Great Character Introduction
From an author's perspective
Spoilers ahead, if you haven’t seen Edge of Tomorrow.
Tom Cruise as a smirking, smarmy coward.
What an excellent choice. Tropic Thunder exists, but him breaking the Mission Impossible/Maverick mold in this way was yet another enjoyably ridiculous surprise. I knew little about this movie before I started watching it; knew of the manga but I’d never read it. As soon as I saw that scene, with him trying every trick in his slimy arsenal to get out of a dangerous position; I was hooked. Right off the bat, a juicy amount of character growth and risk were promised. Ex-salesman to war hero.
You get told a lot that your character needs to be endearing at the beginning, make the reader care about them; there’s even a “pet the cat” suggestion, just show them doing something really nice. Draven, in The Crow (1994) does this after getting ready for his revenge, as just one example. I’ve never been drawn to that option. I’ve also heard, less often, that they need to be interesting if not endearing. That’s not always easy on the first page.
If you’re looking for an example, this intro scene is it.
But why does it work so well?
A few explanations come to mind: He’s appropriately looked down on and judged for his cowardly behavior. He remains respectful of the soldier’s heroism, while also implying it’s “not for him”. He smirks and grins at all the wrong times after saying all the wrong things, in the face of real, credible danger. But there’s one moment that absolutely seals it. Those other examples all let him skirt around potential disdain from the viewer, with such a gaudy and contrasting trait on full display, in front of a General in a dire time of war. Without the final moment in the scene though, I don’t think this character introduction would’ve stood out as much.
He chooses to blackmail the General.
Not only is he taking an active rather than reactive role in his story but now there’s tension.
If he had just accepted the assignment after trying to weasel out of it all, or even tried to run away right then, I don’t believe he would’ve had the character to survive that movie. He choose something dangerous and daring. We accepted this foreshadowing “brave” moment as viewers because it fit into his cowardly nature. Beautiful character balancing act there. One of those chef’s kiss moments. And since so much was crammed into that scene, the action, exploration of the world, and hammering on the character’s arc can start up pretty much right away.
If you haven’t seen this movie, you should check it out. It’s fun, and that intro is one of the best ways to present a deeply imperfect character I’ve ever seen.
I’m always looking for more examples of character introductions that knock it out of the park. If you can think of some, let me know!