# The Most Iconic Domestically-Created Character for Each Country **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263 "2020-08-16T15:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/61 "2020-08-16T20:53:48Z")
Merlin’s definitely not right for Britain. You would say that “Merlin is a character in the Arthur stories”, but you would never say that “Arthur is a character in the Merlin stories”. And you can have a story about Arthur without Merlin, but not the other way around. How about Odysseus for Greece, and Aeneas for Italy? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/62 "2020-08-16T21:12:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Merlin’s definitely not right for Britain. You would say that “Merlin is a character in the Arthur stories”, but you would never say that “Arthur is a character in the Merlin stories”. And you can have a story about Arthur without Merlin, but not the other way around. You could have a Merlin story without Arthur but everyone would be asking “Where’s ~~Poochie~~ Arthur?” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/63 "2020-08-16T21:22:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Aeneas for Italy? Aeneas was a Trojan though; wouldn’t that make him a Greek today? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/64 "2020-08-16T21:33:02Z")
He’s a character created in Italy, and representative of the nation that was founded in Italy: I think that’s enough. Calling him Trojan is like calling Washington British. I mean, the founder of any nation (real or legendary) must necessarily have originally been from some other nation. And in any event, being Trojan would make him Turkish today, not Greek. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/65 "2020-08-16T22:20:06Z")
> [@](#): > > You could have a Merlin story without Arthur but everyone would be asking “Where’s ~~Poochie~~ Arthur?” Tim, on the other hand, could carry a story all on his own. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/66 "2020-08-16T22:44:44Z")
Ireland: Gulliver from _Gulliver’s Travels_ (Full Title: _Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships_ ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/67 "2020-08-16T22:48:22Z")
Sweden: Pippi Longstocking? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/68 "2020-08-16T22:52:44Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > And for the US: The Little Tramp The Little Tramp (or Mickey Mouse) may be famous American characters. But I don’t feel they’re iconic. That’s why I suggested Superman. Superman represents the way America wants to see itself; possessing of overwhelming power that gives us the ability to do anything but also having a code of virtue that prevents the misuse of all of that power. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/69 "2020-08-16T22:56:03Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Sweden: Pippi Longstocking? See post #43 😉. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/70 "2020-08-16T23:23:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Crocodile Dundee? That’s who I was going to nominate. Before that - [Dame Edna Everage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dame_Edna_Everage). But maybe not famous enough outside of Australia? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/71 "2020-08-16T23:28:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The Little Tramp (or Mickey Mouse) may be famous American characters. But I don’t feel they’re iconic. I can’t think of anyone more iconic than Mickey Mouse. IMHO Mickey Mouse is the icon of iconicness. But Superman is easily the second-best suggestion for the US I’ve seen in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/72 "2020-08-16T23:36:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Or Superman Or Popeye ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/73 "2020-08-16T23:52:38Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Or Tank Girl. Set in Australia, but both creators are English. (Both from Sussex, actually.) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/74 "2020-08-17T00:27:07Z")
France - Joan of Arc Britain - Winston Churchill Ivory Coast - Didier Drogba Finland - Tom Canada - originally was gonna go with Don Cherry unitl he went shitty, so - Tommy Douglas Sweden - Ingmar Bergman (ha - liked Death, **Dropo**!) Argentina - Eva Peron Costa Rica - Keylor Navas India - Mahatma Gandhi US - either Pepe the Frog or Niel Hamburger Egypt - Cleopatra / Mohamed Salah Norway - Knut Hamsen Philippines - Efren Reyes Tibet - Dalai Lama South Africa - Nelson Mandela Italy - Leonardo da Vinci ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/75 "2020-08-17T00:32:35Z")
I was looking for fictional characters that have been embraced by the popular culture of the country where they were created. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/76 "2020-08-17T00:37:14Z")
Ah, right. (headslap emoji) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/77 "2020-08-17T00:51:12Z")
New Zealand: Dog > **[Footrot Flats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footrot_Flats)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Footrot Flats, a comic strip by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball, ran from 1976 to 1994 in newspapers (unpublished strips continued to appear in book form until 2000). Altogether there are 27 numbered books (collecting the newspaper strips, with additional material), a further 8 books collecting the Sunday newspaper strips, and 5 smaller "pocket" books of original material, plus various related publications. The strips inspired a stage musical, a... ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/78 "2020-08-17T00:53:37Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > New Zealand: Dog > > [Footrot Flats - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footrot_Flats) I should have got that one! My wife who grew up in the UK has all the books and I’ve read them all. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/79 "2020-08-17T02:26:25Z")
Great Britain: Andy Capp. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263/80 "2020-08-17T04:01:23Z")
I think the problem with the US is there are plenty of characters to go around: Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Ronald McDonald, Uncle Sam, Tom Sawyer, Bart Simpson, Captain Kirk, Hulk Hogan, Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Garfield, Rambo, Perry Mason, Dorothy and Toto. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-iconic-domestically-created-character-for-each-country/918263.md?page=5)