Zombies Ruin Everything

There are more prominent characters in Invincible but Allen is too cool and I haven’t done a full ESFJ post since November so chamon, let’s do this.

One thing you’ll notice since Allen’s first appearance is that he’s really nice. Not just, “Hmm, he seems like a nice guy” but more like he gets punched in the face and responds with a “Wow, you hit really hard!” Even in space, you can’t get away from them. Those ESFJs. They’re so nice I hate them.

Allen currently helps protect the galaxy as the leader of the Coalition of Planets, though he’s previously been an agent of them, going from planet to planet assessing the strength of each world’s protector (In earth’s case, which superhero) in an effort to collect the greatest warrior’s in the universe in the fight against the Viltrumites, Invincible’s native people.

The product of a genetic experiment, Allen was the only successful subject to retain his intelligence while becoming superhuman (if that’s that right word) in physicality. A member of the species Unopans, a cyclops race, Allen is one of the strongest characters in the series through deliberate testing. Every time he comes close to death, he’s is genetically rebuilt even stronger and faster than before.

But enough about this guy, let’s talk more about him as an ESFJ. ESFJ use Fe first and this makes them want to hug people but it’s not going to make all of them as nice as they’re generally made out to be, even on this site. One thing to remember is that even though their dominant Fe runs the show, the auxiliary Si is controlling the wheel. So when ENFJs can see past what authority tells them to do to make sure everybody has a good time, stays safe, etc., the ESFJ will go by the book as a way of definitely making sure all of those things happen.

So when Allen becomes the leader of the Coalition of Planets and decides that all of earth needs to be wiped out just so he can make sure all the Viltrumite race is ended (Viltrumites have secretly made earth their home, FYI), it’s brought to his attention by Thragg that killing everyone on earth is not only pointless but that Allen is really doing it because he feels the need to show his superiors he’s capable of leading rather than making sound judgement.

So it’s sort of like your ESFJ friend being really nice until they get into a position of power and suddenly…they’re not so nice anymore, they’re here to WORK. It’s not that they’re backstabbers, but they take the job seriously so they can be taken seriously and doing the job exactly as it’s specified is their way of doing that. Nevermind going above and beyond, or God forbid, cutting corners; they were give a certain job and they need to do it just right.

ESFJs have inferior Ti, so you could say that taking care of people the only ways they know how come first, while thinking it through comes last.

And aside from his one slip-up where he was going to kill everyone on earth, Allen is pretty much always the peacekeeper, as ESFJs are. As mentioned, even getting punched in the face doesn’t seem to affect him. While he’s physically one of the most powerful characters in the series, most of the others wouldn’t take it lightly to be hit in any capacity but Allen only dives into it when the person that hit him may be an actual threat. But Allen has “reactive adaption,” meaning whatever doesn’t kill him literally makes him stronger and nearly immune to the threat that previously almost did him.

This ability does remind me something of the ESFJ’s ability to adapt. As an SJ, it seems they have the hardest time coping with new situations. But unlike their introverted cousin, the ISFJ, the ESFJ does seem to be a little more open minded to the new if it can be introduced in a way they’re familiar with and you give them time to accept. They’re not going to fight you too hard because their Fe makes them want to get along.

So if the ESFJ can survive it, they can learn to deal with it.

Just making sure that space ship doesn’t fly into the sun. A day in the life.

Tension in a group is something ESFJs can’t stand as they vicariously “feel” others emotions and want to sympathize as well. It’s why Allen seems to start off fighting but ends up being friends with his opponent. And in doing this, he gathers his most powerful allies for the war against the Viltrumites.

Just imagine a Michael Clarke Duncan cyclops fighting Zod and his group of Kryptonians from Man of Steel. It’d be awesome sure, but it wouldn’t last long and he need help.

And rallying people together for a particular objective is something the ESFJ can do really well like how Allen makes friends with nearly every species he meets.

And as often as people get annoyed at this motherly personality, this type also puts up with a lot considering what they’ll try to accomplish and the crap in a bag left at their doorstep. Imagine every time you tried to do something good for people, everyone ends up whining about how imperfect it is or how it could have been done better if you’d have just done it this way. This is Allen’s role as the leader of the C.O.P, the ESFJ’s role in society and suddenly I’m thinking this is probably how every mom on the planet deals with having to raise their kids.

This entry was posted on 04/02/2015 at 12:36 pm and is filed under MBTI Guardians, MBTI Stuff with tags Allen the Alien, comics, esfj, Invincible, mbti in fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.