So I should probably talk about this trope before going on any further. Because I really want to do a few tropes, but they involve the Five Man Band, so we got this.
Also I'm going to go into the different parts of the Five Man Band at some point so just be patient with me.
The five man band is just that. A group of five ( sometimes more but there is a "main five" so..) normally a literal band but sometimes a group of heroes fighting for some cause they're pursuing and this is how they are labelled:
The Leader — (lead singer) The leader of the group. Can be a mastermind, charismatic, levelheaded, headstrong, or some combination of the four and is 9 times our of 10 The Hero and male.
The Lancer — (lead guitar) Usually a contrast to The Leader. If the Leader is clean-cut and/or uptight, the Lancer is a grizzled Anti-Hero or Deadpan Snarker; if the Leader is driven and somewhat amoral, the Lancer is more relaxed and level-headed.
The Smart Guy — (keyboardist) The physically weak, but intelligent or clever member. Often nerdy and awkwardly played for comic relief. Sometimes unconventionally young (early- to mid-teens). Sometimes The Trickster and a buddy of the Big Guy.
The Big Guy — (drummer) The strongman of the team. May be dumb. Or mute....that's it.
The Chick — (vocal effects, tambourine) A peacekeeping role to balance out the other members' aggression, bringing them to a nice or at least manageable medium, and is considered the heart of the group. This role is played by a woman or girl,otherwise, it is not a Five-Man Band.
The five-man rock band phenomenon, four guys and a girl singer, is no longer as current as it once was It was popular in the 60s-70s. However, the group structure, as you will see in the examples, turns up in a lot of storytelling. Like a whole lot of storytelling. Mostly fantasy and comic books. And remember it's only the five man band if all the characters fit and not just a few.
Look at Young Justice ,their five man band was The Team: Aqualad was the ever stoic leader, Robin the lancer who was the polar opposite of Aqualad who wants to lead but lack the discipline to do so, Kid Flash is the Smart guy due to his endless scientific knowledge, Superboy is the big guy who lacks general social knowledge, and Miss Martian was the chick and the Heart before Artemis.
Writing the Five Man Band can hit some road blocks. One being the personalities and how they interact with each other. And then there's the issue when a sixth person comes in, disrupting the established Five Man Band. There can be allies, of course, but no one that is actually part of the band itself. They become Honorary True Companions. If you really want to add more members, then you are moving beyond a Five Man Band and into The Team territory. Looking at Young Justice when Artemis joins. She was kept at arms length for some, and then Zatanna and Rocket came into the picture and then it goes downhill from there.
What are their lives like outside of each other? What's their fighting dynamic? These are things you have to think about. Even how they came to become the Five Man Band to begin with is something that have to be established at some point. It doesn't have to be at the beginning. Hell Teen Titans gave us an origin story for the Five Man Band I think in the fourth season of the show.
It's not hard, but it's probably something you want to establish before you start writing.
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Tropes and Cliches
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