Misc. Monday: Captain Crushes

Most of us have, at one time or another, experienced a crush on a fictional character. But can you remember who your first fictional crush was? I think my own childhood crushes shaped my taste in men forever after. So, today, I'd like to share my top 5 early character crushes (in no particular order).

--Captain Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce, of MASH. That show was on a lot when I was a kid, and so it had an impact if for no other reason than repetition. Even as a kid, I tended to latch onto characters based on personality more than anything, and boy does Hawkeye have personality. He's a womanizer and is generally disrespectful of all things, but he still has a lot of heart. I think the trait that had the most lasting impression for me was his humor. I love a funny guy.

--Han Solo, of Star Wars. I'm not even a little ashamed of this one, although I probably should be. Han Solo was the one who started my hopelessly unhealthy love of bad boys. He was smart mouthed, he was sexy, and he had his own freaking space ship. What more could the young heart wish for? My very best friend as a child used to play Star Wars with me--he was Han, I was Leia. So it's no wonder that he was the first boy I ever kissed.





--Jafar, of Aladdin. This one I am vaguely ashamed of. Look, I know he's evil. I knew it even then. But...damn, I've always sort of liked villains. And there's something about him. He's dark, he's twisted, he's powerful. He turns into a snake, he locks people in dungeons, he hypnotizes sultans to make a grab for the thrown. I don't know. All I can say is that Aladdin never did it for me. He's a nice guy, but if I were Jasmine I'd have probably married the inappropriately older, evil, psychotic royal vizier. Which is yet more proof that I'd make a crappy princess.

--Angel, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And yet again, we come back to my attachment to unhealthy and impossible relationships. I always wanted to rewrite Angel's story to make it happy, and I always wanted to make me the star of that happiness. But I'm too lazy for fan fiction, and Angel is probably only good because it's tragic anyway. Angel made me latch on to the idea of redeeming a bad guy. Like, maybe Jafar and Captain Hook and Voldemort and Satan could all have happy endings if someone would just fix them. Or maybe they'd just end up more miserable. Seriously, screw you Joss Whedon.




--Sirius Black, of Harry Potter. In my defense, this was when there were only three or four books out and no movies. No Gary Oldman cast in the part, and not horribly abrupt death. He was a really minor character, but that was all the more reason for him to hold my curiosity. I think it was the wrongful conviction, escape from prison thing that did it for me. Plus the shape shifting. And he's loyal, he's courageous, and he's terribly reckless. Again, I wanted a happy ending for him. When he died, I got so mad that I actually put the book away and did not finish it for a good three months. It still hurts me.

So those were my early crushes, and I think it's easy to see why I love the characters I do today. Now it's your turn to share with the class: Who were your childhood crushes, and what made you love them?