ISTJ: Spock, “Star Trek: The Original Series”

The Inspector, The Sentinel, The Trustee

In my Star Trek Returns post, I confessed to not having seen as much of the Original Series as I thought I had (that’s been fixed with a complete re-watch). For years, my idea of Spock came from the movies I’d watched over and over, especially my personal favorite The Undiscovered Country. Now, even after catching up on everything I missed, I’m going to have to stick with old Spock as my favorite Spock.

See, the great thing about a long-running character like Spock is that we get to watch him grow as a person, literally over a lifetime. In the Star Trek universe, Vulcans are long-lived, so our last visit with Spock is roughly 80 years after our first introduction. In that time, Spock has gone from stereotypically uptight ISTJ to a man of great patience and wisdom—and yes, even feeling.

Dominant Function: (Si) Introverted Sensing, “Relive the Experience”

Spock is half-Human, half-Vulcan, but he chooses to identify as fully Vulcan. It’s from his Vulcan heritage that he derives his life philosophy and outlook. Every new experience Spock has gets filtered through his Vulcan-trained Si, comparing it to the traditions he was taught and raised with.

While others panic or jump to action, Spock responds with caution and healthy skepticism to most situations the Enterprise encounters. He patiently gathers information rather than acting on emotion or speculation. He excels at detail, and shows open disdain for guesswork and imprecision.

This is the Vulcan way, and despite being only half-Vulcan, Spock lives it better than almost any full-blooded Vulcan we meet. He’s the archetypal Vulcan, and among fictional characters, an archetypal ISTJ. Thanks to his steady, unflappable Si, he serves as a balancing counterpart to his captain and best friend, the intrepid—and not always cautious—James T. Kirk.

ENTJ: River Tam, “Firefly”

The Commander, The Field-Marshal, The Trailblazer

Honestly, at one point I almost decided to be a smart-ass and type River as a WTF/IDK.

Her brain’s been picked apart and rearranged by the Alliance, leaving her three different shades of spooky and stuck in her damaged head, so we’re not exactly seeing her at her best. Plus, superpowers don’t count as cognitive functions—you can’t just assume she’s using Ni to predict the future, or Se to be a warrior-dancer.

Since I’ve typed a character with Alzheimer’s, though, I decided I could take a crack at putting together the scattered pieces of River’s personality and find her real type beneath all the damage.

Dominant Function: (Te) Extraverted Thinking, “Organize the Experience”

River’s been a high achiever since she started correcting her big brother’s spelling at the age of three. She masters every subject she tries, be it science or art or dance—or, in the end, piloting Serenity. She got bored with the lack of challenge in her schooling until she was sent to the Academy.

The experiments done on her brain by the Alliance have left her largely unable to access this function—she’s rudderless, disorganized, and dependent on her brother for almost everything.

Yet River’s very direct when she can be. She states what she knows very matter-of-factly, even when it’s the creepy psychic readings she gets from people. She’s not trying to scare anyone—she’s just being honest to an innocent degree.

River tries to “fix” Shepherd Book’s Bible, because it’s “broken.” Catching logical discrepancies almost feels like a Ti thing, but it seems that River’s main concern is that the Bible doesn’t conform to the facts she knows about the world—evolution, for instance, or simply the number of animals that could or could not physically fit on the Ark. She wants to reorganize the book and make it jive with the real world as she knows it.

She also freaks out when Book lets his hair down…er, up…because in her child-like directness, she’s not used to world she knows changing form like that.

In Firefly’s last episode, “Objects in Space,” River finally becomes lucid enough to take control of her situation. She organizes the crew and slyly turns the tables on her bounty hunter, directing him step by step until he falls into her trap. Her brother Simon almost messes up her plan with his careless heroics. “He takes such looking after,” she sighs to Mal.

ISTJ: Simon Tam, “Firefly”

The Inspector, The Sentinel, The Trustee

Simon gets typed as an INTJ a lot because, hey, remember that time he came up with a plan? That’s what INTJs do, right? Plan things?

Just like any type can be an artist, so too can any type can come up with a genius plan. And if you pull out those two big instances of Simon coming up with a plan and take a look at them, you see him stepping out of his comfort zone. He’s stretching himself by using his lower functions to follow through on the convictions of his higher functions.

Simon doesn’t live in the conceptual world of an Intuitive. For someone who’s lost in space, he’s remarkably grounded and practical. His smarts come mostly from book-learning, but he applies them with intelligence.

More about that in the function breakdown.

In the meantime, since this post is about a big brother, let me be all big brotherly and remind everyone not to assume someone’s a dullard just because of their type. Like our young doctor, they might just surprise you.

Dominant Function: (Si) Introverted Sensing, “Relive the Experience”

Simon lived a privileged life on the core worlds as a promising and brilliant young doctor from a wealthy family. Even after he escapes that life, he continues to dress finely and act formally, the way he was raised. He tells Kaylee that being proper with her is his way of showing respect, not to mention the only way he has of retaining who he is.

Simon’s first suspicions that something bad was happening to his sister came from reading her letters and recognizing that she didn’t sound like herself. She referenced things that didn’t happen, people who didn’t exist, and even spelled things wrong. “She started correcting my spelling when she was three,” he reminds his parents, who don’t—or won’t—acknowledge that anything’s wrong.

It takes a great deal for Simon to give up his comfortable, familiar life and strike out into the edge of civilization. In “Objects in Space,” he notices that Serenity has become River’s home, but even after all these months, he’s still having trouble adjusting. He’s constantly cautious, questioning Captain Mal’s decisions and showing exasperation at the crew’s unpredictable and uncouth ways.

ISTJ: Zoë Alleyne-Washburne, “Firefly”

The Inspector, The Sentinel, The Trustee

In many ways, Firefly is the un-Star Trek of science fiction television. And yet, both share the nifty similarity of having an ENFP/ISTJ pair at the helm. Star Trek has Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, and Firefly has Captain Mal and Zoë.

Zoë’s human through-and-through, but she approaches her job with the same sensible attitude and deadpan wit as her Vulcan counterpart. She and Spock have the tireless task of keeping their ENFP captains from getting lost in space. There’s no telling what kind of extra trouble Mal would find himself in without Zoë at his side.

Dominant Function: Introverted Sensing (Si), “Relive the Experience”

Zoë’s a trained, disciplined soldier, and leans on her finely honed skills to back Mal up in their adventures. She continues to call him “Sir,” and defer to him like her commanding officer, just as she did in their military days. Years after one of her comrades bit into a booby-trapped apple, she still carefully slices hers open before eating, just to be safe. She’s cool, cautious, and prepared, and acts as the voice of reason to Mal’s impetuousness.

Zoë doesn’t like Wash when she first meets him. He’s probably too much energy, garish and loud and impulsive. Eventually, somehow, they end up married. Wash’s Extraverted Sensing balances out Zoë’s Si, and the two make a weirdly perfect match as a couple.

Zoë prefers life on Serenity because it feels real. She expresses no desire to visit the core planet Ariel when they stop by because it’s too sterile. Serenity is her home, and Zoë will defend it with her life.

ESTJ: Helen Parr/Elastigirl, “The Incredibles”

The Director, The Achiever, The Organizer

I’ve noticed a trend in my ESTJ collection—lots of strong female characters.

That’s not a complaint, we need more of those. But it seems odd that when a strong female character is ESTJ, she’s a hero, and if she’s ENTJ, she’s a villain (okay, that happens to male characters, too; but why are we less comfortable with leaders who create new rules rather than follow the old ones?). Also, strong female ESTJs seem to be sidekicks or supporting characters—you’ve got your Hermiones, your Saaviks, your Princess Leias. Rarely the leads.

Helen’s the lead female character in The Incredibles, but the movie’s main lead is Bob. When Elastigirl heads into action, she’s every bit as fun to watch as Mr. Incredible—that stretching through multiple doors scene is a classic. Makes me wonder what the story would look like if it started out from her perspective.

There’s some production company out there working on a female superhero movie, I’m sure. Right? Right, guys?

Dominant Function, (Te) Extraverted Thinking: “Organize the Experience”

Helen’s just trying to keep everything together. As a young superhero, she was out to be the best. “Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don’t think so.” In her married life, she still wants to do everything right, and to run an orderly, successful home. She still makes note of her achievements, too—like unpacking the last box from their move-in three years ago.

She needs a partner, though, and hers is frustratingly slow to pitch in—he was almost late to their wedding night, for one thing. Helen tries to encourage Bob in his work, especially when she believes he’s gotten a promotion, but most of the time she has to badger him into engaging with the family. She hates coming across as the bad guy when she has to be the one enforcing the rules.

Helen quickly takes charge of the situation and stays focused in a crisis, even when missiles are bearing down on the plane she and her children are in. She orders the kids into action and pulls them together when all seems lost and they’re screaming and crying. She’s direct and honest with them about the dangers they’re facing, and doesn’t sugarcoat the facts.

She eventually encourages the kids to use their powers to their full potential. “Run as fast as you can!” she tells Dash. She demands a lot from them right away, though, and pushes Violet too hard at first.

Helen will keep her family together no matter what. She’ll trek halfway across the world to find her husband, and she won’t let him face danger alone. She continually reminds him that they’re a team now—both as husband and wife, and as superheroes.

ENTJ: Lord Business, “The LEGO Movie”

The Commander, The Field-Marshall, The Trailblazer

Lord Business is an ENTJ, but the “Real World” guy he’s based on—the Dad, or The Man Upstairs—is an ESTJ. One of them is the all-powerful ruler of an imaginary universe which he’s bending to his will, and the other is a guy who really, really doesn’t want anyone messing with his old toys. It’s kind of cute how the kid in the movie perceives his square, control-freak of a dad as a larger than life supervillain.

Dominant Function, (Te) Extraverted Thinking: “Organize the Experience”

Lord Business’ company does everything—they make coffee, TV shows, pop music, dairy products, surveillance cameras, all history books, voting machines…Yeah, he’s got the market cornered. Every market. Lord Business’ Te-dom is hyperactive and in control of everything he can get his hands on.

He absolutely can’t abide failure. It makes him so mad he just wants to throw people out a window, you know? He employs an army of Micro-Managers to ensure that everything is done his way. Failing that, Lord Business wants to glue everyone in place to keep them from spoiling the perfect order he’s set up.

He’s highly skeptical of Vitruvius’ magical prophecy. He knows immediately the old wizard is making it up. Speaking from the rationalistic, objective viewpoint of his Te, he declares it “a bunch of hippy, dippy baloney!”

ISFP: Lego Batman, “The LEGO Movie”

The Composer, The Seeker, The Virtuoso

Batman is one of those characters who’s been portrayed in so many different movies, shows, games, and comics, that you could find at least a couple different types for him just by picking any random version. Most versions, though, are definitely Thinker types. He is the Dark Knight Detective, after all.

Lego Batman has a whole other thing going on. He’s not a crime fighter for one thing, and he lives in a completely different universe with his own personal goals in life. And he’s super dark, man.

I’m proud to introduce the first Feeler type Batman, an ISFP.

Dominant Function, (Fi) Introverted Feeling: “Evaluate the Experience”

Batman revels in being dark and brooding. It’s his defining feature, and he wants everyone to see him that way. He writes a death metal song that’s all about being a tortured artist who has all kinds of pain and deep, dark feelings (it’s featured in the end credits, the same song you hear blasting through his speakers in the Batmobile).

Batman’s emotionally independent, and focused on his own values and desires. Somehow he ended up in a relationship with this ESTP chick, but he doesn’t really seem to need her. Not as much as she needs him, anyway. He’s not much of a team player, always ready to strike out on his own rather than worry about everyone else’s problems.

ENFP: Unikitty, “The LEGO Movie”

The Champion, The Energizer, The Discoverer

The LEGO Movie is all about championing the freedom of our imagination, and Unikitty embodies the imagination unleashed. She wasn’t even an official LEGO figure before the movie was released—she’s just a bunch of brightly-colored building blocks stuck together with a face on the front. And a horn.

And a whole lot of energy.

Dominant Function, (Ne) Extraverted Intuition: “Conceptualize from the Experience”

Unikitty leads Cloud Cuckoo Land with a kind of cheerful anarchy. “There are no rules…no government, no baby sitters, no bedtimes…!” Anything is allowed, and the weirder and wilder, the better. And there’s “no consistency!”

Unikitty’s very existence is an imaginative squishing of two super-cool creatures together to create a brand new, super-cooler creature. She’s playful and adaptable and always jumping to the next idea. When Emmet and the Master Builders invade Lord Business’ tower, she improvises her way through a fake business meeting, imitating generalized stereotypes of a business-person long enough to distract the bad guys.

ENFP: Corky St. Clair, “Waiting For Guffman”

The Champion, The Energizer, The Discoverer

Corky is the leader of a ragtag group of quirky characters from one of my favorite movies of all time. I’d planned to do a series about the whole lot of them, but like many of our favorite funny characters, once you scrape away at the surface, they’re actually kinda sad and pathetic. We can love them and laugh at them cathartically, but writing about them turned into a bummer.

(Also, the movie’s only 83 minutes long, so there’s not a lot of material to work with.)

Corky, however, storms into the lives of the residents of Blaine, Missouri, and injects them with excitement and meaning for a short, brilliant night in the spotlight. He is everything stereotypical of an ENFP, but in all kinds of lovable ways. Also, he’s the first for-real ENFP in my collection at Heroes and Villains.

Everybody dance!

Dominant Function, (Ne) Extraverted Intuition: “Conceptualize from the Experience”

Corky’s full of ideas, and gets energized when given free rein to work his creative magic on Blaine’s 150th anniversary show. Corky takes moments from Blaine’s history and spins them into original musical numbers (which are actually quite good) and imaginative set pieces. When he learns that prestigious talent agent Mort Guffman is coming to see the show, he dreams even bigger, and gets the whole cast excited about the possibility of taking Red, White, and Blaine to Broadway.

That his cast is mostly a bunch of mediocre, delusional squares doesn’t deter Corky a bit. He sees potential and wonder in every person, and lavishes them with encouragement. Corky inspires everyone he meets, except for the stuffy conductor who’s used to running shows his way.

Later, after the show does not go to Broadway, Corky’s the only person from the cast to land on his feet. Most of them are back where they started, or spinning their wheels as movie extras or retirement home entertainers. Corky’s running a showbiz-souvenir shop in New York, just as excited about it as he is about every venture he undertakes.

The Oscars MBTI: Riggan Thomson, ESFP, “Birdman”

2014 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor, Michael Keaton

ESFP, the Performer, the Activator, the Challenger

Any study I write of a character is necessarily going to go from beginning to end of their story, but in this case I want to make sure I give an explicit SPOILER WARNING for Birdman: or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance. Go see this movie first before you read this. It’s just less than two hours, and moves forward with such intensity that it feels like barely an hour.

Dominant Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se), “Experience the Experience”

Riggan lives to perform, and needs to be out there on stage or in front of the camera doing something.

In his early years, Riggan played Birdman, a superhero in a series of blockbuster movies. Birdman offered an exciting, profitable opportunity at the time, and Riggan jumped on it, riding its success for years to become a world-famous movie star.

In his later years, Riggan is looking again for some level of celebrity and attention, to recreate his success. He wants to present an unforgettable experience to his audience, but this time through the spectacle and challenge of live theater.

When his first male co-star doesn’t work out, Riggan jumps at the chance to cast a big name stage actor who happens to be the boyfriend of one of the actresses in the show. Mike Shiner takes the job and immediately pushes Riggan’s buttons. The two share an emotional, improvised rehearsal scene that brings out new discoveries in their performances, and Riggan gets keyed-up and delighted by the stimulation. Their relationship grows tense as Shiner repeatedly steals the spotlight and the headlines, until Riggan tackles him backstage and punches him in the face.