Both the book and movie versions of Ready Player One transport audiences to a dystopian future with a whimsical and infinite virtual reality world. Also in both versions, Wade Watts, a.k.a. Parzival saves the world from the clutches of an evil capitalist organization. That being said, he couldn’t do it alone. In fact, it’s Art3mis (Samantha) who was the true hero of the story.
Yes, Wade was technically the one who obtained the Egg, but it was Art3mis who did most of the heavy lifting. In Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel, Art3mis was the first person to find the location of the first challenge. Wade completed it first because the challenge happened to use the classic arcade game Joust, which he was already good at via coincidentally playing it a lot with his friend. Art3mis seems to be just as great at video games as he is. Not playing that one quite as much doesn’t make him overall better than her. She was overall the first to gain any sort of progress in the race for Halliday’s Egg.
In the 2018 movie adaptation, it’s Art3mis who disables the Orb of Osuvox shield so that the final battle can take place. No one would have been able to fight the IOI or get to the final key if that shield was still up. Her deactivating it was one of the most vital steps in taking down the IOI.
It’s no secret that Wade is a little more pop culture trivia than most people, but Art3mis is actually much smarter than he is, and is a lot more knowledgeable of the OASIS itself. She even has moments in both versions of it in which she shows Wade parts of it that he wasn’t previously familiar with. Plus, she too is quite knowledgeable when it comes to pop culture trivia. She was one of the top “gunters” afterall.
Art3mis is an overall badass. She battles hordes of Sixers with ease in both versions of Ready Player One. She’s clearly extremely skilled at just about everything in this virtual reality gaming world, and is very high-leveled. Her expertise is especially impressive when it comes to combat, racing, and even low-gravity dancing. She probably could have (eventually) gotten to the Egg herself if she just got a little better at Joust or thought to drive in reverse depending on the version.
What truly makes Art3mis the real hero of Ready Player One, though, is her motivation. Other characters want to get rich or get vengeance or better their own lives. Art3mis, however, genuinely wants to improve the whole world. She wishes to use the Halliday’s fortune to end world hunger, end homelessness, and cure diseases. Her influence is what encourages Wade and the rest of the High-Five to use their newly-obtained money and power to make the world a better place. She reminds them that the world everyone is fighting so hard to escape from needs their help. She’s the most selfless character and leaves the most positive impact on the people and the world around her.
Nonstop Nerd 