False protagonist

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In fiction, a false protagonist is a

A false protagonist is presented at the start of the fictional work as the main character, but then is eradicated, often by killing them (usually for shock value or as a plot twist) or changed in terms of their role in the story (i.e. making them a lesser character, a character who leaves the story, or revealing them to actually be the antagonist).^[1]

Overview

In film, a character can be made to seem like the main protagonist based on a number of techniques (beyond just simply focusing the plot on their role). Star power is a very effective method; audience members generally assume that the biggest "name" in a film will have a significant part to play. An abundance of close-ups can also be used as a subliminal method. Generally, the star of a film will get longer-lasting and more frequent close-ups than any other character, but this is rarely immediately apparent to viewers during the film. Alternatively, the false protagonist can serve as a narrator to the film, encouraging the audience to assume that the character survives to tell their tale later.^[2]

Many of the same techniques used in film can also apply to television, but the episodic nature adds an additional possibility. By ending one or more

• The
  David.^[3]
• The story of
  Arabian Nights begins with a wizard undertaking a difficult quest
  from Morocco to China to recover a powerful magical lamp. Gradually, it becomes clear that the boy Aladdin, whom the Wizard meets in China, is the true protagonist, while the Wizard is the story's villain.
• Robert A. Heinlein's 1940 science fiction short story The Roads Must Roll begins with an orator stirring up a rebellion among the workers of the story's "roadtowns" (wide rapidly moving passenger platforms). The orator enumerates the workers' grievances, gaining their and the reader's sympathy. However, the rebelling workers then callously cause mass death and injuries among commuters, and the true protagonist is revealed to be the director working effectively and courageously to put down the rebellion. By the end, the original orator is depicted as a cowardly and contemptible villain.
• George R. R. Martin's novel A Game of Thrones, the first entry in the A Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series, features chapters told from the point of view of numerous characters, though the most prominent is Ned Stark. In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, he was portrayed by Sean Bean, who received top billing among the cast for Season One. Stark is generally assumed to be the series' main protagonist until the final chapters of the novel (corresponding to the penultimate episode of the first season) where he is unexpectedly executed.^[4][5]
• The light novel Goblin Slayer introduces a Warrior, Mage, and Monk who recruit a Priestess for a goblin killing quest. The three are eaten, poisoned to death, and sexually assaulted to the point of ending up in a vegetative state. The Priestess is rescued by the legendary Goblin Slayer who replaces her escorts as the protagonist. The escorts were featured in promotional marketing material for the novel and its anime adaptation until the first episode was released.^[6]
• Pedro Paramo
  initially features Juan Preciado, who is searching for his father as a final wish made to his dying mother, as the main protagonist of the story. Halfway through the novel, Juan Preciado unexpectedly dies in the abandoned town of Comala. The latter half of the novel focuses exclusively on the life of Pedro Paramo, his rise to power, and how his ambition and ruthlessness leads to Comala's demise.

Film

• Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho opens with Marion Crane as the main character. However, she is killed partway through the film, making the murder far more unexpected and shocking. Hitchcock felt that the opening scenes with Marion as the false protagonist were so important to the film that when it was released in theaters, he compelled theater owners to enforce a "no late admission" policy.^[7]
• In the action film Executive Decision, the character played by Steven Seagal is introduced as a major protagonist only to be killed at the end of the first act, leaving the character played by Kurt Russell as the film's true hero.^[8]
• Halloween H20
  was retconned to suggest Michael swapped places with a paramedic. Fans expressed displeasure and outrage at this event, as Strode is killed in the opening scene, but the events that follow are completely unrelated.
• In Mindhunters, J.D. (Christian Slater) was one of the central characters in the film's opening, alongside Sara (Kathryn Morris). However, J.D (Slater) was killed half hour into the film, and was the first character to be killed off. Val Kilmer's character Jack Harris was also ubiquitous at the beginning of the film, who was a leader. His character abruptly goes offscreen, until the other characters learn that he was killed.
• Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! had a series of notable actors who played false protagonists. They all either end up dying or being captured by the aliens. The actors who played false protagonists include Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan and Michael J. Fox. The characters who survived were played by actors who were less known at that time (Natalie Portman, for one).
• In Arachnophobia, nature photographer Jerry Manley (Mark L. Taylor) is initially portrayed as the protagonist. However, a few minutes into the film, he is bitten and killed by the venom of a poisonous spider, and the focus shifts to Dr. Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels).
• In the
  No Country for Old Men, Llewllyn Moss (Josh Brolin) appears to be the story's central character until he is killed offscreen midway in the movie and the narrative switches focus to the sheriff, played by Tommy Lee Jones
  .
• In A Perfect Getaway, a mild-mannered couple (played by Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich), who are the main protagonists, discover that there are psychopaths stalking and murdering tourists in the Hawaiian islands. The ending reveals that they are the actual killers.
• In The Ring, Samara (Daveigh Chase) is introduced as a tragic protagonist during flashbacks where viewers are meant to sympathize with her, only for the movie's ending to reveal that she is a malevolent entity.
• The 2020 film The Hunt introduces a string of false protagonists beginning with Emma Roberts, and continuing through Justin Hartley and Ike Barinholtz, before revealing Betty Gilpin's character Crystal to be the true protagonist.

Video games

• In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the player takes control of Richter Belmont throughout the prologue, which retells the epilogue of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and has Richter fight against Dracula, eventually reigning victorious. A five-year time skip occurs and the story is then told from the perspective of Alucard, the son of Dracula who was initially introduced in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Richter would go on to make appearances as a non-playable character and as a boss.
  • In an alternate playthrough of the game, players will be able to take control of Richter throughout the majority of the game up until Richter fights Shaft, a secondary antagonist previously introduced in Rondo of Blood.
• In
  John "Soap" MacTavish and U.S. Marine
  Sgt. Paul Jackson, during the game's first act. At the end of the first act, Sgt. Jackson is killed in a nuclear explosion, after which Soap is the sole player character for the rest of the game.
• In Fatal Frame, the player assumes the role of Mafuyu in the prologue. Then after that, Miku, Mafuyu's sibling, becomes the main protagonist.
• In
  Metal Gear games. However, the majority of the game after that is played with Raiden, with Snake becoming a deuteragonist
  .
• In Final Fantasy XII, the player start the game playing as a young soldier named Reks. After less than an hour of gameplay, Reks is suddenly killed, and the game resumes play following Vaan, Reks' younger brother.
• In Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas is initially portrayed as the protagonist in the first few hours of gameplay. However, after finding the pod in which Sora has been imprisoned for more than a year, he vanishes, and Sora regains his role as protagonist. Though Roxas continues to appear throughout the game in Organization XIII flashbacks, he does not return to playable status, only being revealed as Sora's Nobody, created from the time that he had become a Heartless in the original game.
• In
  FMV
  scene where the gangster is surprisingly shot dead by Barzini thugs. Play resumes with the player in control of the true protagonist of the game: his previously-mentioned son, who wants revenge for his father's death.
• In
  Andross, and Fox McCloud
  regains his position as main character throughout the game.
• In Xenoblade Chronicles, Dunban is portrayed as the protagonist during the prologue. However, after he is unable to wield the Monado anymore due to his right arm being severely injured, the character Shulk becomes the protagonist. Dunban later joins up with Shulk and fights alongside him for the remainder of the game as a "supporting main character."
• In Assassin's Creed III, the player character during the prologue is Haytham Kenway, who is later revealed to be a member of the Templar Order, the game's main antagonists. Following the revelation of Haytham's true allegiance, the perspective shifts to his son Connor, the main protagonist, while Haytham assumes the role of the main antagonist.
• In
  Silent Hill 4: The Room
  , during the prologue Joseph Schreiber is portrayed as the protagonist, but is later killed by Walter Sullivan. After the prologue the game proceeds to Henry Townsend, who comes to live in the apartment previously inhabited by Joseph.
• In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, Kaede Akamatsu is initially portrayed as the protagonist of the game. However, she is later executed at the end of chapter 1, and her role as protagonist is replaced by Shuichi Saihara.