We can be (fictional) Heroes

It’s time for another hero list, but this time I’m not keeping it real. I’m going with fictional heroes here, which might tell you that I have a vivid imagination with too much time on my hands. Anyway, I’m starting with…

Huck Finn – A free spirit in every sense of the word, Mark Twain’s Huck is described by the author as “the only really independent person—boy or man—in the community, and by consequence he was tranquilly and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us.” A lack of any formal schooling didn’t stop Huckleberry from doing the right thing despite the prejudiced mentality of the era.

Pippi Longstocking, - Unconventional to say the least, Pippi is the Swedish version of Peter Pan but with super strength. She likes to have fun with adults – particularly the most pompous and condescending kind – and she lives for fun and adventure.

Anne of Green Gables – Passionate, peculiar and so PEI, Anne is the epitome of courage and a lesson on the importance of keeping faith and dreams alive.

Atticus Finch – Everyone loves Atticus Finch, the star of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. A lawyer with honour (they existed back in the day, really) and a loving father, Atticus knew that fighting the good fight was far more important than winning or losing.

The Cat in The Hat – Anarchy at its literary finest. The Cat in the Hat teaches kids that it’s okay to be silly as long as you learn the alphabet and clean up your mess when fun time’s over.

Forrest Gump – Life really is like a box chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get. Except with Forrest you know you’re going to get: loyalty, honesty and unconditional love. Not to mention the dude who practically invented pop culture.

James Bond – The world’s coolest spy, 007 has been romancing beautiful women and saving the world (England, anyway) from evil for more than half a century. To be precise, that’s the Bond from the Ian Fleming novels; and the movie Bond, as played by Sean Connery and Daniel Craig (and maybe Pierce Brosnan when I’m feeling generous). Sorry Roger.

Daredevil – Marvel’s tortured, super ninja super hero. The Man Without Fear (my childhood hero) spends his days upholding the law as a principled lawyer and his nights meting out justice to those the law can’t touch. Oh yeah. He’s blind.

Tom Joad – the lead character from the Grapes of Wrath (fabulous book) is an icon of social justice who has been immortalized by Bruce Springsteen and Woody Guthrie.

I also considered Black Widow (beautiful, super tough and played by Scarlett Johansson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies – nuff said); Roland from Steven King’s Dark Tower series (old time honour and heroism); Jason Bourne (the confused/concussed but honourable hit man); Sarah Connor  (the saviour of the human race, is all); Buford Pusser (courage in the face of overwhelming odds); Billy Jack (champion of the underdog); Lara Croft (beautiful, intelligent and a lover of old things); Winnie the Pooh (getting his paw stuck in a jar of honey is the only bother of his day); Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (saving his family from killer cobras is all in a day’s work for this mongoose); and Lady Chatterly (class is no barrier to love – or lust).

But the final name on my list of the top 10 fictional characters is…

My Next Girlfriend – One day she will be real but right now she is only a figment of my imagination, so she qualifies. Beautiful, smart, funny and confident, she’s already a hero in my books. Just give me a call, darling.