Do you have a big ego? Do you know someone who has? This Quackcast is about utilising egos for comic characters for comedic purposes, to humanise character, or to make villains more unlikeable and or funny. Big egos are a sign of poor self esteem, people inflate their egos to cope with feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. For examples of that we have a certain prominent politician and also a tech billionaire as perfect representations of every facet of that concept. :)
Personally I LOVE a protagonist with a big, inflated ego, especially if it's also illustrated that it's undeserved, and often shown punctured. It's pretty uncommon for protagonists to have big egos though unfortunately because people see that as weakness in their character and status rather than making them more interesting. Big egos are far more common in villains, mostly because it's seen as a negative trait, but also because it's an easy way to show how weak and pathetic they are, they're also a goldmine for easy laughs. The latter is the reason that the characters with the biggest egos in fiction are often not the main villain but the villain's lieutenant.
My favourite protagonists with big egos are Tank Girl, George Costanza from Seinfeld, Duckman (played by the same actor as George. Jason Alexander), Flashman from the books by George MacDonald Fraser, Space Dandy, Basil Faulty from Faulty Towers, Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping up Appearances, and Meg from the series Drifters. I'd love to name more but it's not a common trait, though you can point out a million villains with massive egos.
In the Quackcast I examine Conan the Barbarian as a story about ego: Conan acquires a massive ego as a reaction to being kidnapped as a child and living as a slave, then being trained as a gladiator and lauded with praise and women. That only increases when he gets his freedom, joins his friends and becomes a successful thief. He's then tasked with rescuing a princess from a cult and returning her to her father. His ego is so big he eschews the help of his friends and tries to do it alone. He's captured by the villain, Thulsa Doom, the same man who killed his mother and enslaved him. Thulsa lectures him on the strength of ego and manipulation before crucifying Conan on a tree. As he dies, Conan's ego dies with him. His friends find his body and take him back, reviving him without ego. In then end Conan defeats Thulsa Doom, Thulsa expects his ego to dominate Conan and save himself but Conan kills him the same way Thulsa killed his mother, and does it totally without ego. As a last gesture he burns down Thulsa's temple and his cult disbands: the last two symbols of Thulsa Doom's over inflated ego.
Do you agree with my take on Conan the Barbarian? Do you like characters to have a big ego? If so, what are your fave examples?
Gunwallace was kind enough to give us a theme inspired Therion Inside of Me - Rocky, raw, groove with a godly chorus of cool backup singers. Let this one burn into your consciousness and enjoy!
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic:
Midcard - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/feb/04/featured-comic-midcard/
Featured music:
Therion Inside of Me - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Therion_Inside_of_Me_/ - by Denverjem, rated A.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
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