Well, considering we've been doing this for 2 or 3 years now, I figured this "tradition", should be kept. Also, it's fun, so... It's interesting seeing if anyone's list will change, and for whatever reason. We live in a time where new tv shows are launched every month, film franchises soldier on, and new comic books hit the stands every Wednesday. It's not hard to imagine that someone's list could change. So, let's get this started, shall we?
In no particular order attachment wise, the list from left to right and top to bottom, is:
1. Victor Von Doom/ Doctor Doom
2. Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader
3. Lucifer Morningstar
4. Darth Revan
5. Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke
6. Bruce Wayne/ Batman
7. Anthony Edward Stark/ Iron Man
8. John Constantine
9. Donald Draper
10. Marc Spector/ Moon Knight
Honorable Mentions (Top 5):
1. Wade Wilson/ Deadpool
2. Stephen Strange/ Doctor Strange
3. Colin King/ Ninjak
4. Aric of Dacia/ X-O Manowar
5. Geralt of Rivia
And here comes the fun part, the mini-essays! Woo!
I tried to branch out a bit more this time, but it's difficult for me to get attached to movie characters with less than an hour of screen-time, which is why my list is filled with either franchises or characters from long-running forms of media. Anyway, bring out those lists!
PS: You can summarize all that with "they look cool and sometimes I feel they tackle similar problems", but I wanted to give some more in-depth reasons. The visuals are the first thing that attracts us to anything, but we develop attachments with characters, films, books, etc, after examining them more thoroughly.
In no particular order attachment wise, the list from left to right and top to bottom, is:
1. Victor Von Doom/ Doctor Doom
2. Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader
3. Lucifer Morningstar
4. Darth Revan
5. Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke
6. Bruce Wayne/ Batman
7. Anthony Edward Stark/ Iron Man
8. John Constantine
9. Donald Draper
10. Marc Spector/ Moon Knight
Honorable Mentions (Top 5):
1. Wade Wilson/ Deadpool
2. Stephen Strange/ Doctor Strange
3. Colin King/ Ninjak
4. Aric of Dacia/ X-O Manowar
5. Geralt of Rivia
And here comes the fun part, the mini-essays! Woo!
Spoiler:
1. Victor Von Doom/ Doctor Doom:
Okay, I'll admit that the main reason I like Doom is becasue he's both reletable, and a male-power fantasy at the same time. He's this super-duper, fearless, super-genius, super-fighter, super-painted, great-piano-player, leader, sorcerer, scientist dude who constantly gets wins and becomes God. So yeah, that's one reason. The other is that he's vain, petty, jealous and is mostly driven by human desires. He's not cruel like the Red Skull or focused on a singular goal like Lex. He's not an Agent of Chaos out to make a statement like the Joker. He's every person out there who wants to do good, but falls to the traps of humanity. he could save the world, but if he doesn't run it, it's surely go to hell. He could advance science, but that'd mean sharing his secrets, which, hey, he worked very hard for. He could get over his obsession with Reed, but RICCHHHAAAAARDS humiliated him! And apart from that, he had brown eyes/hair and was a European who wasn't a 40s German Nazi. It might be of little significance to the rest, but as far as represantation goes, he's as close to "me" as it gets.
Apart from all that, he's just a character with both presence and lots of story posibillities. He can work both as a Mad Scientist and as a Sorcerer. He can work in a political story, and in a horror one. He's very versalite, in a sense. And that's rare, as most heroes/villains are coded into certain positions. As a result of that, he escapes the trap of the Flat Earth Atheist TV Trope, which I've come to despise in recent years, since it erases each character's unique "voice", and renders science-based protagonists and antagonists into caricatures.
2. Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader:
For most, Vader was the first real bad-guy that they were introduced to. For me that wasn't the case, but nevertheless, he's still one of my faves. While as Anakin he had redeemable qualities, as Vader he's a complete monster, especially if you consider the EU or current Marvel books. Before he became a husk he had noble goals (save Padme, overthrow Sidious and govern alongside her as Democratically Elected leaders), but after he killed Windu, got left for dead by Kenobi, lost Padme and was incased in a metal cage by Palpatine, he simply gave up. Past that point, while he was sympathetic, if you go by the Expanded stuff that mostly deal with Luke and his Jedi Hunt, he was a full-blown villain, there's no question. No shades of grey, just a very terrifying killing machine with a very tragic life.
3. Lucifer Morningstar:
Vertigo's Lucifer is basically Milton's from Paradise Lost, so you know what to expect, more or less. This book (which I haven't finished yet) proved that you can make interesting stories out of everything and anyone, and that you don't need capes to have a great title. Anyway, more to the point, the comic managed to give Lucifer some personality and make him, if not sympathetic, at least understandable. You get where he's coming from, and it's ultimately a very "human" place. And I personally enjoy this take more. The whole "King of Evil and Darkness" thing is far too cliche, so it was refreshing to see a more nuanced take.
He's still very much not a hero or even a particularly sympathetic character, but he's not this horned devil who spends his days plotting tk destroy everything. He's a being making his way through the cosmos, wanting to be free and not answer to anybody. He's the original anarchist, you could say, in a sense.
4. Darth Revan:
Considering Revan is the Doctor Doom of the Star Wars Universe with the added benefit of being completely your own creation in a way, it's natural that he'd end up somewhere here. I played both KotOR games last Christmas (well, as far as I could, since STEAM can't really support such old games), and immediately fell in love with that world of Star Wars. I played the MMO for half a year during launch too, but it wasn't until KotOR that I really got into it. It's easily my favourite era, and it's why I'm not a huge fan of the PT/OT flicks/shows. Everything's too... dunno, "boring"? Duuno, in TOR you had those beautiful buildings, the mystical lore, the supernatural beings, it made you feel like the Force was something paranormal.
Anyway, the feelings I have for Revan are more or less the same I have about Doom. He's a bad-ass with a plan who's not a full-on evil bad-guy. Considering he's been erased from Canon and there have been... changes, made to him in later years it's kinda hard to go very in-depth, but he'll always have a place here, based on the costume and the whole "Revan is YOU" theme alone.
5. Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke:
The mistake lots of people make when talking about Slade, is that they think of him as a hero. He's most certainly not. He's the villain, plain and simple. He doesn't have a vision or a goal. He doesn't need the money at this point. He's an adrenaline junkie who screwed up everything in his life, so the only thing he has in to fall back onto, is the killing. He has no human relationships, his family hates him, and he just takes jobs until his time comes. And that's extremely depressing, but poignant, in a way. He's not running away from it, or making excuses while lots of them "anti-heroes". He is what he is. A man who enjoys the fighting and who longs for a never-ending war. This might be the result of what happened to him, but the point still stands: He's a bastard, plain and simple.
And so, how can you root for such a guy? Well, it's weird, but... you can. He rarely, if ever goes after heroes these days, and prefers involving himself in every day wars between other villains or small countries. So, he's essentially killing other killers, which negates the fact that he's the bad-guy. You're not meant to take his side, but you can sympathize with him. If you had killed your son, destroyed your marriage, botched the relationship with your other son, and had no other abillities besides killing, what would you do besides get back to doing the one thing you're good at? In the end, he's yet another human character who falls prey to the sin of Pride. He could turn his back to everything and become a Monk, or a teacher, or a cook. But... he'd rather be a fearsome villain and "enjoy" his life, rather than an everyday person.
6. Bruce Wayne/ Batman:
Okay, I'll say it: Batman isn't realistic. People don't like Batman because he's "realistic". People like him because he's the ultimate male-power fantasy. He's rich, handsome, ****s the best looking females in comics, is the smartest person in his Universe, etc, etc. The guy punches Gods and wins. So yeah, deny it all you want, but that's the main reason why the majority, especially the normies, like him. You put yourself in his shows and feel as if you can stand up to Aliens, humiliate the authority and get away with it. That, plus the fact that he's got the best supporting cast, villains and in general Mini-U in all of fiction.
Apart from all that, I like him because once again, he's versalite. He works in an occult story as much as he works in a story about corporate espionage. And that's important in my book, as it makes him more than a simple cardboard cut-out with certain predetermined lines. Moreso, he's flawed. The guy's the perfect human, but because of his emotional problems, he's never lived up to his potential. He could've killed the Joker and spared everyone all the pain, but because of his "code", he just won't. Some argue that that's what makes him great. For me, it's what makes him a moron, and that's okay. That's the point. He's so broken inside that he can't cross the line, because he's afraid of becoming like him. And that's what makes him great in my opinion. Not the act, but the fact that deep inside, he still has human fears, no matter how hard he tries to set himself up as Man-Made-God.
7. Anthony Edward Stark/ Iron Man:
For me, Iron Man was always the most reletable of the usual characters. He was good at a single thing and the super-heroics took a second place to his personal life. Meanwhile, he was cool, carefree, suave and generally was a hero that you could put yourself in. He wasn't a Super-Man like Batman. He didn't have Superpowers like Superman. He was just a guy in a metal suit trying to protect his company. It was simple and in a time of characters filled with certain "roles", he was unique, as he was "The Evil Capitalist Overlord" made human.
But all of that would mean jack**** without the one thing that makes Stark stand out: His flaws. See, like Spider-Man, his willingness to do good was based mostly on guilt, if anything. It wasn't an esoteric feeling that made him do all these great things, it was all just his guilt, and maybe his ego, considering his failings. Moving on, you've got yourself a guy with depression who later turns into a raging alcoholic, who loses his company and friends, and almost dies homeless in the streets. But, through sheer force of will, he makes it out alive, and the rest is history. But it doesn't stop there. He later betrays his friends, becomes Villain No1 and all based on his personal convictions and political ideas. And that makes him refreshing. He's the hero who's most likely to become a villain, and it all comes down to him making the difficult choices and taking the blame and the pain, no matter what, while hating himself throughout the way.
8. John Constantine:
The recent book is very bland so it's soured me a bit, but JonCon is the very definition of the anti-hero. He's not about protecting innocents, slaying monsters and whatnot. Nah, Johnny Boy is about saving his arse. Sure, sometimes he'll do the right thing, but it's mostly about protecting himself from the **** he gets into. Ultimately, he's a very human character. He's not a super-genius or an uber-sorcerer. Not an incredibly handsome demigod. He's a con-man way in over his head who enjoys the simple things in life, but he ends p hurting everyone around him, more often than not.
Essentially, he's the guy most of us would be if we were in a comic book, with some liberties, of course. Not the guy who saves the day, gets laid with the Amazonian Princess and goes off to drive his Batmobile. He's gonna get drunk, get a visit from the ghosts of the people he betrayed, and be reminded that everyone hates him, with a few people who merely tolerate him when they need him. He's a straight-up loser who just keeps going because, like Rust Cohle, it's his programming.
9. Donald Draper:
Don's a very recent addition, and the least outlandish character in my list. You can easily identify with him, since at his core, he's what everybody yearns for. He's suave, good-looking, has a very successful job, a couple of friends he enjoys spending time with, and at first a good family. But the more you learn about him, the more broken he appears. He's got tons for secrets he's trying to hide. He's insecure. He's unfaithful. He's an alcoholic. He can't settle for anything, he can't live in the now. He's a mess who at first keeps everything under control, but as time goes on, he loses everything.
Generally, he's the character any man wishes he could be, and at the same time despises. He has everything, but he can't appreciate it. He started with nothing and end up with everything, but his character took him places where he couldn't function. He looks and acts cool, but at the expense of his well-being, both emotionally and physically. Generally, he's the best represenation of the successful bussinessman, because in the end, he is both the Golden Idol, and the ugly reflection of ourselves.
10. Marc Spector/ Moon Knight:
Apart from the bad-ass costume, he's essentially THE Pulp Hero. He's dark and brooding, has a wicked costumed, is awfully brutal, and deals with the weird things that happen in the streets of NYC during the time everyone's sleeping. But what sets him apart from being a Batman clone, is that he's yet another character that's very human. He's not mastered every martial art form, he doesn't speak every language, he's not a physicist and doctor. He's an ex-marine turned merc with mental problems who screws up constantly, has no friends, his family has abandoned him, and his only company is an Egyptian God, who sits with him in an empty mansion and looks a him with dissaproval. The guy's life is depressing as hell, and so the few moments where a guy like that refuses to sit down, are quite inspirational.
Like JonCon, he's the guy most of us would be if we tried to become crime-fighters. People would think we'd be nuts, we'd gets our butt handed to us, and we'd end up believing every conspiracy theory out there. Granted, he's legitimately fearless and battles Werewolves the size of the Hulk, but you get my drift. Moon Knight is essentially "the Batman myth" made real. He IS the "ordinary guy" in the super-powered world.
I tried to branch out a bit more this time, but it's difficult for me to get attached to movie characters with less than an hour of screen-time, which is why my list is filled with either franchises or characters from long-running forms of media. Anyway, bring out those lists!
PS: You can summarize all that with "they look cool and sometimes I feel they tackle similar problems", but I wanted to give some more in-depth reasons. The visuals are the first thing that attracts us to anything, but we develop attachments with characters, films, books, etc, after examining them more thoroughly.
