| CLARKKENT | Mild-mannered alter ego of the protagonist in 11 Down (5,4) |
| PARKER | Spider Man's mild mannered alter ego (6) |
| SLIMSHADY | Alter ego of the US rapper Eminem (4,5) |
| DAREDEVIL | Comic-book alter ego of the blind lawyer Matt Murdock |
| SPINSTERS | "___ are rarely the protagonists in the English novel, but they are oddly abundant in its margins." (2017 essay in The Conversation) |
| PIP | Small seed of an apple, pear or quince; any one of the spots on dice or dominoes; or, the nickname of the protagonist in Great Expectations (3) |
| ASTRONAUT | Any of the protagonists of "Apollo 13" |
| FRODO | Cousin of Bilbo Baggins who is one of the protagonists in The Lord of the Rings (5) |
| IRONS | Jeremy, the voice actor of the protagonist in The Lion King movie |
| ALICEBAND | Hair accessory inspired by the protagonist in stories by author Lewis Carroll (5,4) |
| ADRIAN | Forename of the protagonist in Sue Townsend's series of books beginning with the "secret diary" (6) |
| DOCTORZHIVAGO | Yuri is the first name of the protagonist in this Boris Pasternak novel |
| RHETT | First name of one of the protagonists in Gone with the Wind (5) |
| NATIVESON | Best-selling 1940 novel that was adapted into a film, with its author playing the protagonist, in 1951 |
| SPAGHETTI | Foodstuff shared by the protagonists in Disney's 'Lady and the Tramp' when they first share a kiss (9) |
| FLORA | First name of the protagonist in Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (5) |
| JEAN | First name of the protagonist in Les Miserables; or, a denim-like textile (4) |
| REINDEER | Yearned bribe, perhaps, to get rid of the protagonist in this series (4,8) |
| BABY | Yearned bribe, perhaps, to get rid of the protagonist in this series (4,8) |
| ELIZA | Christian name of the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play 'Pygmalion' (5) |
