What Is Plot Armour?
Plot armour is when a character cannot die in a story, no matter what happens to them. It’s …
- The smooth-talking hero who survives falling off skyscrapers, cliffs, out of planes without a parachute
- Villains who appear to be dead, yet inexplicably come back to life
- Kickass hotties who can stop bullets hitting them by being super-fast
- Characters with supernatural or scientific abilities that stop them dying (including superheroes)
- Hitmen who have a ‘bulletproof suit’ (hello, literal plot armour in John Wick 4!)
Plot armour is most obvious in horror, fantasy or science fiction, though it also appears in what I call ‘hyperreal’ thrillers. The latter are supposedly set in the real world, yet not. People can get shot, run over, even ‘die’ … and survive.
Of course, many of these characters are main characters as well, especially protagonists and antagonists. In many instances, it can work very well and nobody gets annoyed. After all, the simple fact of the matter is these main characters can’t die as the story needs them alive. End of, right?
NOPE! Obviously not. Plot armour can be both useful and also sap the jeopardy. Like many tropes in fiction, what you do with it counts. In this article, I’ll be tracing good AND bad reasons to use plot armour. Ready? Let’s go …
Why Writers Use Plot Armour
As mentioned, using plot armour in stories with life-or-death stakes keeps everything moving. Main characters need to survive complete arcs at least once. It’s still exceptionally rare for protagonists to die generally, though antagonists may die eventually (and nearly always at the very end).
Viewers and readers also love to invest in beloved characters. In this age of movie franchises, bingeable TV and favourite book series, we want to see that same protagonist again and again (even more reason not to kill them off).
However, stories soon get boring if main characters don’t have to face much jeopardy. When they can do whatever they want and still survive (even while others around them get shredded to bits), it’s hard to get excited.
The Problem with Plot Armour
A really obvious case of plot armour is in Disney+’s recent offering, Alien Earth.
In the series, a young girl dying from cancer, Marcy, ‘transitions’ into a synthetic body (along with a selection of other children). Whilst I really liked this idea, it meant Marcy – renamed Wendy – became invincible and able to do whatever she wants …
- Talk to a xenomorph? No problem!
- Be able to call and control that xenomorph from afar? Okay!
- Open doors to various cages with no key? Yup!
- Go through the CCTV footage like she is swiping through an iPad? Sure, why not.
- Stop other synths from functioning? Naturally.
Look, I have no issue with Wendy being a perfect robot-type person, especially when it comes to futuristic tech. We can already do insane things with science, so why not such a powerful child/robot hybrid?
But why the hell did her creators let her do whatever she wants?? The issues of her being able to do many of these things are spotted very early in the season, yet her so-called ‘Boy Genius’ creator just shrugs.
No one shuts her out of the main computer. No one tries to create a gadget, room or other computer that contains her properly. And no one, once, says: ‘Hey, shouldn’t we be worried she can do all these things??’
Yet if they had done any of those things, the story would immediately have been MUCH better. Forcing our characters to work hard, without the benefit of plot armour, HELPS deliver satisfying storytelling.
Now, Onto The Xenomorph … Oh dear
In one review I read of Alien Earth, Wendy’s ‘pet’ Xenomorph was derided as ‘the worst xenomorph’ of the entire franchise going all the way back to 1979.
Sadly, I am inclined to agree. Whilst I loved the idea of a link between Wendy and the beast, its potential was spunked up the wall in my opinion. Here’s why …
i) There’s no real sense of danger for Wendy
As a synth, the Xenomorph is not interested in eating her like it is the humans. Yet the franchise has already established Xenomorphs are hostile to synthetic beings. Who can forget the Alien Queen chopping Bishop in half in Aliens (1986)? He wasn’t doing anything; he wasn’t even looking at her. Yet she still attacked him.
ii) There’s no real sense of danger for ANYONE!
Considering there are literal monsters on the loose, no one seems especially bothered. In fact, characters go off on their own multiple times, only to turn around to find the Xenomorph behind them … only for it to inexplicably run off or let the character leg it. Even in the finale, Boy Kavalier is walking around as if everything is normal.
iii) Containment and recovery procedures are utterly whack
Weyland Yutani and The Prodigy Corporation are keen to make weapons of the Xenomorph (a staple trope of the Alien franchise), with trillions of dollars at stake. Yet their containment and recovery procedures are bizarrely incompetent.
Whether it’s opening cage doors without proper locks; doing surgery without any form of protection; or saboteurs seemingly dooming themselves for no reason, Alien Earth’s characters do stupid thing after stupid thing.
Even recovery attempts are risible, with Prodigy soldiers randomly walking around the island in one direction as Morrow and his men land to grab the assets back in the other.
iv) Lack of consequences # 1: The Obligatory Chest burst
One of the strongest deaths in the whole series is the poor, doomed Arthur. He’s one of the most likeable characters and his death was definitely a high point for me. But he was face-hugged and died of a chest burst. Even his resurrection via T. Ocellus is not directly tied to the Xenomorph.
v) Lack of consequences #2: Wendy’s human brother Joe is attacked
While Wendy’s brother Joe is attacked by a Xenomorph, he not only survives, he is walking around as if nothing has happened within about 20 minutes! Yet he had to have his lung replaced. Surely even in the future, recovery time for major surgery takes at least a week?!? This just seemed too out-there for me, especially when the science officers were so bad at their jobs.
vi) Lack of consequences # 3: The REAL problem
Virtually none of the main characters die in Alien Earth. It’s very telling there is such a small body count in the series. While one of the supporting ‘Lost Boys’ Isaac dies via Alien Fly; plus the aforementioned Arthur; plus one of the prodigy soldiers Siberian gets chomped too by The Devourer plant, none die at the hands of the Xenomorph.
The Xenomorph Only Kills Peripheral Characters
Here’s the big problem … The Xenomorph brings with it a rich history of lethalness. We know ‘its intelligence is matched only by its hostility’ courtesy of Ash, in the very first movie.
So why then is it acting like a dog, coming when Wendy clicks for it?? But okay, let’s go with that. Even allowing for a dog-like Xenomorph (there was a literal dog-creature in Alien 3, to be fair), here’s a fact …
The Xenomorph only seems to kill peripheral characters in Alien Earth.
This is a huge problem. One moment, we’re asked to believe the Xenomorph is SO powerful it can kill an entire apartment FULL of party-goers in less than a minute … but on the other, as soon as it stands next to a main character, it stops and hisses and gives them a chance to get away. WTAF?? This is plot armour in action.
In these types of situations, danger needs to feel real. ALL characters need to face real consequences, so that we’re not sure who will survive. Sadly, in Alien Earth, there was no such thing.
Last Points
Look, I’m not saying plot armour can never work; that would be absurd. It absolutely CAN work, especially when audiences and readers are ‘in’ on the trope, such as …
- Superhero, cartoon & hyperreal characters (just remember even Superman has kryptonite against him!)
- For comedic or dramatic effect
- Or in stories where we HAVE to suspend our disbelief because it does not exist (such as supernatural or sci-fi)
Plot armour is a tool like any other trope. As long as it is not overused, it absolutely can work. But you need to ensure there are real risks and consequences for your characters.
Put simply: make us afraid FOR them and we’re much more likely to invest in their journey.
MORE: Yes, You CAN Kill Female Characters (Just Not Like THIS)
Good Luck!
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