Hero, Lancer, and Heart

Hero, lancer, and heart (none of them is bound to one gender, by the way) are the three basic character types of a hero group. They can be expanded into a five-man band with two more characters (big one and smart one), but work as a trio as well. What are they, though, and how do they work in the confines of a story or a plot?

 

Let’s look at all of them by themselves and at how they play together.

The hero is the main character, the lead of the story. They can have many different characteristics, depending on the type of story. The story is connected closely to the hero, they have the highest stakes in it, undergo an internal arc to develop their character as well as an external arc which is the main plot of the story. Without them, the story wouldn’t be happening that way.

The lancer is a foil to the hero, so whatever type of character the hero is, the lancer will be their opposite. If the hero is youthful and naive, the lancer will be older and more world-weary and cynical. If the hero is a wizened anti-hero, the lancer will be a youthful optimist. Often, the lancer’s plot revolves around their relationship with the hero. They might be jealous or tired of having to look after the hero or they might want to emulate them and become like them.

The heart is the emotional core of the trio and most likely to be female, but doesn’t have to be. The heart can be a love interest to hero or lancer (or both) and is usually the one most in touch with their emotions. The heart is there to ‘heal’ emotional (or regular) damage to the other characters and often is the most successful in interacting with characters the trio needs to deal with. The heart is also the one who keeps a balance between hero and lancer, keeping them from clashing too much.

Hero, lancer, and heart form a trio which can function very well for a story which demands more than one protagonist.

It can be found in stories like the “Harry Potter” series where Harry is the hero, Ron is the lancer, and Hermione is the heart (at least in the book version, the movies push Hermione in a role akin to the lancer and neglect Ron severely).

In the “Sailor Moon” stories, Sailor Moon is the hero, Sailor Mars is the lancer, and Sailor Venus is the heart (Sailor Mercury is the smart one and Sailor Jupiter is the strong one, both have less ‘screen time’ than the other three).

 

The three parts of the hero team are all separate characters with separate stories. Heart and lancer are characters of their own and have their own goals and plots to follow, even if all of the plots lead to the same climax. They shouldn’t only be seen in their relationship to the hero, although that relationship (and the one between them) is important.

While lancer and heart usually support the hero and the hero’s stakes take precedent over the others, both lancer and heart do have stakes in the situation. They might be lesser stakes, so there might be less urgency to them, but they exist. Lancer and heart are characters in their own right, they aren’t just aspects of the main hero.

To return to the Harry Potter example: Harry needs to defeat Voldemort (highest stake). Ron is seeking to distinguish himself from his older brothers (he wants recognition while Harry often seeks to flee his celebrity status - hence he’s the lancer to Harry’s hero). Hermione wants to prove herself worthy as a witch without magical parents (she also is the one who tries to reconcile Harry and Ron when they argue, which makes her the heart).

 

Hero and lancer often collide - since they’re built to be opposites. Their fights might even break up the team for a while or cause a rift that needs mending (usually by the heart) before the climax. Yet, by that time, the characters should be working together again. Whatever plot hinges on a clash between hero and lancer should be finished by the time the big confrontation begins.

Over the clashing personalities of hero and lancer, the heart is often forgotten. The heart’s position in the group is less obvious and less flashy - mostly emotional damage control and social interactions, sometimes something like healing or buffs for the fighters. That doesn’t mean that the heart can’t or shouldn’t have their own story arc which comes with agency, stakes, and a plot.

 

All of this doesn’t mean that every story needs a heroic trio to function. In a lot of cases, you might also have a single hero or a hero with an assistant-type attached (such as the ‘Watson’ character in crime fiction). If you want a team, though, the trio of hero, lancer, and heart gives you a balanced group that can function in all ways and take care of all situations.

As mentioned in the beginning (and touched upon in the “Sailor Moon” example), the trio can be expanded by the big one (or big guy) and the smart one (or smart guy), but those are minor heroes. The big one is usually the strongest one and can be called in for everything physically challenging (they’re often also friendly or comedic). The smart one is a problem-solver who can be called in for everything that needs brains to be worked out (and can be absent-minded or physically weak).

Of course, larger groups are possible. “Kung Fu Panda” has the Furious Five who don’t include the hero and (in the sequel) an even larger group for the big fight. Yet, in both movies, the real confrontation is only between Po and the enemy, the others are, one way or other, out of action.

The larger the group, the harder it is to juggle, though. The trio is a very good solution because three characters are easy to manage, represent three important factors of the story, and humans also like the number three.

 

If you want a group of heroes for your story, using hero, lancer, and heart works in every genre and give you a lot of possibilities to work with. They balance each other out and work well together. Just don’t forget the lancer and the heart over the hero - all three are characters in their own right and deserve their own arcs, plots, and stakes.