I've been trying to think of Western characters in fiction that are examples of the "tsundere" archetype. Manga and anime are lousy with them, but for some reason I'm having a difficult time thinking of popular Western examples.
For those of you who have no idea of what a tsundere is, it's a character in a romantic setting that acts with either indifference or hostility towards the object of their affection, usually because they are unable to admit those feelings to themselves. The classic stereotypical tsundere line would be "it's not as if I like you or anything, baka".
Right now, the closest I'm coming up with is how the Enchantress treated Skurge the Executioner in Simonson's Thor run, but I'm sure there are more universally known examples than that.
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Somehow, the first example that comes to mind is Lois Lane and how she regards Clark Kent ...
It seems to me that we've touched on this topic once before.
I don't know. Maybe more recent depictions of Lois are lije that, but (definitely) in the Golden Age she just plain didn't like Clark. Plenty of tsun, but not much dere. I know they dated occasionally, but I never got the feeling that Lois was doing so out of boredom and a sense of pity.
Lois liked Superman, not Clark.
ClarkKent_DC said:
Yeah, early Gwen was a good choice.
The Baron said:
How about It Happened One Night...?
Actually, quite a few romantic comedies of the '30s/'40s should qualify, I would think.
Speaking of Clark Gable, how about Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara?
Maybe. They certainly bickered. It's been a very long time since I've seen it though.
I've never seen (and never plan to see) Gone With the Wind, so I have no opinion there.
Jeff of Earth-J said:
Early Hank Pym may qualify. He was in mourning for his first wife, and considered Janet Van Dyne a nuisance and an airhead. Looking at his early 1960s dialogue today, it was pretty insulting. But she didn't seem to mind -- you could argue she saw through it -- so I don't know if it counts. It's actually been a while since I re-read those stories, so I hope I'm no mischaracterizing.