Last night I went to watch The Dark Knight Rises. With the exception of Anne Hathaway, everything about it was brilliant, and, in her defence, she does have a nice bum. It got me thinking about the whole super hero thing (Super Hero is actually a trademark co-owned by Marvel Characters Inc and DC Comics, but I'm sure they won't mind me using it here). I asked Him Outdoors who was his favourite super hero, and he said Thermoman, so I stopped asking him.
According to Wikipedia, a super hero is 'a type of stock character possessing extraordinary or superhuman powers and dedicated to protecting the public.' Although there is no specific mention of 'human', let's assume this is so, and therefore rule out Danger Mouse and Hong Kong Phooey. They also 'do not strictly require actual superhuman powers' and can be 'costumed crime fighters'. So that includes Ironman, but I only like that (and I do like that) because of Robert Downey Junior's performance.
Now, I know he's up there on a lot of people's favourite superhero lists, but I just don't get the whole Spiderman thing. I mean, he's nice enough, but what's he got that you can rely on in a crisis? He spins webs, he catches flies... why is that a good thing? I'd take Bear Grylls over Spidey any day. In fact, I'd just take Bear Grylls.
5 Favourite Super Heroes:
Batman - It's not just the outfit (although that's pretty fine); he's dark and disturbed and has great toys and fast cars and a mansion with a cool butler. His moral sense of justice and defence of his fabulous city are legendary.
Superman - He was the first. In the Great Depression era, America needed heroes, so they invented them. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1932. This era is excellently described in Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Superman is 'faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.' Of course he can fly, has super strength, speed, vision, hearing and even breath. His main failing for me is that he is too perfect, and good.
Wonder Woman - Okay, so who didn't play at spinning round and repelling bullets with magic bracelets? The truth-lasso was a thing of beauty. And those boots! Lynda Carter was a wonderful feminist icon of the 70s. We loved her.
Dr Who - Well, maybe he doesn't count as an official superhero, but he can travel through time and space, has amazing geeky intelligent powers, can regenerate, and has a charming determination to save the human race for all the evils that beset it.
James Bond - And while we're on the subject of stylish dudes with fast cars and flashy gadgets who selflessly defend the world (and specifically Great Britain) from evil, I would happily put my money on Bond, James Bond.
And today's quick quintet is a request from Bad Fairy who suggested cartoon characters. This set off a huge train of thought - do cartoons include children's TV like Captain Pugwash, Camberwick Green, The Clangers, Roobarb and Custard, Henry's Cat and the sublimely ridiculous Ludwig? For the purposes of this post, I have decided that they don't.
I've never really liked the saccharine Disney characters - Mickey Mouse has a very annoying voice; Minnie is pathetic; Pluto is yellow (!), Donald Duck and his nephews spray spittle everywhere; and Goofy gives me the creeps. Although I like the Disney treatment of The Jungle Book, The Sword in the Stone, and Robin Hood, I can never forgive them for what they did to Winnie the Pooh.
Apparently the most popular and enduring cartoon character is Bugs Bunny, and I do like his calm self-assurance and carrot-chewing capers, but he's not my favourite. Similarly I like other Hanna-Barbera productions such as Yogi Bear and Scooby Doo (the originals - I can't stand the spin-offs with Scooby-Dum and Scrappy-Doo) but they're not my favourites either.
For some reason I have a soft spot for Mr Magoo - I think because he was so inept we reckoned his wife must have helped him through life by finding everything for him so if anyone asks an impossible question in our family (such as 'Where are my car keys?') the answer is invariably, 'How should I know? I'm not Mrs Magoo'. Yes, we're a slightly odd family.
And then there are the 'adult' cartoon with characters such as Stan, Kyle, Eric and Kenny from South Park, or Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa from The Simpsons, plus all their associates - I went through a spell of loving their dysfunctional adventures. But, once again, my favourites have to be for reasons of nostalgia.
5 Favourite Cartoon Characters:
Tom - not Jerry. I hated Jerry and always wanted Tom to smash him with the mallet
Wile E. Coyote - Similarly I wanted him to catch that beeping annoying Road Runner
Top Cat - the coolest cat in town
Hong Kong Phooey - the mild mannered police station janitor? Could be!
Dangermouse - he's the greatest, he's fantastic, wherever there is danger he'll be there...
