do... He's pure "beast" though. Batman and Wolverine are badass... Wolverine is mostly self-absorbs and takes no shit from anyone [pardon my language here]. Batman takes the law into his own hands and doesn't have to care what his enemies think. When they laughed at his costume he made them fear it.

A badass character has an edge that shows that he or she may observe "the rules", but when it comes down to it, they are in control of their own lives and NO one can tell them other wise. Period. It isn't about how many 'bad guys' they take out on their own, its how they do it-- the blatant lack of conscience, the attitude of superiority, and the way they make it seem easy.

 

How can your make your character badass? Simple. You write yourself in it.

 

He has to talk very little and kills lots of bad guys. He also has to have a devil may care attitude. Like @Cogito said he has to face danger and laugh at it. The best way to do this is to show your reader's how he is a badass, not tell them that he is.

 

I try not to force these things. Sure there is some level of mental editing that goes on in order to present a character in a certain way but I find that whenever I try to force my expectations of a character into my prose that I usually fail and it rings false.

Instead I try to accept the result of the evolution of the character through my writing. I may have started out wanting a badass but I ended up with an aggressive and violent psychopath. It may not have been my intent at the beginning but the flow of the story and the evolution of the character ended in that result and I try to accept that as simply who the character is rather than what I want it to be.

At least that's what Jack tells me and when Jack tells me to do something, Peter, Mary, Joseph and Nathaniel listen, because if they don't, Jack will make me walk in front of a train and kill them all!

 

If you have to ask I doubt you'll be able to pull it off.

 

A bad ass character to me is someone that has some rules that he never crosses, but beyond those rules, he will do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal. The important thing to remember is to makes sure he is human enough for people to relate to and feel for. Badass characters are very human. they bleed, sweat, feel fear, and can (and will often) get the shit beat out of him, but he never quits. He is willing to go though hell and drag it with him if it means getting what he wants.

 

Have him be a sociopath. Adding dark humor can make a character badass as well.

 

Forgot comic fictional super heros. There is real life badasses like Navy SEALs I admire.

 

I would say that generally speaking, no. There's a reason why revolvers are fading from the gun scene: modern semi-autos are about as reliable (if not more so in some cases) and can carry over three times the amount of rounds a revolver can, reloading is much faster and easier, and, well, why two guns? Because only amateurs just point and shoot: badasses aim and, as a consequence, actually hit their intended target (that's what makes them badass: they kill their enemies and walk into the sunset while the dude who didn't know his guns is left lying in a puddle). Pointing two guns downrange and blasting away can induce a couple of giggles in any grown man (or woman), but it's just not effective because most bullets will end up missing or hitting bystanders and your neighbor's dog.

Back to the actual topic:
Corto Maltese is a badass. He sunk a ship because of a woman. Or something like that. And the author never says he's a badass. He just is.
Sandman Slim is not a badass no matter how hard Mr. Kadrey tries to convince us that he is.

 

If you want to have a good example of badass, I recommend you to research the character Dante of the Devil May Cry video game series. He is totally badass and the game setting is related with demons, angels and the sort. Hope this helps!

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