Wolverine has to be damn near the best-known fictional Canadian in any medium at this point, doesn't he? Surely he's, like, a length ahead of Bob & Doug McKenzie and pretty much abreast of Anne of Green Gables. Who else is in this race?
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Wolverine has to be damn near the best-known fictional Canadian in any medium at this point, doesn't he? Surely he's, like, a length ahead of Bob & Doug McKenzie and pretty much abreast of Anne of Green Gables. Who else is in this race?
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Comments (31)
My first thought was "Red Green", but I'm probably not typical.
I suppose the Bullwinkle direction may be the way to look. Although I still think Canada's most prominent cartoon character is Pierre Trudeau.
Posted by dWj | September 4, 2009 11:54 AM
Posted on September 4, 2009 11:54
without question wolverine is in the hunt, but seriously, the winner by a landslide is Denis Lemeiux....go to box and feel shame...
Posted by rpk | September 4, 2009 2:04 PM
Posted on September 4, 2009 14:04
Winnie the Pooh. Named for his hometown of Winnipeg.
That Due South guy has to be in the running. I worked in Germany for a summer and the locals ate that shit up.
Posted by Geoff | September 4, 2009 5:31 PM
Posted on September 4, 2009 17:31
Cyril Sneer should be, but you're probably right.
Posted by mclea | September 4, 2009 5:51 PM
Posted on September 4, 2009 17:51
I'm going to disagree with Mr. Cosh. Anne of Green Gables, after 100+ years, has to be considered the most prominent Canadian contribution to the literary world.
Don't talk to me about anything less than 15 years old. You've got to show staying power before you can be considered great. Yes, Wolverine is more than 15+ years, but Anne of Green Gables is MUCH more influential with women than Wolverine, and women read much more than men.
Posted by Half Canadian | September 4, 2009 11:53 PM
Posted on September 4, 2009 23:53
Duddy Kravitz? The Whiteoak family (Jalna)?
Posted by Martin | September 5, 2009 2:08 AM
Posted on September 5, 2009 02:08
I didn't say "influential" or "great". I'm just talking about who is more famous right now. Also, I didn't restrict it to books. Women may "read much more than men", though even that proposition is dubious, but they don't consume any more media in general. At one time, the dramatis personae of The Beachcombers might well have been in second place behind Anne.
Posted by Colby Cosh | September 5, 2009 2:16 AM
Posted on September 5, 2009 02:16
"At one time, the dramatis personae of The Beachcombers might well have been in second place behind Anne."
Or Dick Assman.
Posted by FACLC | September 5, 2009 2:21 AM
Posted on September 5, 2009 02:21
Er, of course, we're talking fictional characters here... in which case Dr. McKay from Stargate would probably rank somewhere above zero...
Posted by FACLC | September 5, 2009 2:25 AM
Posted on September 5, 2009 02:25
Pamela Anderson.
Posted by The Chin of Doom | September 5, 2009 5:18 AM
Posted on September 5, 2009 05:18
Did you spell "McKenzie" incorrectly as a subtle dig at their relative unpopularity or just to offend Scottish beer drinkers worldwide?
Posted by sacamano | September 5, 2009 1:06 PM
Posted on September 5, 2009 13:06
The Queen.
;p
Posted by Sand | September 5, 2009 1:06 PM
Posted on September 5, 2009 13:06
In all honesty, I don't think there are enough famous fictional Canadians to fill out a top ten list.
With the exception of Anne, the few that do qualify are mostly not of canadian creative origin.
And Anne is a bit of a stretch - yes, she's sold a lot internationally, been adapted for foreign adaptions, but I doubt that even 1 out of 50 foreigners have ever head of Green Gables.
Posted by Sand | September 5, 2009 1:11 PM
Posted on September 5, 2009 13:11
For fictional Canadians (I don't know why created by Canadians would matter, but Wolvie was fleshed out initially by John Byrne, who should be considered his co-creator, even if he's technically not).
Before the movie, Wolvie would not have challenged Anne and her Japanese fanbase.
After the movie, Wolvie hands down. Also in the running would be Humphrey Bogart's character in African Queen, and the Acadian chick from that old poem.
Posted by Eric Grant | September 5, 2009 3:54 PM
Posted on September 5, 2009 15:54
Yeah, Anne has had some success in Japan. The 70s anime was one of the better adaptions, and retained some interest over the years from some of the talent involved. According to wikipedia there's a current pre-quel anime that debuted just a few months ago.
I suppose it's possible, with the wider asian audience that recieves japanese stuff, that Anne is up there with wolverine.
The gap between either of those to any other fictional canadian is a big one, though.
Does it matter whether these characters are created by canadians? Of course! Why should anyone from any other country bother?
If we don't do it, nobody will - which is probably why nobody can name many truly famous fictional canadians.
Posted by Sand | September 5, 2009 4:35 PM
Posted on September 5, 2009 16:35
Based on Edgar Wright's pedigree, I'd have to guess that this time next year Scott Pilgrim is at least in the mix.
Posted by jesse r | September 6, 2009 4:08 PM
Posted on September 6, 2009 16:08
1) I always knew Anne of Green Gables was (much like Spinal Tap) big in Japan, but I had no idea that there was an Anne of Green Gables anime. Maybe I should have.
2) I don't live in Edmonton anymore so I don't know if it's safe to give this one away, but Wayne Gretzky has got to be our most famous fictional character. The best part was when we convinced the Americans "yeah, there's this 5'9" kid from Brantford who's getting two hundred points a season up in Edmonton" and then some guy in Los Angeles was like "oh, we've got one too!" Hilarious. Anyway, he's my pick.
Posted by Lord Bob | September 6, 2009 7:25 PM
Posted on September 6, 2009 19:25
Colby, have you seen Punisher - War Zone yet? I found it in a $2.00 bin at Wal-mart and brought it home out of a misplaced sense of loyalty. Frankly, I hadn't even been aware of a third Punisher film, which is a shame. This one was very true to the comics and worth seeing on a big screen.
If you haven't seen it, please do. If you have seen it and didn't like it, may I ask why?
Posted by Sean | September 6, 2009 8:25 PM
Posted on September 6, 2009 20:25
I haven't seen War Zone. The Punisher is basically a bundle of movie clichés reverse-engineered as a comic character, so there is no good excuse for him to be such a problem child when it comes to going the other way.
I probably spelled McKenzie incorrectly out of subconscious bitterness over people's inexplicable struggles with "Cosh".
Posted by Colby Cosh | September 7, 2009 4:08 AM
Posted on September 7, 2009 04:08
I wonder whether a francophone might be able to name one or two. I know what the problem is with english language fiction - america - but Quebec is supposedly immune to that.
Anyone?
Posted by Sand | September 7, 2009 1:45 PM
Posted on September 7, 2009 13:45
Ren and Stimpy must surely get an honorable mention, no?
"Happy Happy Joy Joy, Happy Happy Joy Joy!"
And what of Johnny Canuck?
Posted by Thor | September 7, 2009 1:58 PM
Posted on September 7, 2009 13:58
If we're talking fictional characters who themselves are Canadian, I don't think we can count Winnie the Pooh (although, do we know exactly where the 100-acre wood is supposed to be located?).
If it's open to any character with a Canadian connection, then, hands-down, Superman (via Joe Shuster).
Robin from "How I Met Your Mother" is Canadian, but that show has inexplicably failed to reach Green Gables level of fame (so far).
Posted by Sean E | September 8, 2009 12:27 PM
Posted on September 8, 2009 12:27
70 years ago, the #1 fictional canadian was Nelson Eddy's Sgt. Bruce from the picture Rose Marie. Eddy and Jeanette McDonald were huge stars and that was their most famous picture. I think Sgt. Bruce still jumps to people's minds when they think of fictional canadians.
Posted by Tim | September 9, 2009 7:54 AM
Posted on September 9, 2009 07:54
For the last time, Joe Shuster left Canada when he was 10, nine years before he and Siegel came up with the first (bald, sinister) version. We can try to find something Ontarian in Kal-El's stiff, bland modern personality, but not in the old days, when he was breaking through walls to terrorize wife-beaters and pulling a Dr. Strangelove overseas:
http://www.supermanhomepage.com/images/comic-covers/Pre-Crisis-Covers/1942/adv018s-tb.html
Posted by Garnet | September 9, 2009 10:41 AM
Posted on September 9, 2009 10:41
"We can try to find something Ontarian in Kal-El's stiff, bland modern personality, but not in the old days, when he was breaking through walls to terrorize wife-beaters and pulling a Dr. Strangelove overseas: "
Canada was pretty badass in the '40s too.
And claiming partial-credit based on the thinnest of connections is pretty much a Canadian tradtion (see also: The Pooh, Winnie).
Posted by Sean E | September 9, 2009 2:55 PM
Posted on September 9, 2009 14:55
Dudley Do-Right is still fairly well known, if not up to Wolverine's level.
Another interesting thread would be "Most Prominent Canadian Who Ought to Be a Fictional Character." Of course, you'd have to keep in mind that readers would have to be able to believe that a fictional character could exist.
Posted by Acilius | September 10, 2009 2:22 PM
Posted on September 10, 2009 14:22
Jeez. William Freakin' Shatner hands down. By a landslide.
What is wrong with you people?
Posted by Steve Skubinna | September 14, 2009 3:11 AM
Posted on September 14, 2009 03:11
Jeez. William Freakin' Shatner hands down. By a landslide.
What is wrong with you people?
Posted by Steve Skubinna | September 14, 2009 3:13 AM
Posted on September 14, 2009 03:13
William Shatner doesn't qualify as a fictional character. As I said, fictional characters have to be believable. The same thing keeps Michael Ignatieff off the list.
Posted by Acilius | September 15, 2009 9:14 AM
Posted on September 15, 2009 09:14
Three young whores from Canada? The Economist still uses the song as a paragraph heading every so often.
Yes, I know it's a stretch.
Posted by bruce | September 15, 2009 7:53 PM
Posted on September 15, 2009 19:53
Well, there are the Canadian characters Pip (or is it Philip?) and Terrence on South Park. And Kyle's little brother, of course. I enjoy very much South Park's solution as to how to differentiate between Canadians and Americans. The charge of the Canadians in the South Park movie is one of the greatest moments in cinematic history.
Posted by Dorothy Cummings McLean | September 19, 2009 9:13 AM
Posted on September 19, 2009 09:13