The Clue in the Old Album, a Nancy Drew mystery by whichever ghostwriter was Carolyn Keene at the time featured a middle-aged woman who collected dolls. (One of which had a concealed poison needle, by the way…)
Robin’s costume is based on the leotards worn by the Graysons in their circus acrobat act.
Anyway, what about that creepy doll collection Susan had? The worst was that her favorite one just happened to look like George’s mom. How could anyone like a doll that looked like that, child or adult?
And Batman’s is based on…? :dubious: 
Come on, old Brucey obviously had a “thing” for bodysuits, capes, and tights! 
Which goes a long way to explaining why Sam could never make things work with her.
There are certainly many fictional characters who have childish affectations. The question is, are those believable quirks in well conceived characters, or just silly gimmicks dreamed up by gag writers?
One of the main characters in the movie “Safety Not Guaranteed” is an intern in his late 30s (!) who is obsessed about his co-workers’ virginity statuses, in particular that of his 22-year-old Indian colleague.
:rolleyes:
[Nitpick] It was a plush Panda bear named Hi-Fi. [/Nitpick]
It actually led to one of William Hartnell’s great retorts:
Humbert Humbert? 
Do none of you have a stuffed animal? I’m going to be 36 in a few weeks and I have my teddy bear Ted. I’ve had him since I was a baby. Ted and the blanket my great grandmother crocheted for me while I was still incubating are the only two things I’ve had with me my entire life, in every home, including 9 foster homes. I’d be devastated if anything happened to Ted or my blanket. They both have a place of honor on top of my bureau, which is where the dogs can’t get them.
I can see being confused by adults with huge collections of stuffed animals but one special one is not odd at all. If I’m particularly sick or sad, I still hug Ted. He has given me comfort my entire life. I see no reason to stop now.
So if I want to wreak vengeance on the forces of evil I have to don a kinky outfit? :dubious:
I like the approach used by real ninjas (not the ones who dress themselves in black): dress like a bum and blend in with the surroundings!
A one-shot from The Odd Couple (spoilered in case you’ve never seen this episode):Felix has insomnia and after several nights of it, Oscar brings up some of Felix’s old toys from the basement (storage). There’s his BLANKIE–which he wraps around his shoulders (it’s 24"x36")–some of his storybooks, and his teddy bear (“Mr. Friend,” who is still in the cellophane [you know how dusty those things can get]). Oscar reads storybooks–“Louder, he can’t hear you through the cellophane;” at the conclusion of the last one, Felix is wide-eyed awake and the bear is flopped over on the bed and Oscar says Mr. Friend is fast asleep and Mr. Enemy is wide awake.
congodwarf, this was posted before I saw your post and is not aimed at you. I’m 55 and tossed my TB earlier this year because it fell totally apart after half a century. 
Over 50 posts and no mention of The Big Bang Theory? All the guys and to some extent Penny (stuffed animals, some of her clothing, etc.).
see post 7, 12, 14, 16, and 17
(did I miss any?)
Post 19 where I point out that a lot of adults buy superhero clothing in 2015, so calling it childish is a bit silly.
Judge Harry Stone of Night Court had plenty of childish trappings.
I’m blanking on specific examples but Tony Soprano had an inner “mean little kid” facet to his personality that would emerge at times. One of the things that I really admired about Gandolfini’s portrayal was his ability to bring that childish quality in, even in the midst of murder and mayhem.
Considering that Tony saw a guy get his fingers chopped off when he was ten or twelve, and that the chopper was his own dad, yeah, it’s not surprising he was traumatized for life. To him, life was one big prank in which it was okay to kill people if they messed with you.
Maybe it’s just the people I hang out with, but none of the things mentioned seems particularly odd for an adult to collect/have. Most adults may not, but some do.
As my friend says, “If you ain’t geekin’, you ain’t livin’” - ie, everyone should have something they’re a little obssessive about, whether it’s superheroes, knitting, sports statistics, writing fanfiction, setting up model trains, figuring out the exact timeline of Sherlock Holmes’ life in the original canon, birdwatching, doll collecting, or something entirely different - these are the things that bring joy to one’s life.
Collecting dolls seems mildly creepy to me but not childish. I mean, usually the collectors display the dolls, they do not play with them.