Hi, peeps! (I love saying that, lol. I'm a mother hen so y'all are my peeps 😊) Annnyway, I've promised this post to someone for a while - and keep forgetting it - so I'm finally gonna do it!

Not gonna lie, I find it easier to look up to male characters than female ones in fiction. Idk why, really? Maybe because I'm a girl, or maybe because guys get to do all the fun and epic stuff. (Okay, and not so fun stuff . . . like getting shot every other episode, and beaten up by their author . . . but anyway.) Here's my (current) list of my top 10 fictional heroes, from books as well as movies/tv. I'm arranging them in alphabetical order by first name, since except for a couple blonds (IYKYK) they're all tied as far as place.

1.) Bert from Mary Poppins

Dear ol' Bert, with that Cockney accent and those blue, blue eyes. He's a gentleman in every way, treats absolutely everyone with respect, and can always see something good in everybody. He has a lot of wisdom, even for crusty Mr. Banks, and LOVES kids. And no matter what happens in life, he's easygoing and can always find something to smile about.

2.) Captain Nemo from Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Now, I know what y'all are thinking. Phoebs, he's a psychopathic antihero bent on destroying the world! But hear me out, mkay? There is so much about this troubled man that I admire. First, he has a realistic view of human nature (they're inherently evil); second, he's trying to stop wars by fighting evil men; third, he's a great leader. (One of these days I'll write a post on leadership, and you'll see how many of my examples are like Nemo in some way or other.) He's not afraid to get dirty, work with his own hands, and if there's danger he will be in the forefront facing it - leading his men.

(Okay, and I'll admit I also love him because he's so troubled. These broken charries, I just can't 😭)

3.) Pieter Knies from Trains and Tulips by Savannah Jane McCrary

Pieter is a bit different from the rest on my list in that he's training to become a minister. He's firmly grounded in the Word of God and not ashamed to share that, even with his enemies. Thrust into the middle of a war he never wanted, he's faced with difficult questions of right and wrong, of life and death. You might think that someone who wants to be a pastor might be weak; but no, Pieter becomes an incredibly strong hero who faces every challenge in the power of Christ. I'd like a Pieter in my life please 🙋‍♀️

4.) Race Bannon from Jonny Quest

Rewatching Jonny Quest, I realized why I loved Race so much as a 10-year-old kid. Okay, sure, he's G.I.-Joe-style handsome (gotta love that retro crew cut!), but he's also a great guy who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself for the rest of the team. I know, he's a government agent - he's supposed to protect Dr. Quest and crew - but I can tell it goes beyond that. He CARES about them, respects Dr. Quest deeply, is always ready to fly into action, and is the one who does a lot of the homeschooling for Jonny and Hadji. (I'm not kidding! Homeschooled kids in a 60s cartoon, and nobody thinks it's weird!)

5.) Rat from Wind in the Willows

(This time I can say that I love Rat in both the book and the tv series!)

Ratty, what a dear. There's nothing he loves more than puttering about in his boat on the river . . . except for his friends. Whether Toad is gallivanting off on some mad adventure, or Mole is trying to find his old burrow, Rat will be there right alongside them. He's staunchly loyal and willing to sacrifice his own desires for his friends. (Seeing a theme here? 😆) He's a very sensible creature, only getting carried away once when the sea rat is talking to him about ships and sailing. (Can't blame him for that, y'know? Pfft, I get carried away by that and wanna go to sea!)

6.) Disney's Robin Hood

The second non-human, but are you kidding me? I am so jealous of Marian 😭 Being Nottingham's famous outlaw, of course he tricks and robs and makes Prince John look like an idiot. But what a heart, y'all, I love him! Always putting himself at risk to help the unfortunate, willing to do whatever it takes, and so kind and gallant. (The scene where he tells Mother Rabbit "I only wish I could do more"? Ugh, I LOVE it 💕) Plus he is head-over-heels in love with Marian (in the sweetest way!), which this crusty romantic thinks is really cute. 🥰

7.) Sam Gamgee from LOTR

(add the usual disclaimer that I haven't watched the movies, but I ADORE book Sam!)

Okay, so after reading LOTR again, I realized that Sam is indeed my favorite character of the whole cast (though I love them all in different ways). He's just a simple Hobbit, not your handsome sword-swinger, but he's incredibly brave, stubborn, caring, and very clever in his own right. And if I had to choose one character to exemplify loyalty, it would be my dear ol' Sam. He sticks with his beloved Frodo through EVERYTHING, even when not asked or explicitly told to stay behind. He also has a great sense of humor that frequently gets me snickering loudly 😂

8.) Shane from Shane

Shane (movie Shane, mind, I ain't read the book) has been on my heroes list the longest of these guys (can you say 6ish?) and he's one of the blonds I mentioned at the start that's a strong candidate for overall favorite. And it's not just the fact that he's the Outsider character (I identify with Outsiders SO HARD!) - he's a quiet former gunman, trying to escape his haunting past . . . BUT he's gotta take it up one more time for the people in the valley he's come to love. (Meaning, of course, that he can't stay afterwards . . . 💔) He doesn't say much, but he CARES about people - including Marion, who hates guns, and Joey, who tags after him in a cute-but-almost-annoying way. (That scene at the end - "Shane, come back!" 😭) But the thing that's always stuck out to me is Shane's self-control. There's one scene where you can tell he reallllly wants to punch Chris Calloway, but he restrains himself because he knows it's not the right time. There's not many characters I say this about, but I would totally marry him without hesitation 🙋‍♀️

9.) Sgt. Chip Saunders from Combat!

(Yes, I've talked about Saunders before. No, I will not stop anytime soon 😝)

Saunders is the other blond candidate for my overall favorite. I'll try not to talk about him at length because that ain't the purpose of this post, so instead I'll give the condensed spiel. (If you want the full-length version, I posted about him here.) If Sam is the definition of loyalty, Saunders is the definition of heroism. Like Nemo, he'll be the first to lead his men into danger and back out again, and while he refuses to leave his men behind, he'd be the first to insist they leave him if he'd be a liability. He's good at working with people (even the jerks he often gets stuck with), reasoning with them (I want a course in Saunders psychology, please!), and really does understand how much he can expect from them. It also helps that he's got amazing skill in the Tommy gun and grenades, a yell to wake the dead, and the most beautiful hair ever 😊 I'm still waiting for him to walk into my life IRL - he's MINE and I will fight you for him 😇

10.) Sunflash the Mace from Outcast of Redwall by Brian Jacques

Okay, we're gonna round out the list with another animal! There are SO many good choices from Redwall, but I finally settled on Sunflash. He's another one of those charries with a rough backstory, but he's such a sweet spirit. He loves Dibbuns (youngsters), likes gardening, and writes poetry . . . all while being a fearsome warrior when necessary. And he LOVES his mum Bella. 🥰

There you are, folks! This took a lot of thought to narrow down the candidates, and naturally some of these might change if I come up against more heroes in other books. 😊 I think if you compared all of these guys to my qualifiers in the post on heroism, you'd find that they all match up in one way or another. Hope you enjoyed . . . and yes, I'm sure my choices say a lot about me 😆

At some point I'd like to do a "Top 10 Heroines" post as well, but that's gonna be a lot harder, because like I said I generally look up to guys more . . .

Your turn! Have you heard of any of my choices? Who are some of your fictional heroes?