Entertainment: The Logan Effect (aka the Post-Hero), and where it can be found in other similar works of fiction

There's been a certain trend in entertainment lately, wherein instead of starry-eyed, young, energetic heroes are found under the spotlight, rugged, bearded, tired old men have been the protagonists of stories. Wisecrack's video perfectly sums this up in what they have dubbed the Post-Hero, but they did this by only mentioning Logan, God of War, and The Last Jedi; I can name several more protagonists and shows that fit the archetype and aesthetics as they're more prevalent than it seems.

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I've personally dubbed this trend The Logan Effect even if Logan wasn't the first work of fiction to exhibit it. The reason behind this is because Logan might just arguably be the most well-known piece of media if I were to make a complete list. The Logan Effect is categorized most predominantly by an aged, bearded protagonist, well beyond his prime in terms of fighting. He is someone with nothing left to lose. He will often be accompanied by a sidekick that is youthful, and act as an idealistic foil to the  rugged protagonist's cynical outlook. The protagonist of the story and the sidekick will not get along at first, -- there may be some serious fighting between them during the story -- but in time they warm up to each other to make for some endearing character development moments. Also much like how Logan increases the amount of gore compared to its predecessors, those that exhibit the Effect will be bloody. Very very bloody.

Hopefully that description isn't too vague for the readers. Below are some items in fiction that portray the Logan Effect (i.e. they're basically a bunch of stuff with violent old men as protagonists).

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)

Admittedly, this one is slightly stretching it, since the only thing this video game has that can be called Logan Effect-ish is the protagonist. However I do actually think that this is the very first instance of the Logan Effect, way back in 2008. I also believe that this was the very first instance of an action video game protagonist over the age of 50 (Snake isn't actually above the age of 50, but his rapidly deteriorating physiology definitely seems like it).

Metal Gear Solid's 4th entry into the series introduced us to Old Snake. A war veteran way past his prime due to being a war machine born from a test tube. Snake is thrust into the battlefield once more to finish a long war to prevent the proliferation of giant war machines capable of launching nukes. Old Snake was the same protagonist for two of the previous main installments into the series. He still exuded a tough professional sort of personality in the other games, but it was in Metal Gear Solid 4 that we got to see him tired of fighting, and of humanity's insatiable greed that relentlessly innovates and lubricates the gears of war. Old Snake's combat skills have gotten rusty due to aging; he isn't as spry as he used to be.

2. The Last of Us (2013)

This video game has a very strong resemblance to Logan, and I daresay Logan actually took some inspirations from this video game (Even the director of the video game tweeted how much Logan reminded him of TLoU's protagonist, Joel). The Last of Us would probably win against all the other items on this list if we were to pit them against each other based on which one exudes the most Logan Effect.

The Last of Us brings us to a dystopian world brought to ruin by a horrifying fungal infection that turns people into faceless flesh-eating zombies. We play as Joel, an old man who was there when society succumbed to the disease. For most of the duration of the game, he's accompanied by Ellie, a sincere spunky girl. Very much like Logan, Joel and Ellie travel together across the dangerous country because Joel has been tasked to deliver Ellie to the destination safe and sound.

3. Bioshock Infinite (2013)

Bioshock Infinite is another 2013 video game that exudes some Logan Effect, more or less. It's a bit more steampunk and sci-fi than the average story with the Logan Effect, but it checks out because of the reluctant hero and endearing character development between hero and sidekick. The one major crime that nearly disqualifies it from this list is the fact that the protagonist doesn't don a beard.

We play as Booker DeWitt, a former Pinkerton agent turned private investigator. He's tasked with taking a woman, Elizabeth, from where she's kept, to Booker's employers so that they can wipe away his debt. The whole task becomes a lot more complicated when Booker finds out that Elizabeth is held captive in a floating city, and she turns out to be far more special and extraordinary than Booker could imagine.

4. Samurai Jack (2017)

Samurai Jack's fifth and final season makes it on this list thanks to its brutal fight scenes that reflect how much the show has matured with its audience, much like how Logan did. Jack's mighty new beard also definitely helps to have it on the list. Although the show's promotional material only show Jack as the protagonist, he's also accompanied by a sidekick after the first half of the season that gives him a new perspective on things.

The show made a big splash on the internet when news of an M-rated fifth and final season of the classic cartoon was going to be aired on 2017. Much time has passed since the happenings of the previous seasons of Samurai Jack, wherein we saw the noble samurai, flung into the future by the evil entity Aku, travel wide and far to find some way to travel back in time. His search has proven fruitless, and Jack has begun wandering the world as a mere husk of his former self while being relentlessly hunted by Aku's fiercest warriors.

5. Red Dead Redemption (2010)

Red Dead Redemption perfectly encapsulates the Post-Western genre, which is where the Post-Hero borrows heavily from as mentioned by Wisecrack in their video. As such, even though the protagonist of our story here doesn't have a sidekick, its story, themes, and aesthetic all make it ooze with so much Logan Effect.

The star of our story is John Marston, an ex-outlaw who quit his life of crime to live his remaining days as a family-man as far away from violence as possible. John's past bites him in the back when government agents force him to work for them to track down the remaining members of his gang, otherwise he won't see his family again. John Marston reluctantly goes back to the path of violence one last time to safe his family and the life he's worked so hard to build.


And there you have it. That's a short list of items I've seen that reminded me of the Post-Hero, and subsequently, Logan. I'm sure if I thought about it more I'd add some other stuff to the list, but I'm afraid I'd be stretching it already. All of the titles I mentioned above work well with a Logan Style Trailer which is a trend in video editing lately. A beautiful perfect example is the video below.



Do you have any other titles that you believe captures the same essence of Logan, or the Post-Hero? Leave a comment below and let's talk about it :)