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Monday, August 10, 2009

The 10 Greatest Fictional Characters To Ever Wear Chuck Taylor All Stars

 

The Greatest Shoes Of All Time!!!They're almost 100 years old now.  They're a simple shoe made of canvas and rubber.  They are available in just about every color and pattern imaginable, although most people still consider the classic black & white to be the best version of them.  They were originally sold as basketball shoes, but somewhere during thier long history they were adopted by a completely different demographic . . . Geeks.  They are, of course, the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star.

 

I'm not sure when or where it happened, but somewhere in the last 30 years or so, Chuck Taylor's have gone from being a sports shoe to a nerd icon.  They're required wearing for anyone who plays in a rock band with a geeky or punk leaning.  They can be seen being worn by a wide variety of people on TV and in movies.  Some of our greatest geek heroes have worn them, whether they be time travellers, scientists, Wizards or even aliens doesn't matter.  All that matters is that their shoes are all the same, and seeing someone in them nowadays makes them instantly cooler as far as most geeks are concerned.

 

And now, we here at Geek-tastic are proud to present to you our list of the Top 10 Greatest & Geekiest Fictional Characters To Ever Wear Chuck Taylors.

 

10.  Hank Venture


 

Even though Dean's a pansy, I still like him.  But Hank is cooler.

 

The grandson of a world famous scientist/adventurer and the son of a not so great scientist/adventurer, Hank Venture has been destined for a life of action and adventure since before he was born.  While he may not be the brightest guy around, he's definitely the braver and more outgoing of the two Venture Brothers (let's be honest, Dean's a pansy).  He tries to learn all he can from his hero Brock Samson and is always itching to get involved in any missions either his dad or Brock get involved with.  When he's not sleeping in his Aqua Man pajamas, Hank can regularly be seen wearing his trademark blue neckerchief and matching low-top Chuck Taylors, thus proving he has both ample amounts of courage AND style!

 

09.  Gabriel Gray (aka Sylar)


 

He was the only good thing about Heroes, and they've turned him into a crappy character.

 

You all know how I feel about the show Heroes, but that doesn't stop me from admitting that at least in season one of the show, the main villain Sylar was a bonafide badass.  He was a superpowered serial killer with an overwhelming lust for more power.  He kept adding to his powers by stealing the powers of other heroes directly from their brains.  He was a great character (before subsequent seasons destroyed every bit of coolness he ever had) and watching him lull foolish heroes into a false sense of security with his quiet and nerdy act before cutting their heads open was an absolute pleasure to watch.  Oh Sylar, whatever happened to you?  You used to be so awesome.  At least your choice in cool footwear hasn't changed.  Sylar is still known for committing violent acts while wearing the classic black & white Converse High Tops.

 

08.  Dwight McCarthy


 

Only Clive Owen could somehow manage to make red Chuck Taylor's cooler than they already are.

 

Dwight's a complicated guy with a long and complicated history.  He's even had his face changed from what it used to look like.  It's a long story, don't ask.  Anyways, he's a resident of Sin City, and like most of the people who dwell there he's got a rather hard edge to him.  He's tough, smart and good with guns.  However, he's also rather chivalrous and does what he can to help out the prostitues who run Old Town when they need it.  He also has a fondness for old cars and has a tendency to easily fall for beautiful women.  His footwear of choice are bright red Converse High Tops.

 

07 & 06.  Bill S. Preston Esquire & Ted Theodore Logan


 

Wyld Styllyns Rules!!!

 

From their humble beginnings in San Dimas, California, Bill & Ted had one simple dream . . . to be in a rock band.  In high school they formed the Wyld Stallyns, and even though they didn't know how to play guitar, they wouldn't let a little thing like that stop them from achieving their dreams.  One night, while hanging out in the parking lot of a Circle K, they started out on a most excellent journey together  that would take them through time.  This adventure was followed up a little while later by a bogus journey that saw them going to both heaven and hell.  Through it all though they kept their cool, learned how to play and went on to become the most popular rock band of all time.  Their music even managed to bring about world peace and ushered in a new period of enlightenment for all mankind.  Bill's shoe choice for travelling through time and the afterlife are the all white Chuck Taylors whereas Ted prefers to go for black & white Hi-tops (never completely laced up for even more comfort).

 

05.  Detective Del Spooner


 

I know the film is nothing like the book.  I have read the book.  I can't help it though, I love this film too.  It's so much fun to watch.  Alan Tudyk and Will Smith rule!

 

Detective Spooner is a cop with some major personal issues about robots.  A few years ago he was involved in an incident with a robot that he can never really forget, and because of that moment he's developed a severe distrust of all mechanical beings.  It certainly doesn't help things when one of his friends is murdered, and the prime suspect is a robot.  But before he can go investigate things and ultimately bring down a full on robot uprising, Spooner makes sure to put on his brand new pair of Black & White Chuck Taylor All Stars that he had special ordered for just such an occasion.  That's what I call thinking ahead.  You never know when a robot uprising is going to come, and I can't think of any shoes more comfortable to wear while fighting off an evil robot army.

 

04.  Dr. Leonard Hofstadter


 

This pic was chosen just for the ladies.  You know you love seeing Sheldon in his tighty whitey's.

 

Leonard is a bit of a genius.  His IQ is 173 and he earned his PhD in Physics at the age of 24.  Unfortunately, neither of these facts seem to help him get over some of his social awkwardness.  He has a group of good friends who are also as smart as he is, but he longs to be able to talk to people outside of his immediate social group.  He can frequently be found pining away over his cute blonde neighbor penny, even though I personally fail to ever understand how he could be mentally stimulated by her (but that's just me).  His hobbies include comic books, toy collecting and video games.  He's also rather adept at Secret Agent Chess.  Leonard is usually known for wearing black and white low cut Chuck Taylor's when getting into adventures or zany situations with his friends.

 

03.  Marty McFly


 

Whatever you do, don't call this man chicken.  He doesn't like that very much.

 

Ok, so most of you will probably only remember Marty McFly for wearing those awesome self-lacing Nike's from the  year 2015, but those aren't the only shoes this famous time traveller wears while jaunting about the space-time contuinuum.  During Marty's first trip through time, back to the year 1955, in order to not seem out of place with the timeline he donned a pair of black & white Chuck Taylors.  It was in these shoes that Marty ran afoul of Biff Tannen and his cronies and then singlehandedly invented the sport of skateboarding.  Maybe that's why a lot of skaters are still wearing Chucks even today.  It's all thanks to Mr. McFly and his trendsetting ways.

 

02.  Harry Potter


 

z-harry

 

The Chosen One, The Boy Who Lived, young Harry Potter has many nicknames.  He's the head of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and is said to be the only one who can bring down the most powerful dark wizard of all time.  That's a lot of pressure to put on a teenager, but Harry seems to manage it ok.  Maybe it's his Muggle upbringing, but whereas most of the wizarding world is known for wearing more traditional shoes, Harry can regularly be seen wearing low cut blue Chuck Taylors.  I bet they're amazingly comfortable to wear while dueling other wizards or when involved in combat with Death Eaters.

 

01.  Doctor Who


 

I really miss Martha Jones.  She was my favorite assistant.

 

He's from an alien race known as the Time Lords.  He's the last of his kind.  He's 900 years old and he has a ship that can take him anywhere he wants in the universe at any time he wishes (when it's working properly).  He's saved not only the earth, but the whole universe itself more times than I can count.  In his travels he's faced down countless enemies such as Daleks and Cybermen.  He's seen everything from ancient prehistoric times to the end of time itself.  He's cruised aboard the starship Titanic, hung out with William Shakespeare, was banned from England by Queen Victoria herself and was there to witness the day when the Earth's sun finally dies and takes the planet with it.  He's even gone face to face with Satan himself and kicked his ass into a black hole.  He's The Doctor, and what does he wear as he runs around through space and time saving the universe?  He usually wears white Chuck Taylor High Tops, but he's also been known to wear other colors too on occasion like black or red.  Are you suprised?  He's probably the smartest person in all of existence, of course he knows which shoes are the best ones to wear.

5 comments:

  1. You need to add Gossamer from Looney Toons and Bluto, from Animal House (black high tops). :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meant to say Gossamer wears white low tops, but with black laces and black ankle patch. He should be a trend setter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forgot The Geekiest of Geeks, The Godfather, nay, King of ALL Geeks, Stork, from Animal House.

      Delete
  3. BJ Hunnicutt, Dr Johnny Fever, Lovejoy.

    ReplyDelete