They can be related to Jung's archetypes. Some characters would be considered guardians, some tricksters, etc. Yet, in any context they are highly unique and far separated from the archetypes. It's kind of like the music that I make. You can relate it to funk, jazz, or hip hop, but it cannot be defined as specifically one or the other because it is a separate entity.
A lot of it has to do with confidence and ambition. Some artists like to copy and imitate because that's all they know and that's what they want to do, they don't have enough confidence or ambition to do otherwise. To do otherwise would put them in a whole new realm where they have no grip on where they are and where they are going, since nobody has done it before. This happens a lot in sci-fi and fantasy. Artists see or read something they very much like and they want to do that, to be that, to recreate it while still telling themselves that it's different. More ambitious artists see these things and are influenced, but strive to do something completely different. The ambitious artist does not only want to progress the genre, but they want to create a new one. The ambitious artist does not want to follow archetypes, but instead create new ones. Man had to create everything that exists, all of the archetypes included, and so the possibility of creating that which is new is inherent.
I say all of this not to be smug or conceited, not to flaunt any of my own ability, but instead to promote free thinking. Think of it like this. Many of you can say "The thought of doing anything original is preposterous because it's all been done before." They have fooled themselves into believing this. Did the people who created that which was done before have this mindset? They didn't, because they strove to do something new. What was jazz music before jazz music existed? Had it been done before? No, it hadn't. All artists must see the vastness of this universe and it's room for expansion. It hasn't all been done before. And if one thinks this way, they will never change anything. One with this train of thought can be compared to lovers underneath the sheets. It's all great, it's all been done before, but take a moment to pull the sheets away and feel that cool, refreshing air. I say this for your own good, but argue as you will about your desire for complacency. Do you desire it because there are truly no other possibilities, or do you desire it as an excuse for not creating new possibilities?
