Meet the Boss: How Film’s Commanding Archetype Shapes Heroes and Stories
Character archetypes are templates for characters that exist across different properties and endure throughout time. They can be useful shorthand for an audience, letting us understand the basics of a character as soon as we know what archetype we’re dealing with. Of course, that also means that archetypes are ripe for subversion; an archetype on its own isn’t a full character, but rather a foundation to build more rich characters with.
Archetypes have existed since the days of mythology. Different cultures had similar roles for their gods to fill, such as war gods, fertility goddesses, and mythical beings to explain the workings of the natural world. These archetypes from mythology eventually evolved into our modern storytelling archetypes, and understanding these modern archetypes can enhance our own writing. Every story implicitly engages with the storytelling culture it’s produced in, so comprehension of that context is key.
Today, we’ll be talking about the archetype of ‘The Boss’. A side character to the protagonist by definition, the Boss is the one giving out missions, assembling a team, and generally guiding the hero’s actions. They tend to be less involved in the main action of the story, often communicating from a safe location. Sometimes, the Boss isn’t even a single character; one great example is the IMF in the Mission: Impossible films, which provides Ethan Hunt with his mission at the start of every film. Not all Bosses are identical, though, so let’s define the archetype further.
Characteristics of the Boss Archetype
The Boss usually has to have some sort of authority over the protagonist. This can be official authority through an organization, or it can be via a mentorship relationship. Due to being the one providing jobs/missions, the Boss also appears by the end of the first act. While the plot that the Boss introduces isn’t always the main story of the film, it at least sets up a structure that can later be subverted. Likewise, while the protagonist might clash with their Boss early on, they usually won’t outright disobey until later in the second or third acts. To be a Boss, they have to feel… well, feel like a boss! Their authority has to be respected!
The Boss will usually remain in a safe location for most of the film; they might communicate the mission to the protagonist before dipping out of the plot, or they might talk remotely. They can even go the entire film without their face being seen! Some typical personality traits of a Boss are stoicism, intelligence, and, often, a sense of urgency (though sometimes the Boss can be a bit more jokey). They tend to be older than the protagonists, sometimes with an explicit or implied past of action work themselves. It might be better to illustrate with examples, though.
5 Boss Archetypes (with Movie Examples)
Charlie (Charlie’s Angels franchise)
Charlie Townsend was the Boss that inspired me to write this article in the first place. A veteran of the intelligence business, by the the Charlie’s Angels series and films start, Charlie is long-retired from the field and instead works through his angels, a rotating cast of plucky female action heroes. Charlie communicates briefings to his Angels entirely through speaker, and only his assistant Bosley knows his identity and appearance. Some of the antagonists of the franchise have a past with Charlie, but for the most part, Charlie is an archetypical boss: he gives the mission and lets the girls take care of the plot from there. In fact, in the 2019 film, it’s revealed that the role of Charlie was taken over by one of the original Angels herself. If you’re looking the Boss archetype in its purest form, look to Charlie.
Nick Fury (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Across the first phase of the MCU, Nick Fury was set up as a mysterious spy leader who was ‘putting together a team’. While he was never the official leader or commander of the Avengers, Fury was the one to assemble the team in the first place. Later films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier would expand on Fury’s character in a more action-heavy role, but he definitely started out within the Boss archetype. A bit more boisterous than calmly stoic, Fury helps the Avengers realize that they’re better together than apart. In Age of Ultron, he even returns in the team’s darkest hour to give them a pep talk and get them back in action. A bit less strict boss and a bit more team dad, I suppose. But the archetype of the Boss is flexible for exactly that reason!
M (James Bond franchise)
M is the head of MI6 across the James Bond books and films, most recently portrayed by Judi Dench across from Brosnan and Craig’s 007s (though she is succeeded by Ralph Fiennes in the canon of the film). M is known for her ruthlessness and pragmatism; to her, agents are just that: agents. Not people she can be attached to, not her friends, just pieces on a board. While in previous iterations, M could be more of a Charlie-esque figure, simply giving missions and directives, the Craig Bond films were interested in dissecting this sort of cold leadership style. Especially in Skyfall, M’s uncaring streak comes back to bite her in the form of Raoul Silva, an MI6 agent that she sold out to protect other agents. Additionally, Dench’s M is not flawless; she is routinely challenged as the leader of MI6 and has to deal with numerous catastrophes. In some ways, Dench’s M goes beyond the purview of the Boss archetype, subverting it to offer more depth and nuance. Once the Boss starts being questioned and too many cracks show, she can’t exactly be a Boss anymore. In Skyfall, she goes out not as a hands-off leader above it all, but fighting in the field alongside Bond.
Amanda Waller (The Suicide Squad)
Known in comics as ‘the Wall,’ Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller might not have comic Amanda’s imposing physique, but she certainly has the unbreakable will down to a tee. The director of government organization A.R.G.U.S., Waller assembles and commands the Suicide Squad, imprisoned supervillains that she keeps under control with bombs planted in their necks. It’s not just an empty threat; in both Suicide Squad films, squad members die due to disobedience. Waller will always do whatever she thinks is best for the United States, and to her, all the villains at her command are disposable. She sacrifices an entire team in The Suicide Squad just to create a distraction, and she does it without a second thought. Waller is a villainous version of the Boss archetype, the explicit antagonist to our protagonists, the Suicide Squad themselves. Even her own staff turn against her in The Suicide Squad after Waller decides to let an entire island die at the hands of a giant starfish. Yes, even in a world with the aforementioned giant starfish, Amanda Waller is still the scariest thing there is. That kind of presence can only come from a Boss.
Morpheus (The Matrix)
An agent of the last human city of Zion, Morpheus (played wonderfully by Laurence Fishburne) is only really a true Boss for the first Matrix film. When he first encounters Neo in the Matrix, Morpheus speaks in riddles, always framed as more knowledgeable and, frankly, more cool than Neo. When Neo discovers his true identity as the One, though, Morpheus also subverts the typical Boss archetype, eventually becoming an acolyte of Neo. One role of the Boss can be to eventually step aside for the protagonist to take the role of leader, since the Boss is by definition not the protagonist of the story. The Boss taking a more submissive role can be a great way to indicate the progression of the protagonist; in the later Matrix films, we’re able to gauge Neo’s growth partially by how his relationship with Morpheus changes. The Boss is not just their own character - like many side characters, they exist to shape the protagonist’s journey! Morpheus just has the added benefit of sick leather jackets and killer shades.
How to Write the Boss
When writing a Boss, you first have to decide what angle you’re taking with this archetype. Do you want to play it straight and have your Boss’s orders go unquestioned, or are you interested in subversion and showing the flaws in your Boss as a leader? Always keep in mind a character’s interiority vs. the image they project outwards; for a Boss, image is especially important given their explicit position of authority over other characters. Most importantly, though, decide what relationship your Boss and your protagonist have. Is it unquestioned loyalty like the Angels to Charlie, a rule through fear situation like Amanda Waller, or a gray area like M and Bond? The Boss only drives the story insofar as they influence the protagonist, whether that’s setting the plot in motion or being a source of antagonism themselves. As always, your main character has to stay at the center.
If you’re influenced by other iconic Bosses like the ones on this list, that’s fine! Just make sure you know what makes those characters tick and you aren’t just borrowing the surface level aspects. Everyone wants a badass leader that dresses like Morpheus, but they leave out his fanatical devotion to Neo and breakdown over the course of the films. Borrowing just the aesthetic or surface of a character creates shallowness, and even for films we love, we can be surprisingly bad at pinpointing why sometimes. Make sure you give that some thought before you start your own script. Other than that, go wild; the Boss is a really flexible trope with a fun history to play on, so put your own spin on it!
How the Boss Can Add to Your Story
The Boss is primarily useful as an external source of goals for your protagonist. Obviously, you want your protagonist to have their own interior journey, but as far as the actual plotting and events, having a Boss to assign those can be extremely convenient. In that sense, the Boss is a writer’s best friend; why is the protagonist doing this thing? Because it’s their job and their boss told them to! That isn’t inherently interesting on its own, so make sure that your action lives up to the hype, and there’s dramatic weight to back it up.
Perhaps more fascinating is how the Boss can show the protagonist’s relationship to authority. Is your protagonist a good soldier that follows orders? A loose cannon that only the Boss can rein in? Or are they and the Boss more like peers with arbitrary distinctions in rank? Whatever you decide, it leaves room to analyze your protagonist in a new light. Every main character is the most important person in the room, but the Boss is, by definition, objectively more important than the main character. What makes your protagonist unique if they’re just one more level in a bureaucracy? What do they bring to the table that nobody else can? These are all the questions that the presence of a Boss brings up, which can get messy, but also be super useful to dig into your character’s psyche. There’s a risk of deflating your protagonist’s presence, but also the chance to go to some interesting places with it. The choice is yours, and I can’t wait to see what you all do with it. Tick tock, the Boss is getting impatient.