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Fictional European Heroes

Europe is a highly creative continent and churns out a whole range of books, films, comics and other stories. Of these, some fictional European heroes have risen above the medium in which they started and become heroes recognised the world over and in multiple formats. These fictional European heroes are almost like ambassadors for their countries and the continent, representing those countries’ unique personalities across the world and bringing the countries to many people’s attentions. Here we will look at just a few of those characters who have become immortalised stood the test of time.

Tin Tin: Tin Tin started life as the titular character in his own comic strip ‘Les Aventures de Tintin’ in a Belgian newspaper published in 1929. From here tough his adventures were adapted to television and enjoyed by children the world over. The stories have been praised universally for being well researched capers that involved politics, history and globe trotting; something which has been credited with lending Tin Tin his universal appeal. His sidekick ‘Snowy’ the dog is arguably as recognisable around the world as these two fictional European heroes come mostly as a pair.

James Bond: James Bond is one of the most enduring of any characters in film and literature, and particularly so among fictional European heroes. Created by Ian Flemming for a series of serialised stories and later novels, it wasn’t until he was first played by Sean Connery in the film ‘Dr No’ that his stardom really escalated. Since then, Bond has become one of the most recognised characters in film and literature and has been played by six actors across over twenty films. James Bond’s success among fictional European heroes comes from his being the ‘idealised’ gentleman – classy, mysterious, handsome, resourceful, charming etc – providing escapism for males wishing to be more like him and for women wishing their men were more like him. He has a number of catchphrases such as ‘Bond, James Bond’ and ‘Shaken not stirred’ and is in many ways a quintessentially British hero.

Asterix and Obelix: Asterix and Obelix are also cartoon fictional European heroes hailing from France. Like Tin Tin they started life in comics in the magazine ‘Pilote’ but have since gone on to star in many cartoons, books and even computer games. The series focussed on the two titular ancient Gauls fighting against Roman Occupation using a magic potion that grants them super-human strength.

Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock Holmes is another well known English character, again starting life in novels this time written by an Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with his sidekick ‘Dr Watson’, these fictional European heroes are a crime solving duo who use reasoning and logic to deduce the true nature of many murders and mysteries. These fictional European heroes have been credited as inspiring many modern crime dramas such as CSI, and have been adapted into many films and tv series. Most recently these include a new film series starring Robert Downey Jr that mixes their traditional problem solving with high paced action, and a televised series in the UK that features him in a modern stay.