Meme: Ten Fictional Characters

Taken from Chris at 2 Guys (see side bar for URL), here's the next cool meme. (And be sure to read his too)


First, select your ten fictional characters (from any medium) by whichever method you like best. Then answer the questions below.
1 - Samus Aran, Metroid
2 - Neo, Matrix
3 - Gandalf, Lord of the Rings
4 - Minsc, Baldur's Gate Series
5 - Rogue, X-Men
6 - Alicia, Valkyrie Profile 2
7 - Hermione, Harry Potter Series
8 - The Iron Mage, Ptolus
9 - Jean-Luc Picard, USS Enterprise
10 - John Preston, Equilibrium

1. Divide the list up by even and odd. Which group of five would make a better Five Man Band (like a Power Rangers team)? Who would you slot in each position: Leader, Lancer (second-in-command), Big Guy, Smart Guy, The Chick? If you think the team would be improved by swapping one character between the even and odd groups, which ones would you switch?

(I'm going to assume this means don't reorder them, split them left right, left right, etc)

Group 1
- Neo, Matrix
- Minsc, Baldur's Gate Series
- Alicia, Valkyrie Profile 2
- The Iron Mage, Ptolus
- John Preston, Equilibrium

Group 2
- Samus Aran, Metroid
- Gandalf, Lord of the Rings
- Rogue, X-Men
- Hermione, Harry Potter Series
- Jean-Luc Picard, USS Enterprise

Better 5 man band? Power - group 1 - smarts - group 2

G1: Leader: Preston; 2nd: Neo; Biggun: Minsc; Smart: Iron Mage; Chick: Alicia (at age 18)
G2: Leader: Gandalf; 2nd: Picard; Biggun: Samus Aran; Smart: Hermione; Chick: Rogue

Swap: Preston <--> Picard


2. Gender-swap 2, 8 & 10. Which character would have the most change in their story arc? Which the least? Would any of these characters have to have a complete personality change to be believable as the opposite sex?

Neo Most Change. Iron Mage no change at all. None would have to have a complete personalty redux to be believable.


3. Compare the matchups of 1 & 8 and 5 & 9. (Ignore canon sexual preferences for the moment.) Which couple would be more compatible? Which couple would be more plausible to people from either principal's home culture?

Hm so that means Samus + Iron Mage and Rogue + Jean-Luc Picard. Wow, both are hetero matches.
More compatible - Samus pairing, fo sho. Home culture, same.

The Samus and Iron Mage matchup would kick some major ass. Wow.


4. Your team is 3, 4 & 9. The mission consists of a social challenge, a mental challenge and a physical challenge. Which team member do you assign to each challenge?

So, I get Gandalf, Minsc and Jean-Luc.

Hell yeah. Bring it on! Wow the challenges are a bit too perfect for this group. Do I have to spell them out? Really??

OK, Social - Jean-Luc -- Mental - Gandalf -- Physical - Minsc. (No bars a berserker raging, hamster wielding ranger can't bend nor break)


5. 7 becomes 1's boss for a week in some plausible fashion. How's their working relationship?

Hermione gets to boss Samus??

Samus - gone on day one - Hermoine panics - Samus comes back on day seven with fully upraded suit, a few power houses in body bags and a Margarita. Hermione lectures, Samus rolls in to a sphere and ignores.



6. 2 finds him/her/itself inserted into 6's continuity. As far as anyone other than 2 or 6 is concerned, they've always been there. What role would 2 be presumed to have had in 6's story, and could they fit in without going wonky?

Neo inserted in to Valk-world. Neo would have been presumed to be a messenger from the gods with the ability to dodge arrows at the speed of light - or something. And Neo would never fit in. Ever.



7. 3 and 5 get three wishes. The catch is that they have to agree on all three wishes before they get the benefits of any of them. What three wishes would they make?

Gandalf and Rogue's three wishes...

Evil eradicated
Underpriveledged to become priveledged
Instantaneous Travel



8. 1 and 2 are brainwashed by a one-time artifact that works even on people immune to mind control to attack and kill 4. They keep their normal personality, skills and competence level, except any Code vs. Killing has been turned off. Can 4 survive? How?

CORRECTION:
This morning I realized I should have written that they were out to kill Minsc, not Rogue.
I like the old response too, so I am keeping it in, but grayed out.

As for Samus and Neo killing Minsc. Minsc is a good fighter but with no super powers up his sleeve, he's a bit toast. Sorry Minsc.



Samus and Neo are out to kill Rogue.

This is a game of Stratego. By herself, Rogue would be normally toast... Unless she got the first strike. Steal the powers of either and then it's game over for the other. (Kill the first person in the process too.)



9. 6, 7, 9 & 10 must help an orphanage full of small and depressed children have a merry Christmas. Who does what, knowing that at the very least the kids will be expecting a visit from Santa?

Alicia, Hermione, Jean-Luc and Preston?

Jean-Luc will avoid actually being at the whole event. He hates being around kids, but he does like helping kids. So he will be sure to beam down some presents and a holo-emitter for the Santa. Hell, make it two holo emitters and throw some elves in too.

I guess he could cover food too.

Alicia will fit right in witi the kids. She might be something like 16, but she's 8 at heart.

Hermione will try to explain how everything works, including magic, until her audience wanes, at which time, she will will simply resort to trying to look comfortable while sitting in the corner - alone.

Preston will make sure that no one threatens the event. Period.


10. 3 and 8 are challenged to circumnavigate the Earth in eighty days or less, using only forms of transportation invented before 1900. Can they do it, or will they be fatally distracted by sidequests or their own personality conflicts?


Gandalf and the Iron Mage... Both rely on magic and are from Medieval Era times. Let's just assume they don't get that I-Win button.

They'd still pull it off easy. I mean, Gandalf can ride on horses fast as the wind, talk to animals and has an uncanny knowledge of geography. (Being a celestial helps with that I guess)

The Iron Mage is very task focused. It wouldn't matter if he had to bribe, convince or otherwise force people to listen to him. He'd get it done.