Fiction: Interesting Things Happen to Boring Characters

I was recently reading through writing.com, giving some reviews, when it really struck me that there was a real problem with fantasy and science fiction stories.  Basically, you have a protagonist that's a "fish out of water" for whatever reason.  In one particular story, a modern day protagonist gets sucked into a world of supernatural conspiracy against a vampiric evil overlord; he's a fish out of water, bringing the modern day world view into the world of fantasy, intrigue, and gunplay mixed with magic.  Can be interesting, right?  But he's not; he's a boring person.

Why's he boring?  Because he doesn't assert himself in the story.  He's a blank slate.  He makes a few wisecracks, then just accepts everything, wants to know what gun he'll be using, and overnight is being thrown in combat with little to no training.

Now, one can quickly simply dismiss this as a self-insertion; the writer imagines he wants to be put in an interesting situation, and then imagines himself quickly adapting and turning into a badass fighter capable of wisecracks and survival against impossible odds.  But as much as self-insertion is a possibility, I've seen this happen in stories, even popular stories, where the character does not seem as simplistic as a self-insert.

I think the problem also stems from the idea that in fantasy and science fiction, the setting is interesting.  Interesting things happen.  You have magical abilities!  Strange races!  An overwhelming evil presence!  A few people with special powers!  In science fiction, it's more fantastic machines!  Alien races!  New technology!  Future governments!  Weird societal laws!

But, while interesting, those things don't make a good story.  They are components to a story that can make it interesting, but they do not make the story.  In any story that involves characters, the characters should have a voice.  If you want to have a story that involves a fish out of water, that person should show he's a fish out of water.  They should be confounded, questioning, but also surprised, exasperated, and even opinionated.  They should comment, not be immediately accepting.  If you're going for a more comedic tone, they could be wry-witted; a modern-day protagonist being thrust into a strange world might use action and horror movie logic ("You go first!  The guy who goes first always buys it."  "No way I'm wearing a helmet!  Everyone that wears a helmet dies in the movies!")  Or you can go more for someone that's horrified at what other characters in the world have long since considered acceptable, whether for necessity or for cultural reasons.

If you tear a character from one set of beliefs, setting, or culture, and transplant them into a completely new setting, it needs to show.  Or else you have Interesting Things Happening to Boring People.  This means you have to work double hard at making the interesting things interesting, because that's the only thing carrying forward the story; who cares about boring people?