Zombies Ruin Everything

As the perfect opposite to her former love, Robot, Monster Girl is also known as Amanda. Amanda can change into a giant green monster (ta-da) which increases her speed, stamina, strength and just about anything else the Hulk can do. Except she’s not the Hulk, she’s a monster.

Another creative character from the Invincible universe, Amanda’s age in human form has a reverse effect every time she turns into the beast the world so often needs. So while she had been forty-two mentally, she was in her 20s when we first meet her and she was only getting younger. Guess she shouldn’t have made fun of that gypsy.

This post will be touching on the vain side of the ESFP a bit, and also the more mature, Fi developed side.

Monster Girl fits in nicely with the MBTI: Heroes trope in that while she seems like a normal hot girl on the team, she actually has the power to become one of the most powerful. I say “one of the most powerful” because there are some pretty strong characters in the Invincible universe.

That doesn’t make her ESFP though, while living in the moment with only her values guiding her is a much better clue. A few pages into her backstory reveal how Amanda was previously very vain and openly mocking a gypsy woman for her ugly appearance caused a “Drag Me to Hell” -type scenario to become Amanda’s reality. Only instead of being dragged to hell in three days, she would occasionally “monster out” and changing back meant her body was getting younger. We don’t know how far this is taken but an alternate universe Amanda was just a baby and her monstrous form was Godzilla size, suggesting that the younger Amanda gets, the more powerful her monster form.

The looks, the vanity, the go-with-the-flow attitude of Amanda (who stops aging backwards once Robot builds her a uniquely designed belt- comics!) speaks more to the ESFP than any other type. All types could be any of these things and exemplify all traits but the ESFP is going to take it further than anyone else on a regular basis. Why? Extroverted Sensing, son! Se acts in the moment for the rush of the immediate result. This could mean wearing something flashy, taking a particular interest in a meal, or just doing what gets the most satisfying result the quickest.

Ne (Extroverted Intuition) loves the idea of something but won’t necessarily feel the need to follow through while Se want to follow through now and may not give it enough thought. This is true for both the ESFP and their Se-dominant cousin, the ESTP, but the ESFP may fit this even more so since Fi (Introverted Feeling) is their auxiliary which can make their actions seem a bit more puzzling to their peers. While an ESTP’s actions are well thought out or not is beside the point, their motivations can be easily explained. For an ESFP however, their reasoning for doing something may not ever look like anything more than that type acting selfishly with no one else in mind but themselves.

This can be the case but it goes deeper than that.

Skin deep! Get it?!

Though the ESFP has their selfish moments like anyone and combining their Se with Fi can make them seem this way naturally, there’s also the generous side to them that the people in their circle will be able to appreciate. A perfect example from Monster Girl is when her and Robot help to overthrow the government in an alien universe. After Robot rules for quite some time and is prepared to beat back the former oppressors even more than he already has, Monster Girl starts to take notice that not only is Robot losing more and more of his humanity. So what does she do that pisses him off beyond all belief? She starts to side with the rebels, seeing them as downtrodden and misunderstood.

While this creates major friction between the two characters, it wasn’t done in such a way that made Amanda out to be a villain, but rather seeing a different side to these people Rex refused to/couldn’t see. It’s to the point where we see it the same way Amanda does- knowing it will make Rex made but what’s right is right; somebody’s got to take the side of the abused.

ESFPs get a lot of flack in the type community for being shallow, narcissistic, superficial- which they can be. But it many cases this is just what their preferences can appear to be in the same way the ENTP may seem argumentative while trying to probe a new idea. Or the way an ISTJ can seem difficult and anal when they’re just doing what they can to make sure something is done properly. It’s all about perspective. Robot would see Amanda as treacherous, selfish, possibly stupid for doing what she does.

But to the ESFP, if you’re not working with what you have right then and there, you might lose it- then what was the point of having it?

She gets it.

This entry was posted on 09/01/2015 at 1:19 am and is filed under MBTI Artisans, MBTI Stuff with tags esfp, Image comics, Invincible, mbti in fiction, Monster Girl. 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.