Almost Heroes List
It's time for the latest installment of my heroes list: PJ'S Almost Heroes.
Who are these guys? These are the bad guys who--deep down inside--are really good guys who always seem to get in trouble. Or bad guys that finally saw the error of their ways, and are seeking redemption for the pain they've seen. Or good guys that just keep managing to get in trouble from time to time. Or mercenaries available to the highest bidder...but do have at least some streak of honorable code in them.
Think of them as the bad guys we love to root for.
10. Crovax
Crovax was a incredible warrior who was cursed upon killing a dark angel, and eventually became one of the most powerful evil beings in the Magic universe. However, I always felt sorry for him: Magic took the "destiny" approach with Crovax, where he had no choice but to fall under the curse of evil while fighting for justice. I was happy in Planar Chaos--the Magic version of Marvel's "What If"--the curse was not passed to Crovax, and he instead became an exceptional hero.
9. Toxin
I've always felt that Venom was a character that got a somewhat bum rap--he's had moments, and his desire to protect "innocents", as he calls them, is noteworthy. However, to put it lightly, in the end Venom was just too insane to be thought of as a good guy. Marvel solved the almost hero with Venom recently by having the symbiote (the evil part) gain more power and grow more crazy, but had Carnage give birth to Venom's "grandson", Toxin. Toxin bonds with a cop, and the two eventually reach a level of respect/compromise that allows Toxin to become more of a hero. I also like they way they draw Toxin, and I've always thought the Venom powers were cool.
8. Artemis Entreri/Jarlaxle Baenar
Two of Drizzt Do'Urden's most powerful enemies, who eventually like each other's company enough that they abandon their "pure killing" ways and travel the world looking for adventure together. Entreri is the second greatest swordsman (behind Drizzt) and possibly the greatest assassin in the Forgotten Realms universe, and Jarlaxle is the flamboyant Dark Elf who is a jack of all trades--and Master of all them. Jarlaxle, especially, I find hilarious.
7. Richard B. Riddick
The last of the Furyans, a legendary warrior planet in the Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick universe. Riddick is the modern anti-hero, the arrogant bad ass who has respect for no one and has no qualms about killing an enemy. When push comes to shove, however, he does tend to make the good decision, and as the story has evolved we find that the people Riddick has "murdered" weren't so innocent after all.
6. Scorpion
Scorpion is the hellspawned ninja from Mortal Kombat. While Scorpion can be (somewhat easily) tricked into serving the forces of evil, a closer look at his story shows that he was betrayed and murdered by the forces of evil, and has fought for revenge and justice ever since.
5. Lobo
The "Main Man", as Lobo likes to call himself, might be more powerful than Superman. The epitome of the arrogant motorcycle punk, Lobo is truly a lout: a drunk, loud, abonxious, violent bounty hunter who sells his services to the highest bidder, and even likes to brag that he wiped out the rest of his species for his Science Fair project (he gave himself an "A"). In spite of this, when push does come to a punch that will send you across the planet, Lobo does have a sense of honor and a willingness to do the right thing. Especially if that means he gets to beat someone up--then he's definitely all for it. Or if a hot girl is involved. When all is said and done, you have to love Lobo if for no other reason that he annoys Superman so much.
4. Darth Vader
Talk about a character butchured. Once upon a time--before Episode II: Attack of the Clones--the Dark Lord of the Sith would have been the unquestionable number 1 on not only this list, but in almost everyone's. Now, however, as Lucas has seemingly gone on a campaign to destroy his most beloved character, we see that Anakin was almost as much of a spoiled brat as he was legendary hero.
In spite of this, you still can't deny the appeal of The Dark Lord of the Sith--the power, the voice, the costume, and the redemption. In spite of Lucas' attempts to ruin him, he is still one of the greatest characters ever, and is the epitome of the good guy who loses his way, but finds it in the end.
3. Lord Sesshomaru
The son of the legendary Demon Lord Inu no Taishou and brother to the powerful half demon Inuyasha, Lord Sesshomaru reminds me a lot of one of my favorite villians, Darkseid--he hides an ocean of emotions (mostly rage, those that changes as the series progresses) beneath an icy, aloof demeanor. The difference between the two, though, is Sesshomaru has grown throughout the series Inuyasha to not only feel compassion towards, but love to innocents--specifically his adopted ward, Rin. This compassion has changed him from one of the most powerful villains in the Inuyasha universe to one of its greatest heroes--if he notices you to help you. Sesshomaru also is in my patheon of favorite voices, as David Kaye perfectly matches his voice to the character.
2. Deadpool
Deadpool has gone from a freak, let's-try-him-once character in the Marvel Universe to one of their biggest stars. The "Merc With A Mouth" is a mercenary who posses a healing power at least equal to Wolverine's, along with the martial skills to put him on par to all but the strongest characters in Marvel. The best part of Deadpool, though, is his mouth. One of the most hilarious characters in comic books, Deadpool is thoroughly insane (ummm...in the good way?), AND is well aware that he is a character in a comic book (Loki told him--hence his comments in his first comic as seen on the left). Deadpool will be played by Ryan Reynolds in the Wolverine: Origins movie (fantastic casting) coming in 2009, and make no mistake: Marvel is grooming him to be one of their future stars. I'm looking forward to that, as Deadpool can be summed up perfectly in one word: fun.
1. Boba Fett
Without question the most popular underground character in Star Wars, Boba Fett is the perfect clone of Jango and eventually rises to become Mandalore of the Mandalorian Commandos (Mandalore being a name/title to the leader). Why is Boba Fett so cool? Honestly, I don't even know how to put my finger on it. Maybe it's because he's so good at what he does, even though he lacks the power that so many of his targets possess. He is without question though one of the greatest characters in Star Wars, and the greatest Almost Good Guy.
Who are these guys? These are the bad guys who--deep down inside--are really good guys who always seem to get in trouble. Or bad guys that finally saw the error of their ways, and are seeking redemption for the pain they've seen. Or good guys that just keep managing to get in trouble from time to time. Or mercenaries available to the highest bidder...but do have at least some streak of honorable code in them.
Think of them as the bad guys we love to root for.
10. CrovaxCrovax was a incredible warrior who was cursed upon killing a dark angel, and eventually became one of the most powerful evil beings in the Magic universe. However, I always felt sorry for him: Magic took the "destiny" approach with Crovax, where he had no choice but to fall under the curse of evil while fighting for justice. I was happy in Planar Chaos--the Magic version of Marvel's "What If"--the curse was not passed to Crovax, and he instead became an exceptional hero.
9. Toxin
I've always felt that Venom was a character that got a somewhat bum rap--he's had moments, and his desire to protect "innocents", as he calls them, is noteworthy. However, to put it lightly, in the end Venom was just too insane to be thought of as a good guy. Marvel solved the almost hero with Venom recently by having the symbiote (the evil part) gain more power and grow more crazy, but had Carnage give birth to Venom's "grandson", Toxin. Toxin bonds with a cop, and the two eventually reach a level of respect/compromise that allows Toxin to become more of a hero. I also like they way they draw Toxin, and I've always thought the Venom powers were cool.
8. Artemis Entreri/Jarlaxle Baenar Two of Drizzt Do'Urden's most powerful enemies, who eventually like each other's company enough that they abandon their "pure killing" ways and travel the world looking for adventure together. Entreri is the second greatest swordsman (behind Drizzt) and possibly the greatest assassin in the Forgotten Realms universe, and Jarlaxle is the flamboyant Dark Elf who is a jack of all trades--and Master of all them. Jarlaxle, especially, I find hilarious.
7. Richard B. Riddick
The last of the Furyans, a legendary warrior planet in the Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick universe. Riddick is the modern anti-hero, the arrogant bad ass who has respect for no one and has no qualms about killing an enemy. When push comes to shove, however, he does tend to make the good decision, and as the story has evolved we find that the people Riddick has "murdered" weren't so innocent after all.
6. Scorpion
Scorpion is the hellspawned ninja from Mortal Kombat. While Scorpion can be (somewhat easily) tricked into serving the forces of evil, a closer look at his story shows that he was betrayed and murdered by the forces of evil, and has fought for revenge and justice ever since.
5. Lobo
The "Main Man", as Lobo likes to call himself, might be more powerful than Superman. The epitome of the arrogant motorcycle punk, Lobo is truly a lout: a drunk, loud, abonxious, violent bounty hunter who sells his services to the highest bidder, and even likes to brag that he wiped out the rest of his species for his Science Fair project (he gave himself an "A"). In spite of this, when push does come to a punch that will send you across the planet, Lobo does have a sense of honor and a willingness to do the right thing. Especially if that means he gets to beat someone up--then he's definitely all for it. Or if a hot girl is involved. When all is said and done, you have to love Lobo if for no other reason that he annoys Superman so much.
4. Darth Vader
Talk about a character butchured. Once upon a time--before Episode II: Attack of the Clones--the Dark Lord of the Sith would have been the unquestionable number 1 on not only this list, but in almost everyone's. Now, however, as Lucas has seemingly gone on a campaign to destroy his most beloved character, we see that Anakin was almost as much of a spoiled brat as he was legendary hero.
In spite of this, you still can't deny the appeal of The Dark Lord of the Sith--the power, the voice, the costume, and the redemption. In spite of Lucas' attempts to ruin him, he is still one of the greatest characters ever, and is the epitome of the good guy who loses his way, but finds it in the end.
3. Lord Sesshomaru
The son of the legendary Demon Lord Inu no Taishou and brother to the powerful half demon Inuyasha, Lord Sesshomaru reminds me a lot of one of my favorite villians, Darkseid--he hides an ocean of emotions (mostly rage, those that changes as the series progresses) beneath an icy, aloof demeanor. The difference between the two, though, is Sesshomaru has grown throughout the series Inuyasha to not only feel compassion towards, but love to innocents--specifically his adopted ward, Rin. This compassion has changed him from one of the most powerful villains in the Inuyasha universe to one of its greatest heroes--if he notices you to help you. Sesshomaru also is in my patheon of favorite voices, as David Kaye perfectly matches his voice to the character.
2. Deadpool
Deadpool has gone from a freak, let's-try-him-once character in the Marvel Universe to one of their biggest stars. The "Merc With A Mouth" is a mercenary who posses a healing power at least equal to Wolverine's, along with the martial skills to put him on par to all but the strongest characters in Marvel. The best part of Deadpool, though, is his mouth. One of the most hilarious characters in comic books, Deadpool is thoroughly insane (ummm...in the good way?), AND is well aware that he is a character in a comic book (Loki told him--hence his comments in his first comic as seen on the left). Deadpool will be played by Ryan Reynolds in the Wolverine: Origins movie (fantastic casting) coming in 2009, and make no mistake: Marvel is grooming him to be one of their future stars. I'm looking forward to that, as Deadpool can be summed up perfectly in one word: fun.
1. Boba Fett
Without question the most popular underground character in Star Wars, Boba Fett is the perfect clone of Jango and eventually rises to become Mandalore of the Mandalorian Commandos (Mandalore being a name/title to the leader). Why is Boba Fett so cool? Honestly, I don't even know how to put my finger on it. Maybe it's because he's so good at what he does, even though he lacks the power that so many of his targets possess. He is without question though one of the greatest characters in Star Wars, and the greatest Almost Good Guy.
Labels: Heroes and Villains
posted by Michael Pondrom at 3:14 AM
3 Comments:
GREAT list. I've been a huge fan of Deadpool for at least a good 10 years. He's fantastic. When I heard Ryan Reynolds would be playing him in the upcoming movie I about peed myself. Even if that movie is turrrrible, there's no way he won't nail that performance. I can't wait
- Tone Loc
I think Darth Vader doesnt really fit because he eventually becomes a hero. He's more of an almost hero in episode III.
I don't really think Lobo should be on the list, just because he is unrepentantly evil - he murdered his own people for kicks after all. "Lobo does have a sense of honor and a willingness to do the right thing." Only to a small extent, the latter? Not at all.
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