A week ago I wrote a post entitled Top Ten Villains which you can check out by going here.
This week we’re tackling my top ten favorite fictional heroes of all time.
Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I would be absolutely nothing without him and, like Satan topping my all time bad-guy list, Jesus tops my Heroes list indefinitely. But what about the stars to grace the silver and small screens. What about those in novels or comic books? What about the gaming world. Everywhere we look, we are exposed to heroes of young and old. Heroes of myth and legend, and so, I have decided to comprise a list of my top ten favorites. As with the villains list, you may have your own favorites, and whether you agree or disagree, I don’t care because this is my blog, not yours!
With all that being said, we’re off:
First, I want to tackle a couple of mentionables. Ones that I thought were good, just not good enough to make this list. When I read Greek mythology growing up, I was always partial to Hercules, and so I will mention him as close to the top, yet not Top Ten material. The same is true with heores such as: Conan the Barbarian, William Wallace, Zorro, John Mclaine (Die Hard), Luke Skywalker, Doc Holliday, and Green Lantern. They are all good heroes, and they embody positive characteristics, but they’re just not good enough. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
#10 – George Bailey – “It’s a Wonderful Life”
George Bailey is Frank Capra’s invention of a man who grew up in the middle of small town America in the 1920’s and 30’s. He was a man who wanted to ride off into the sunset and see the world, but his Father’s untimely death, coupled with the crash of the stock market, forced George to stay in Bedford Falls and keep his father’s business and dream alive for the poor in the town. Jimmy Stewart does a marvelous job capturing every single emotion possible known to humans and the heartfelt ending is one of the best I can remember ever seeing in a film. George Bailey is a great example of what a role-model should be and his emotional integrity earns him the number ten spot in my countdown.
#9 – Master Chief – “Halo” 
In the 26th Century, Earth will come to wage a war against multiple allied alien races that call themselves “The Covenant.” To combat these alien races, geneticists create a super soldier, bred for combat and tactics. His Spartan-2 Mjolnir armor weighs over a thousand pounds and can withstand multiple gunshot and explosive device shrapnel. It allows him to breathe underwater and in outer space. It also allows him to jump over eight feet high and run at speeds of up to thirty miles an hour sustained. Let me introduce you to Master Chief. You take control of him as you wage war on the covenant in Bungie’s epic trilogy of Halo games for the XBOX and XBOX 360. Master Chief is the ultimate soldier and these games would not have been as much fun without this character as the lead. He comes in solidly at my number nine spot.
#8 – Jack Sparrow – “Pirates of the Caribbean” 
Hero or Villain? I say Hero, even though he manages to cause more chaos than he solves. Jack Sparrow was always about serving himself and his own desires, but when I go to the movies and end up cheering for a character and rooting them on, I say they’re a hero, especially when they save someone else’s life quite a few times. Jack Sparrow is the quasi-captain of the Black Pearl, a pirate ship with black sails that can outrun any ship in the King’s navy. Jack ends up being shot at, turning undead, imprisoned, marooned on a desert-island, imprisoned again, eaten by a monster known as the Kraken, pursued by Davy Jones, afloat in a casket on the ocean, left in Davy Jones locker, and eventually captain of his ship again. His uproarious lines and quick witted humor, (minus the scene from At World’s End where he talks to himself, and himself, and himself), lands Jack the number 8 spot in my countdown.
#7 – Superman – “Superman” 
Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, It’s number seven on the list and it’s superman. The Man of Steel. He flies, he’s fast, bullets bounce off him, he’s got super breath, super strength, lasers from his eyes. This guy almost has it all. I wanted to be Superman when I was growing up. I remember having a pair of superman pajamas and I would run around in them all day long. I loved Superman. Oh and Christopher Reeve will always be the ONLY Superman ever. I couldn’t stand Brandon Routh as the new one. That guy was terrible.
#6 – James Bond – (Most Recently) “Casino Royale” 
I know right now you’re humming that familiar theme song. The one that goes with the coolest secret agent ever. 007. The only man to ever be known by a number. James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1952 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in 12 novels and two collections.The character has also been used in the longest running and second most successful film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No. There have been 21 films in the EON Productions series to date, with the 22nd, Quantum of Solace, due for release in November 2008.
#5 – Wolverine – “X-Men” 
If you’re a villain and you know that this guy’s on your tail, you’re shaking in your boots. Wolverine is the baddest of the bad, (I mean like bad meaning good), heroes ever. A mutant, Wolverine possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, and a healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound. This healing ability enabled the supersoldier program Weapon X to bond the near indestructible metal alloy adamantium to his skeletal system. He is also a master of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. Oh, and I forgot to mention the claws and the bad attitude. He clocks in at number 5.
#4 – Han Solo – “Star Wars” 
“Laugh it up fuzzball.” Han Solo the captain of the Millennium Falcon in the three Star Wars films and marvelous portrayed by actor Harrison Ford. Solo is introduced in Star Wars: A New Hope as a roguish spice smuggler who, through a twist of fate, becomes involved in the Rebel Alliance against the evil Galactic Empire. Over the course of this film and its sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Solo becomes a chief figure in the Alliance. Star Wars creator George Lucas describes him as “a loner who realizes the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good.”
#3 – Indiana Jones – “Raiders of the Lost Ark” 
If you thought that Han Solo looked a little like Indiana Jones, it’s because they were played by the same actor, Harrison Ford. Indiana Jones was first introduced in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, set in 1936. He is portrayed as an adventurous throwback to the 1930s film serial treasure hunters and pulp action heroes, with an alter ego of Doctor Jones, a respected archaeologist at Marshall College – a fictional university in Connecticut. I’m sure now you’ve ditched the James Bond theme song and you have the famous John Williams March running through your head. Oh and grab your whip and head out to your local theaters because the only hero you can see there right now that’s on this list is our number 3 hero.
#2 – Link – “The Legend of Zelda” 
Ah! Hyrule. Kingdom of Magic and mystery. Kingdom of faeries, fountains, and forests. Kingdom of the Triforce. Kingdom that gets turned upside down about every five years in a time-line that makes no sense, with a princess that always gets captured and an enemy that seemingly will never die. Is that enough for you? Well it’s not enough for our number 2 hero, Link. Link is a young Hylian boy from our fictional land of Hyrule. His age varies depending on which game you’re playing; incarnations usually vary from pre-teen to the late teens. Link often journeys through the realm of Hyrule defeating evil forces and Hyrule’s nemesis, Ganon. To defeat Ganon, Link usually requires the mystical Master Sword and Light Arrows, obtained after many trials and battles gathering magical objects or using other items such as musical instruments and assorted weaponry. This is my favorite video game hero of all time. As a matter of fact, when I heard that they were making the new Zelda, Twilight Princess, I had to go and get a Gamecube just to see what it was like. If you have ever played video games and have never heard of this guy, you’ve been living under a rock.
So Who’s my number One hero?
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#1 – Batman – “Batman” 
If there was ever a hero that would strike fear into the hearts of heartless criminals, it would be this one. Batman is the ultimate hero because there is absolutely nothing special about him. Whatsoever. Batman has no special abilities like healing or flying. He has no superpowers or abilities. What Batman has is his brain and his never-ending cash-flow. As his alter-ego Bruce Wayne, he makes the money during the day which he turns around and uses to fight crime as Batman during the nights. Batman also has the most diverse rogues gallery around. Some of his villains are sick and twisted and if I had included any of them on the villains list, I would have had to include all of them because they are like a package deal. Batman is dark, he is fearful, and his is magnificent at the same time. The character of Bruce Wayne is a psychologist’s dream and the richness of the storylines that surround this character are phenomenal.
So, there you have it. Heroes and Villains. If you’re still hungry for more, you can go and compare the Heroes and Villains on the lists and try to see who would win the battle between both number 8’s or both number 5’s. Either way, I’m done with the top ten list for a little while, so I’ll see you Sunday!
Hey guys, if you look at the menu choices for this website, you will notice a brand new one in and amongst the ones you can always choose from. This new page is for those students going to the CIY Move Conference this year. On this page, you will be able to find the artists and speakers at this years conference, as well as important dates to remember and your all-important liability forms that you need to fill out and bring with you. Go visit it now and check out what’s there and don’t forget to keep checking it as we get closer to the actual trip!