FICTIONAL HEROES NEVER DIE

Real heroes are only human. They live and die like the rest of us. But fictional heroes are different. They began life many years ago and they will live on in fiction in the future. Here are some favourite twentieth-century fictional heroes.

1. The spy 007 has been working for the British Secret Service since 1953 when Ian Fleming first wrote about him in Casino Royale. Fleming is now dead, but the spy still lives on. The first film was Dr No in 1962 and since then he’s appeared in over twenty films. The Cold War was finished and Bond’s enemies are not the Russians now, but there are still plenty of bad people out there! Columbia, the film producer, recently finished filming his latest adventure.

2. He first saved Gotham City from evil, with the help of Robin, in a comic book in 1939 and has been fighting crime for over fifty years. The team has made three TV series, as well as films and novels. The most popular TV series was in the 1960s, and our hero has recently appeared in films. He will live on as long as there are criminals like the Penguin, Catwoman and the Joker in Gotham City.

3. This character has been living with his pet dog Snoopy in a small American town since 1950, when he first appeared in the strip cartoon Peanuts. Over forty years later, he still experiences all the happiness and frustration of the typical boy, playing baseball with his friends and going to school. His first appearance in a TV film was in 1965, and so far he has made three cinema films. His appeal is as strong as ever.

4. The talking rabbit first asked “What’s Up Doc?” in 1937 and has been eating carrots in public ever since. He has appeared in comic books, newspaper strips and above all, hundreds of cartoon films. He will be popular for as long as people laugh at rabbits.

5. The green frog has been singing and dancing on TV since 1957, although it was only in 1967 that it became famous with the Muppets. Since then, 253 million people in 100 countries have seen hundreds of Muppet shows. There have also been three films. Success has not changed him; he remains exactly the same colour.