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First off, Potter would never see Bean coming.
As for other cool kid heroes,
Amouro Ray (Origional Gundam)
Asuka (Evangelion {Not that young, I know, but she OWNS!})
Jim Hawking (Outlaw Star)<P>And I think Bilbo was only 33. <P>WARNING! UNNECESARY EXPLINATION!<P>The begining of Bilbo's adventure was at Frodo's 111 birthday, right? Frodo also made a big deal about there being 1 gross of people there (thusly enraging the Sackville-Baggins) because that was the combined years of Frodo+Bilbo. I think.<P>*Mutters and begins searching for Lord of the Rings 1*

Frodo inherited the ring when he was 33 (you're right about the party), but quite a few years passed before he went on his quest.<P>
And how come no one has mentioned Adric (from <I>Doctor Who</I>) when talking about cool juvenile heroes? Oh, yeah -- because he's a total dweeb. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin ... bee<P>"I'm always serious about what I do. Just not necessarily about how I do it."<P>-- The (Third) Doctor, "The Time Warrior" (season 11, episodes 1-4)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Maccabee:
<B>And how come no one has mentioned Adric (from <I>Doctor Who</I>) when talking about cool juvenile heroes? Oh, yeah -- because he's a total dweeb. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin ... TE><P>Yeah, but I had a special place in my heart for him since he was a mathematical genius. I was really upset when they killed him off. Another reason why I was not particularly fond of the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison. In my mind at the time, I thought, the Fourth Doctor would have been able to save Adric.<P>--Tuscahoma

Ahh, but he did get a great exit line.<P>"Now I'll never find out if I was right." or something to that effect. I did admire that level of intellectual curiousity.<P>Indirectly the 5th doctor did kill him. The 4th doctor was supposed to be a father figure for Adric. Number 5 was more diffident and didn't fill that role, and it ruined the dynamic they wanted for Adric. Goodbye, Matthew Waterhouse.<P>For some really interesting stuff about Adric, read <I>The Completely Useless Encyclopedia</I> by Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons. It points out some fascinating subtext in Peter Davidson's first story in the entry "Hadron Energy."<P>Maccabee
"Is that a sonic screwdriver in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Bilbo had his first adventure when 50 years old. (but remember that hobbits age a bit slower)<P>When Bilbo was 111 and Frodo was 33, Bilbo left the ring to Frodo.<P>Finally, when Frodo was *also* 50 he began his own adventure. But he still looked very young, because of the power of the ring.

What about FitzChivalry Farseer from Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy? I mean, he was an assassin, and he helped lead the Elders in a war.<P>And if we're going a little older, I'd put in my vote for Steele Brightblade of the DragonLance saga. The other folks in his generation were a little wimpy. Plus he was an evil knight, and that was just cool <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">

Ah, Adric. He was okay, and his exit episode quite well done and compelling (the Adric part at least). My favorite use of him, however, was in the novel Cold Fusion. The Seventh Doctor gets to spend time with him again, and Roz Forester gets one of the best exchanges, "Who are you?" "Adric." "What's a Dric?"<P>Unfortunately he, in my mind, suffered from retroactive Wesley Syndrome. Wes would have been better if they'd put restrictions on what the writters could use him for, because the initial set up for his superhuman status was nicely done. BTW, TNN is playing ST:TNG all day, every day this week. 8)<P>Here's another question, how many of these juvenile heroes would be heros without their special talents/superhuman abilities? This is a personal puzzle for me, the juxtaposition of "do-nearly-anything" hero to the "common-man" hero. The anti-hero schelps into the scene from time to time, too, but isn't quite so important. Sort of a Superman vs. Arthur Dent vs. Inspector Gadget. <P>Anyway, I've babbled enough.<P>Nullset out.

Thanks for the tip, Maccabee.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nullset:
<B>Here's another question, how many of these juvenile heroes would be heros without their special talents/superhuman abilities? This is a personal puzzle for me, the juxtaposition of "do-nearly-anything" hero to the "common-man" hero. The anti-hero schelps into the scene from time to time, too, but isn't quite so important. Sort of a Superman vs. Arthur Dent vs. Inspector Gadget.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Recently, I've been pondering something like this. More to the point, the possibility of what true magic, true power is. I mean, people are truly capable of so much, and most don't realize it.<P>Under horrible circumstances, there have been people who have done extraordinary things. The rescue workers at the Ground Zero. Afghan women who run secret schools in their homes to teach girls, knowing if found out they will be killed. Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist incarcerated in a concentration camp by the Nazis, who discovered that there was one freedom that could not be taken away, the freedom to choose how he would react to what was done to him.<P>There are countless other true stories. I guess I am trying to find in reality what ingtrigued me about fantasy as I rethink the nature of what True Power is and what it means to be a Hero. Especially what this means in the everyday sense of living one's life.<P>--Tuscahoma<p>[This message has been edited by Tuscahoma (edited 10-04-2001).]

Thanks for your comment, Tuscahoma. <P>It seems like most sci-fi/fantasy uses the "above average"/"special ability" as their heroic "out". Heroes are heroes just because that's what they're meant to be. They're _better_ than everyone else.

Sometimes this works well, when the authors realise that being a "superior being" means something, and has it's own challenges. Typically, though, you get the run of the mill "I'm better than everyone else, I just didn't realise it till now." Even Campbell's Hero's Journey archtype seems to do this.<P>I'd very much like to write the story involving this, or rather, not involving it but with the common man hero. It's kind of ineffiable, though, and I'm having a hard time effing it. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"><P>Some stories seem to have this. LOTR, IMHO, has the hobbits being quite heroic, when there is really nothing "special" about them. I also like that they're surrounded by powerful figures, but it's the "lesser" creatures who really save the day. Even there, though, Tolkien makes some allusions to a "desitiny".<P>Faans is interesting, akin to the X-files, where the main players are common but the foes are superhuman. Rikk is the best, having no special skills, but even he has his "summon rightous following with inspiring speech". Fox Mulder was his best confronting the supernatural with no "super-psychic mad-tatical abilities" just his acceptance theat wierd stuff happens.<P>I just wonder what The Hero's Journey would look like without the "advantages" typicaly afforded a hero. Probably boring. I'll let you know.<P>Nullset out.

Read Harry Turtledove's <I>Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, Between The Rivers, Noninterference</I>, or <I>Thessalonika</I> for stories of heroes without supernatural abilities or freakish intelligence. Turtledove likes using the everyman as adventure protagonist. In CotTSD the hero is an EPA bureaucrat, for instance.<P>Maccabee<P>------------------
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nodrog:
<B>Note: Anyone suggesting Wesley Crusher will be glared at.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>You need to hit <A HREF="http://www.wilwheaton.net" TARGET=_blank>http://www.wilwheaton.net</A> sometime soon. His brain took a trip to Planet Tequila and came back with a permanent buzz.<P>He blogs on it, and one of his recent comment was that he was going to send his 'most hated guy among star trek fans' award to the guy that composed the 'Enterprise' soundtrack.<P>He's a trip now. Read and be amused. And sometimes touched.