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This is a list of stock characters that are used in military fiction.

• Ace pilot The advent of aviation spawned a genre of adventure stories in which the ace pilot was the natural hero. Examples in books and comics include Biggles and Hop Harrigan. Daredevil pilots then followed in Hollywood movies as the wars of the twentieth century were fictionalised in movies such as Flying Tigers and God Is My Co-Pilot. Later examples include Maverick in Top Gun and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.

• Bitter War Veteran: man who fought as a soldier during a war; he usually leaves home a naïve young man, experiences the horrors of war, and returns home embittered and deranged. He often has flashbacks and nightmares about the war. Examples include John Rambo, of First Blood and its sequels, Cliff Hudson of Dead Rising, Lieutenant Dan Taylor from Forrest Gump and Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.

• Braggart The classical archetypes are Alazon and Miles Gloriosus. A later example is Il Capitano, a mercenary who constantly extolls his bravery and strength with impossible stories that even he does not believe. Ronald Speirs from Band of Brothers is the real-life example of this stock character. Another examples of this is Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS.
• The Drill Sergeant: harsh, bitter and sarcastic, this character will either be loved or hated (or in some cases killed) for his iron will. Often his constant ordering and rigorous training might turn out to be for the good; an example of this is Career Sergeant Zim from Starship Troopers, or it can be done intentionally, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket. A real-life example of this character type is Herbert Sobel from Band of Brothers.
• The Incompetent Officer: usually from a wealthy background, the incompetent officer is usually senior to the hero and an antagonist. The incompetence is depicted either as stemming from blind innocence or fundamental stupidity. Normally has an inflated view of his own abilities, leading his men into numerous disasters, e.g., Sir Henry Simmerson and numerous others in the Sharpe series of novels. A real-life example is Norman Dike, who was portrayed in Band of Brothers.
• The Raw Recruit: young, naive and impressionable, the Raw Recruit has to learn how to live with military discipline and understand the reasons behind the way the military works. He often ends up in a position of leadership (as an Idealistic Lieutenant) by the end of the story. Juan Rico of Starship Troopers is such a character. They may have a "tragic" death towards the end of the movie, particularly if they show the protagonist a picture of a fiancée or wife they "have back home". A parody of this character is Dead Meat from the comedy Hot Shots!, whose obviously impending doom is played for laughs. "Soap" MacTavish from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also fits this category, becoming a Captain in the sequel.
• Gung-ho American

References

1. Linda K. Fuller; Paul Loukides, eds. (1990), Beyond the Stars: Stock characters in American popular film, vol. 1, Bowling Green University Popular Press, p. 69, ISBN 9780879724795
2. "Wolf Lake (1981)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
3. Hunter, Craig (August 21, 2013). "Stallone To Return As 'Rambo' In New TV Series!". The Hollywood News. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
4. "Miles Gloriosus", Encyclopedia Britannica
5. "Capitano | Italian stock character". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
6. Stilwell, Blake (2019-01-28). "These are the 12 characters in every war movie". We Are The Mighty. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
7. ^ Muraire, André (2008). "Notes on the American war film from the forties to the eighties". In Hugues, Gérard; Hildenbrand, Karine (eds.). Images of War and War of Images. Newcastel: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 134. ISBN 9781847185433.
8. "These are the 12 characters in every war movie". We Are The Mighty. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
9. Kraft, Joseph (22 June 1972). "Lavelle: A Stock Character". The Sacramento Bee.

• Lists of fictional characters by genre
• Lists of stock characters