# When you were little, Who was your Childhood Cartoon Hero? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2004, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653 "2004-04-29T11:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/41 "2004-04-29T22:15:10Z")
Batman and Luke Skywalker (& a secret dark heart that pulled, a bit, for Skeletor) ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/42 "2004-04-29T22:17:35Z")
Peter Venkman. I wanted to fight ghosts too. EeK! The Cat. _It never hurts to help!_ ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/43 "2004-04-29T22:27:54Z")
Hey, what about good ole **Dick Dastardly**? Jeez, I was always hoping he would manage to catch that messenger pigeon, and cheering for him to win at least one single Wacky Race, despite all the cheats. He was too cool. [_Stop the pigeon, Stop the pigeon, Stop the pigeon, Stop the pigeon, Stop the pigeon, Stop the pigeon, NOW!_ ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/44 "2004-04-29T22:30:20Z")
Mine was [Captain Avatar](http://www.filmbuffonline.com/StarBlazers4.jpg) from “Star Blazers.” What a bad-ass. When I got a little older, it was [Jason](http://www.absoluteanime.com/g-force/joe.gif) from “Battle of the Planets.” But I gave that up once I’d found out **paulberserker** already wanted to be him. Thankfully, my Thundarr the Barbarian period was very short-lived. > [@ThatDuckIsEvil](#): > > The chick crew member in Battle of the Planets or G-Force or whatever it was called. I SOOOO wanted to be her when I grew up. I’d watch every morning before school. That would be [Princess.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/tv/battle/gallery/princess2.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Granuaile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecccb3/32.png) [@Granuaile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Granuaile)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/45 "2004-04-29T22:30:57Z")
I guess he’s not a cartoon as such but after seeing the Shepard illustrations and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) I had the biggest crush on Christopher Robin. Thus began, at the tender age of 5, my weakness for English guys with floppy hair. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/46 "2004-04-29T22:35:52Z")
Spider-Man (the original hard-luck hero) Optimus Prime (who fought and DIED for the notion that “freedom is the right of all sentient beings”) Dr. Peter Venkman (ultra-cool–more like a game show host than a scientist!) My favorite comic book hero, although he has yet to be depicted in a cartoon, has always been The Blue Beetle, who combines all the best aspects of Batman and Spider-Man: [http://www.geocities.com/bigbadvoodoolou/comics.html](http://www.geocities.com/bigbadvoodoolou/comics.html) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/47 "2004-04-30T00:15:49Z")
> [@ggurl](#): > > Hong Kong Phooey! > > Probably not very politically correct, but he was _cool_. (At least to five-year-old ggurl!) Hey, You beat me to it. I swear to God I come in here and I’m thinking the same thing. “Hong Kong Phooey, faster than the human eye!”… I would watch it early in the morning before going to school. What could be better than the voice of Scatman Carrothers and the moves of Bruce Lee! What was the dry, sidekick, cat’s name? It just occured to me, he’s the Garfield prototype! That, and I remember cherishing every barely visible, white snow crackling, no horizontal hold, Black and white TV episode of _ **Ultraman** _. I’d get home from school and fiddle with the rabbit ears for half the show trying to get a little peak of Ultraman. It was way out of broadcast range on channel 20 out of Detroit or Cleveland and I never saw a full, intelligible, and clear show but I still loved it. There was a period of time as a kid I wore a “Thing” T-shirt (I think he was one of the fab 4 …the hulkish guy made out of conglomo rocks…indestructible). But it was just a shirt I had, I didn’t really identify or even know much about him. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/48 "2004-04-30T02:49:54Z")
Have to admit, **Popeye**. rrrooowwrrr. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/49 "2004-04-30T02:55:31Z")
“My name is Adam - Prince of Eternia and defender of the secrets of Castle Greyskull. This is Cringer, my fearless friend. Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said…” Of course, I actually might have been more of a She-Ra guy. I can never remember who I liked more. ---
**Author:** ![IrreverentTone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@IrreverentTone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrreverentTone)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/50 "2004-04-30T03:13:46Z")
I wanted Race Bannon bad when I was five. Not that I would have known what to do with him if I’d gotten him. _That wouldn’t be a problem anymore, Race darling…_ ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/51 "2004-04-30T03:23:10Z")
Wow, I too was a huge **Venkman** fan. Seems be a lot of others in here. Now, you guys are all going to laugh at me, but I was incredibly jealous of **Kit “Cloud Kicker”** from **Tail Spin**. He never went to school and got to spend his days surfing out the back of an airplane. If I only I could live in cartoons ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/52 "2004-04-30T06:21:26Z")
Mine was Quick Draw McGraw, but I dropped him when I discovered Astro Boy. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/53 "2004-04-30T10:19:45Z")
My memory isn’t all it should be in regard to this: If we’re talking strictly animated then the first was either Tom Terrific - [http://www.tvparty.com/spotpix9/terrific4.gif](http://www.tvparty.com/spotpix9/terrific4.gif) Or Tobor the 8th Man - [http://www.alphalink.com.au/~roglen/8man1.jpg](http://www.alphalink.com.au/~roglen/8man1.jpg) Popeye was also important early on, but I never “played” Popeye for some reason. I remember pretending to be both, but can’t actually remember my age at doing either (since I had such a prolonged childhood, not like today when it’s over at say 8 and you discover hip hop, sex, and MTV, though not in that order) If you expand it, then The Rifleman, Roy Rodgers, The Lone Ranger and Tonto were a huge influence, as was Batman (from the comics, not the TV show). ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/54 "2004-04-30T12:18:06Z")
Tarzan. When I was a kid, on Saturday mornings they had some kid of Tarzan and Lone Ranger hour (no, the characers’ weren’t together, just back to back). I thought Tarzan was really cool because of the animals. But prior to that, there was a live-action, Buck Rodgers-like show (when I was about four years old) called _Jason of Star Command_. The hero was a guy who dressed like Han Solo. It took place in the same reality line as _Space Academy_. I loved, loved, _loved_ that show as a kid. Wanted to be a sidekick, deperately! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/55 "2004-04-30T12:33:26Z")
Another vote for the spinach-eating sailorman, but only the original cartoons from the Fleischer studios. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/56 "2004-04-30T15:38:19Z")
Powdered Toatman, the only superhero whose alter-ego is a clergyman. That assumes “when you were little” means when I was in my late 30s. If it means when I was a wee child, Batman & SpiderMan. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/57 "2004-04-30T15:56:55Z")
I’m shocked I klnow this but: > [@](#): > > What could be better than the voice of Scatman Carrothers and the moves of Bruce Lee! What was the dry, sidekick, cat’s name? It just occured to me, he’s the Garfield prototype! The name was Spot. I never di figure that out, but i loved his magic car. I liked Dynomut, Bugs Bunny and Spiderman. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/58 "2004-04-30T16:10:24Z")
I was a He-Man fan until She-ra debuted, after which my loyalties switched. I was also a huge fan of Voltron. I remember thinking the Princess was pretty cool, but that I would never want to take her place because I never liked pink. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/59 "2004-04-30T18:43:18Z")
> [@ddgryphon](#): > > \ > > Tom Terrific - [http://www.tvparty.com/spotpix9/terrific4.gif](http://www.tvparty.com/spotpix9/terrific4.gif) > > \ Damn, he was mine too. I also liked **Speed Racer** and **Racer X** … basically anyone who raced around in cool cars. ---
**Author:** ![maniondl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@maniondl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maniondl)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653/60 "2004-04-30T19:34:39Z")
I was never a huge fan of the anime (Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets) cartoons as a kid. Too much “Let me heroically sacrifice myself for everyone else!” going on. I always wanted to say “Ya know, if you could just stop sacrificing yourselves heroically, maybe we could get something done around here.” I loved the Batman and Robin TV show. As a kid, I actually thought it was serious. :rolleyes: I wanted that utility belt so badly. I was amazed that it had everything you could possibly need. “Fortunately I had the Bat Turnip Twaddler and was able to make short work of The Root Vegetable Robber.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-were-little-who-was-your-childhood-cartoon-hero/242653.md?page=4)