John Protagonist

Be the Protagonist of your own life.

— Catchphrase

Voted Citizen of the Year for 14 years running, John Protagonist (JP to his friends - you can be his friend, if you want) is an actor, writer, muscian, activist, and inspiration to all the people of Megacorpolis. He ranks number one on almost every poll and corporate leaderboard in terms of popularity, and a fanbase so fawning and fanatic that they've started wars. What's the secret to his success, you ask? Besides being a really swell guy, John (really, call him JP) has carefully curated a generic enough look and personality to appeal to the broadest possible audience.
He's handsome, with just enough of a rugged edge, hair that's both stylish and a little wild, kind but in control, and all the rest. He's a self-help book come to life, mixed with the best PR team that money can buy. There's enough romance in his life to start the gossip, but not so much that he seems out of reach to adoring fans. Thanks to a steady diet of anti-aging medication and drugs, he doesn't look a day over maybe 32, and stays here. He's eternal. He'll never leave you.
See, John is a project, an evolution of the old industry plant taken to its most successful conclusion, and it's gone so far that even he doesn't really know the full scope of it.
Now, John has the power to make or break projects, sway public discourse, and destroy careers (not that he'd do that, he's too nice, see). It is a power that the corporations that manage him really like having, and so there's an on-going and constant war between different entertainment conglomarates to get him under their sway.

John, the Actor

It's not too late, Miriam. Take my hand, I'll set you free.

— Enemies to Lover 3: Throuple trouble

John got his start as an actor, first in action movies of various kinds where he always played the kind of moral, Captain America-ish type of hero who'd go through hell for you (you, specifically!) and keep going. He'd taken the time to practice various kinds of martial arts which, combined with some subtle but potent combat implants, gave him presence and physicality on the screen that drew viewers to him. With the release of Sector Zero, he exploded into the mainstream as a major star and was soon snatched up by the PhasmoFun Entertainment corporation.

John Protagonist (what kind of name is that anyway) fulfills his role as Commando Khan sufficiently. He's right for the role, though a bit stilted, but I think he's someone to keep an eye on.

— Review of John's first movie, "Commander Khan Vs The Commies"

Under their... Lets call it guidence, John went from strength to strength. He returned as Marcus Veil in Sector Zero II: Deeper Zero, exploding every box office expectation and earning him the attention of several other corporations. Java Inc sponsored a movie with him as Java Man in advertisement so blatant that even the blind could see it, then as well as several other roles in a smattering of action movies. It was with the critically praised The Audit that John first pivoted out of just action and into more serious, mature cinema. It was, of course, a great success. It was also when John parted ways with PhasmoFun entertainment due to a hostile take-over and the movie was made specifically to make his former managers look like a bunch of dicks.

The Audit is the kind of movie that most would say you just can't make anymore. John Protagonist is excellent as Malcom Grey, a man with a consciouse who knows he has to break the status quo. Really, makes you wonder how PhasmoFun could get away with that stuff for so long!

— Review of The Audit

It would be the first of many. John has been traded, bought, cajoled, threatened, kidnapped, and cloned by various corporations across Megacorpolis and his career in an attempt to get his success to benefit them. Once that started, the work under the hood began, with bot-farms and paid 'internet personalities' drumming up positive impressions and engagement. Entirely by accident, each corporation tried their own gambits to increase the value of their celebrity asset, creating something that snowballed entirely out of their control. By the time Marcus Veil died in the controversial conclusion of Sector Zero III: Point of No Return, there were riots in the streets and demands to change the ending.
Behind the scenes, he is reported to be deeply engaged in the creative process of each movie, kind and courteous to co-workers and fans alike, and someone who always shows up like a professional. The internet is full of "accidental" fan-meets that are only full of praise for the actor, if you'd believe it. Any scandals that came out during this time and since have always been about John standing up to abusive directors, poor working conditions, or similar tripe.
You can see his full Filmography at the bottom. Go on, you know you want to - and just for you, there's now a 50% discount on your first three JP movies. Just use the code PROTAGONIST!

John, the Writer

For me, I think the most important thing was always to stay humble.

— From "A Protagonist's Life"

Somewhere around 2090, John's handlers realized they were leaving money on the table and set up a team of ghost writers to write a bunch of shitty books with JP's name on them. Predictably, they sold like hotcakes, much to the depression of real writers everywhere.
In 2090, John wrote (without help and by himself) and published his first book, "Be the Protagonist". It was a mix of autobiography, self-help, and motivational speech. In interviews, JP has said that he felt he owed it to his fans and wanted to give something back to them for all their support. Thanks to corporation buying bundles of them, they remained at the top of best-seller lists for over two years. Since then, he has written several more books in the same vein, and even a couple of fiction books.
Sales were good, but for corporations used to blockbuster profits at every turn, this little project was abandoned after a while.

John, Your Friend

Really, call me JP, buddy.

— Your friend, John Protagonist

Besides all that, he's starred in countless ads, podcasts, youtube and similar videos, made music and released a cookbook and all the rest of it. There's no niche the corporations can't insert some John into, and there's no profit they won't try to squeeze out of him. But forget all that, because at the end of the day, isn't John just a real swell guy?
He remains at the top of the popularity charts to this day, and there are at least a couple of cults that honor him as a pseudo-deity. Fandom wars over things like shipping or movie interpretations have claimed enough lives to fill a moderately sized cargo-ship, and corporations have filled a couple of more in their fights over who gets him. For his part, John tries his best to stay out of all of that. He has a pretty great gig going on and nothing, and I mean nothing, terrifies him to his core more than all of this falling apart, leaving him as nothing more than just regular ol' John.

ProtagoMerch

With great power comes great opportunity for some merch sales, baby!
And when it comes to John, there's no greater opportunity. JP has his own brand of clothing, colonge, shoes, condoms, pets (courtesy of Best Friends Forge, use code PROTAGNIMALS!), action figures, boardgames, weapons, armor, and more.
That's just John himself. All the different character he's played all have their own lines of merch, too. The most sold is still Marcus Veil and the Sector Zero franchise: there's even a theme park!
Not only that, but for everyone who admire the rugged good looks and steely-eyed determination of Marcus Veil, why not look at him? There's packages of surgery and behavioral therapy to make fans be more like their idol and truly become a Protagonist.

Fandoms

There are several flavors of different JP fandoms, with varying degrees of parasocial obsession. There's one for every character (even Commander Khan) with significant overlap between those communities, there are the ones who focus entirely on John, and then there are the haters.
The purists (the scary ones, that is) call themselves Protagomaniacs and several splinters of them are designated as terrorist organizations. It takes very little for them to go after someone or something that would dare go against their beloved John.

Contrarians in particular love to hate on JP and all the assorted things surrounding him. Because, well, if everyone loves him, a Contrarian can't go along with that.
Any real contrarian found being a secret fan can expect a quick oustre from their community for the sin of liking something popular.

Don't forget to check out his next movie, 'The Hecate Project'! Coming soon on all streaming platforms!

Filmography

Title	Description	Genre	Release Year	MegaCritic Score	Quote
Commando Khan vs The Commies	John plays Commando Khan, a morally upstanding military operative who punches his way through an anti-corporate insurgency in Sector 9.	Action	2086	76 / 100	"Three explosions per minute!"
Maximum Compliance	JP returns as a one-man corporate law enforcement unit who ensures... MAXIMUM COMPLIANCE! Features a climactic fight scene inside a collapsing megastructure that was actually an old combat arena.	Action	2087	78 / 100	"The demolition has been scheduled, but I'm always ahead of schedule."
Sector Zero	Marcus Veil is an elite operative who uncovers a conspiracy in the lawless zones beyond the Megacorpolis. A conspiracy that, if true, would be a real scandal... It wasn't, of course, because Corporations are your friends.	Action	2088	82 / 100	"The studio's legal team was very pleased with the script."
Sector Zero II: Deeper Zero	Marcus Veil is back: more implants, more danger, more anti-capitalist jaws to crack. With the love of his life in danger, Marcus must risk everything to stop a deadly plot that could end all of Megacorpolis.	Action	2088	99 / 100	"The final sequence in which he fights a Raffleraptor with his bare hands is the pinnacle of cinema!"
Java Man	John plays an ordinary citizen who, after an accidental overdose, develops mutation-adjacent abilities and uses them to protect a Java distribution hub from anti-corporate terrorists.	Action	2088	81 / 100	"Propaganda has never been better!"
Gator Tide	In a city where the dams burst and the sewer-gators run rampage, JP plays a city sanitation engineer who is very good at punching. Based on a true story, and includes some of the original sewer-gators.	Action	2088	82 / 100	"The Cybergator Supreme remains one of the best villains to this day."
Iron Dividend	JP plays a debt collector for a megacorp finance arm who gets in too deep when a routine repossession job unravels into a full corporate war.	Action	2089	78 / 100	"Turns out it was the anti-corporists fault all along!"
Maximum Compliance II: Legal Action	JP returns to his role as the embodiment of workplace policy. A clone subplot was introduced for legal reasons unconnected to the plot and then left unresolved, but generated much fanfiction.	Action	2089	75 / 100	"Two Johns are in fact better than one."
The Ashlands Run	In the wastelands that were once Texas, JP plays a corporate courier who has to cross the dead-zone with a package that everybody wants and nobody will explain. Neither does the movie.	Action	2090	82 / 100	"Definitely not filmed on location... Have you seen that place?"
Java Man 2: Unlimited Brew	As the citizens thirst for Java grows, so too does the powers of Javaman, and the enemies he faces.	Action	2090	78 / 100	"Everyone knows Java addiction is a myth."
Below the Line	A survival horror film set entirely in the Megacorpolis sewer system, with real sanitation workers and expendable interns. Involves some sort of alien ghost maybe? No one's really sure.	Horror	2091	79 / 100	"Some interns were harmed in the making of this movie."
Commando Khan II: Khan Harder	Commando Khan is back, and this time he's bringing HR with him. Khan must stop the nefarious hacker Morrigan from ruining the corporate Christmas party, at any cost.	Action	2091	70 / 100	"Someone should've stopped this movie at any cost."
Bear With Me	His first comedy, in Bear With Me, John is accidentally locked into a bear mascot suit and must get through the day. Hijinx ensues.	Comedy	2091	81 / 100	"I could BEARLY keep from laughing!"
Sector Zero III: Point of No Return	Marcus Veil discovers his employer may have been corrupt all along. Entirely coincidental with John signing on with another corp.	Action / Thriller	2092	90 / 100	"THEY KILLED MARCUS?!"
Chipless	John plays a non-citizen, chipless man living in the margins of Megacorpolis, which doesn't actually exist. Won every award for its fantastical depiction of such an unrealistic situation.	Drama	2093	98 / 100	"Really makes you appreciate the equality and prosperity we all enjoy here."
Enemies to Lovers 1, 2 & 3: Throuple Trouble	Can competing corpers find love together? No, of course not. But JP brings her over to his corporation and there's a happy ending... Trice. Famously all made within a single year.	Romance	2094	82 / 100	"No one can have him but me!"
I Am Marcus Veil	A reboot of Sector Zero after Marcus controversial death in the third movie. Thanks to the sponsorship of Centurion Arms & Armor, there are more guns and explosions than ever.	Action	2095	95 / 100	"This movie was brought to you by Centurion Arms & Armor."
The Gauntlet: A Tribute to Strength	In charity event where convicted criminals compete in a gladiatorial game show, something goes wrong. John plays a supporting role as the game show host.	Executainment	2096	96 / 100	"Reduce THIS sentence. *blam*"
Sector Zero IV: Legacy	Marcus Veil returns, and he's bringing all his guns with him. He has a son he didn't know about. The son is also played by John, because really, who else could play a Veil?	Action	2097	92 / 100	"He'd make such a great dad. I wish he was my dad."
Be the Protagonist	A self-help motivational film that and commercial for JP's personal brand, it features all you need to become.. The protagonist of your own life. Get it today!	Documentary	2088	98 / 100	"Changed my life, the life of all my friends, and I think maybe my dog's too!"