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I've always had a thing for super-intelligent characters, but that's been hammered home to me with stuff I've been watching and playing lately. (Although, my penchant for the manipulative/magnificent bastard sometimes associated with this character type seems to be new...)
Cases in point...
Malavai Quinn, "Star Wars: The Old Republic" (video game) - I've gone on enough about how much I like this character, so I'll try to sum it up... Cold and calculating, tactically brilliant, and devious in a way that an Imperial military officer has to be in order to survive and rise up in the ranks... Despite all his flaws, I still adore him. (Doesn't hurt that I find him attractive in other ways, as well.)
And I can't resist linking to a video of the Sith Warrior's first meeting of him in-game. (Sadly, it only took this one meeting for me to want him on my ship...)
Sherlock Holmes, "Sherlock" (TV series) - I just watched the new BBC version of Sherlock Holmes (all six episodes of them), and was instantly hooked. Having read the original stories recently (thanks to the Detective Conan anime), I was impressed how close to the source material the new show is, despite being set in the modern day.
The very first episode in particular had me fangirling in delight. (Substituting a cell phone for Watson's pocket watch? Brilliant!) I never realized I was such a fangirl until I found myself comparing all the parallels between the first episode and the original "A Study in Scarlet".
Onto the title character... I am in love with Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Holmes. He even gets the mannerisms right; the thoughtful posture with his hands held up in front of his face, or sitting in the armchair with his legs drawn up, are straight from his books. And he has similar flaws and vices to his book counterpart: he's trying give up smoking (badly), is implied to keep recreational drugs around (oops), and gets extremely ansty if he's not trying to solve some complex crime.
He's brilliant, but an utter bastard, and I love it. (It also doesn't hurt that his actor looks the part, and is hot to boot: tall, thin, pale, dark wavy hair, and pale blue eyes. Rawr.)
BTW, the quote from above is from this show, and is spoken by Irene Adler, of Sherlock. (In the books, she's Holmes' female rival; she's a bit... different in this version, but has a similar role.)
The Riddler, "Arkham City" (video game) - Only started to play this game recently (okay, I watch others play it, but I do try to help solve the puzzles). The rogues gallery of Batman villains featured in this game is impressive, but there's one in particular that steals the show; so much so that you find you find yourself trying to find Riddler secrets rather than actually trying to save Gotham itself...
The interesting thing about Riddler in this game, is that you don't see his face right away; even the promo pic of him is with his back turned, with only the question mark on the back of his jacket visible. You get glimpses of his profile early on, but never full-on facial shots, or at least, never for very long. So when we finally pulled up the Riddler challenge menu, I was surprised that the picture for last menu featured Riddler's face... And in this incarnation, he wears glasses.
Now, I have a thing for nerdy guys in glasses (cliche, I know). And I'm kind of surprised they haven't really used this design aesthetic for Riddler before; after all, he's the most cerebral of the Batman villains. (My only complaint is that they didn't use the question mark motif on his glasses, heh.)
Anyways... Onto the puzzles Riddler gives you. A lot of them are tied to the Batman mythos (places or references to the many varied Batman villains, for example). But a lot of them are not so straightforward... And if you solve a certain amount, it unlocks a Riddler room, where Riddler holds a hostage in a deathtrap of a room that Batman has to solve. (These have been compared to the Saw movies, but Riddler has always been known for luring Batman into deathtraps, as well.)
My favourite of these Riddler rooms was one where I figured out how Batman needed to get through a room of whirling sawblades (he had to use a specific gadget). Then I figured out how to get a block out of a cage using magnetic charges, so it could be placed on a pressure plate and free a hostage. Fiendishly clever, Riddler.
Now, unlike my two other examples above, it's not the Riddler's looks that get me (although I really like the outfit he wears in this game); it's just his mind... That brilliant, psychotic mind. (Gah, I do find that worrying...)
Cases in point...
Malavai Quinn, "Star Wars: The Old Republic" (video game) - I've gone on enough about how much I like this character, so I'll try to sum it up... Cold and calculating, tactically brilliant, and devious in a way that an Imperial military officer has to be in order to survive and rise up in the ranks... Despite all his flaws, I still adore him. (Doesn't hurt that I find him attractive in other ways, as well.)
And I can't resist linking to a video of the Sith Warrior's first meeting of him in-game. (Sadly, it only took this one meeting for me to want him on my ship...)
Sherlock Holmes, "Sherlock" (TV series) - I just watched the new BBC version of Sherlock Holmes (all six episodes of them), and was instantly hooked. Having read the original stories recently (thanks to the Detective Conan anime), I was impressed how close to the source material the new show is, despite being set in the modern day.
The very first episode in particular had me fangirling in delight. (Substituting a cell phone for Watson's pocket watch? Brilliant!) I never realized I was such a fangirl until I found myself comparing all the parallels between the first episode and the original "A Study in Scarlet".
Onto the title character... I am in love with Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Holmes. He even gets the mannerisms right; the thoughtful posture with his hands held up in front of his face, or sitting in the armchair with his legs drawn up, are straight from his books. And he has similar flaws and vices to his book counterpart: he's trying give up smoking (badly), is implied to keep recreational drugs around (oops), and gets extremely ansty if he's not trying to solve some complex crime.
He's brilliant, but an utter bastard, and I love it. (It also doesn't hurt that his actor looks the part, and is hot to boot: tall, thin, pale, dark wavy hair, and pale blue eyes. Rawr.)
BTW, the quote from above is from this show, and is spoken by Irene Adler, of Sherlock. (In the books, she's Holmes' female rival; she's a bit... different in this version, but has a similar role.)
The Riddler, "Arkham City" (video game) - Only started to play this game recently (okay, I watch others play it, but I do try to help solve the puzzles). The rogues gallery of Batman villains featured in this game is impressive, but there's one in particular that steals the show; so much so that you find you find yourself trying to find Riddler secrets rather than actually trying to save Gotham itself...
The interesting thing about Riddler in this game, is that you don't see his face right away; even the promo pic of him is with his back turned, with only the question mark on the back of his jacket visible. You get glimpses of his profile early on, but never full-on facial shots, or at least, never for very long. So when we finally pulled up the Riddler challenge menu, I was surprised that the picture for last menu featured Riddler's face... And in this incarnation, he wears glasses.
Now, I have a thing for nerdy guys in glasses (cliche, I know). And I'm kind of surprised they haven't really used this design aesthetic for Riddler before; after all, he's the most cerebral of the Batman villains. (My only complaint is that they didn't use the question mark motif on his glasses, heh.)
Anyways... Onto the puzzles Riddler gives you. A lot of them are tied to the Batman mythos (places or references to the many varied Batman villains, for example). But a lot of them are not so straightforward... And if you solve a certain amount, it unlocks a Riddler room, where Riddler holds a hostage in a deathtrap of a room that Batman has to solve. (These have been compared to the Saw movies, but Riddler has always been known for luring Batman into deathtraps, as well.)
My favourite of these Riddler rooms was one where I figured out how Batman needed to get through a room of whirling sawblades (he had to use a specific gadget). Then I figured out how to get a block out of a cage using magnetic charges, so it could be placed on a pressure plate and free a hostage. Fiendishly clever, Riddler.
Now, unlike my two other examples above, it's not the Riddler's looks that get me (although I really like the outfit he wears in this game); it's just his mind... That brilliant, psychotic mind. (Gah, I do find that worrying...)
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