Coolest, Most Heroic, and Stupidest Heroes of all time...

[Krieg]

Thanks for the clarification Serge, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Aulayan]

Coolest: Hm...James Bond for style, or GL's for powers... I'm going to go with Bond. Powers are cool, but style matters.

Most Heroic: Batman. I have to go with this one too. He's just a human, albeit a very well-trained human. Runner-up: Green Lantern Alan Scott, but that's cause I'm a fanboy.

Stupidest: I think I'll go for a very non-traditional answer though and say Jean Valjean. The dude nearly quadrupled his jail sentence because of his escape attempts. (Granted, he became smarter later on, but...still, that's the epitome of stupid to me.) But since he's neither Fantasy or Sci-Fi, I guess I'll go with Richard Rahl.

 

[Chun-tzu]

It is interesting how our personal definition of "hero" influences our choices.

It's interesting how our interpretations of every other key word also influences our choices (i.e., how we read the question).

Ask me if James Bond is cool, and I'll tell you there are a hundred guys who are cooler. I know, I know, Bond is the definition of cool. But to me, he's a pretty boring character, and the question, as I read it, is "who do I consider the coolest hero?" not "who scores the most Fonzies on the cool-o-meter." Adrian Monk is way cooler than Bond, in my book, because he's way more interesting and entertaining to watch.

Also, "stupidest hero" to me means who's the most incompetent, not who's got the lowest I.Q.

But I'd have to think some more about the choices before making my final picks.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Coolest: I've got a few picks actually... Conan the Cimmerian, Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Batman, James Bond, Gimli, John Clark (from Tom Clancy's Ryanverse novels).

Most Heroic: Obi-Wan Kenobi.; the guy let Vader kill him because he knew that the others wouldn't leave him behind if he were still alive. Other choices include Superman, Samwise Gamgee, Gandalf.

Dumbest: The Tick!

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

Stupidest: I think I'll go for a very non-traditional answer though and say Jean Valjean. The dude nearly quadrupled his jail sentence because of his escape attempts. (Granted, he became smarter later on, but...still, that's the epitome of stupid to me.) But since he's neither Fantasy or Sci-Fi, I guess I'll go with Richard Rahl.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Jean Valjean would, IMO, be classified more as heroic, in that he did with full knowledge sacrifice himself and his comfort to save others and be true to his morals.

I haven't read the Les Mis book (yet), just know the musical/movies VERY well, and I was under the impression that his "escape attempt" was when he got caught stealing the bread and he ran from the police to try to get it to his sister's starving child- NOT attempting to escape the chain gang.

Am I mistaken? It isn't really specified except possibly in the book.

 

[Greylock]

Ahh, purchased The Greatest American Hero dvd on my way home from work. Haven't seen William Katt in action for almost twenty years. My goodness, teenaged memories, will TGAH even rank with those mentioned here? I am a'feared to hit Play...

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Coolest: Most any by Clint Eastwood in his westerns. Especially Man With No Name, and William "Bill" Munny in Unforgiven

Most Heroic: Marshal Will Kane in High Noon.

Dumbest: Almost anything by Steven Seagal.

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

Hmm.

Coolest: Agent Paper from "Read Or Die". The girl is a rather mousy librarian but give her some paper and she can stop bullets, make a hugemongous paper airplane, use a roll of money to sword fight against a samurai with a 'light saber', etc.

Most Heroic: I'd have to second ObiWan Kenobi since he sacrificed himself to save the others.

Dumbest: Any of the characters played by Steven Seagall or Jean Claude Van Damme.

 

[dvvega]

Most of my heros fall into the Coolest category ... truly heroic people are few and far between.

Coolest:
Captain Sparrow (Johnny Depp in Pirates of Carribean) ... more of an anti-hero but yeah
Nightcrawler ... the teleportation thing ... my top power for "if I could wish for a power"
Van Helsing ... both literary Van Helsing and Hugh Jackman's interpretation.
Clint Eastwoods nameless rider

Most Heroic:
Creasy (Denzel Washington) in Man on Fire (sacrifices his life for the safety of his charge)


Dumbest:
Almost every hero who engages in "talking" to the bad guy when they should just shoot the bastard in the head or tie him up or just grab him.

 

[Allanon]

Coolest:
Han Solo (Ep4: Original Version. He shot first).
Most Heroic:
Frodo Baggins & Samwise Gamgee, even knowing that it would mean never seeing the lands they'd save, they pressed on. Now that's heroic.
Stupidest:
Bananaman