Comic books differ from other art forms - novels, plays, TV shows, movies - and we are faced with a different set of problems when typing a comic book character as opposed to one in a TV show.
When typing characters on a TV show such as Bold and the Beautiful, it's best to proceed as follows: get to know the 16 types and their little quirks and foibles really well and then attempt to recognise such-and-such a character as a typical instance of a certain type as seen in a TV show, comic book or movie.
On TV, character - and MBTI - is revealed to us in flashes: TV shows give us little pieces of a character at a time (from which we can divine a character's type). TV shows (and movies) can trace their forebear to the play, which is the oldest dramatic art form, and plays (according to Aristotle) only show slices of a character - not all of a character's life, only the most important moments of the character's life.
While comic books portray slices of life, comic book characters - especially superheroes and supervillains - reveal their type to us not only through their personality traits but their powers and abilities. As we shall see, some superpowers are more suited to an Intuitive type than a Sensor and vice versa.
If you cast your mind back to the superhero role-playing and card games of the 1980s and 1990s, you'll recall that usually each character's statistics reflect their strengths and weaknesses in certain areas. One of Superman's weaknesses lies in the field of the supernatural and magic, while Doctor Strange (as 'Earth's Sorcerer Supreme') exhibits mastery in that domain; the Silver Surfer possess the 'Power Cosmic', and is classified (along with Adam Warlock, Thanos, Galactus and Captain Marvel) in the Heroclix game series as a 'cosmic', while Spiderman doesn't show any propensity towards the 'cosmic' at all. One of my arguments here in this article is that these dichotomies - supernatural versus scientific, cosmic versus earthbound and others like them - bear upon MBTI and socionics.
I. Sensor or Intuitive?
We can define that dichotomy - Sensors versus Intuitives - in superhero land as being one of brains versus brawn. Characters whose powers and abilities tend to be mental (e.g., telepathic) or supernatural more often than not should be classified as Intuitives; so should characters whose ability (as opposed to superpower) could be said to be mental and intellectual (perhaps the character is a detective or a scientist) or consisting of some intangible quality such as 'charisma' or 'leadership'. On the other hand, Sensors will have, more often than not, a main power or ability based on strength, force and the use of weaponry; sometimes they will possess enhanced 'super-senses' (e.g., Wolverine, Daredevil). Intuitives tend to dwell in the mental or spiritual realm, Sensors in the material and sensory.
Take a look at some of the X-Men from the Chris Claremont years. Jean Grey, Professor X, Nightcrawler, Storm, Kitty Pryde, Longshot, Beast belong in the Intuitive category; Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue in the Sensor. Remember that Cyclops' main ability is to blast things with force beams from his eyes - force blasts, force bolts, the power to construct energy barriers and shields ('force manipulation') are a Sensor's power. Storm's power (weather control) and Nightcrawler's (teleportation) require a mental effort as opposed to the physical; or, to put it another way, an effort of thought as opposed to an effort of will. You could say that Nightcrawler must use intuition - extraverted intuition, Ne - to avoid teleporting ('bampfing' as he calls it) into the wrong place.
A character can start out as a Sensor and transform into an Intuitive, or vice versa. In her first appearance in an Avengers annual, Rogue plays the role of villain with the ability to siphon off or steal the super-powers and characteristics of superheroes - which, at first sight, makes her seem an Intuitive. But, after she steals Ms Marvel's powers and becomes an X-Men regular - and it's in that series that we get to know her - she becomes super-strong, super-fast, invulnerable; in short, she becomes a Sensor. Likewise, the Beast may seem to be a Sensor, but we mustn't forget that before he became a mutant he was Hank McCoy, a super-scientist, and, like Tony Stark / Iron Man, a rather extraverted and loquacious one at that. The fact that such an obvious Intuitive winds up as having the superpowers of a Sensor represents an intended irony; we find the same irony at work in Spiderman, a geeky and nerdy Intuitive who becomes super-strong.
In the Fantastic Four, we find two Sensors, two Intuitives. Mister Fantastic, as we know, can stretch, turn himself into rubber balls and all sorts of things, but let's remember the defining trait of the character (which made itself felt even before he gained superpowers): he's a brilliant inventor and scientist. That makes him an Intuitive... Like Green Lantern, Invisible Woman can construct invisible force-fields and objects which can be used as battering rams, etc., but these abilities were a later addition. Originally she was known for being able to turn herself (and objects and other people) invisible: more of a mental power than a physical. In contrast, the Thing owns a rocky and impervious body and can lift huge objects. This, to me, makes him a Sensor, and, what's more, can be related back to introverted sensing Si, which, as we know, involves physical strength, physical toughness and self-discipline. As for the Human Torch, his powers manifest themselves in the physical realm in a spectacular way. He blazes fire trails through the sky, makes and throws fireballs, overheats and blows up robots and machines, goes supernova... These demonstrate force, will, and force and will imposed on others - extraverted sensing Se.
In the case of the 'A-list' of DC characters, we find Sensor heroes Superman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, the Flash and Intuitive heroes Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman. Green Lantern uses will power to make objects with his power ring, the Flash uses super speed to make his body a weapon (able to saw through objects or burn them up using friction, for example) - powers which are based on the sensory and the physical. Batman and Dick Grayson use their mental abilities to do detective work (as does Sherlock Holmes, another Intuitive) and are escape artists (like Mister Miracle, an Intuitive). Wonder Woman, as we know, can lift heavy objects, which should make her a Sensor, but I argue that an intangible quality - moral leadership or charisma - makes up her main ability, an ability she shares with Dick Grayson / Nightwing. Taylor types both Grayson and Wonder Woman as ENFJs, and ENFJ super-characters usually display an intangible, intuitive ability to lead and inspire (and manipulate).
We know that Magneto, Darkseid and Namor the Sub-Mariner possess all sorts of powers, but, if we're to trace back a main, or prime ability in these three, it's the ability to lead (or inspire fear in) men. The same goes for other Intuitive leader-types the Kingpin, the Red Skull and Loki.
The lesson is that we must always look at the fundamentals. In the case of the Spectre, we could be forgiven for thinking that he'd be an Intuitive like so many other Marvel and DC supernatural characters - e.g., the Phantom Stranger or Doctor Strange. But if you've read any of the Spectre comic books, it becomes clear early on that he's an ISTJ - a Sensor. That's because the character started out as an ISTJ: he's a police detective, Lieutenant Jim Corrigan, who comes back to life after being murdered by criminals as a vengeance-driven spook. That theme - the ISTJ as a vengeful supernatural entity - appears again and again in horror. Likewise, Boston Brand / Deadman, before being murdered, is a circus performer and a Sensor; ironically, he becomes transformed, after death, into a character with superpowers we normally associate with Intuitives - he turns into a ghost who can take over people's bodies.
I'll note here in passing that Sensors, particularly the extraverted-sensing ones, seem to be drawn to the use of weapons. Think of Daredevil (billy clubs), James Bond (handguns), Wolverine (claws), Elektra (sai daggers), Deathstroke the Terminator (swords and staves), Valkyrie from the Defenders (swords)... The archer characters spring to mind here also: both Oliver Queen / Green Arrow and Hawkeye are Sensors and both use bows and arrows. All these characters display an uncanny virtuosity when using their weapon of choice.
II. Thinker or Feeler?
Thinking and feeling make up, in socionics and MBTI, the two judging or 'Rational' functions. We make value judgements using either thinking or feeling, as do comic book characters. Dialogue and interplay gives us a fairly good idea of how a character will react to a certain situation and what value judgements they will make.
We see that in the famous Green Lantern and Green Arrow team-up stories by Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil . When confronted with an ethical dilemma, Green Lantern - as a Thinker - will consult the law: he asks himself, 'How does this look objectively and from the standpoint of accepted rules, morals, manners and customs?'. Green Arrow, on the other hand, will emote straight away. He reacts, instantly, and gives his interpretation - based on his own deeply-held moral convictions.
In the comic books, thinker characters tend to be logical, detached, rational - but not always more intelligent - and calculating; if they don't possess much in the way of morals, they'll use deception if need be. Feelers, on the other hand, show an absence of guile and often find it difficult to detach themselves from their emotions and look at things objectively. Extraverted feeling revolves around what others feel and what their opinions, morals, habits are; introverted feeling, one's own moral evaluations and emotional reactions. A catchphrase of an extraverted Feeler superhero such as Superman is, 'Don't do that - it will hurt other people' ; for an introverted Feeler, 'Don't do that, because I don't like it'. Whereas, for extraverted thinkers such as the Punisher and Batman, things may be prohibited because they are unjust and go against The Law with a capital L - a higher law than that of the America criminal justice system.
In the X-Men, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Beast number among the rational and calculating types, whereas Professor X, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Rogue, Kitty Pryde should be thought of as Feelers. The difference is illustrated by the contrast between Magneto and Professor X. Magneto, being a Thinker, looks at events from a calculating and technocratic perspective; Professor X's perspective, on the other hand, strikes us as empathic and moralistic, and always has a view to the common good. You see here the difference between extraverted thinking Te (Magneto) and extraverted feeling Fe (Professor X). Keirsey would classify Professor X, an NF (Intuitive Feeler) as an 'Idealist', Magneto, a NT (Intuitive Thinker) as a 'Rational'.
But wait, Thinking types - who have either Te or Ti as a judging function - get emotional, don't they? Obviously so: they can become just as emotional as Fe or Fi types. The difference lies in how they evaluate their experiences. The first question the Thinker type asks himself is, 'What are the rules on this? How does this thing work?'. Whereas the Feeler is more interested in the question of how such-and-such affects the group atmosphere or dynamic (Fe) or one's deeply personal and natural reactions (Fi), which can be ones of empathy or antipathy. It's how you sum up life - how you evaluate it - that counts.
This goes some way to explaining why some very intelligent characters such as Professor X - who invented the Danger Room and Cerebro, among other technological marvels - should be considered as Feelers, not Thinkers; and why some very ditzy characters such as Lois Lane or Janet Van Dyne are calculating Thinkers (after all, Lois Lane is (in the old comic books at least) always plotting how to get Superman to marry her; the Wasp does the same with Hank Pym).
III. Perceiver or Judger?
Taylor gives a good description of the differences between Perceiver and Judger below:
Judging or Perceiving (J/P)- Judging or Perceiving determines your lifestyle. While Judgers are more strict in their routines and prefer to have things finished, Perceivers are more likely to be okay with leaving things up in their air. Judgers go by a set of externalized rules that keep everything in place, while Perceivers live by internalized principles that guide them and only them. Like dogs and cats.
As Chad Crandall puts it, Judgers appear as 'mappers', Perceivers as 'explorers'.
Here's where it gets difficult. Spiderman, as an INTP, would, in socionics, be called an INTj - the small 'j' comes about because his dominant function (Ti) is a judging function. But, in MBTI, he's an INTP: the uppercase 'P' at the end signifies that his extraverted function is the perceiving one. And Spiderman (in comparison to the Punisher, for example, who is an ISTJ) seems more of a Perceiver than a Judger. So what gives?
I think that the point MBTI is trying to make is that the extraverted primary or secondary function determines how we appear to others: the extraverted function is the one the world sees, and the one that makes one (in the eyes of the world) a Judger or Perceiver. Barry Allen (the Flash in the old Silver Age DC comics) works as a police scientist and leads a structured and ordered life which we'd expect of a Judger. As an ISJF, his judging function - feeling - is extraverted and so it's the one that the rest of the world sees. And indeed, his rather snippy fiancé, Iris West, calls him a 'tortoise'.
It's not entirely true to say that Judgers (in MBTI) want to impose their values on the world while Perceivers don't - all the types, to a certain extent, seek to impose their values - but a great deal of truth exists in that assertion. Take the difference between Doctor Doom (a Judger) and Mr Fantastic (a Perceiver). Doom leads an orderly, structured life and works towards goals, and both activities involve other people: he wants to: conquer the world, rescue his mother from her imprisonment in Mephisto's hellish realm, destroy the Fantastic Four... This is what the world sees of Doom. Whereas, in the case of Reed Richards, we see a man who engages in scientific research for its own sake. He doesn't want to bring the world to heel. What's more, his extraverted function (the one the world sees), which is Ne, doesn't lend itself to world-conquering.
A Judger such as Doom wants the world to follow his rules (or at least expects, like Barry Allen, the world to follow a certain structure and is disappointed if it doesn't).
Judgers seem to be more rooted than perceivers. In the Fantastic Four, the two Judger characters in the foursome, the Thing and Invisible Woman serve to keep the team grounded - a necessity when the other half of the team (Human Torch and Richards) are Perceivers and somewhat flighty.
In the Claremont-era X-Men, we find plenty of Judgers - Professor X, Jean Grey, Storm, Rogue (surprisingly enough), Cyclops - who contrast against the 'wild card' Perceivers Wolverine, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler and the Beast. Likewise, in the seventies-era Defenders, the Judgers (Doctor Strange, Nighthawk) serve as a counterweight to the comparatively more erratic and unstable Valkyrie, Hellcat and the Hulk. In the eighties-era New Teen Titans, we find a lot of Judgers - Robin / Nightwing, Starfire, Wonder Girl / Troia, Raven, Cyborg, Kid Flash - and only two Perceivers (Jericho, Changeling). The last two were added so as to balance out the team. A good writer of superhero team comic books will deploy various MBTI types to give balance.
IV. Introvert or Extravert?
Introversion or extraversion in a superhero can be measured by the extent to which he wants to be seen by other people and known by other people.
A superhero or supervillain base can give us a good idea of his extraversion or introversion. Introverted heroes or villains isolate themselves in their base or hideout from others. Doctor Doom (who lives in a remote castle), Batman (who lives in a cave), Doctor Strange (who lives in a spooky mansion in Greenwich Village), Mr Fantastic (who shuts himself away in a laboratory in the Baxter Building for days at a time), Wolverine (who takes off to the Canadian Rockies now and then to be by himself) give us examples of this. In contrast, Superman lives in a 'Fortress of Solitude', which sounds rather like an introvert's den, but a gigantic, highly visible metal door can be found at the entrance, and a few metres away we see a gigantic golden key pointing to that door. It's as though Superman wants to call attention to himself; the Fortress doesn't seem as concealed as Batman's Batcave. What's more, the interiors of the Fortress are brightly lit, and in a few rooms, we find prominent statues of Superman himself as well as his friends and family. Similarly, Darkseid's base - the planet Apokolips - is festooned with images and statues of its dread ruler. Let's not forget that Darkseid, in the Legion of Superheroes series, sculpted the planet Daxam to look like his head.
Extraverts such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Robin, Luke Cage, Dazzler, Jack Kirby's Guardian, Green Arrow, Thor, Jean Grey / Phoenix wear brightly-coloured and eye-catching uniforms; introverts prefer to dark or muted outfits (think of Batman, the Punisher, Judge Dredd, Wolverine, Cyclops, Mr Fantastic, Doctor Strange, the Phantom Stranger, Raven, Professor X...). I'll note here that ISTJs such as Dredd, Punisher, Jack Kirby's Orion, Cyclops, the Spectre, Darth Vader like to conceal themselves behind helmets, hoods and visors.
One might point out that introverts such as Spiderman or Mister Miracle wear brightly-coloured, leery costumes: true enough. But what we find here is another instance of intended ironic contrast. The introverted and shy Peter Parker designed the gaudy Spiderman costume for the purpose of working in show business; likewise, the loner and introvert Scott Free inherited a uniform from his mentor Thaddeus Brown who was a professional theatrical performer.
Batgirl / Barbara Gordon and Nightwing / Dick Grayson patterned their uniforms after Batman's, whose colours certainly doesn't match Gordon or Grayson's extraverted personalities. But Gordon added some yellow to the design, and Grayson some yellow and years later, some red.
Generally, we can pick an introvert from an extravert by asking ourselves this question: does he want to be seen and acknowledged by others, or does he prefer to conceal himself and even live in darkness? Daredevil, in his civilian identity as Matt Murdock, wears shades, dark suits and attempts to make himself look as unobtrusive as possible. Much of his superheroing seems to be done in darkness, and on rooftops, and in that regard he resembles introvert heroes such as Batman and Spiderman. Nightcrawler has the power of becoming invisible in the dark. Cyborg of the New Teen Titans attempts to cover up his body by wearing caps and trench coats - he hates people staring at him. In contrast, his teammate Changeling / Beast Boy wants to be seen as much as possible; so does Superman, who patrols, in full view, in the skies above Metropolis. Iron Man / Tony Stark clearly likes being around other people, while the Silver Surfer, who floats above Earth on his surfboard, doesn't.
V. Putting it all together: the Scarecrow
It always helps, when typing a character, to read their first appearance and origin story. Below we find the a page of World's Finest Comics #3, which introduces the Batman villain Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. What can we learn from it?
Let's look at where Jonathan Crane fits in to the MBTI dichotomies:
THINKER OR FEELER?
It would seem obvious that the academic Crane, a teacher of psychology, would be a Thinker - but not so fast. Professor X is, after all, a professor, but I type him as a Feeler, not a Thinker. Crane is a Thinker, but this is revealed by his behaviour more than anything else, specifically by his calculating and reasoning. In the opening panels, he delivers a reasoned discourse - and a discourse on (not coincidentally) how to manipulate people. Thinker characters who are bad guys tend to be manipulative... Then, in the last panels of the page, we find him engaged in ratiocinations again: he's performing another set of calculations. Were he a Feeler, he'd be reacting in a different way to the scorn of his colleagues: 'Nobody likes me, my life is terrible! What shall I do...'. His colleagues - and the world at large - doesn't respect him, but instead of reacting, he acts; he becomes determined to get even. He thinks in terms of problems and solutions.
INTROVERT OR EXTRAVERT?
The question answers itself. Crane resembles other brooding, isolated loner characters the Punisher, Wolverine, Peter Parker, and Bruce Wayne himself. He lives in a gloomy pad. A mousey-looking man, he doesn't want to draw attention to himself, neglects his appearance and wears shabby clothes (later on we'll see that the colours of his costume are dark and muted).
Let's go on to the next page...
JUDGER OR PERCEIVER?
Does Crane lead an orderly, structured life? Or does he take life as it comes? We see that Crane - like the other Judger characters who appear in that issue (Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent and Dick Grayson) - leads the same life, day in, day out; he isn't as erratic as Peter Parker, who aspired to work in academia for a while and made a poor teacher and student. Crane begins the story in the classroom, goes back to his pad, broods, comes back to class the next day, returns home and broods some more ('In his home, Crane's distorted brain begins thinking along fantastic lines - criminal lines'). This is a man who is accustomed to regularity and an even rhythm in his life.
Does he seek to impose his values on others? Yes indeed. Perceivers such as Reed Richards, Peter Parker, Wolverine, Oliver Queen (the bearded one in the comics, not the TV one) hold strongly-felt values but really don't care if the world is congruent with those values or not; they won't strive particularly hard to change anything. Scarecrow, on the other hand, does want to bring the world in line with his values: specifically, he wants to induce fear in others - and, at the same time, make money and gain prestige from doing so.
INTUITIVE OR SENSOR?
Do Crane's abilities and / or powers use brains or brawn? Obviously, the Scarecrow relies on his brains, and his power - altering the emotions of others (using special chemicals) - makes him an Intuitive character, not a Sensor.
In Socionics, intuitive intuition Ni is understood to be the perception of time and also cause and effect. Crane's broodings and ratiocinations are all about discovering the principles behind human psychology and how a certain cause (making people afraid) brings about a certain effect (making him wealthy and powerful).
SUMMING SCARECROW UP: INTJ
Crane is an Introvert, an Intuitive, a Thinker and a Judger. Taking into account Crane's displays of introverted intuition (planning, study of cause and effect) and his extraverted thinking (organisation of data), we can conclude he's an INTJ (INTp in Socionics). And that's how Taylor types him. It's no accident that his origin story and his character resembles other INTJ characters Doctor Doom and Batman himself - doesn't Crane's Eureka moment ('So I look like a scarecrow - that will be my symbol - a symbol of poverty and fear combined! The perfect symbol - the Scarecrow!') remind you of Bruce Wayne's?
Mark Hootsen signing off.
