Well, it certainly feels like a little while since I've done one of these. I guess that's because I usually find them a little time-consuming due to my detail-oriented style of writing/typing, but in this case, it shouldn't take very long. After all, they're just a supporting character from their respective franchise, and having just noticed they're listed under the category, this is simply an attempt to do a bit of cleaning up since I don't think they really belong there, so I'm sure only a fairly basic description of them, their franchise, and why I feel that way will do.
On a side note, due to changing my username since posting this, for some weird reason, you can't see the votes anymore. If you want to see them, and by extension, the proof that this was ultimately rejected, follow the redirect here.
What's the work?[]
How to Train Your Dragon started out as a movie adaptation of a book from DreamWorks Animation, but it was so well-received that it has since evolved into a very popular franchise that was gotten a full trilogy, a 6 season-long TV series, a video game, and several short films. In the first movie, the vikings of Berk are show to be constantly protecting their village and fighting for their lives against various species of dragons that they believe to be hostile and dangerous. However, once a timid young boy named Hiccup, who happens to be the son of the village's chief, Stocik the Vast, has an encounter with a rare and supposedly very deadly species of dragon called a Night Fury, and strikes up an unlikely friendship with it instead of killing it, he soon begins to show the rest of them that they can, in fact, co-exist and even work well together. After Hiccup and his new friend, whom he names "Toothless", save the rest of the dragons from an enormous and intimidating predator called the Red Death, which had been forcing many dragons to bring it food, lest they be eaten themselves, the dragons move in with the vikings, and both the following movies and the TV series usually showcase them trying to thrive together in ways like discovering new lands and rescuing other dragons in need, as well as defend themselves from various new enemies who are looking for a reason to upset. if not outright destroy the harmony between vikings and dragons altogether.
Who is he?[]
Fishlegs Ingerman can best be described as a secondary/supporting protagonist of the series. Due to being roughly the same age, he is one of Hiccup's peers, and he eventually becomes a pretty close friend of his. Physically, he is rather large and chubby, and personality-wise, he is one of the quieter and less boisterous of the younger vikings who eventually become part of Hiccup's social circle. He comes off as rather cowardly too, but conversely, he's one of the smartest and most knowledgeable about dragons, often spouting random facts about different species when he encounters them. He's also generally a pretty friendly guy, and develops a pretty close (if slightly weird) bond with his eventual dragon partner, Meatlug. However...
Why I think he doesn't qualify[]
Simply put, despite his generally pleasant personality, "pure good" feels like quite an exaggeration for him. To be fair, yes, out of Hiccup's teen peers, he was probably the least mean to Hiccup at the time of the first movie when the others looked down on him. In comparison to Snoulout, Tuffbut and Ruffnut in particular, he's definitely got less anti-heroic traits and is more of an outright hero. However, he still didn't defend Hiccup or even object to the other's small forms of bullying initially either. If anything, he just laughed at their quips. Now, I don't know if I would goes as far as declaring that that's "corrupting", but it does tie into the main issue I have with him being listed here, and that's that Fishlegs simply doesn't stand out as outstandingly heroic or admirable, at least in my opinion. Most of his heroism, such as assisting his fellow dragon-riders in defeating Drago, getting their dragons back and saving Berk in the second movie, assisting them in rescuing dragons captured at the beginning of the third movie, then assisting them again in the climax to rescue them from Grimmel and the warlords, are rather standard heroism that are shared by all the members of Hiccup's social circle. Plus, while he pretty much always means well, he can be a little on the bumbling and incompetent side at times, to the point he feels much more like one of the main sources of comic relief rather than someone we're supposed to see as especially admirable and/or heroic.
That being said, I will admit right now that I've seen very little of the TV series, so if he happened to have any episodes that focused more on him and he did things on his own (that is to say, where he wasn't just helping Hiccup, Astrid and the others) that really stood out as selfless, brave, noble, etc, I wouldn't necessarily know. Therefore, if someone who has seen more of Riders of Berk/Defenders of Berk/Race to the Edge could provide evidence of something like this, I might reconsider my stance. However, going by what I have seen, all he does in terms of heroism is just assist on missions that all the other dragon-riders participate in. And yes, he may just be a supporting character, but he's in the same age group as Hiccup and Astrid nonetheless, so it's reasonable to argue that his credentials should be at least comparable to theirs, and yet, I don't they're even close due to, again, his occasional lack of competence and severe lack of taking the initiative to do heroic deeds on his own accord without just following the lead of the others (unless you include doting on Meatlug).
Final Verdict[]
Going by what I know, I'd say this is a pretty easy cut. To summarize, he's generally nice, sweet and well-meaning, but not to an outstanding degree, and he generally comes off as comic relief. He may be more of a clear-cut hero than some of his peers like Snotlout, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, who, while ultimately good people, can all be rather arrogant, selfish and motivated in large part to gain glory for themselves, but I'd say he's just that; outright, but not outstandingly virtuous, selfess, or heroic enough for pure good.