# Things you hate about fictional characters you love **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666 "2006-11-01T00:40:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/1 "2006-11-01T00:40:49Z")
That’s a pretty clear topic, isn’t it? Well, y’all know I’m incapable of starting a poll thread without defining terms otherwise being needlessly verbose. Anyway, in your responses, try to restrict yourself to characters you actually like, 'kay? If you think Bruce Wayne’s alter ego is a miserable jackass in even his most benign incarnation, don’t say, “Batman’s a closet pedophile!” Because that’s cheating. Speaking of comic books, my own entry is about Superman. I’m a fan of the Man of Steel; I think he can be a vehicle for some interesting stories, and some funny ways, and even, in the right hands, simultaneously a good role model and a character worth identifying with. But I hate, hate, HATE stories in which Clark Kent writes articles about his own exploits. Superman is supposed to stand for TRUTH, justice and the American way; there’s no way he wouldn’t see that that would be cheating and a conflict of interest. It’s one thing to let Lois or Jimmy Olsen have exclusives; but writing about his own exploits? Superman would not do that. Next? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/2 "2006-11-01T00:44:31Z")
I hate the fact that Tony Soprano drives that piece of shit white Escalade. He used to have a 1996 maroon Tahoe - rugged, classy, clean masculine lines, the perfect vehicle. Then he wrecked it and got that ugly-ass white eyesore in the 5th season. It makes me sick to look at it. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/3 "2006-11-01T00:57:04Z")
I hate that “Clare” in the Outlander books is such a doofus about what is acceptable behaviour in the past. Come on, even I, history impaired that I am, would know that her activities are totally not done. I can accept her doofusdum in the first book, but not the subsequent ones. Can this supposedly intelligent woman learn nothing? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/4 "2006-11-01T01:20:33Z")
Admiral of the Fleet Dame Duchess Honor Stephanie Harrington, Steadholder Harrington, Commander of Eighth Fleet (phew! That’s a mouthful!) Really the only annoying thing about her is how good she is at just about anything she attempts (with the exception of mathematics). She is a high-ranking naval officer, holds the highest noble titles on two different worlds, is a crack shot with a pistol, is one of the best martial artists in the known universe, holds the sailplane record for the Saganami Island Naval Academy on Manticore, AND has one of the coolest sidekicks ever (Nimitz, FTW!). At least she finally got over that wracking self-doubt somewhere around the 7th or 8th book. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/5 "2006-11-01T05:32:23Z")
Stubborn old Dumbledore keeping Harry (and others) in the dark about what’s really going on and refusing to believe anything bad about Snape. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/6 "2006-11-01T08:00:33Z")
When Peter Parker married MJ. Spidey’s great when he was the perpetual loser. Even when he wins, he loses. When Marvel decided to give him a break, his stories when downhill (besides marrying a supermodel, didn’t he have a bestselling coffee table book and some high paying job or something?) I realise these happened more than 15 years ago and I’m pretty sure things have changed since then but for me, _that_ was when Spidey “jumped the shark” and not when they suggested he was a clone. Angua is _so_ wrong for you, Captain Carrot. Why can’t you see that? I hate Flashman…sorry _Sir_ Flashman because he gets to sleep with every woman he meets 😉 Even the mad ones. ---
**Author:** ![Stentor\_2.5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@Stentor\_2.5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stentor_2.5)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/7 "2006-11-01T13:29:20Z")
[QUOTE=DataZak] I hate Flashman. . . [/QUOTE] Isn’t that supposed to be the point? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@The\_Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Octagon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/8 "2006-11-01T13:55:22Z")
I hate how Spongebob got castrated prior to the movie and all subsequent episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/9 "2006-11-01T13:59:56Z")
Admiral Kirk got way too chummy with the Klingons, way too fast, given the loss of his son. Spock shouldn’t have been brought back to life; let him stay dead with dignity. Uhura’s dance in \*STV: The Final Frontier \* was just embarrassing. And Scotty clearly put on far too much weight to comply with Starfleet physical-fitness guidelines. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/10 "2006-11-01T14:30:08Z")
I hate that Starbuck grew her hair out. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/11 "2006-11-01T15:02:36Z")
John Winchester from _Supernatural_: I hate so many things about him, I can’t figure out why I still love him. But I’ll limit myself to one: I hate that, as we saw last season, he left his ~9-year-old son to watch his ~5-year-old son alone for days, while a creature who preyed on children was on the loose, with just a shotgun to protect them. I can understand why he’d emotionally neglect his children after all he’d been through, but to physically neglect and endanger them is inexcusably bad parenting. Sam Winchester: sweet, sensitive, compassionate, sometimes clumsy in his attempt to help (though he means so well that this trait is endearing)…but the boy has serious hair issues. Dude, it’s called a shower and a pair of scissors. Gross. The second Mrs. DeWinter in _Rebecca_ (the book): I love her for her sensitivity, her capacity for introspection, her modesty and humility, the fact that she doesn’t let life at Manderley beat her down but keeps on trying…but I hate how hysterically needy she gets in a few scenes. Granted, she’s under a lot of stress, but from what we see of her character, it seems **out** of character for her to expose so much of herself to Maxim like that and to cast herself as such a burden on him. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/12 "2006-11-01T15:09:20Z")
Sherlock Holmes’ cocaine addiction (and presumably other drugs, based on what Watson says, although it’s never articulated). it seems completely out of place for as disciplined a character as he generally is. Similarly, from various clues it seems that Watson himself is a compulsive gambler. This isn’t one of those “how-m,any-times-was-he-married” obsessions, or fanboy explanation of why Watson’s wife apparently forgets his name. There are clear indications in a couple of stories that Watson bets too much, probably on horses and possibly elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/13 "2006-11-01T15:44:48Z")
I hate that David Copperfield ends up with that incredibly boring Agnes. I mean, I know Dave’s a bit of a goody-two-shoes and all, but after a whole book filled with fascinating people, how does he end up with someone as interesting as a wet dish rag? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/14 "2006-11-01T16:11:53Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] I hate that Starbuck grew her hair out. [/QUOTE] Actually Starbuck kept _his_ hair about the same lenght for the series. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/15 "2006-11-01T19:09:32Z")
Kaylee Frye’s taste in dresses leaves much to be desired. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/16 "2006-11-01T19:15:06Z")
[QUOTE=The Octagon] I hate how Spongebob got castrated prior to the movie and all subsequent episodes. [/QUOTE] SpongeBob’s voice got even _higher_? Is that even possible? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/17 "2006-11-01T19:25:31Z")
I positively adore Batman but I don’t get the whole thing with Robin and hate it. Batman does _not_ need a sidekick, especially not such a filthy useless one. I hate Robin in all incarnations and while I own the third movie I roll my eyes and fast forward during as many Robin parts as possible. I might be back with more. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/18 "2006-11-01T22:06:49Z")
[QUOTE=DataZak] Angua is _so_ wrong for you, Captain Carrot. Why can’t you see that? [/QUOTE] I think we’re doing very well together, actually. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/19 "2006-11-01T23:05:39Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux] Stubborn old Dumbledore keeping Harry (and others) in the dark about what’s really going on and refusing to believe anything bad about Snape. [/QUOTE] Don’t you mean, “stubborn old Dumbledore keeping Harry (and others) in the dark about what’s really going on, including how deep Snape’s cover is and how central he is to the Order of the Phoenix?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666/20 "2006-11-01T23:06:47Z")
I like John Galt, but he can be a trifle wordy and pedantic. Especially on the radio. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-hate-about-fictional-characters-you-love/378666.md?page=2)