A Guide to the Baron's Favorite Fictional Characters (SPOILERS)

[The Baron]

(Hamlet of Earth-1948)

Real name: Hamlet, son of Hamlet

Aliases/Other Names: None,.

First Appearance: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Occupations: Prince of Denmark, student, avenger

Bases of Operations: Elsinore Castle, the University of Wittenberg

Place of Birth: Elsinore Castle, Denmark

Group Affiliation: Royal House of Denmark

Friends/Allies: Horatio, Marcellus, Barnardo

Enemies: Claudius, Polonius, Laertes

Height: Varies*

Weight: Varies*

Eye Color: Varies*

Hair Color: Varies*

Strength: Above average human

Speed: Above average human

Intelligence: Genius level human

Energy-Manipulation Ability: None

Magic-Manipulation Ability: None

Special Abilities: Excellent swordsman, skilled forger, gifted actor

Special Weapons/Equipment: None.

History: Hearing of his father's death, Prince Hamlet of Denmark returns home from Wittenberg, only to find that his uncle Claudius has assumed the throne and married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Already suspicious, Hamlet is visited by a spirit purporting to be that of his father, which asserts that the elder Hamlet was murdered by Claudius. Feigning madness, Prince Hamlet, with his friend Horatio's help, schemes to trap Claudius into a public admission of guilt, which would allow Hamlet to avenge his father and assume the throne of Denmark. Claudius, aware of the threat that Hamlet poses to him, plots to find a way to eliminate Hamlet. Thus begins a game of trap and counter-trap, resulting in the deaths of almost everyone involved, leaving only Horatio behind to watch as young Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, assumes the throne of Denmark.

Why He's a Favorite: Hamlet is the protagonist of my favorite Shakespeare play. I own eight different versions of the play of on DVD, and I enjoy watching them all.  there's just something that I find enthralling about the play, and it's always interesting to see how various actors interpret the part, and how different directors choose to film the story. I enjoy the cat and mouse between Hamlet and Claudius, and Hamlet's interaction with the not-as-clever-as-he-thinks-he-is Polonius. I find it interesting that the only character who seems to be able to match Hamlet's at wordplay is the First Gravedigger. Anyway, you can find way more of what I think about Hamlet here.

*Depending upon who's playing him

[The Baron]

Real Name: Hazama Kuro'o

Aliases/Other Names: Black Jack

First Appearance:  Burakku Jakku, by Osamu Tezuka

Occupation: Physician

Base of Operations:  Personal clinic

Place of Birth: Japan

Group Affiliation: None

Friends/Allies: Pinoko

Enemies: Numerous

Height: 5'11"

Weight: Unknown

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Black with white streak

Strength: Average human

Speed: Average human

Intelligence: Genius

Energy-Manipulation Ability: None

Magic-Manipulation Ability: None

Special Abilities:  Expert physician, supremely gifted surgeon.

Special Equipment/Weapons: None

History: As a young boy, Black Jack was severely injured in the car crash that killed his mother.  Abandoned by his father, he underwent reconstructive surgery that left him permanently scarred.   As an adult, he became a physician, but had his medical license revoked when he performed an unsanctioned operation.  Afterwards, he opened an unlicensed clinic, from which he performed those operations that no other physician could.

Why He's A Favorite:  Another favorite character from the great Doctor Tezuka. As a physician himself, Tezuka could add a feeling of authenticity to Black Jack's adventures. (Although. to be fair, he does occasionally go veering off into the bizarre, and even the impossible when the mood strikes him.)  Jack himself is a fun character, something of a loner and a rebel.  (One gets the feeling that Tezuka uses a lot of his own dissatisfaction with the Japanese medical establishment to color Jack's attitude towards conventional doctors and hospitals.)  Jack is fairly mercenary, but tailors what he charges to the scale of what a given  patient can afford to pay.  I like these stories  - a fun mixture of adventure and weirdness.

[The Baron]

Real Name: Kamandi*

Aliases/Other Names: None

First Appearance: Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #1 (October 1972)

Occupation: Adventurer

Base of Operations: None

Place of Birth: Unknown. Presumably in America.

Group Affiliation: None

Friends/Allies: Doctor Canus, Ben Boxer, Prince Tuftan, Pyra, others

Enemies: Various

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 159 lbs.

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Blond

Strength: Above average human

Speed: Above average human

Intelligence: Above average human

Energy-Manipulation Ability:  None

Magic-Manipulation Ability:  None

Special Abilities: Clever, resourceful, excellent  fighting skills.

Special Equipment/Weapons: None

History:  On Earth after the Great Disaster, Kamandi was raised by his grandfather  in the bunker designated "Command D", after which he was named.  When his grandfather was killed by a wolf, Kamandi emerged from the bunker into a world largely ruled by intelligent animals. He had many adventures in this world, making new friends and enemies, and encountering incredible marvels along the way.

Why He's a Favorite:  Kamandi is probably my favorite Kirby character.  I always liked his "oddball" stuff (like this and Devil Dinosaur) better than his "cosmic" stuff like the Eternals and the New Gods. (Although some "cosmic" stuff does find its way into the stories.)   I always felt that Kirby worked best when he was allowed to go off into his own worlds, rather than have to be tied to a particular continuity.  Kamandi himself is a fun character- tough, resourceful, smart, loyal, and ready to face anything. Earth After Disaster is a well-developed world, with a wide range of interesting and unusual characters and concepts that could only have sprung form Kirby's brain.  Of all the comics creators works I have read, only Doctor Tezuka and occasionally E.C. Segar showed anything near the depth and breadth of imagination that Kirby did.

*Never been quite sure whether "Kamandi" was meant to be his "real" name, or just  a nickname his grandfather gave him.

[The Baron]

It occurred to me that I ought to put a  spoiler warning on this thread, in case one of my character histories gives too much away.

[Captain Comics]

The Baron said:

*Never been quite sure whether "Kamandi" was meant to be his "real" name, or just  a nickname his grandfather gave him.

Me neither. I know it was taken from the "Command D" bunker he grew up in, but that's all. And wasn't it hinted that his grandfather was Buddy Blank, the original OMAC? Or was that just fan speculation?

[Ron M.]

I think that was another writer after Kirby had left the character.

[Philip Portelli]

That was Denny O'Neill in Kamandi #50 and he never said if Buddy Blank was his paternal or maternal grandfather.

[The Baron]

Yeah, I never liked that idea, nor the idea that Kamandi was an other-dimensional version of Tommy Tomorrow.

[The Baron]

Friends/Allies: Chi-chi (wife), Son Gohan II (son), Son Goten, Bulma (son), Kuririn, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta, others

Just noticed an error in the entry for Son Goten is Goku's son, not Bulma.

[Randy Jackson]

That's it. You're fired.

The Baron said:

Friends/Allies: Chi-chi (wife), Son Gohan II (son), Son Goten, Bulma (son), Kuririn, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta, others

Just noticed an error in the entry for Son Goten is Goku's son, not Bulma.

[The Baron]

Real Name: Jedediah D. "Jed" Clampett

Aliases/Other Names: None

First Appearance: The Beverly Hillbillies "The Clampetts Strike Oil" (September 26, 1962)

Occupations: Millionaire

Base of Operations:  Beverly Hills, CA.

Place of Birth: Somewhere in the Ozarks

Group Affiliation: None

Friends/Allies: Elly May Clampett, Daisy "Granny" Moses, Jethro Bodine, Jane Hathaway, Milburn Drysdale*

Enemies: Margaret Drysdale

Height: 6'3"

Weight: Unknown

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Grey

Strength: Average human

Speed: Average human

Intelligence: Above average human

Energy-Manipulation Ability: None

Magic-Manipulation Ability: None

Special Abilities: Excellent shot, expert woodsman

History: When oil was discovered on his land, Jed became a multi-millionaire. Encouraged by his Cousin Pearl, Jed moved to Beverly Hills with his daughter, Elly May, his mother-in-law, and Pearl's son, Jethro. They had various adventures adjusting to life in Beverly Hills with the help of banker Milburn Drysdale and his secretary, Jane Hathaway.

Why He's a Favorite: The Beverly Hillbillies was another show that I loved when I was a little kid.  As I noted above, I haven't seen it in years, so I don't know how it would hold up.  I suspect that, as with other old sitcom favorites that I re-watched as an adult, I might find that the show had a limited roster of jokes and situations that it re-visited regularly.

I grew up in Boston, and knew nothing about rural life. (I still don't know much about it, really.)  I recall that at the time, I thought the Clampetts were nuts to leave that nice shack to go live in a mansion in a place like Beverly Hills.  I think I still feel that way, to an extent.  I'd much prefer to live in a smaller, more homey place out in the woods (as long as there was good plumbing and TV reception) than in a large, sterile mansion in a neighborhood full of rich phonies.  I also loved that old truck they had. I always loved old cars. If I somehow struck it rich, I'd buy me a Model T if it were at all feasible.

As for the Clampetts themselves - well, when I first watched the show, I was too young to fully appreciate Donna Douglas' charms. Granny I found interesting because she was not all that far removed  in temperament from my own  grandmother.  As for Jethro - well, even when I was a kid and of much less discriminating tastes than I am now, I found his character to be badly-written.  I can enjoy a well-written "comedy moron" - Homer Simpson springs to mind as an example - but I always found Jethro simply annoying.  Nothing against Max Baer Jr., there really wasn't much that he could have done with the character the way it was written.

Jed was always my favorite of  the Clampetts. As played by Buddy Ebsen, he came across as a likable, wise old guy, occasionally naive, but never stupid the way Jethro was, or outright insane, the way Granny could come across as being.  Jed just came as a nice guy, someone who would be a good friend to have.

I did see the cinematic adaptation of the show. I thought it was OK, (Having Ebsen appear as Barnaby Jones, his other well-known role, was a nice touch.), but, pace the Ghost of Jim Varney, he was no Buddy Ebsen.

*I wasn't entirely sure how to classify Mister Drysdale. It's been a while since I've seen the show, so maybe someone who has can correct me. My impression, however, is that he was more interested in their money than in them, as such. From their side, my recollection is that Jed was well-disposed towards him without having any illusions about him, and Granny actively distrusted him.

[The Baron]

Randy Jackson said:

That's it. You're fired.

The Baron said:

Friends/Allies: Chi-chi (wife), Son Gohan II (son), Son Goten, Bulma (son), Kuririn, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta, others

Just noticed an error in the entry for Son Goten is Goku's son, not Bulma.

I am filled with shame.

[Randy Jackson]

Couldn't we fill you with helium instead?

The Baron said:

I am filled with shame.