In works where elves are the main characters, such as The Silmarillion or Wendy and Richard Pini's comic book series Elfquest, elves exhibit a similar range of behaviour to a human cast, distinguished largely by their superhuman physical powers. However, where narratives are more human-centered, as in The Lord of the Rings, elves tend to sustain their role as powerful, sometimes threatening, outsiders. Despite the obvious fictionality of fantasy novels and games, scholars have found that elves in these works continue to have a subtle role in shaping the real-life identities of their audiences. For example, elves can function to encode real-world racial others in video games, or to influence gender norms through literature.
in works where elves are the main characters such as the silmarillion or wendy and richard pini's comic book series elfquest elves exhibit a similar range of behaviour to a human cast distinguished largely by their superhuman physical powers however where narratives are more human-centered as in the lord of the rings elves tend to sustain their role as powerful sometimes threatening outsiders despite the obvious fictionality of fantasy novels and games scholars have found that elves in these works continue to have a subtle role in shaping the real-life identities of their audiences for example elves can function to encode real-world racial others in video games or to influence gender norms through literature