How (not) To Write A Believable Underdog

What Makes an Underdog Feel Earned

A believable underdog is flawed and genuinely outmatched, but has a distinctive strength that can eventually help them succeed. Their arc shouldn’t turn them into someone else; it should show how their own quirks become assets.

Strong Examples

• Miles Morales is an awkward, stressed new student who can’t even sing “Sunflower” in tune. But he’s also a gifted artist, smart, and determined to do things his own way.
• Po is clumsy and repeatedly fails, including when he tries to kick himself upright or stick a ninja star to the wall. He’s also funny, kind, creative, a talented cook, and intensely passionate about kung fu.
• Hiccup is too slight and awkward to match Berk’s ideal of a Viking warrior, but he’s inventive, observant, and compassionate.

Each character has a goal that makes the gap between what they want and what they can do painfully clear:

• Po becomes the Dragon Warrior without the training everyone expects. Shifu’s drills end in disaster, and even the Furious Five mock him.
• Hiccup wants to be a respected dragon killer, but nobody believes he shot down a Night Fury. When Toothless is helpless before him, Hiccup can’t bring himself to kill him.
• Miles wants to help save the world, but he can’t control his powers and disappoints the other Spider-people.

These humiliations matter: an underdog’s victory only lands if we’ve seen them fail and be told they don’t belong.

Success Through Difference

The turning point comes when each character succeeds by embracing what makes them different:

• Shifu realizes Po performs best when food is involved and trains him in a way that suits him, rather than trying to make him into Tigress.
• Hiccup learns about dragons by observing them instead of studying how to kill them. His curiosity and empathy become advantages.
• Miles stops trying to imitate Peter Parker. After Peter tells him that being Spider-Man is “a leap of faith,” Miles finally trusts himself. His leap from a skyscraper feels triumphant because the film has already shown how badly he struggled to swing.

Familiar Formulas and Recognizable Fears

Familiar underdog formulas can still work when they tap into recognizable fears. Goat is one example: although its story may be predictable, Will Harris’s small size in a sport dominated by bigger animals echoes real doubts about Steph Curry’s build and prospects. Jet Filmore’s criticism that Will has “all stats, no claw” also reflects the pressure on superstar athletes who haven’t won a championship.

When the Underdog Arc Falls Short

The essay argues that some supposed underdogs never have enough to overcome:

• Asha in Wish is already admired and capable, then gets a magical star to do much of the hard work.
• Arthur in The Sword in the Stone is passive and frequently rescued. He pulls the sword because he needs a replacement for Kay’s, not through a hard-won personal breakthrough.
• Oscar in Shark Tale is a selfish liar whose rise depends on pretending he killed a shark.
• Raya is already a highly capable warrior, while her distrust seems understandable in a world where people repeatedly betray her.

The essay sums up the problem: Asha and Raya are too perfect, Arthur is too passive, and Oscar is too selfish.

Takeaway

Believable underdogs should be allowed to be messy, fail, and find a way forward using something within themselves—not simply receive magic or wait for destiny. The video ends by mentioning Rango as another well-written underdog, while teasing a separate discussion of the frightening villain Rattlesnake Jake.

Characters Discussed

Miles Morales, Po, Hiccup, Peter Parker, Shifu, Tigress, the Furious Five, Toothless, Tai Lung, Kingpin, Will Harris, Jet Filmore, Steph Curry, Asha, King Magnifico, Arthur, Merlin, Archimedes, Kay, Oscar, Angie, Raya, Rango, and Rattlesnake Jake.