I have always been into the ancient myths and legends that have been handed down throughout history. My favorite hero is Odyussus. Some of the guys I play with don't have the literature background and favor comics and movies. So the comic guy expects to be given tremendous gifts and the other Matrix fan disires everyone to think he is special without doing anything. I am wondering if today's media has people having unrealistic expectations of DnD. The good guys don't always win. Being brass and cocky does not always get everyone to love you. What are some opinions out there?
If you are in to greek mythology then it's hard to entertain the thought of the good guys winning. A greek heroes victory is almost always followed by a gruesome death.
I can't remember his name but my favorite was the greek musician who went to hades to try and recover his wife, blew it at the last mnute and then was ripped to shreds by wild drunken revelers for playing too sad of music.
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My favorite hero is from a comic book -- Spider-Man. Here is a guy that is out saving the world on a regular basis and has difficulty making his rent payment. I really loved the "human" quality that they gave him. I'm not sure where the tremendous gifts are. He doesn't really have powerful computers or equipment, etc. He is cocky, but he doesn't always win.
Some of the guys I play with don't have the literature background and favor comics and movies. So the comic guy expects to be given tremendous gifts and the other Matrix fan disires everyone to think he is special without doing anything. The good guys don't always win. Being brass and cocky does not always get everyone to love you. What are some opinions out there?
Admiral Lord Nelson. Famous for the Battle of Trafalgar.
Though Im American by birth, Im English by heritage.
Black Orpheus is a fantastic movie. They showed it to us in art school as an example of how to successfully transform a story with one's own ideas while keeping the original narrative intact.
Moorcock's Elric and Mignola's Hellboy are some of my favorites. Gifted people with huge existential crises, fighting the fabric of reality for the sake of their own freedom. And the absurd thing is, they've been free all along.
Abe Lincoln, JFK, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King are my definite real-life heroes, though. Spending your life trying to do the right thing and then getting shot for it stinks, but they did cause real change.
I have many both real and fictional.
Fictional: Spidey is one the for sure. He's everyman with powers.
In real life: They come in so many forms from my Mom, to anyone who serves in the armed forces and their counterparts that believe in a world without violence. Those who survive disaster and still see life with hope and happiness. Anyone who daily strives to be a better person than the day before.
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Comic book wise
The Flash - Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West...I like em all.
Batman - Has the best toys a gazillion dollars can buy and kicks the crap out of the bad guys.
Martian Manhunter - NOT just a green version of Superman.
Real Life wise
Ronald Reagan - a great President, one of the most inpsirational public speakers I've ever seen, and a true patriot. Not to mention he made a movie with a chimpanzee. co-star.
General George S. Patton - Suffered from a learning disability, fought against Poncho Villa, almost single-handedly invented tank combat, a led one of the most incredible military campaigns of modern warfare.
John Wayne - an ass-kicking, chain-smoking, hard-drinking man's man. He was number one on the list of most popular leading men until Braveheart came out, and he'd been dead for over 15 years. One day, when cloning technology is perfected, we will bring him back so that he can lead us to a glorious future....
II am wondering if today's media has people having unrealistic expectations of DnD. The good guys don't always win. Being brass and cocky does not always get everyone to love you. What are some opinions out there?
I've been thinking back with embarassment about some of my favorite movies growing up. . . "American Ninja," "Commando," Rambo II," "Gymkata," and a slew of other mindless stories of violence and bravado. When I consider my tastes then, and compare it to the tastes of today's youth. . . I actually think today's generation has a slight leg up on me. :)
Fortunately, I've changed. As for my heroes, I don't really identify with ancient mythology much. Some of my favorites from more recent writings include Samwise Gamgee, Huckleberry Finn, Eliot Rosewater, and Can O' Beans (if your familiar with Tom Robbins).
Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of Chinese legend, is definitely tops! Dumas' D'Artagnan and several of Tolkien's characters from Silmarillion are also great (Finrod, Beren top my list, and Turin Turambar is a great tragic hero with much antiheroic angst).
In real life? Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, and St. Augustine are right up there.
One of my favorite heroes is Maui. Maui out-witted gods to bring man fire, fished islands out of the sea and netted the sun for his mother.
I also like military leaders like Alexander the Great, Patton and Zukov, all undefeated in battle.
In recent literature (if you can call a cartoon literature and I can), Samurai Jack, from the Cartoon Network, is one of my favorite heroes. Even at his own demise, Samurai Jack remained uncomprimising in his compassion and honor and he kicks a$$. For me he epitomised the role of the lawful good paladin. I miss JACK.
Admiral Lord Nelson. Famous for the Battle of Trafalgar.
Though Im American by birth, Im English by heritage.
Huzzah!
Up Nelson!
Moorcock's Elric and Mignola's Hellboy are some of my favorites. Gifted people with huge existential crises, fighting the fabric of reality for the sake of their own freedom. And the absurd thing is, they've been free all along.
I recently got into Hellboy. and he's AWESOME! I love how his respose to people telling him his destiny is to destroy the world is to punch them in the face with his stone fist. He wants rto control his own destiny, and your right in saying that he already does.
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Always liked Banner from the tv series "The Incredible Hulk"(80'sish). He always tried to be a good guy but at the end of the show....there he was walking down the road to the next small town, alone.
In real life, all the people on Flight 92 who had the guts to fight back and not be used by a bunch of cowards as a message.
Also anyone who risks their life to help others out, whether its their job or just a split-second decision to not let someone get victimized for fear of risking their own skin.
F2K, thanks for keeping the darkness at bay.
FH
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I find that when I look back over a list of heroes ... wow! I’ve got to include Aragorn from LOTR, Odysseus and Pericles from Greek Mythology, Arthur and his knights, James Kirk (sorry used to get the reruns on TV from a station in Toronto as a kid), the Olmsfords from Terry Brooks Shannara series, and a host of other characters from stories.
What I’ve noticed is that each hero is struggling with some inner conflict or limitation that makes them human and inspires the people around them. Probably the idea of flawed heroes and heroines reminds me to go beyond what I’m capable of in real life … who knows!
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My heroes are all the teachers who put up with all my crap (I was a pretty obnoxious kid) all those years, and all the other teachers who do the same thing, and didn't get paid too well, and still don't, and get no respect from ANYONE, not just kids who don't know any better anyway, and do ONE of the most important jobs a society has to have covered to insure its continued existence, again for no money, so they must do it for the love of it. Man, every chance I get, I do some favor for a teacher if I can, just to level my karma a little bit.
I recently got into Hellboy. and he's AWESOME! I love how his respose to people telling him his destiny is to destroy the world is to punch them in the face with his stone fist. He wants rto control his own destiny, and your right in saying that he already does.
Moorcock's Elric and Mignola's Hellboy are some of my favorites. Gifted people with huge existential crises, fighting the fabric of reality for the sake of their own freedom. And the absurd thing is, they've been free all along.
Mike Mignola actually based a lot of Hellboy's character and personality after his own dad, who was a carpenter. The kind of guy that just nonchalantly talks about having to pull a nail out of another guy's hand with a claw hammer at work. He's really an everyman kind of figure, and I really love that after Hecate or Rasputin or Astaroth or whomever spouts off their six panel exposition Hellboy is just like,"Are you DONE?"
And Heathansson, though your point is well put and intelligent, you have no clue how karma works. You can't intend to get good karma out of it; it has to just be something you do for the sake of doing it. Which I'm sure is the case regardless, but, Heathansson, this is not 'Nam; this is karma. There are *rules*.
In D&D- All the Heroes of the Lance in Dragonlance. Particularly Tanis for the soul-searching. Flint and Tas's comic relief never failed to make me laugh, and the dwarf's death really brought me true saddness. I never really got the full emotional impact from Sturn dying. I liked the chacater, and realize what he did was great and everything, but for some reason the emotional force that others seem to have taken from his death never came to me.
Fizban! Deffinately one of the most awesome characters in literature, especially when he showed up in the Death Gate Cycle as Zifnab.
Raistlin beats all of them for me, however. Perhaps it's cliche, but at the time I read the books, the character spoke to that inner part of me with ambition and resentment, like it did to so many people. I was bookish and smart, and invariably some idiot decided to pick on me, but I could never do anything back. Raistlin was the vicarious, imaginative release of all that. What made him so good was the fact that he wasn't just evil, he was made evil by his ambition, which was fueled by his horrid childhood and years of misunderstanding. But, even in his darkest hour, he held a spark of goodness in him, as shown by his care for gully dwarves. Finally, on the verge of attaining godhood, he realized his folly and sacrificed himself to save his brother and his "companions" in the Abyss. Even though he was so awesome, he gave up all his power and died, and you knew it was the right thing and what had to happen.
In reality- As others have said, JFK, Abraham Lincoln, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I also hold a great amount of respect for Ghandi (sp?), John Lennon, Bob Dylan, FDR, Albert Einstein, and last but not least, Jesus.
Qualification on last name: I respect Jesus as a man for the life he lived and his philosophy, not as the living incarnation/son of a/the deity. The following is ONLY my own, understanably controversial opinion: The Bible is the most misunderstood book in history. 99.9% of readers miss the whole point.
And this is why I am a total geek. My hero when I was a kid was Optimus Prime.
My 3 year old son....seventeen surgeries in 3 years; 2 months in neonatal ICU, tracheostomy to breathe, g-tube to eat, VP shunt to take pressure off his brain, bone infections, major stomach surgery, months of home IV therapy, on oxygen for the first year of his life, hearing loss....yet, he's the happiest kid I've ever known, scored a 109 on an IQ test and knows how to log on to a computer, go to the start bar, find his favorite games, and play them without any adult help.....and he's FULLY mobile in all 3 dimensions, got his first set of dice at age 2, and is learning both sign language and regular speech. Figure he'll DM AP7 or 8 when he's 10 or 11.....
The teenage boys that some people might have called hoodlums who dragged one of my co-workers to safety after he got shot in the leg, took him behind cover and then took his backup gun to return fire at the bad guy who was trying to get away in his patrol car.
My friend's dad, who survived the concentration camps.
Anyone who serves in the interest of others; who toils without recognition to make someone else's life better--you know who you are even though some others might not.
FH--thanks...but....well....thanks....I've never done anything heroic, I just did my job and tried to stay out of trouble (not always successfully)
That's an inspiring post, F2K. It reminds me of some other real-life heroes of mine: My father. My mother who died when I was 14. My brother and sister, whom I almost never get to see and manage to be the people they are in the circumstances that prevail.
Let's not forget that the people around us everyday can be far more extraordinary than any historical/mythological superstar.
Qui Chang Kane. Just trying to do his thing until some old west bully invariably taunts "Hey, Chinaman!"
Enter nostalgic flashback trance followed by lots of pain.
Okay, my post appeared after all...it was invisible for the longest time....wait it still is....my posts keep freezing up and the browser times out...Saern replied to a post that he can see, but I can't. Very weird.
Fictional and sports heroes--I was trying to post that when my browser froze up the last time...I don't have this problem on other sites, so I don't know.
Festus from Gunsmoke--my kinda guy
Roger Staubach
Gary Yupremian (sp?) "kick ball, get check" (this guy had his career in perfect perspective)
Tom Landry (back when the Cowboys--and the NFL--still had class)
1966 Texas Western Miners NCAA championship basketball team for defeating racism against all odds.
1985 UTEP Miner football team, which won only one game that season and it was against the defending national champions, BYU....and I was there....to be honest, I was there to see BYU, but I have never in my life been to a more exciting football game or sporting event.
~Slightly bitter laughter~ Well, now. One of my heroes is actually my ex-wife. She had a few problems, but she helped force me to grow up. She also could be a wonderful person when she let herself be. My parents and my brother. One of my friends, who is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. All the people who have put up with me throughout my life. All of the Cigar night crew. Any school teachers, because they were willing to give up on a higher paying job to teach. Docters, nurses, paramedics, firefighter, and even police officers, despite the speeding tickets I get on a regular basis. ~WEG~
Farewell to Kings, you have my deepest respect for not only being a police officer, but also rasing your son so well. Keep up the good work.
Heroes are people who inspire us to become more than what we are, whether they are fictional, mythological or real.
My heroes...hmm...I'd have to be "typical" and say my other half. He has always been there for me, even before we were together and really helped me out when I was at a low point in my life.
My mom because of her stubborn streak and creative side and still remembering what it's like to be a kid and join in the fun.
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My 3 year old son....seventeen surgeries in 3 years; 2 months in neonatal ICU, tracheostomy to breathe, g-tube to eat, VP shunt to take pressure off his brain, bone infections, major stomach surgery, months of home IV therapy, on oxygen for the first year of his life, hearing loss....yet, he's the happiest kid I've ever known, scored a 109 on an IQ test and knows how to log on to a computer, go to the start bar, find his favorite games, and play them without any adult help.....and he's FULLY mobile in all 3 dimensions, got his first set of dice at age 2, and is learning both sign language and regular speech. Figure he'll DM AP7 or 8 when he's 10 or 11...
Dude, I can't even imagine. My daughter was born with a little wetlung, which ended up being no big deal, but when they start i.v.'s and parenteral (i.v.glucose) feedings and say "we're just going to do a few tests...to make sure..." I was in a total daze for a day. And I had a 2-year-old son to wrangle. Man, I totally give you your props, and good wishes.
My heroes are all the teachers who put up with all my crap (I was a pretty obnoxious kid) all those years, and all the other teachers who do the same thing, and didn't get paid too well, and still don't, and get no respect from ANYONE, not just kids who don't know any better anyway, and do ONE of the most important jobs a society has to have covered to insure its continued existence, again for no money, so they must do it for the love of it. Man, every chance I get, I do some favor for a teacher if I can, just to level my karma a little bit.
You just made my day man. It is always nice to see something like that, and yes most teachers or at least the good ones are the ones who actually enjoy teaching, not the money.
As for my heroes,Fictional: King Arthur, Samurai Jack,Guan Yu(Chinese mythology)
Real life: Farmers, as they relentlessly toil at their job for an endless amount of time and sometimes end up with nothing to show for it no matter what, but try it again the following season.,
My parents and other parents as they are what really guide us to be who we are, whether we admit it or not.
My grade 10 ancient history teacher for inspiring me to become a teacher.
Later
A.
It's been said before but Spider-Man, when I was a baby my first memory was of the live action Spider-Man television series. Since then nothing has stopped my fascination with the lovable loser, him and Flumphs aughta have a party.
Han Solo, because there is something that speaks to me about a selfish guy finding a cause and being redeemed by it.
Indiana Jones, because everything says he should fail but he just makes a quip, grits his teeth and jumps off his horse onto a moving tank. Nothing keeps Indy down.
Of Greek Mythology, Odysseus because I appreciate someone who uses their brain in concert with the rest of themself. Orpheus because despite his final tragedy he was a decent guy.
My heroes are all the teachers who put up with all my crap (I was a pretty obnoxious kid) all those years, and all the other teachers who do the same thing, and didn't get paid too well, and still don't, and get no respect from ANYONE, not just kids who don't know any better anyway, and do ONE of the most important jobs a society has to have covered to insure its continued existence, again for no money, so they must do it for the love of it. Man, every chance I get, I do some favor for a teacher if I can, just to level my karma a little bit.You just made my day man. It is always nice to see something like that, and yes most teachers or at least the good ones are the ones who actually enjoy teaching, not the money.
I agree with you that most teachers are goood people who love what they do, but some (very few) just seem to hate both kis and they job. But I'm only in middle school, so maybe I'll releaze something about the kidhaters motivations or something later in life.
F2K, thanks for being a cop, and doing the job I never could, I think. And I can't see your post either : )
There are indeed teachers that hate their jobs and care nothing for the children they seek to educate. I have one. He's rude and obnoxious to everyone around him, and his apathy for everything but his paycheck drips from him. He is a blight on the name of education, which is possibly the most important thing in all societies, because if you don't have that, what are you left with?
The United States of America spends 50% of all the world's "defense" budget. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that our army is the best in the world, and that we are kept safe largely due to all the men and women in the armed forces, and I have the deepest respect for them for doing what they do in the face of so much danger.
However, we don't need to spend that much money. It doesn't go to them, it goes to projects like VX Nerve Gas; a substance so leathal that a drop the size of George Washington's eye on a quarter could kill 100 full grown men. There are dozens of storgae facilities all across this country that have, literally, HUNDREDS OF TONS of this bane.
What the HELL are we going to do with that? Who in their right mind would make something like that? It sure doesn't sound like the ideal of America that so many people have fallen in love with over the few centuries of our existence as a country. Quite frankly, that sounds more like something Hitler or the alleged "Axis of Evil" would pull, not America.
VX nerve gas may be one of the worst, but it certainly doesn't make any of the other bio/chemical/nuclear weapons of mass destruction the WE make and hold seem "nice" by comparison. The mere fact that this country has such things at our disposal and continues to pursue their research is not only a slight on all of the human race, but a slight on every person that stands up to defend this country and the core ideals it is meant to stand for, be it on the field of battle, in the streets of our cities, or in the classroom.
My proposition will never, ever happen, but I would like to see "Defense" spending cut down to by 50%, and the newly alleviated funds be sent to medical research and facilities, and into the educational system.
But, like I said, that will never happen.
Just my opinion.
Dude, I can't even imagine. My daughter was born with a little wetlung, which ended up being no big deal, but when they start i.v.'s and parenteral (i.v.glucose) feedings and say "we're just going to do a few tests...to make sure..." I was in a total daze for a day. And I had a 2-year-old son to wrangle. Man, I totally give you your props, and good wishes.
Thanks, Heathansson and the others for the good karma, prayers and positive thoughts. When I write down all the stuff my little hero has gone through, it seems worse than it is. He's a very positive little boy and lives a pretty good life surrounded by lots of people that love him, so he is actually better off than many kids around the world.
I think my browser deleted my original post when I thought it was timing out again and I cancelled out early, but then it still showed up.
I'm not into heros.I'm more into anti-heros.
Comics- Deadpool, Venom, Wolverine, THe Darkness & Witchblade
In literature- Elric of course. Erevis Cale, Drasek Riven.
In Reality? I have no heros. Heros in reality is all based on spin, not deeds. I don't watch sports (I feel no need to give the slightest bit of attention to a bunch of spoiled millionairs who don't care about anything but their gigantic egos.), Politicians in this country are bought and sold to the highest bidder. Some one mentioned flight 93. But the idea that they rushed the cockpit and crashed the plane is just one therory as to what really happened as opposed to the govenment shooting it down. The reality is that we don't know what happened, only what they tell us happened. In reality I think hero is a word that is tossed about way too much since 911. It's become sononomus with simply doing what is right. I'm not trying to offend anyone with this post. I just have very grim views of the world I live in.
Yes, there will always be teachers out there that care nothing for the kids and quite frankly hate them. They only care that they get a paychecck, a month off in the summer (it looks like two but one month is spent preping for the next year, or should be!) and pretty decent benefits.
As for VX nerve gas, yeah, it doesn't sound very nice. I would like to say that I wouldn't believe someone would make the stuff but it doesn't surprise me, people no matter who they are in this world always want what their competitors have. That is Saddam made it so we should have it, by merely having it I would think, and I hope most of you agree, that we (North america, because I think the canadian military probably has something similar) are not being better we are sinking to "their" level.
F2K I have nothing but admiration to you, your family and your child for doing what you all have done. It does in deed take a great man to deal with things like that and not think of it as a great feat. I believe that is what a hero is. A person who does something most others are astonished at and do not think anything of it.
Later
A.
I would add Darth Vader as my hero. Here was a guy who sacrficed everything for power, his friends, mentors, cause, lover. Then in act of self sacrifice to save his son he destroys evil incarnate, the Emperor.
When a hero falls, that makes for a compelling tragedy. But when the villian, once the hero, is moved to acts of compassion and redeemed in an act of self sacrifice, well thats just epic.
I have always found an affinity with the idea that the most darkest of villians, Darth Vader, could also find redemtion in the end.
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The United States of America spends 50% of all the world's "defense" budget. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that our army is the best in the world, and that we are kept safe largely due to all the men and women in the armed forces, and I have the deepest respect for them for doing what they do in the face of so much danger.
However, we don't need to spend that much money. It doesn't go to them, it goes to projects like
No offense, but have you ever participated in the budgeting and funding processes associated with the DoD. It is an insane process, and a lot of money gets wasted, but not nearly as much as for other crap like, for example, the National Endowment for the Arts. Now that is a big waste of money. And lets not forget the "Bridge to Nowhere" that jackass in Alaska has bullied funding for. There's a lot of taxpayer money that is wasted, but I would say that, as far as the DoD is concerned, we give as much "bang for your buck" as we possibly can (at least with the Navy we do, I can't speak for those Army and Air Force guys).
My proposition will never, ever happen, but I would like to see "Defense" spending cut down to...
Actually, it all ready has been cut. I know this because my group is not getting nearly the amount of funding that we used to. I've been operating on little to no funding for quite some time now.
No offense taken, and none intended in this reply, but budgeting isn't the issue I was addressing. Wasting millions of tax dollars in budgeting is bad, but still far, far better than developing our own nightmerish weapons of mass destruction, as I stated before. Any amount of money spent on those programs, which is millions of dollars, should be cut and redirected to education of our youth, which is America's and the world's future, and health care, so that our citizens can have the best life possible throughout. Those types of war programs are an endorsement of terror and brutality, and a disservice to all of this country, including the troops.
This is no attack on the fighting men and women; I'm an ardent supporter of them and greatly admire their courage. But we owe it to them to make sure that the politicians keep the ideals and nation they're fighting and dying for pure. Our military effectiveness can both be maintained and the budget cut to bolster other programs. Or at least redirected within the military to benefits that the troops really need, such as making sure they have good body armor.
Do that, instead of making Bioweapons so that if anyone else makes the exact same one, we'll be ready; never mind that if we never made the thing in the first place, the technology for others to develop it wouldn't be out there to use, since copying our own research is the only way someone would come up with a Bioweapon similar enough for our research to defend against, since the possible forms that a virus or bacterial pathogen could take are almost limitless.
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No offense taken, and none intended in this reply, but budgeting isn't the issue I was addressing. Wasting millions of tax dollars in budgeting is bad, but still far, far better than developing our own nightmerish weapons of mass destruction, as I stated before. Any amount of money spent on those programs, which is millions of dollars, should be cut and redirected to education of our youth, which is America's and the world's future, and health care, so that our citizens can have the best life possible throughout. Those types of war programs are an endorsement of terror and brutality, and a disservice to all of this country, including the troops.
This is no attack on the fighting men and women; I'm an ardent supporter of them and greatly admire their courage. But we owe it to them to make sure that the politicians keep the ideals and nation they're fighting and dying for pure. Our military effectiveness can both be maintained and the budget cut to bolster other programs. Or at least redirected within the military to benefits that the troops really need, such as making sure they have good body armor.
Do that, instead of making Bioweapons so that if anyone else makes the exact same one, we'll be ready; never mind that if we never made the thing in the first place, the technology for others to develop it wouldn't be out there to use, since copying our own research is the only way someone would come up with a Bioweapon similar enough for our research to defend against, since the possible forms that a virus or bacterial pathogen could take are almost limitless.
You make some very good points with regard to bioweapons, they are insane. Unfortunately, it seems that a basic element of mankind's own particular version of mass insanity is the need for a bigger and nastier weapon than your enemies. A sad part of human nature, to be sure, but also a fundamental part of our existence.
As far as cutting the military budget and still maintaining an effective fighting force - I agree completely. The sad truth is that the DoD has been infected by the same bureaucratic, money-wasting inefficiency that has grown into the federal government over the last 40 or 50 years. So you've got little groups all over the place who are only interested in maintaining their own little world. It sucks, but I think I've become addicted to the misery...
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And this is why I am a total geek. My hero when I was a kid was Optimus Prime.
Long Live Optimus Prime!!! My hero as well :) You know there's a giant Optimus somewhere in China.
link to the story: http://www.nothingland.com/archive/index.php/t-1492.html
and a link to the image
http://www.karateparty.org/images/stories/Living/Travel/optimusprime.jpg
Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. John Wayne characters have nothing on him :)
And Jayne Cobb -- "Let's go be bad guys!"
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Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. John Wayne characters have nothing on him :)
Blasphemy! If John Wayne granted divine power, I might just have to smite you in his blessed name.
Now there's an idea for a story...A future, post-apocalyptic world were the inhabitants worship John Wayne. For some reason that gets me laughing hysterically.
Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. John Wayne characters have nothing on him :)
And Jayne Cobb -- "Let's go be bad guys!"
Outstanding choice!
Now there's an idea for a story...A future, post-apocalyptic world were the inhabitants worship John Wayne. For some reason that gets me laughing hysterically.
Of course, they're all....pilgrims!!
Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. John Wayne characters have nothing on him :)
And Jayne Cobb -- "Let's go be bad guys!"
My favorite quote from Mal -
"I aim to misbehave."
My father
My brother
Berem
Samwise Gamgee
Gwydion
King Arthur
Wolverine
Odysseus
Hector
Sturm Brightblade
Caramon Majere
Jon Snow
Malcolm Reynolds
Riley
John Falkenburg
Any of Heinlein's protagonists
...
Or you can just insert any ordinary person called upon to make extraordinary actions who sacrifices themselves for the good of even one other person. =)
The Irish hero Cuchulain, who is my namesake on this forum. He's crazy, all warp spasms and fighting entire armies alone, but he isn't "good" like a modern hero. He's just big in every way. :)
Like the OP I like Odysseus too. I like cunning human heroes, though Odysseus was very strong and a great warrior also.
Hector. That guy had to protect his town from Achilles, who was the son of Zeus (yikes!), and he still sucked it up and went into battle over and over again.
Modern fiction I like Conan. Cold steel and guts versus decrepit sorcery. I really hate heroes like Superman and the protagonists of many epic fantasy novels (eg Wheel of Time), who have astounding powers and are essentially gods in human form. Where's the fun in that?
I can't believe no-one's mentioned Buffy. She's sort of like Hector, always outnumbered and fighting to protect her loved ones because that's her job, but human inside.
And this is why I am a total geek. My hero when I was a kid was Optimus Prime.Long Live Optimus Prime!!! My hero as well :) You know there's a giant Optimus somewhere in China.
link to the story: http://www.nothingland.com/archive/index.php/t-1492.html
and a link to the image
http://www.karateparty.org/images/stories/Living/Travel/optimusprime.jpg
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My accursed luck strikes again!I was there about a month ago, not just in Yunnan province but in Kunming! You think a tour guide with a bunch of north americans would mention something about a giant robot that was popular to north america in the 1980s!
WEll maybe next year i will have to go down there myself and meet the man himself!
Oh why is fate so cruel! Well on the other hand the stone forest was cool and looked quite similar to a dwarven homeland. Very nice, and awe inspiring when you have a fantasy game in mind.
Sorry for the side post
Later
A.