Top 10 Heroes of Fiction
Okay, so I had fun with my top 10 villains, so I thought I'd turn around and write my favorite heroes. Once again, the rules are--no manga/anime, no comic books, since they'd dominate the rankings.
That being said, here we go:
10. Jack Burton/Ash--Oh yeah. These two get a tie vote. Mr. Burton comes to us from the John Carpenter classic, Big Trouble in Little China. Jack gets on here for not only being a hero, but being cool. His "Jack Burton says" lines are hysterical, and unlike other heroes, Jack's no fool. He's a hard-talking guy who is utterly, utterly out of his league and he keeps on going, utterly unfazed by (arguably unaware of) the dangers.
Then there's Ash, the undead-slaying supermarket clerk who rivals Jack Burton in sheer coolness while utterly out of his depth. Ash takes more abuse than any one man should from the undead, including getting his hand possessed. Of course, it takes a special kind of horror-movie hero to fasten a chainsaw to the stump of his arm, grab a shotgun, and transform himself from victim to undead killer. All the while spouting off lines that would sound cheesy coming from anyone else. Neither of these two are *quite* top 10, due to the power and intensity of the actual group, but darn it they deserve to be mentioned.
9. James Bond--The epitome of cool under pressure. Bond's been around long enough, and his legendary smoothness (moreso in the movies than the books), has become iconic enough that it's almost cliche. Sean Connery exemplifies this, showing that Bond will use anything and anyone to achieve his mission. Daniel Craig has roughened him up a little, but the cold-war era Bond is still the man.
8. Scarlet Pimpernel--Perhaps the original action hero. Master of disguise, extremely clever, and all-around dashing, but wrapped up in a Clark Kent-like disguise that he even keeps from his wife.
7. Sherlock Holmes--Edgar Allen Poe created the short detective story and the original master detective of Auguste Dupin, but Sherlock Holmes, based on one of Arthur Conan Doyle's teachers, surely surpasses him. His legendary powers of deduction, an almost obsessive attention to his craft (he knows over 100 kinds of pipe tobacco ash), sets him up as the detective, and his cases are almost as legendary as he. How good is Sherlock Holmes? Consider this--for most cases, he never had to leave home!
6. Indiana Jones--The distillation of pulp heroes. Known for his trusty bullwhip and his fedora, Indiana Jones brought a level of realism to action heroes. He gets shot, he gets stabbed, and in general he gets beaten up a lot during his courses. Still, he's got an undeniable sense of cool, and he's also close enough to the rest of us that we can see ourselves doing the same thing in his position, or at least trying to.
5. The Crow--Not quite as classic as the rest of the people on this list, but he strikes a chord with me because he's a hero that pretty much embodies divine retribution. For those of you that don't know, The Crow is the resurrected Eric Draven, who was murdered along with his girlfriend in Detroit on Devil's Night. He comes back from the dead, brought back by a crow, and goes after the gang who killed him. He's unstoppable and, appropriately enough, is dark. Probably inspired hundreds of Goths, and after reading/watching him, you'll see why.
4. Gandalf--What Indiana Jones did for pulp heroes, Gandalf did for fantasy wizards. I was going to put down Merlin, but Gandalf is more...compelling somehow. Perhaps it's the subtle but powerful nature of his magic, perhaps it's his last stand against the Balrog, but regardless of the reason, Gandalf personifies everything a good wizard almost should be. Mysterious, powerful, wise and compassionate. Grouchiness and riddle-speaking is optional.
3. Luke Skywalker--The 20th Century King Arthur analog. The farmboy who would be king. Over three movies, we get to see Luke Skywalker go from a whiny teenager to an honest-to-goodness hero. His journey isn't smooth, and he does sacrifice, but the story is so powerful and well-done that it's influenced pretty much everyone in my generation. Those people who dress up as Jedi at comic book conventions? They're being fairly honest about how much they'd love to be a hero in Star Wars. Those guys in the banks who talk about businesses going to the Dark Side? Not so much.
2. The Doctor--Doctor Who, that is. A 950-year old time lord from the planet Gallifrey, the Doctor travels throughout space and time, and invariably gets mixed up in some problem or adventure that he tries to solve. He's perhaps the most notable on this list because he doesn't carry a weapon, just a futuristic tool, and he's more apt to talk to a monster than attack it (although running is usually an option, too). He's charismatic, wise and has a strong moral compass. Out of all the heroes on this list, he probably sets the best example.
1. Edmund Dantes--The Count of Monte Cristo. Another "revenge" type hero, but this one is intelligent, skilled, a master of disguise, and does as much good as he does harm. Alexandre Dumas' finest work, in my opinion. And you've gotta cheer for Edmund Dantes, although in later times people want to see him end up with his former fiancee, and in 19th Century France society just didn't work like that.
That being said, here we go:
10. Jack Burton/Ash--Oh yeah. These two get a tie vote. Mr. Burton comes to us from the John Carpenter classic, Big Trouble in Little China. Jack gets on here for not only being a hero, but being cool. His "Jack Burton says" lines are hysterical, and unlike other heroes, Jack's no fool. He's a hard-talking guy who is utterly, utterly out of his league and he keeps on going, utterly unfazed by (arguably unaware of) the dangers.
Then there's Ash, the undead-slaying supermarket clerk who rivals Jack Burton in sheer coolness while utterly out of his depth. Ash takes more abuse than any one man should from the undead, including getting his hand possessed. Of course, it takes a special kind of horror-movie hero to fasten a chainsaw to the stump of his arm, grab a shotgun, and transform himself from victim to undead killer. All the while spouting off lines that would sound cheesy coming from anyone else. Neither of these two are *quite* top 10, due to the power and intensity of the actual group, but darn it they deserve to be mentioned.
9. James Bond--The epitome of cool under pressure. Bond's been around long enough, and his legendary smoothness (moreso in the movies than the books), has become iconic enough that it's almost cliche. Sean Connery exemplifies this, showing that Bond will use anything and anyone to achieve his mission. Daniel Craig has roughened him up a little, but the cold-war era Bond is still the man.
8. Scarlet Pimpernel--Perhaps the original action hero. Master of disguise, extremely clever, and all-around dashing, but wrapped up in a Clark Kent-like disguise that he even keeps from his wife.
7. Sherlock Holmes--Edgar Allen Poe created the short detective story and the original master detective of Auguste Dupin, but Sherlock Holmes, based on one of Arthur Conan Doyle's teachers, surely surpasses him. His legendary powers of deduction, an almost obsessive attention to his craft (he knows over 100 kinds of pipe tobacco ash), sets him up as the detective, and his cases are almost as legendary as he. How good is Sherlock Holmes? Consider this--for most cases, he never had to leave home!
6. Indiana Jones--The distillation of pulp heroes. Known for his trusty bullwhip and his fedora, Indiana Jones brought a level of realism to action heroes. He gets shot, he gets stabbed, and in general he gets beaten up a lot during his courses. Still, he's got an undeniable sense of cool, and he's also close enough to the rest of us that we can see ourselves doing the same thing in his position, or at least trying to.
5. The Crow--Not quite as classic as the rest of the people on this list, but he strikes a chord with me because he's a hero that pretty much embodies divine retribution. For those of you that don't know, The Crow is the resurrected Eric Draven, who was murdered along with his girlfriend in Detroit on Devil's Night. He comes back from the dead, brought back by a crow, and goes after the gang who killed him. He's unstoppable and, appropriately enough, is dark. Probably inspired hundreds of Goths, and after reading/watching him, you'll see why.
4. Gandalf--What Indiana Jones did for pulp heroes, Gandalf did for fantasy wizards. I was going to put down Merlin, but Gandalf is more...compelling somehow. Perhaps it's the subtle but powerful nature of his magic, perhaps it's his last stand against the Balrog, but regardless of the reason, Gandalf personifies everything a good wizard almost should be. Mysterious, powerful, wise and compassionate. Grouchiness and riddle-speaking is optional.
3. Luke Skywalker--The 20th Century King Arthur analog. The farmboy who would be king. Over three movies, we get to see Luke Skywalker go from a whiny teenager to an honest-to-goodness hero. His journey isn't smooth, and he does sacrifice, but the story is so powerful and well-done that it's influenced pretty much everyone in my generation. Those people who dress up as Jedi at comic book conventions? They're being fairly honest about how much they'd love to be a hero in Star Wars. Those guys in the banks who talk about businesses going to the Dark Side? Not so much.
2. The Doctor--Doctor Who, that is. A 950-year old time lord from the planet Gallifrey, the Doctor travels throughout space and time, and invariably gets mixed up in some problem or adventure that he tries to solve. He's perhaps the most notable on this list because he doesn't carry a weapon, just a futuristic tool, and he's more apt to talk to a monster than attack it (although running is usually an option, too). He's charismatic, wise and has a strong moral compass. Out of all the heroes on this list, he probably sets the best example.
1. Edmund Dantes--The Count of Monte Cristo. Another "revenge" type hero, but this one is intelligent, skilled, a master of disguise, and does as much good as he does harm. Alexandre Dumas' finest work, in my opinion. And you've gotta cheer for Edmund Dantes, although in later times people want to see him end up with his former fiancee, and in 19th Century France society just didn't work like that.