History Main / TheEveryman

* Charlie Collins from the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE22JokersFavor Joker's Favor]]" fits the description to a T, and that was the whole point. The fact that the Joker would spend two years keeping track of this poor guy only to find him and sadistically hold him up to a promise later, even though it [[ForTheEvulz didn't benefit him in the least]], only serves to show what a monster he is.

** [[UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch Mr. Game and Watch]] is probably Nintendo's first everyman.

* Kaiden from ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' and Jacob from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' both stand out as ordinary in their DysfunctionJunction crews. They still have somewhat tragic personal backstories like most teammates, but are too emotionally well-adjusted for it to produce any meaningful conflict. Unfortunately, they both failed at being The Everyman; fans already had [[PlayerCharacter Commander Shepard]] with which to identify, and compared to the rest of the cast, Kaiden and Jacob were seen as too boring to be likable. Both of them having [[MasterOfNone extremely bland power sets]] didn't help either. Kaiden would be RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' thanks to having some rewrites to his character and a much better power set, but Jacob became even ''less'' likable, especially if he'd been romanced in ''2''.

** Goofy became this in the Fifties, starring as George Geef, with a son, a wife, and increased intelligence (though not much). In ''WesternAnimation/{{Aquamania}}'' he's even referred to as "Mr. X." He's mostly went back to his more famous personality since.

** [[Characters/DCAUBatman Bruce Wayne]] himself presented as this; an affable, unassuming Clark Kent archetype who was often taken aback by the behavior of the people around him. This would become less common as the DCAU focused more on the action elements and didn't have as much time to show Bruce when he wasn't working.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'': Stanley Ipkiss is this as always but The Mask shows himself to be like everyday person who is mentally ill as he is genuinely insane but he lives a normal life, does normal things like dancing at the Coco Bongo, goes out to fast food stands and restaurants just like them. He like them has a sense of right and wrong therefore making him like them even more since most people who are mentally ill does still know what is right or what is wrong and he shows himself to be more sane than he appears to be like them since there are some like him who would use common sense to be the voice of reason in a group of people who do not have that.

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': Apart from his optimism, there's not much to say about Weslie compared to his quirky friends (Paddi likes eating food, Tibbie likes fashion, Sparky likes sports, Jonie is famous for every bad thing coming out of her mouth coming true, and Mr. Slowy is a GadgeteerGenius).
[[/folder]]

* Horace in ''WesternAnimation/TheProblemSolverz''.

** Bruce Wayne himself presented as this; an affable, unassuming Clark Kent archetype who was often taken aback by the behavior of the people around him. This would become less common as the DCAU focused more on the action elements and didn't have as much time to show Bruce when he wasn't working.

* Hank Hill in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', although he [[{{Flanderization}} gradually grew into]] an uptight StrawVulcan who served as [[SitcomCharacterArchetypes the stick]] for everyone else.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Homer Simpson started as one of these -- fat, lazy, under-educated, struggling to make ends meet, loyal to his family even when they were a perceived cause for his misfortune, etc. As the series went on and {{Flanderization}} seeped in, however, more and more absurd things happened to Homer and he became such a colossal IdiotHoudini that one episode ("Homer's Enemy") centered around one LogicalLatecomer (Frank Grimes, the titular "enemy") getting pissed off about this.
* Stan in later episodes of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' since unlike his friends he's not poor like Kenny, isn't Jewish like Kyle, and lacks the fatness and emotional problems of Cartman, but is just a boy from a relatively normal family aside from his eccentric dad.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' started out as one of these, even if he was unusually dedicated to his job at the Krusty Krab. In later seasons, he's become much more childish and kooky.

* Isaac Clark in ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' is just a ship systems engineer. Not a badass security officer or soldier, just a regular guy doing his job and trying to see his girlfriend who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

* Kaiden from ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' and Jacob from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' both stand out as ordinary in their DysfunctionJunction crews. They still have somewhat tragic personal backstories like most teammates, but are too emotionally well-adjusted for it to produce any meaningful conflict. Unfortunately, they both failed at being The Everyman; fans already had [[PlayerCharacter Commander Shepard]] with which to identify, and compared to the rest of the cast, Kaiden and Jacob were seen as too boring to be likable. Both of them having [[MasterOfNone extremely bland power sets]] didn't help either. Kaiden would be RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' thanks to having some rewrites to his character and a much better power set but Jacob became even ''less'' likable, especially if he'd been romanced in ''2''.

* Lee Everett, the player character of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'' Season 1. Having grown up in Atlanta Georgia and helped run his parents store alongside his brother, he's more or less just a guy from a poor neighborhood. His normal life gets turned on its head after [[AccidentalMurder accidentally killing]] of a State Senator whom his wife cheated with. This results in him sent to prison with a life sentence, but the police car taking him there gets interrupted- by a ZombieApocalypse.
* Kazuma Kiryu, despite all appearances, is the most 'normal' person in most of the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' games, reacting to every bonkers scenario with utter seriousness, and offering to help out (and start sidequests) every time. This allows him to fight Yakuza, manage hostesses, buy real estate, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick buy porn for children]], defend a Michael Jackson expy's music video shoot, sing karaoke, or train a woman to be a dominatrix.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker/Spider-Man]] is often held up as the epitome of this within superhero comics, and possibly the key to the franchise success. Admittedly, he's not a strict example, as he's consistently portrayed as responsible, hardworking, highly intelligent, and when the going gets tough, [[YouFightLikeACow a wiseass]]. However, compare him to his contemporaries: he's the average working stiff where the others include [[Franchise/FantasticFour super-scientists]], [[ComicBook/IronMan a millionaire playboy]], [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica an idolized war hero]], and [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor a god]]. Some writers (Creator/JoeQuesada especially) tend to turn this into ThisLoserIsYou. He fills the role so perfectly, many other attempts to make an Everyman superhero wind up compared to him.

* Franchise/TinTin was intentionally written as a blank slate onto whom readers could project. His name literally means "nothing".

* While he is incredibly smart and comes from a well off family [[note]]though his father bankrupting them later puts them squarely in the middle class[[/note]] [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] takes this position in the [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Batfamily]] by being comparatively average when compared to Bruce, the other four Bat-kids and even his own girlfriend, who is the daughter of a villain. He also dealt with a lot of regular family and school drama in his ongoing. Tim was also the everyman of ComicBook/YoungJustice, where his teammates included a [[ComicBook/{{Wondergirl}} demi-god]], a telekinetic [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} half-Kryptonian]], a [[ComicBook/{{Impulse}} speedster]] from the future, a second generation hero trained by her mother, and a teleporting psychopomp with precognition.

** [[VideoGame/EarthBound Ness]]

A character who is ordinary enough to be relatable to the average audience member. Everyman characters are often working or middle class people with regular jobs and they deal with everyday problems, be it school, work, family or romance. They may also be plunged by chance into extraordinary circumstances, such as getting tangled up in a wild {{CaperCrew caper}} or adventure, which makes them even more sympathetic as they are in over their head. Everyman characters are not necessary blank slates but are typically more grounded and less wacky than supporting characters.

A character who is ordinary enough to be relatable to the average audience member. Everyman characters are often working or middle class people with regular jobs and they deal with everyday problems, be it school, work, family or romance. They may also be plunged by chance into extraordinary circumstances, such as getting tangled up in a wild {{Caper Crew caper}} or adventure, which makes them even more sympathetic as they are in over their head. Everyman characters are not necessary blank slates but are typically more grounded and less wacky than supporting characters.

A character who is ordinary enough to be relatable to the average audience member. Everyman characters are often working or middle class people with regular jobs and they deal with everyday problems, be it school, work, family or romance. They may also be plunged by chance into extraordinary circumstances, such as getting tangled up in a wild {{caper}} or adventure, which makes them even more sympathetic as they are in over their head. Everyman characters are not necessary blank slates but are typically more grounded and less wacky than supporting characters.

A character who is ordinary enough to be relatable to the average audience member. Everyman characters are often working or middle class and deal with everyday problems, be it school, work, family or romance. They may also be placed in extraordinary circumstances which makes them even more sympathetic as they are in over their head. Everyman characters are not necessary blank slates but are typically more grounded and less wacky than supporting characters.

* [[Series/TheBigBangTheory Leonard Hofstadter]] is the {{Nerd}} variation.

* [[TheDanza Jerry]] Series/{{Seinfeld}} has strikingly average interests such as cereal, sneakers, and {{Superman}} comics, but [[{{Flanderization}} ends up]] a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], becoming one of the most {{Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist}}s of all time.

* The Everyman most famous to the average person would probably be MickeyMouse.