Can You Guess My Favorites?

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Well, you don't have to guess because I'll tell you who they are! I probably broke a few unspoken rules in the way I did this, but if you're shocked by my doing so, then you really don't know me all that well.

Anyway, here's my top 10 favorite characters who helped to shape who I am in some way or another. Some of them more esoteric than others...

1. Super Mario
The ultimate average joe superhero. I've always loved the campy sense of humor surrounding the Super Mario Brothers series as well as Mario's big heart and determination to help people out even if there's nothing that makes him any more particularly suited to the task. He's always looking out for the little guy (which is ironic, considering what a shorty he is) and refuses to stand for injustice. Mario's been one of my biggest role models since as far back as I can remember.

2. Dr. Robotnik
Good old Eggman! One of the first sympathetic villains I was exposed to! Despite the fact that he was portrayed as a sociopathic maniac in comics and cartoons when I was a kid, I've always viewed Eggman more as someone who's heart is in the right place, but his mind's completely gone. His actions seemed to me more like someone who's sick of how flawed everything in the world is and he just wants to fix it all. Turning living beings into robots was a way of curing all disease and eradicating the concern of death. And there's the classic "I want to rule the world so I can fix it" attitude about him. Don't get me wrong, he's definitely crazy and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him (which isn't far considering what a porker he is!), but I've always had a slight sympathy for him. And then, when the newer games and cartoons came out, I finally learned that my idea of Robotnik was fairly accurate all along! Good for me! Of course, I also have a weakness for the silly psycho version of him from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. All around, Robotnik is just one of those villains I always like to imagine as slightly deeper than we give him credit for. But at the end of the day, all I really want to do is thwart his latest scheme, tug on his mustache, and make fat jokes about him!

3. Fozzie Bear
My comedic idol since I was able to speak. To this day, I deeply sympathize with Fozzie's love of the stage and drive to make people laugh, as well as the disappointment of realizing you're just not as good as you think you are. Heck, lots of times, Fozzie's routines are actually very funny, but nobody laughs nonetheless and you just feel so sorry for the poor guy! But he keeps trying over and over to get it right. I think every hopeful comedian sees a bit of himself in Fozzie and relates to that lonely feeling that comes from pouring your heart out in a funny routine or joke only to have people stare at you and tell you to go away. Fortunately, Fozzie's got his best friend Kermit to keep him going. Here's hoping everyone else out there has their own "Kermit" to keep their spirits up!

4. The Joker
The flipside of the comedy coin. Long before I had any interest whatsoever in action cartoons, I loved the Joker. While Fozzie seemed to embody that desire to make people laugh and a little bit of the sadness that came from the failure to do so, the Joker most definitely embodied the anger that came from being considered a freak for my interests. Once again, I think anyone who's been an outcast because of their love of comedy and/or cartoons occasionally felt a little bit of vicarious vindication in the Joker's sick pranks. Seeing him do horrific things to people who "just don't get the joke" and then laugh it off while they die is admittedly a sick thrill, but a thrill nonetheless. In a warped way, I relate to the occasional portrayal of him as a bitter comedian who's sick of being "Mr. Nice Guy." But, like Eggman, I'm always happy to see him get what he deserves in the end. Because, really... Killing people is NOT funny... Unless it involves open manholes. Then it's hilarious.

5. Eek the Cat
Another "little guy with a big heart" character, like Mario. Though, unlike Mario, Eek is probably the unluckiest little guy on the face of the Earth! A rather long-running show on Fox, "EEK! the Cat" was a bit of an enigma that some parents (mine included) weren't sure how to react to. On one hand, it relied almost entirely on violent humor and an extremely cynical world view. But on the other hand, it had a surprising gentle heart at the very center of it. Nearly every episode revolved around Eek suffering countless injuries and humiliations just to help someone in need, and not once did he ever complain about it. Never did Eek seek anything in return for his kindness. Being good and kind was its own reward for him and, more often than not, he would actually have his kindness repaid in unexpected ways. His motto was "It never hurts to help!" and that's stuck with me to this day. It's very difficult for me to see someone in need without my immediately trying to jump in and do what I can to help, even if it often does involve some pain in the process.

6. Sam & Max
An underground comic series that's (hopefully) seeing some growth in pop culture status these days, Sam & Max is the ultimate escapist fantasy for people who want to see VERY bad things happen to VERY bad people. Sam and Max themselves are a pair of "freelance police" officers who are always commissioned the darkest and weirdest of cases that nobody else would dare take. And rest assured that the bad guys in their stories have delightfully bad things done to them at the hands of these two! Because of their twisted sense of humor, a lot of people seem to get the idea that Sam and Max are just as psychotic as their adversaries, but if you know anything about police officers, then you know that they often get a sick sense of humor from the things they see on a daily basis. And since these guys see the weirdest of the weird daily, it goes without saying they'd be a little warped. The Sam & Max cartoon became a favorite of mine in my early teenage years and helped to strengthen my strong sense of justice as well as encourage my beliefs that bad people should be punished accordingly (though that may or may not be a good thing, depending on what I often consider to be fitting punishment).

7. Dr. Clayton Forrester
Ah, Mystery Science Theater 3000... Where would I be without you? How could I have grown into a fully-developed Z-grade movie wisecracker without your loving guidance? I don't recall how old I was when I first saw MST3K. I think I was about eight, but I don't know for sure. I just remember seeing a short with Tom Servo hitting on a blender and I fell in love immediately. Since then, MST3K has been a staple in my life, nurturing my sense of sarcasm and sharpening my wit to a fine blade. Plus, it taught me new words like "heinder" and "hamdinger!" My favorite character in the show was always Dr. Forrester, the mad scientist who never seemed to be quite sure what he was doing or why. Every week he'd be focused on some deliciously evil experiment, but its purpose (if there was one) never made much sense. He just liked being evil for evil's sake and I couldn't get enough of it! I also have to admit I was easily charmed by the entire nature of the show in that it felt like a cartoon or a comic book taking place in real life. Dr. Forrester could repeatedly kill his assistant Frank (off-camera, of course) and Frank would just be fine and dandy within a few minutes! A lot of people talk about South Park's Kenny being the first character to die repeatedly, but for me it was Frank. And, oddly enough, I never really felt bad for Frank, though I often feel kind of sad for Kenny when he dies. Go figure.

So, yeah, anyway. MST3K. Made me sarcastic. Bite me.

8 and 9. Spy vs. Spy
I've always loved black-and-white silent comedy, but Spy vs. Spy reigns above all of the entire genre as the funniest thing in the world to me. The timing, the artwork, the complexity of the gags. It's comedy gold! I snatched up these little short comics whenever I had the chance as a kid and still do today. And it's no big secret that they've inspired my own occasional silent strips (Fritz & Donna anyone?). Oh, hey! And it's another series where the characters die in almost every story! Wild!

10. Team Rocket
Yes. Team... Freaking... Rocket! Good grief, all of these characters are like close friends to me, but these guys? These guys are like those buddies you stayed up late into the night talking about all the things you wouldn't dare let anyone else know! ... You had "friends" like that, right? Right? Tell me I'm not the only one who confided in imaginary characters at the age of 16...

Er, anyway... I've already stated in other places why these guys mean so much to me. They introduced me to the true adaptability of animation as an art form. When I first began watching Pokemon, I thought of animation as being something for humor and nothing else. I hated serious cartoons and comic books and I ESPECIALLY hated Japanese animation! But I happened to see these three little gangsters pulling off one of their dastardly schemes one day and thought "Wait... This is funny! This is REALLY funny! And it's Japanese! NO WAY!" Needless to say, I was hooked. I began watching the show religiously just to see what Jessie, James, and Meowth were going to do next. And in time, I really started to become interested in the heroes as well. And then... THEN... They threw a curveball at me and gave me SERIOUS backstories to these characters! Suddenly I was privy to information that my favorite comedy trio had very dark stories in their past. And suddenly I found myself realizing that I actually CARED! I'm always surprised by how versatile these three characters are and their own versatility as characters opened my eyes to how effective animation could be in telling a story that wasn't simply humorous. Now, some of my favorite animated stories are primarily serious and kind of dark, but I never would have given those things a chance had it not been for Team Rocket. Oh, and Jessie was my first crush. There. I said it.

So... That's it, I guess. I took way too long explaining this bullcrap. I need a hobby. Oh, wait, this is my hobby. Man, I'm pitiful...