Aang and Buffy are way cooler than Anakin Skywalker.

Pfft.

Progressive_Stupidity | October 29, 01:20 CET

Fun article. Made me think of Krod Mandoon, who was the Golden One, "the slightly less cliche way of saying the Chosen One."

Succatash | October 29, 01:21 CET

I did like the weirding circuits in the movie version of Dune.

And it's been too long since I saw Buffy's "Barbara Steele in Black Sunday" pose!

DaddyCatALSO | October 29, 01:27 CET

Switching 1 and 3. There, much better!

mutt999 | October 29, 01:39 CET

Hmmm...that was a weird list. I mean, really....?

didifallasleep | October 29, 01:48 CET

Anakin Skywalker? what about Luke Skywalker, at least those movies were good.

mortimer | October 29, 01:52 CET

Interesting that they chose Paul Atreides. I haven't seen Dune make number one on many lists.

deepgirl187 | October 29, 02:09 CET

the novel "dune" is far, far, superior to the david lynch film (if you've never read the novel, you'll likely enjoy the film, while if you've read the book, the sci-fi channel miniseries is excellent)

i'd ditch homer and throw angel in there >.>

i'm ok w/ muad'dib at #1 tho.

kefka | October 29, 02:27 CET

She's the choicest chosen.

Pointy | October 29, 02:49 CET

Paul Atreides would be near or at the top of my list (but only from the books). Buffy and Harry Potter are good choices. Neo works if you ignore the second and third movies (as I try very hard to do). I would pick Luke Skywalker over Anakin any day of the week (but he would be low on my list).

Others that would be included in my top ten: Ender from Ender's Game, Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files (not a typical chosen one), Rand/Mat/Perrin from The Wheel of Time Series, John Connor from the Terminator series, possibly Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.

[ edited by JossIzBoss on 2009-10-29 06:37 ]

JossIzBoss | October 29, 03:17 CET

I thought this was an excellent list, and I especially liked the inclusion of Aang (like the article said, you should definitely watch AtLA if you haven't).

I also would not have included Anakin, and I second the
Rand/Mat/Perrin suggestion above.

[ edited by Justin on 2009-10-29 03:35 ]

Justin | October 29, 03:37 CET

Buffy, Harry, and Aang, yay! All of my favorite chosen ones made it on the list. But why they fell short of Anakin Skywalker in anyone's estimation, I fail to understand.

Taaroko | October 29, 04:07 CET

We did it again? ;)

GVH | October 29, 04:23 CET

Anakin Skywalker's Darth Vader. That's why he beat them. (And Luke isn't "the Chosen One," so he doesn't meet the list's criteria.)

The Dark Shape | October 29, 04:58 CET

What about

(SHPOILERS!)

Sidney Bristow in Alias?

CowboyCliche | October 29, 06:16 CET

Second what TDS said. Anakin is the one who is to bring balance to the Force.

I also really liked the end of the Buffy piece: "Buffy’s status as The Slayer conflicts mightily with her need to have an ordinary life, but it’s her attempts to stay normal that, most likely, keep her alive much longer than most of the Chosen girls."

E-Rawk | October 29, 06:18 CET

I'm not arguing that Anakin was not "the chosen one". They very specifically implied he was in "The Phantom Menace". However, imo, Luke Skywalker in "A New Hope" definitely also fits "chosen one" criteria. A seemingly normal person who comes to realize that he has special powers/skills that will enable him to save the world (or galaxy) from the forces of evil. He was the only person who was able to destroy the Death Star, apparently the only one (after Ben's death with Yoda in hiding) strong with the Force. With TESB and ROTJ, he remained the main hope for the rebellion (though he had a little more help from his friends).

So both Anakin and Luke can be seen as "the chosen one" in different time periods of the saga. But I'd definitely choose Luke over Anakin as a favorite (since Anakin is a whiny bitch). Now if we were talking Darth Vader, it'd be a completely different competition :).

[ edited by JossIzBoss on 2009-10-29 06:32 ]

JossIzBoss | October 29, 06:27 CET

So glad Paul Atreides was at no.1 rather than Neo. Dune rules.

curlymynci | October 29, 08:34 CET

I love the Buffster, but I was happiest to see Ash make the list. Brash, arrogant, and stupid... definately one of my favorite characters of all time.

LaneMeyer | October 29, 11:33 CET

Yeah, great to see Ash on there. Also didn't know his surname previously so new information. Bonus.

... but it’s her attempts to stay normal that, most likely, keep her alive much longer than most of the Chosen girls."

I like that too though i'd say there's no "most likely" about it, it's just true - Buffy wanted to have friends like a normal girl and without her friends (specifically Xander) she'd have died (and stayed dead) in "Prophecy Girl". And then again (Willow this time) in "The Gift". QED.

Cool list. Can't really think of any major omissions off the top of my head (though as one of the commenters mentions, i'd have John Sheridan on there I reckon - he's a good character in his own right but his "chosen" status lead to some amazing scenes. The White Star tearing across the sky on its suicide run in Zha'dum is right up there with BSG's hot jump for sci-fi fan squee moments IMO).

Saje | October 29, 12:15 CET

I'm surprised Frodo didn't make the list.

I agree with the Dune comments - the novel was great, the Lynch film sucked.

witchlover | October 29, 14:58 CET

It's funny...I'm currently re-reading Dune (on Children of Dune right now) and after all these years I still don't get the vehement dislike of the Lynch film. Hell, even Herbert liked it. It does condense a lot, leaves important themes out, has a terrible score, etc, but it still conveys the core of the story, gets the characters right, has a great cast, etc. Now, a lot of the scenes in the extended version were certainly right to be cast out (and I can see why Lynch took his name off of it), but I don't get why so many people hate the movie quite as much as they do. *shrugs*

Anyway, I'd bump Buffy over Neo, and agree with the addition of the Rand/Mat/Perrin trio. I love and grew up on Tolkien, but not sure anyone is as particularly chosen in the same way, say, Buffy is (Aragorn is more a direct line of succession, Frodo is a poor sap who draws the short straw...though you could make an argument that all of the Maiar were literally chosen by the Valar, but that statement just points out how dorky I REALLY am!) On the other hand, Muad'dib is the product of a centuries-long breeding program, so there you go.

And, of course, I'd add The Chosen One from Kung Pow, but that's definitely a love-it or hate-it choice for most people ;-)

narse | October 29, 16:53 CET

Filming Dune is like filming Les Miserables... there's so much source material, all of it good, that the toughest and most telling choice of any who would adapt it to screen is "What can I possibly cut?!"

jclemens | October 29, 17:59 CET

I like that Harry's the Chosen One because of what other people think about him, nothing more. He was the Chosen One because Voldemort went after him, not vice versa, and because other people respect and follow him.

Buffy takes it a step further, as the article kind of hints at and as Spike informs us -- she's so good because she's got lots of experience and powerful friends, and the experience comes from having those friends help her survive long enough to get it. I mean, by the end of things Willow is stronger than her and she's just one of hundreds of slayers, but she's still the Chosen One because she made all that happen. But without Xander -- Xander! -- she's dead two or three times over before she turns 18.

In other words, Buffy's the Chosen One because she's normal. It's a beautiful thing.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | October 29, 20:25 CET

narse - Unfortunately, I don't have the books handy, but I seem to recall Elrond during the council saying something along the lines of Frodo being destined for his task. I'll have to look it up later.

witchlover | October 29, 20:38 CET

I'm gonna assume certain chosen ones don't quite count. Like in Empire Strikes Back they more or less explicitly pointed out that Leia probably could have stepped up if the option came to it. (Or so I imagine.) Then again there's also that list of runner up chosen.

orangewaxlion | October 29, 20:50 CET

"Nearly chosen ones" or "chosen adjacent".

It's like school football all over again.

Saje | October 29, 20:52 CET

Saje,
JV Chosen, heh.

thatweirdgirl | October 30, 00:59 CET

Frodo should have been on the list.

And definitely John Sheridan. Although you could make a case for Sheridan being part of a chosen trinity (with Delenn and Sinclair/Valen), I'll stick to my point.

And of course I'd put Buffy in the #1 spot. :)

Shey | October 30, 09:07 CET