Heroes

[Gail Simone]

Who were your heroes growing up, both fictional and realitudeness?

Gail

[the4thpip]

When I was 10 years old, I got a book called "Pioneers for Peace" for my first communion that I just ate up.
It had chapters about Rosa Parks, Janusz Korczak, Albert Lutuli, Rosa Luxemburg, Gandhi, and others. Those biographies helped me decide that I was going to try to help other people with my life.

In fiction, I always appreciated heroes who would not kill, and who would remain clearly different from the villains. I loved the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Superman etc. for that.

[Cam63]

Real people:

The ANZACs
Colonel David Crockett
Astronauts
Nancy Wake
Lawrence of Arabia

Fictional people:

Batman
Superman
Spiderman
Black Canary

[Lester C.]

Growing up my idol was Adrian Paul or more specifically the character he played on Highlander called Duncan Macloud. That character lived my ultimate fantasy life.

In terms of comic books I will admit I’ve always idol worshiped Nightwing. Here was a character that, in my opinion, was the measuring stick of what a human can achieve with a lifetime of training. Dick was the ultimate big brother, detective, boyfriend, martial artist, leader, etc and yet still carried himself humbly without ego never letting his skills and talents place himself on a pedestal.... unlike his mentor.

[Just_A_Rat]

Lets see...

Real:
Albert Einstein
Mark Twain (In both cases, REALLY smart guys who were didn't take them selves so seriously that they lost their sense of humour. Of course, Twain was a humourist, but Einstein had some good bon mots in his time.)
John Byrne (Back then I didn't know anything about his personality, but so many comics he wrote and drew were exactly what I like to lose myself in. My current feelings about John are a little less generous. I think that if I was an editor at any comic company and Byrne came to me and said "I have an idea for a 12-issue story arc of book X" I would answer, "Great John. I'd love to have you. But I am hiring someone right now for the 13th issue." I'm thinking of runs of She-Hulk, Namor, and even near the end of his time on the first Alpha Flight series where you can tell where his ideas ran out for these characters. By issue 17 of Alpha Flight, Shaman was fighting a Great Beast who had possessed his scrambled eggs. But those first 12 issue of that book were comic book gold. And I'm not sure that I have ever read a non-event (i.e not Watchmen or KC, or what have you) arc that matches issues 249 and 250 of FF where they fight Gladiator)
My Father (I've never known anyonw who cares so little about class divisions, and who people so much just like to be around. Every party of function we go to, people, including some important ones in local politics, etc. go out of their way to talk to him. And he doesn't wield any power or authority that would make them need to kiss up. He's just a good guy.)

Comics:
Green Lantern Alan Scott
Dick Grayson, through his many incarnations
Batman
John Byrne's Fantastic Four
Spiderman
Wildcat
(Okay, the entire JSA, particularly after America Vs. the JSA and Last Days of the JSA.)

[rismo63]

Hank Aaron
"Starsky" and "Huggy Bear" from Starsky and Hutch
Baretta
Abraham Lincoln
Spiderman
Mr. Spock from Star Trek
Steve McQueen

Educated by nuns and Jesuits, in schools that were primarily Irish and Italian, I admired priests, policemen, and firemen, and wept as many tears for Sacco and Vanzetti as I did for the Scottsboro boys.

[Goody]

My Dad.

Spider-Man.

Dr. Seuss.

[Lubichev]

I like looking at the difference between Cam63 and Goody's avatars. That crazy Agent Smith! The forehead of the future!

[Lubichev]

My Dad.

Lenin.

Yakov Smirnov. :rolleyes:

[WhiteRose]

Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, Spider-Man and Sailor Uranus.

The first two because I saw an exhibition with some prints of their works (not the originals, I'm afraid) when I was 6. The second two because I spent about 5 years wishing I could be either one or both.

I was an odd child growing up.

[Weetomuncher]

My heroes growing up...

Margaret Thatcher - The best PM since Winston Churchill.

Nigel Benn - Former WBC Super Middleweight boxing champion aka 'The Dark Destroyer'.

Frank Bruno - Lovable British Heavyweight boxer who finally won 'the big one' in his second last fight.

Judge Dredd - THE anti-hero and British comics' biggest icon.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Aside from Superman (I picked him pretty much for reasons probably already mentioned by others), not very many in real life. Probably my mother most of all-- and a couple of teachers from my schooldays. They were probably the template for my trying to adhere more to ethics & responsibilty (i.e., people have to want to change to do so; nobody's perfect, but you can still try to be better; when you fuck up, 'fess up & take responsibility for it; etc.). And aside from them, I think my dealings with TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren) and my therapist at Dorthea Dix in my youth were big parts in me accepting who I am as an adult.

[Just_A_Rat]

Lets see...


My Father (I've never known anyonw who cares so little about class divisions, and who people so much just like to be around. Every party of function we go to, people, including some important ones in local politics, etc. go out of their way to talk to him. And he doesn't wield any power or authority that would make them need to kiss up. He's just a good guy.)


I felt it would be negligent to not mention my mother here as well - my greatest admiration for her did not while I was young, but as I got a little older and her Retinitis Pigmentosa kicked in. Her complete lack of self-pity and amazing ability to continue to do all the things she loves despite her progressively worse sight (she has been legally blind for years now, but still reads books with her magnifier, and worked right up until normal retirement, goes for nature walks, travels. Her ability not so much to overcome adversity, but to not even recognize it as such, rather than just a facet of life has been nothing short of inspirational to me as an adult.

[LibrarianThorne]

Real world:
Winston Churchill
Patton
Abraham Lincoln
Thomas Jefferson
Firefighters
Teddy Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
my Mom and Dad

Fictional:
Captain Planet
Optimus Prime
Superman
Goku (from Dragonball Z)
Sailor Moon (from the titular anime)
Batman
Captain America
Wolverine
Professor X
Beast
Spider-Man
Superman
Donatello and Michaelangelo (of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Dinobot and Optimus Primal (Beast Wars: Transformers)
Bob and Matrix (Reboot)
Captains Jean-Luc Picard and Benjamin Sisko (TNG and DS9, respectively)
Mr. Spock and Dr. Hank McCoy (ST)
Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)

[SoulOnIce]

Real Life:

Nelson Mandela
Gandhi
Martin Luther King
Chuck D from Public Enemy
Phil Donahue
Jackie Robinson

Fiction:

James Bond
Indiana Jones
Spider-Man

[samdemeo]

Real World:
My Mom and Dad (for being there and for teaching me to like learning from an early age)
Mr. Strauss (my 5th grade teacher, and the first to really challange me)
Mr. Shweky (my high school English and journalism teacher who really got my introverted self interested in extra-curricular school activities)
Dan Scherl (a friend throughout most of my school years who taught me to question things and to push my own limits)
My wife (who, along with everything else, left her family and friends an ocean away to be my wife)

Fictional:
The Thing (for his sense of humor and good nature despite his appearance)
Vision and Mr. Spock (for their logical thinking)
Wonder Man (for showing that a hero can still be afraid and face his fears)
Nightcrawler (for his optimism)

--Sam, thinking this post sounds too much like a Hallmark card

[ElvisGuy]

Well, Ive worshiped Johnny and June Carter Cash since I was 3 , and was lucky enough to meet and talk with June for a bout a hour when I was 26. She was so down to earth and lovely and asked me more questions about myself than I did about her! Fictional wise The Black Canary has been a BIG hero of mine since I was 5 years old, and Sailor Ripley and Lula from the book and film "Wild at Heart" also have a special place in my heart.

But the most important figure for me is hands down is Carrie Fisher..no, not because I love Princess Leia..its Carrie Fisher the writer that I admire the most. Im gonna take a chance here and give a link to the story of why she is my hero and how I have always felt she saved my life..it happened in my youth and its not a easy story for me to share or something im really proud of but I wouldnt be the person I am today if it didnt happen. If you are interested just go here:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/gnrationfo/2004/02/16/

[Red Berens]

Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger

[Cam63]

You really are the Fonz !

[ElvisGuy]

You really are the Fonz !
LOL! Why do you say that?!

[Cam63]

Happy Days, mate !

[SoulOnIce]

Well, Ive worshiped Johnny and June Carter Cash since I was 3 , and was lucky enough to meet and talk with June for a bout a hour when I was 26. She was so down to earth and lovely and asked me more questions about myself than I did about her! Fictional wise The Black Canary has been a BIG hero of mine since I was 5 years old, and Sailor Ripley and Lula from the book and film "Wild at Heart" also have a special place in my heart.

But the most important figure for me is hands down is Carrie Fisher..no, not because I love Princess Leia..its Carrie Fisher the writer that I admire the most. Im gonna take a chance here and give a link to the story of why she is my hero and how I have always felt she saved my life..it happened in my youth and its not a easy story for me to share or something im really proud of but I wouldnt be the person I am today if it didnt happen. If you are interested just go here:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/gnrationfo/2004/02/16/

Wow, what a powerful and moving story Elvis!

[Jeff Brady]

Carrie Fisher.

I can't help but cry. That's really beautiful.

[Cam63]

That was a cool story, EG.

[Gilda Dent]

I wrote this in my journal a while back. I don't want to rewrite it all, even though some of the references may not make sense to someone who hasn't been reading all along:

I met several sex crimes detectives back in the early 90's when my stepfather and his girlfriend were caught and I had to give several interviews to authenticate the pictures.

I met these detectives who were gentle, concerned, dedicated to finding and putting the bad guys away. One of them gave me a card one day, writing his home phone number on it and telling me to call anytime, day or night, if I needed help with anything, even if it's just to talk. He was an enormous black man, in that indeterminate age between about 35 and 50, a good foot taller and a hundred pounds or more heavier than me, but he had a quality about him that made me trust him. So I did call it. And he meant it when he said any time, day or night.

I would on occasion call at weird times, 2 or 3 am. Looking back, I think I might have been abusing his offer of help, as I never thought, it's 2 in the morning and he's probably asleep, I'll be waking his wife; if I was having a bad night, I'd call, and talk to him, and he never complained, and she never complained. And there were a lot of bad nights early on. On occasion, if I called during the day, he'd beg off and ask to call back later, but he always did, always called back in a pretty short period of time. I don't think he ever did anything with the 2 am calls except listen to me, talk to me, and make me feel better. It wasn't his job, it was just something he did because . . . well, I'm not sure why. Because that's what he did, I guess. I sometimes feel guilty for intruding on him like this, but it didn't seem to bother him.

After I started therapy and met Emily (the woman I would later marry), the calls tapered off a great deal. We still talked about once a month, but it's mostly because he called me to see how I'm doing, always apologizing and telling me if I'd rather he didn't call me, he wouldn't. I was never less than delighted to talk to him.

When I came out to my family, and they one by one chose to exclude me from their lives, I called him and told him, and he was the first person to tell me he was happy for me, that he was happy that I'd figured out who and what I was supposed to be, and encouraged me to be who I was with all my heart and soul, not letting those who didn't accept me for who I was rule my life. When he saw me for the first time afterwards, at the rehersal dinner for my wedding, he didn't blink or hesitate to give me a big bear hug and used my new name without pause, as if it were all the most natural thing in the world. He was the only friend, I managed to keep from my old life.

He died of a heart attack a little over a year ago. When we went to the wake, his wife told me that I was special to him. He gave out the cards with his home, and later his cell phone number to many of the victims he worked with, but most never called. But some did, as I did, and there were four other girls there who kept in touch with him over the years. I tried to apologize to her for the early morning calls, but she wouldn't hear of it.

I was, she told me, along with the others like me, those who kept in touch and went on with their lives, important to him. It was important to him to know that we didn't all end up leading broken lives, or suicides, or addicted to drugs, or abusing our own kids. She told me he was as proud of me as any parent ever was proud of a child when I got my Master's degree, and when I called and told him I was getting married, and told him all about Emily, and told him he was to be a guest of honor at the wedding, he was on cloud nine for weeks.

We, the girls he helped, kept him sane, she said when I tried to tell her how what he did for me kept me sane. It still amazes me.

Sometimes I think back to those first conversations I had with him, and I know that this was a conversation he had with hundreds of little boys and girls, hundreds of women of all sizes shapes and colors, that time and again he was there for someone who needed someone to trust, someone to believe in, someone to make them believe, if only for a moment, that things were going to get better.

I don't know how much sense that all makes. I've had to stop several times because I can't write this or talk about him without crying. I don't think I can convey the enormity of what he did for me, for those other girls, for all of the people he helped with just a simple conversation. I wish I had known what I meant to him while he was alive, that I had called with good news more often.

I miss him.

Gilda

[PatrickG]

That's beautiful, Gilda.

So much of the situation seems alien to me and I can't ever fully imagine what it would have been like but that's beautiful and moving.

That sounds like the kind relationship that people should write songs and poems and movies about. I know it must hurt not being able to call him anymore but the story, taken together, is like a sunset or a rainbow. It makes me smile.

[PatrickG]

Real:
Ray Bradbury
Albert Einstein
William Shakespeare

David Copperfield (The magician)
Patrick Stewart


Fictional:
Superman
Batman
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
Reed Richards
Pre-Crisis Supergirl
Scrooge McDuck

Rodimus Prime and Starscream (Yes, Starscream from Transformers)
Panthro and Tygra (From Thundercats)
Wile E. Coyote and Daffy Duck
Donatello and Michelangelo (From Ninja Turtles)

Number Six (from The Prisoner)
Dr. Who (Tom Baker version)
Captain Kirk

Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Pip (Great Expectations)

[the4thpip]

Gilda, that was an amazing story. People like your friend are who keep my faith in humanity alive.


ElvisGuy/Forrest: Wow. Big hugs.


I forgot to mention Curtis Mayfield on my list, whose courage and dignity in the face of his tragic accident made it impossible for me to ever feel pity for myself again over the little things.

[Ringslinger76]

My mom and dad
Superman
Batman
Green Lantern
Flash
Spiderman
oh yeah..
Optimus Prime! :)

[Harry Angel]

I was a kid during the 1960's.

My heroes had names like, Sheppard, Grissom, Chaffie, White, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins.

It was a true era of heroes.

[Lunar Daydreamer]

Leion Of Super Heroes ... i've mentioned on here before just how I lost my imaginations unto them as I was growing up - and within the swimminess of playing, drawing and dreaming of them ... the reality underneath of my folks tearing chunks out of one another would have made me a very different person. As such those starstruck, starcrossed stories override all of that.

[blackcanary_416]

Black Canary, Batman, Super Man, My Mom (was a single parent),
and...
Power Rangers...sad to admit :(

[Cam63]

My sympathy....

[Cam63]

...to the Power Rangers crap, that is...

[Lunar Daydreamer]

Maybe a distant relative of Power Rangers... but does anyone remember Japanese puppet show Star Fleet?!

Damn did that rock my world every weekend!

Every friday night was like Christmas Eve, just couldn't sleep I was so excited for the next episode.

The worst Christmas I ever had was when they announced "Star Fleet will be back in 3 weeks" ... just at the revellation that Captain Carter, the man that trained Shiro, wasn't dead but captured and brainwashed into working for Commander Makara - complete with icky robot insect thing on his face.

*Damn* do I yearn for that show on dvd.

And X-Bomber/Di-X turned my universe upside down.

X-Bomber was the ship they were on to take on the alien invaders, three fighters came out with various characters in them ...

Tubby red head John Lee was in Legtrack, a lil tank thing.
Afro cool dude Barry Herculese in Jumbody, a millenium Falcoln type bomber.
Shiro (my fave character) was in a nippy lil fighter called Braincom

At a certain point, when their indvidual attacks were failing, Doctor Ben announced "Form DI-X"... and my mouth fell open as all three fighters formed to make one giant robot ... then (man in a suit) Godzilla type moments as the robot smashed the defenses of the baddies.

I even remember the theme music - with the end theme written by none other than Brian May & Eddie Van Halen!

[thik_3rd]

indiana jones
scrooge mcduck

[Gilda Dent]

Damn, I forgot my fictional heroes:

When I was little:

Spider-Man:The obvious choice, of course. The appeal of Spider-Man was, and still is, that he's a genius and has superpowers, and he never uses it for personal gain. He helps people for no other reason than that they need to be helped, and it almost never benefits him.

The Fantastic Four: Especially Reed. Yes, I confess, I'm the one whose favorite member of the FF isn't Johnny or Ben. I think it's because his real superpower isn't the elastic stuff, but the fact that he's the smartest guy on the planet, and being the smartest guy on the planet makes him rich, allows him to build cool toys, and go exploring places that make Star Trek seem like the next town over.

Underdog: When I was little watching Underdog cartoons, I took them so seriously that I would genuinely believe that this time he might not get out of the cliffhanger that ended part one before the Tennessee Tuxedo segment, which I never realized until much later was just a science lesson disguised as an adventure. Recognizing subtlety wasn't my strong point then. Plus, there was the appeal of walking around with a ring that had a magical pill that could change you into the person you wanted to be when the bullies picked on you.

I'm kinda peeved that the Underdog DVD's don't have the Tennessee Tuxedo segments. It's be like Bullwinkle without the Fractured Fairytales, Dudley Do-Right, and Sherman and Peabody. You get the main course, but without spices or side dishes.

Encyclopedia Brown: I didn't really care about the mysteries, though I did enjoy them. What appealed to me was that here was the smartest kid in town and he was cool, the other kids liked him, and he consistently beat the bullies by outwitting them. It's as much a fantasy as Spider-Man, because it sure as hell don't work that way in real life, but it's fun to imagine a world in which it does.

Tom Fitzgerald: A ten-year-old blend of Tom Sawyer and Sherlock Holmes living in 1880's Utah, from The Great Brain books. I'm sensing a theme here. Part of the fun is that genius Tom gets to encounter for the very first time new inventions like an indoor toilet and the game of basketball, and part of it is that, as with Leroy above, his intelligence is almost always beneficial to him.

Gilda