Thursday 6 June 2013

Heroes & Villains Blogfest

Today I'm participating in the 'Heroes and Villains Blogfest', hosted by Jackie over at Bouquet of Books and Dani at Entertaining Interests. Check 'em out.
The objective:
  •  Post who your favourite Heroes, and yes, your favourite Villains are.
  • List as many, or as little, as you like.
  • Be creative with it: videos, art, pictures, lists, etc.
  • And most of all - HAVE FUN!
So here goes:

How can you define a hero? Someone - or something - who comes along and saves the day? Someone people look up to for hope and inspiration? Someone who makes us feel good and confident about ourselves in hard times? All of the above and many more...

And how do you define a villain? Someone who's the complete opposite of the above; who strives to destroy hope and inspiration; someone to kick you when you're down...

But not all heroes are heroes, and not all villains are villains. A fairytale princess may be rescued by her hero, a gallant knight, and after marrying him and expecting to live happily-ever-after discovers that he's a wife beater and a philanderer. And the man, the villain, who the knight battled against and killed, the man who kept the princess in the tower against her will, may merely have been keeping her there in order to protect her from the horrors that he knew this knight was capable of. This label is more often than not given from the eye of the beholder as opposed to the people themselves.

One of my all-time favourite heros/villains can be listed under both labels. Is he a villain or is he a hero? Only the watcher of this character can decide.

So who is this person?

Some know him as Eric Draven, but to others he's simply 'The Crow...'

I just love this character! But then is it the character that's loved or the curse? Without the Crow, Eric Draven would be just another face in the crowd. There are many films, books and comics that tell the Crow's tale, each with a different person but each with the same tragic premise; a victim of a murderous crime gets given the gift of resurrection for the purpose of justice. He then hunts down those involved, taking their lives one by one and exacting his revenge.


Usually it isn't just the protagonist that's a victim. Usually there's a loved one involved - a wife, a child, their lives cruelly ripped from them and from him - and for this you can feel his pain, your heart goes to him and you want him to exact his revenge on the evil that did this. You want him to kill those who killed him, who killed his family, and preventing them from inflicting the same pain on someone else, thus making him a hero. But this act of a vigilante is also seen as villainy in itself.

So, The Crow: Hero or Villain? I guess that's in the eye of the beholder...

21 comments:

  1. I think I can see the Crow as a hero because the people he's getting revenge against a the worst of the worst. Their deaths mean the world is a better place. Now if the Crow was killing small time crooks, his actions wouldn't be as applauded. Your post really makes you think. =)

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    1. I agree. To me he's a hero, but there is that fine line between heroism and acts of a vigilante and so opinions may differ. I think the Crow was actually written as a hero though.

      Thanks for dropping by :)

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  2. I loved the Crow. The movie was so good and you really felt for Eric's loss.

    Tim
    The Other Side

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    1. You did. Even in the books you feel it. And it's that grief and pain that drives his character forward :)

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  3. I'm just sad we lost such a talented actor in Brandon Lee. The Crow? Always a hero.

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    1. Always a hero and never doubted :) And yes, such a shame about Brandon Lee. So tragic - and on that film set too :(

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  4. A very interesting posting. As they say there's good in everyone if we can just look, but sometimes, evil is the stronger too.

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    1. What's that Indian proverb? Everyone has two wolves in them, a good wolf and a bad wolf. To decide which one you'll grow to be depends on which one you feed...or something to that extent anyway :)

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  5. Superb choice in the Crow. He straddles the line like The Punisher and The Shadow, killing the bad guys and protecting people, but still with the killing. I haven't seen the film or the tv series in ages, I must see if I can dig out a copy of at least the first movie.
    Tasha's Thinkings

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    1. I never really got into the series. I never have time to sit down and watch things like that, but I'm intrigued by it and am now thinking of hunting it down to see what it's like :)

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  6. Awesome choice!! He is dark and mysterious! And perfect!!

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    1. I like Dark and Mysterious. Makes for an interesting character :)

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  7. Hero. Great choice!

    Thanks for joining the blogfest :)

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    1. Thanks - and thanks for co hosting :)

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  8. can't wait to see how brilliant Luke Evans will portray him in the new film next year.

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    1. Oh yes!!! I'd forgotten that they're bringing another one out. I wonder if it'll be a remake of the original or whether it'll be a different story line altogether. Will be very interesting to see what it turns out like :)

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  9. Ooh, that's a tough one. If I like the guy, then I consider him a hero. If I don't, then he's a villian. I've never heard this character.

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    1. Oooh The Crow is one of my all-time favourites (very dark, gothic and brooding). You should look him up. The original film is a bit dated now but still sooo good (in my eyes anyway) and was also the production that cost Brandon Lee his life. They're bringing out a new film next year which should be interesting. Because of the pain that this character carries, you can't help but route for him and his vengeance, regardless of how he goes about it :)

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  10. Hi, DRC. I *really* like the look of your blog, especially the logo up top...beautiful!

    I'd say the Crow a little bit of both, but mostly hero. Even when it doesn't happen right away in a story, the hero is the one I will be rooting for, eventually. So, in general, the Crow makes the hero rolls for me.

    My favorite is Thomas Covenant.

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