The mythology of “cool” is a strange and nebulous beastie. From my perspective, as a child of the 70s, I immediately think of Henry Winkler’s Fonz as the epitome of self-confident actualization, but my elders could easily make arguments for the likes of James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, or even the legendary Achilles. Whomever or whatever you deem to be the perfect indicator of self-possession, we can all agree: We know it when we see it. Exposure in my tween years to the exploits of daredevil biker and erstwhile cowboy Johnny Blaze (aka the original motorcyclin’ Ghost Rider) has cemented him as one of, if not THE first image that comes to mind when someone asks me to define that damn-near meaningless term, with Sky Masterson and Captain Okona close behind. All in all, admiration of those with their metaphorical $#!+ together is universal (*coughHanSolocough*) which in turn begs a query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) notes that the definitions in play are going to be very vague and subjective, and is kind of find with that, asking: Who’s the most inherently cool character in all of pop culture?
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Heeeeeeeey,it’s Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli and if you don’t agree, you can go sit on it. The Fonz has always been the epitome of cool to me since I was a kid. Vinny Babarino and Spike Spiegel are my runner-ups.
And let’s not forget Buckaroo Banzai.
Well for me it was always Gambit. He always seems so cool. (maybe cause I grew up with the 90s X-Men)
Amen. Gotta be Gambit.
Han Solo. No question. And he shot first!
Yes and yes
well that would be Shaft (Richard Roundtree version). He’s the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about.
A close runner-up is Steve McQueen’s Bullitt.
A tie between Han Solo, The Fonz and Steven Hyde.
Abed Nadir. Cool. Cool, cool, cool.
Barney Stinson, because he’s awesome, duh (I hope you read that in his voice)
I am going with a different type of cool, I am going with coolest idea for a superhero. Firestorm. He’s two people in one, one that runs the brains and at times acts as the conscience, and the other acts as the brawn of the two. His powers are able to create anything out of anything else, I mean, he technically is the most powerful and coolest superhero ever.
Comic wise, Puck from Alpha Flight. Cool, calm, collected – and a cool uniform to boot.
That John Constantine is a pretty cool cat.
Hellboy combines my favorite aspects of pop-culture a little detective, a little fantasy, and a dash of horror.
Samuel L. Jackson as (let’s face it he’s Samuel L. Jackson in everything)
…because he exudes this cool exterior where nothing seems to phase his character, most of the time. (even when he’s getting shot at)
I still claim that Mace Windu and Nick Fury probably have a wallet just like Jules Winnfield.