Fantasy likes to push characters well outside their comfort zone, but a lucky few get a scene (or more!) where a compassionate author cuts them some slack.

Today’s Fantastic 5 is going to take a look at 5 fantasy characters who got to enjoy their comfort zone . . . at least for a little while.

For today’s Fantastic 5, I decided to focus on characters from a variety of media, including TV and games.

Wednesday

The Addams family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams, originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics created between 1938 and 1988. They have since been adapted to television, film, video games, comic books, and even a musical.

The Addamses, an odd, old-money clan who delight in the macabre and are seemingly unaware or unconcerned that other people find them bizarre or frightening, consists of Gomez (father), Morticia (mother), Wednesday (daughter), Pugsley (son), Grandmama, Uncle Fester, butler/driver Lurch, and a hand called Thing.

The new(ish) Netflix show Wednesday centers on a teenage Wednesday Addams. Wednesday is sent to the boarding school, Nevermoor, the alma mater of her parents after an incident at her normie school. Unfortunately, this means most of the rest of the clam are not in the show (sorry Grandmama), except for some cameo appearances (love Uncle Fester).

The show is witty, macabre, and dark, and all the things that make the Addams Family fun.

The best part of the show is that Wednesday is decidedly Wednesday throughout the series. Despite all the teenage drama, she knows who she is and doesn’t compromise that.

Across the 8 episodes, the best scenes when Wednesday is forced outside her comfort area usually involve her werewolf roommate Enid. But Wednesday, in whatever uncomfortable situation she’s in, finds a way to use her strengths to make the situation wholly hers.

Aziraphale

A book and now an Amazon Prime series, Good Omens follows the demon Crowley (played by the brilliant David Tennant) and the angel Aziraphale (played by the delightful Michael Sheen).

This book was a collaborative effort between the incomparable Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It ranks as one of my top 5 favoritist fave books. (I might have 5 10 copies of this book . . . all different, of course).

Neil himself adapted the book for the screen, which is why, in my opinion, and in addition to the spot-on casting, the series is fantastic.

Crowley and Aziraphale are longtime rival-acquaintances who have, shall we say, grown accustomed to each other’s company as well as their pleasant life on Earth. Over the centuries, they come to an understanding to not allow the conflict between their sides ruin their life on Earth, and as a result, they also establish a genuine friendship.

Throughout most of the book and the series, Aziraphale is outside of his comfort zone. As the representative of Heaven, Aziraphale is a rule follower, a keeper of the peace, a nice person angel.

And yet, he’s consistently put into situations where he ends up going along with Crowley, the representative of Hell, who likes conflict, has never seen a rule he didn’t want to break, and enjoys general mayhem.

Michael Sheen brilliantly portrays all the uncomfortable moments Aziraphale finds himself, and David Tennant does a masterful job at giving Crowley that joie de vivre.

But when Aziraphale is in his bookshop or enjoying a lovely meal (he is a foodie afterall), he’s completely in his element.

Lucy MacLean

Those familiar with video games have likely heard of Fallout. Fallout, a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game (RPG), was created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky and originally released in 1997. Since then, 3 more main games and 7 spin-offs have been released both for console and computer, as well as several table top games.

Fallout 3, released in 2008, was one of my favorite RPGs on the Playstation 3, and Fallout 4, released in 2015, was one of my top 5 games on the PS4.

Now, Amazon Prime has released a show based on the game. Set some 200 years post-war, Fallout follows Lucy MacLean, a Vault Dweller. Life in her vault is a fairly idyllic and equable life. But disaster strikes, Lucy exits the vault and has to survive in the Wasteland. The Wasteland that’s filled with giant insects, monsters, ghouls, raiders, and more things that will kill you.

In other word, Lucy spends most of the series outside her comfort zone. But there are a few scenes where Lucy is undeniable Lucy. And that’s what makes this show so fun—the contrast between Lucy’s unending optimism and goodness and a world that is merely trying to survive.

The show also does a fabulous job capturing the devastated, almost mono-chromatic scenery with the quasi steampunk/1950s-esque feel.

Buffy

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or BTVS for those of us in the fandom) will remain one of my all-time favorite shows.

BTVS has also spawned an entire universe, known as the Buffyverse. It includes two spin-offs, animated series, graphic novels, comic books, and, of course, books.

Creator Joss Whedon came up with the idea to subvert the horror formula where the blonde cheerleader inevitably gets killed. He wanted to portray the idea that some random insignificant person actually turns out to be extraordinary.

In the show Buffy, currently available on Amazon Prime, Buffy finds out she is one in a long line of young women chosen to seek out and destroy the forces of darkness.

Starting in season 1, Buffy, who was a cheerleader, consistently finds herself outside her zone. In fact, one of the main conflicts throughout the series is the conflict between Buffy’s destiny and her wanting to be a normal teen.

As the series progresses, Buffy does come into herself and does embraces her power, but that internal struggle is always there.

I think the best episode showing Buffy embracing her destiny and being completely in her slayer zone is Becoming, Part 2, Season 2

Angelus: That’s everything, huh? No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away and what’s left?

Buffy:  Me.

Murderbot

My list wouldn’t be complete without a book. Yes, some of the characters above came from books or were adapted into books. But this is the only character on my list that is only from a book. So far, no adaptations (although I suspect that will change). Apple has announced & Martha Wells has confirmed that an adaptation will stream staring Alexander Skarsgård.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells introduces us to a self-aware SecUnit, mostly machine with some organic components, that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.”

Scornful of all humans, all it really wants to to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

Throughout the series, Murderbot is constantly out of its comfort zone, mostly because it has to deal with humans. But Martha does give Murderbot a few respites where it is allowed to simply exist how it likes, usually watching one of its favorite shows, like Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.

I love this series and recommend it to so many people (or rather everyone). Mostly because Murderbot is funny, captivating, charming, and, well, it’s a fucking masterclass in writing.

I actually bought a copy of All Systems Red to give to two of my friends because I loved this series so much.

(Yes, I bought them their own copy because I wanted them to read it and this is one of the books I will not loan out. Don’t ask to borrow it because the will be no. Nope, won’t do it.)

In fact, I recommend you just buy the Murderbot Diaries box set because once you read book 1, you’ll immediately want to read the next one. The series is now up to 7 books (the first 5 are all novellas and then books 6 and 7 are full-length novels).

That wraps my Fantastic 5: Fantasy Characters In Their Zone. See you next Sunday for Fantastic 5: Favorite Cozy Fantasy Reads.

Art Credit – Orange dragon by Elena Zakharchuk
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