For some reason, there was one I know I would?ve
really wanted to say in this thread, but I can?t think of it now, so I?ll just have to settle for these.
Matt in
Death Note. I mean, he?s a minor character who?s not even in the series that long, but because he looks like a ?hipster gamer?, he?s got all this stuff made about him.
Tails from
Sonic the Hedgehog. I just found him to be an annoying and inferior version of Sonic back in the Mega Drive days (despite his ability to fly for a short period of time). Even by the time the
Advance games came along, I played motherfucking
Cream more often than him (although that was partly because she was the easiest to control, especially when spamming her Chao attack).
EyeReaper said:
While we're on the subject, I don't understand why Jotaro (or Stardust Crusaders in general)is the most popular Jojo. So far part 2 has been better in every way in my book.
It's because it's the arc that introduced Stands, not to mention Jotaro is the most reocurring JoJo in the series (for some reason), making him the franchise ?poster boy?. As for Jotaro?s popularity specifically, he?s not an especially deep or emotive character, but he?s the archetypal ?badass?, reminiscent of 80s action heroes with their one-liners.
Plus, Part 3's got more video games and other stuff based on it than the other arcs, meaning that's the way most fans will be introduced to the series and nostalgia is a big thing for a lot of people. Just ask Nintendo. ;P
Nubrain said:
i can't believe no one has said this yet but Light Yagami from Death note. I only recently got to watch Death note as I didn't really have the time to watch it when it was at his peek of popularity so I had a few things spoiled such as the major twist about 2/3rds in and how it ends. But I had also heard about what a complex anti hero Light was and what a shame it was that the corruption of the shinagami and the note book leads him down the wrong path from his noble goals. I don't see any of that in the character at all. He's a straight up villain playing with things he shouldn't because he's board and just smart enough to think he can get away with it. I mean the cat and mouse between Light and L is compelling and defiantly watchable but that doesn't make Light a hero or worth the love he gets.
No, I get it. IMO, Light's popularity is mostly down to that he's an archetypal (god, I'm using that word a lot, aren't I?) "Draco in Leather Pants". He's a "bad boy". He'd almost be a Villain Sue if it weren't for the fact his narcissism is his downfall. I don't believe anyone thought Light was a hero, since he really is just an immature sociopath with a god complex, but the series
did get a lot of mileage out of how much L kept the smart-ass on his toes.
I think L's got a bigger fanbase anyway, though. He and Light are the two main characters of the series, so it's unsurprising that they have the biggest fanbases.
Reaper195 said:
Anything Nintendo. None of the characters are anything other than colourful images with some accents and catch phrases. None of them have ever developed in the last thirty years.
What about Wario, does he count? I always preferred him to Mario because, while Mario's just a boring goody-two-shoes without much motive for saving princesses than a peck on the cheek and the promise of some "cake" (
*wink wink*), Wario is more identifiable as a character because everything he does is just to get money for himself, and even the games with him reflect that twisted anti-Mario slant. The
Wario Land games have a much more disjointed soundtrack than the lighthearted Mario games, for one. Wario's developed from a straight-up antagonistic "evil twin" of Mario in
Super Mario Land 2, to a muscular treasure-hunter in
Wario Land II, to a entrepreneurial businessman in
WarioWare.
Anyway, that's just why Wario's my favourite Nintendo character. Samus Aran hasn't stayed static for the past thirty years either. The events in
Return of Samus,
Fusion, and
Other M (although
no-one liked the direction they took Samus there) should show that.
Metroid was one of the games that showed Nintendo could do ?dark?, so you?d be at least a decade late in saying they can?t make a range of non-colourful characters anymore.
ExtraDebit said:
Peter Parker
He was supposed to be a prodigy and genius, and what does he do with it? he squander it to fight petty crimes. When he's not fighting crimes what does he do? He takes photographs OF HIMSELF to sell it for money. Doc Ock open a company in his name during superior spiderman with hundreds of employees looking up to him, when Peter Parker returned and was overwhelmed by his RESPONSIBILITY to the company and its employees you know what he did? He ran and swing around the city like a child.
He is everything that's wrong with super heroes. One day I'm gonna make a comic with the villain as the protagonist, fighting superheroes like spiderman.....AND WIN! Because really, heroes like Peter Parker doesn't deserve to win.
You...you do know Peter Parker's a
teenager, right? He might be a genius, but he doesn't have adult sensibilities, and one of his biggest establishing character moments is inadvertently allowing his uncle to die because he was pissed off at a fight organiser screwing him out of his money.
Something like that is why people like Spider-Man so much. Because he's not an infallible Comic Book Jesus like Superman, nor is he a privileged rich boy like Batman. He's a grounded teenager who made the same mistakes we all did, and is still figuring out things. He's not in it for money, and when he
does get money, it's purely to support his aunt.
