If you've ever taken an AP or college-level English class, you've probably heard of literary archetypes. Some characters possess certain traits or story arcs that make them fall into one of these categories: the Hero, the Villain, the Guide, the Maternal Figure (examples of these types being Luke Skywalker, Loki, Gandalf, and Helen Parr). There are more types. Yet there is one archetype that often gets overlooked because it is a hodgepodge of many others.

I find this important because this is the category my favorite characters in any given book, movie or television show fall into. However, I feel that the other categories they get mistaken for (Innocent Youth, Hero, Villain, and even Comedic Relief) don't quite do these characters justice. So, for a class project last semester, I decided to create my own archetype. All right, I've been cryptic enough. Let me introduce you to...

The Little Brother Archetype.

Examples of this archetype (which we will narrow down for the sake of observation later) include Pavel Chekov (both "Star Trek: TOS" and "Star Trek" reboots") Merry and Pippin ("Lord of the Rings"), Rory Williams-Pond ("Doctor Who"), Sam Winchester ("Supernatural"), Chip ("Beauty and the Beast"), Patroclus ("Troy") and, shockingly, Agent Phil Coulson ("Marvel" Universe). And yes, universally, all of these are my favorite characters in their respective franchise.

A sure indicator that a character happens to be a "Little Brother" is if the fangirls refer to them as a cupcake or some other form of pastry. As a friend of mine recently commented about Chekov, "He's an adorable muffin of a man!"

Those of you familiar with literary archetypes probably looked at the list of characters above and frowned. "Wait," you're thinking. "Isn't there an archetype for that already?" And that's the biggest source of pushback that I got on this project. It's true, there is the Innocent Youth archetype, and many of the Little Brothers do fit into this category. However, not all of them are spring chickens. Case in point being Phil Coulson, a classic example of Little Brother, but not necessarily Innocent Youth.

Also, many people lump the Little Brothers into the Comedic Relief category. And you know if you've seen "Lord of the Rings" that it's not necessarily a lie. These guys are flipping hilarious! But, if we switch over to "Doctor Who," we see that there is a bit more to the resident Little Brother than funny one-liners. A character takes a step out from the comical stereotype when they wait 2,000 years for their girlfriend. On that note ... where does one find a Rory Williams?

For the rest of this exhortation, I'm going to narrow down the characters who best fit this role, state which archetype they tend to get mistaken for and continue onward from there.

Our cast consists of these: Patroclus, Merry and Pippin, Sam Winchester and Chekov. Let us now analyze all of them briefly.

1. Patroclus, "Troy"

Of the five, he is most often lumped into the category of Innocent Youth, which is not entirely inaccurate. There's a bit more to him than that, though, as we will see.

2. Merry and Pippin, "Lord of the Rings"

Let's face it, Merry and Pippin are kind of a package deal. It's why it hurts so much when they're separated in "Return of the King." They are most often mistaken for Comedic Relief, but they have so much more substance to them than that.

3. Sam Winchester, "Supernatural"

Sam is actually interesting in that he's literally the Little Brother of the series, but, unlike the other characters I am focusing on, he falls into the Hero category quite frequently. Or Villain, if I'm keeping it real. It depends on which season it is and how many times he's died.

4. Pavel Chekov, "Star Trek" Reboot Films

Actually, Chekov falls into all of the categories previously mentioned such as Innocent Youth, Comedic Relief, but he doesn't really ever quite make Hero. I have issue with this, but that is for another time. Also, the reason I am specifying the reboot films is that yes, Koenig's Chekov does fit the archetype, but Yelchin's Chekov sort of embodies it.

Okay, now we've established which characters fall into this category, we will go over which traits they all possess:

1. Part of a Group

2. Goes Through A Maturation Process

3. ... Or, Alternatively, Dies

4. Death Motivates Others

5. Looked After By Others

6. Have a Defining Moment

7. Generally Adorable

1. Part of a Group

Said character is always part of some sort of group, and normally finds themselves the youngest of said group. Examples: The bridge crew of the Enterprise, the Myrmidons, the Fellowship of the Ring.

2. Goes Through a Maturation Process

This can be literal, figurative, or both, and can best be summed up as going from "this" to "THIS!" Chekov's is literal, going from the adorable, baby-faced Russian dude we see in the first film to equally adorable Russian man in "Beyond." Merry and Pippin's is figurative, going from being dorky prankster hobbits to knights of Rohan and Gondor. Sam happens to go through both, going from an optimistic young law student to a dark, tortured soul. Notice how I haven't mentioned Patroclus. Well, your heart may be about to break.

3. ... Or, Alternatively, Dies

As in the case of Achilles's young cousin, sometimes they don't get to mature. Sometimes, to move the story along, they have to die. It's not always literal, such as in Patroclus's case. Sometimes, as with Sam, it's death and resurrection. Merry has a near-death experience in the Pelennor Fields. And Chekov ... I will just avoid this topic for the sake of avoiding tears. Moving on!

4. Death Motivates Others

There is one good thing about the deaths of the Little Brother characters. It usually motivates the other characters to go on and do awesome things such as saving the world ... or not awesome things, such killing Hector or selling your soul to a crossroads demon. But then again, Achilles and Dean are not the most emotionally stable of men.

5. Looked After By Others

The character usually has an older character looking out for them throughout the course of their story - Kirk or Sulu, Boromir, Dean, Achilles. A Big Brother, if you will. I call them the Personal Bodyguards. And, usually, if you're an observer, you're looking out for them, too. As I said upon viewing "Star Trek Beyond" for the first time, "You touch my baby, you die."

6. Have A Defining Moment

The defining moment is usually where we confuse them with the Hero. But whereas the Hero's defining moment often spurs them on to their destiny, the Little Brother's moment spurs them on to maturity. They all have one, but the best example in this instance is for Merry and Pippin when Boromir dies and they are captured by Orcs. From then on, they are on their own and have to grow up quite significantly.

7. Generally Adorable

And here is where I fangirl. Because, good lord, this is their defining quality. Case in point? The entire "I can do zat" scene. Enough has been said on the topic.

So, there you have the Little Brother archetype. To clarify, just because the title is "Little Brother," does not mean the character does not always have to be male. A rare occurrence indeed, but sometimes they can be female. Primrose Everdeen of "The Hunger Games" series is a classic example.

Go you forth into the world of film and books, and search for the Little Brothers. They do not get nearly enough appreciation.