The Greatest (Fictional) American Hero

Agent 5150 has always had an obsession with heroes. Maybe it’s because my moral code hasn’t always been as perfect as I would have liked it to be. Maybe it’s because I too often look at the negative in life yet always hope for the best with the start of every new day. Maybe it’s because I haven’t helped everybody I could, every possible time I could. Maybe it’s because to settle for being the flawed human being I am seems somehow disingenuous...

Anyway, enough psychobabble. I got to thinking about what would constitute my idea of a perfect hero (we’ll stick with fictional characters for this debate; real-life heroes are too few & far between, and too precious to even consider debasing with this silly exercise). If I look back through all the movies, novels, and television shows I’ve digested over my many years, which qualities from which characters would I combine to create Agent 5150’s ultimate heroic icon? Let’s take a look at the top ten (in no particular order), shall we?

1) The laconic cool of Clint Eastwood’s ‘Man with No Name’ and ‘Dirty Harry’. Never a doubt. No distractions. Never needs anyone...ever. No friends, no women, nobody. The ultimate representation of independence. How can you go wrong when you have that much faith in yourself?

2) The world-weary optimism of Dave Robicheaux. Battled the bottle and the dark underbelly of New Orleans but still believes in love and friendship. Enough said.

3) The self-assured fragility of Sonny Crockett. Confident enough to seduce any woman, but sensitive enough to bow out of the picture if he feels his baggage is too great a burden for her to handle.

4) The ability to change exhibited by Jimmy McNulty (we'll pretend Season Five never happened). From boozer to family man in roughly one season of “The Wire”, he experienced the hypothetical ‘moment of clarity’ that all men deep down inside hope to face at some point in their lives.

5) The strength to stay the course at all costs shown by Patrick Kenzie (especially in “Gone Baby Gone”). Kenzie gave up the love of his life because he couldn’t reconcile one crucial moral decision with her. Would you take that kind of an emotional hit to stick to your guns?

6) The capacity to help people even when every fiber of your being screams against it for fear of being hurt as shown by Lew Fonesca. His wife was killed by a drunk driver. Fonesca actually took the drunk driver in over the span of a few books until they reached a level of forgiveness that worked well for both of them. Would you be strong enough to do that?

7) The analytical focus of Alex Delaware (and Nero Wolfe, as well). All business, all the time. Well, maybe a little nookie and fine cuisine thrown in for good measure...

8) The perfect balance of smart-ass and dead-serious problem solver, as demonstrated by Elvis Cole. Cole hasn’t exactly matured or evolved over the years…life has just had its way with him. He’s a little more bitter than he was when we first met him, but he can still sling a wicked sarcastic barb when needed...

9) The Hemingway-esque view of life demonstrated by Travis McGee. Beds a ton of women, always waxes philosophical about evil and love and man’s inhumanity to man. Kicks ass, beds more women. He gets it.

10) The clear chivalric code of Spenser. Will kill when needed, will make a deal with the devil if it leads to a net positive in the end...

If some of these names aren’t familiar to you, Google ‘em. Or better yet, go to Amazon.com or Best Buy (or your local library, if you’re pinching pennies like most of us) and get a copy of the book or DVD. Feel free to send me your suggestions, ideas, or arguments for or against any of my picks...

After all, our heroes are as unique as we are, right?