Composite character


In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the preceding story. Two or more fictional characters are often combined into a single character in the course of an adaptation of a work for a different medium, as in adapting a novel in the course of authoring a screenplay for a film. A composite character may be modeled on historical or biographical figures. An amalgamation or amalgam, when used to refer to a fictional character or place, refers to one that was created by combining, or is perceived to be a combination of, several other previously existing characters or locations. To emphasize the origin of their creations, authors or artists may use amalgamated names.
A composite character may be a historical character in which characteristics of several historical figures have merged to form a single amalgamated character. An example is the three Herods in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, and Herod Agrippa I are three separate historical rulers. Yet they are portrayed as a single composite character who functions in Luke-Acts "as an actualization of Satan’s desire to impede the spread of the good news though his rejection of the gospel message and through political persecution", for example the execution of John, Jesus, James, and the attempted execution of Peter.
Composite characters are also found in apocalyptic literature, for example the Book of Revelation. The two witnesses of Revelation 11 are an amalgamation of several character traits taken from Jeremiah, Elijah, and Moses. The composite characterization of the two witnesses represents the Christian community as a whole in their specific vocation as witnesses. Similarly, the beast of Revelation 13, a seven-headed monster that arises from the sea, is a composite character who combines the ferocious and frightening traits of the leopard, bear, and lion. This composite character is usually thought to represent the Roman Empire of the first century CE.
A city can also be a composite character. A case in point is the whore of Babylon in Revelation 17. The traits of a prostitute and an infamous city of the seventh and sixth centuries BCE merge to form a description of Rome of the first-century CE.

Use in film

Creating composite characters in journalism is considered a misrepresentation of facts and, without appropriate notice to the reader, unethical. Some writers who are considered journalists or who describe themselves as journalists have on occasion used composite characters.
Places may be amalgamated in fiction by taking districts, landmarks, or characters of real-world locations, or previously created locations of another work of fiction. For example, a sample fictional city could contain the Eiffel Tower a block away from the Forbidden City, where Bill Gates may be living after having bought a nearby clacks tower from Albus Dumbledore. Usually, if the author or artist desires the city to be more believable, he or she will amalgamate it only from real places, whereas if the story is more fantastic, fictional places may be better.
An author or artist may choose to amalgamate a city rather than imagining all of its aspects from scratch in order to be humorous by referencing other works and/or real places, or to avoid having to name his or her city altogether, such as when shooting a film in several existing cities, while the city portrayed is supposed not to exist.

Examples