Meaningful Name/Comic Books: Difference between revisions

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* The ''[[Asterix]]'' comics. Every name at least means ''something'', from [[Dreadful Musician|incompetent bard]] Cacofonix to Briton chieftan Zebigbos.
* The ''[[Asterix]]'' comics. Every name at least means ''something'', from [[Dreadful Musician|incompetent bard]] Cacofonix to Briton chieftan Zebigbos.
** With a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for translators with Obelix's dog. In French, he is Idéfix - similar to the phrase for "fixed idea". In English, the name is Dogmatix, which adds a pun and keeps the meaning.
** With a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for translators with Obelix's dog. In French, he is Idéfix - similar to the phrase for "fixed idea". In English, the name is Dogmatix, which adds a pun and keeps the meaning.
* [[Doomy Dooms of Doom|DOOM]] is FURIOUS that [[Doctor Doom|Victor Von Doom]], main villain from the ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]'' was not the very first example! Seriously, what were his parents thinking? According to the original canon, he was [[Once Acceptable Targets|Roma]], and they had to have it sound European. It was not uncommon in the past for Romanies to have two names, one used within their community and another used with outsiders, so his ancestors may have adopted 'Von Doom' to blend in with (the presumably Germanic-speaking) peoples around them.
* [[Doomy Dooms of Doom|DOOM]] is FURIOUS that [[Doctor Doom|Victor Von Doom]], main villain from the ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]'' was not the very first example! Seriously, what were his parents thinking? According to the original canon, he was [[Once-Acceptable Targets|Roma]], and they had to have it sound European. It was not uncommon in the past for Romanies to have two names, one used within their community and another used with outsiders, so his ancestors may have adopted 'Von Doom' to blend in with (the presumably Germanic-speaking) peoples around them.
* A strange case: [[John Byrne]] brought [[Luke Cage Hero for Hire|Luke Cage]] and [[Immortal Iron Fist|Iron Fist]] [[Back From the Dead]] by revealing that they were impostors. In the process he retconned that a character Tyrone King was a preestablished villain, Master Khan. "Even the name, 'Tyrone King', means 'Master Khan'!" The original author had put the meaningful name in by ''pure coincidence''.
* A strange case: [[John Byrne]] brought [[Luke Cage Hero for Hire|Luke Cage]] and [[Immortal Iron Fist|Iron Fist]] [[Back From the Dead]] by revealing that they were impostors. In the process he retconned that a character Tyrone King was a preestablished villain, Master Khan. "Even the name, 'Tyrone King', means 'Master Khan'!" The original author had put the meaningful name in by ''pure coincidence''.
* ''[[Tintin (Comic Book)]]'' features Mik Kanrokitoff, a journalist who covers space-related news. To be fair, it might be a pen name.
* ''[[Tintin (Comic Book)]]'' features Mik Kanrokitoff, a journalist who covers space-related news. To be fair, it might be a pen name.
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* The Silver Age [[The Flash (Comic Book)|Flash]], Barry Allen, was named for one of the Twelve Apostles; sure enough, he's practically a saint within the DC superhero community thanks to his [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in the [[Crisis On Infinite Earths]] (he's back now, if you somehow missed it). <ref>The name "Bartholomew" normally wouldn't be special, since most of the Apostles' names are quite common, but it does stand out because it's a name not in common usage nowadays.</ref>
* The Silver Age [[The Flash (Comic Book)|Flash]], Barry Allen, was named for one of the Twelve Apostles; sure enough, he's practically a saint within the DC superhero community thanks to his [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in the [[Crisis On Infinite Earths]] (he's back now, if you somehow missed it). <ref>The name "Bartholomew" normally wouldn't be special, since most of the Apostles' names are quite common, but it does stand out because it's a name not in common usage nowadays.</ref>
* Many of the villains in ''[[Dick Tracy]]'' famously had nicknames describing their physical appearance or criminal specialty, such as Flattop, Pouch, Pruneface, the Brow, the Mole. During the first fifteen years of this long-lived strip, it was also commonplace for characters to possess names that become descriptive when spelled backwards: a midget named Trohs, a bandleader named Seton, a playboy named Kroywen, an honest man named Toirtap, a crook named Doolb, and (long before [[Stephen King]] was born) a killer named Redrum.
* Many of the villains in ''[[Dick Tracy]]'' famously had nicknames describing their physical appearance or criminal specialty, such as Flattop, Pouch, Pruneface, the Brow, the Mole. During the first fifteen years of this long-lived strip, it was also commonplace for characters to possess names that become descriptive when spelled backwards: a midget named Trohs, a bandleader named Seton, a playboy named Kroywen, an honest man named Toirtap, a crook named Doolb, and (long before [[Stephen King]] was born) a killer named Redrum.
* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Kick-Ass]]'' is named John Genovese. This is a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese Kitty Genovese], a woman who was murdered apparently without her neighbors bothering to intervene (the situation may have been more complex, but that was the public perception). This incident is commonly cited as sparking the [http://www.worldsuperheroregistry.com/ real-life superhero movement].
* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Kick-Ass]]'' is named John Genovese. This is a reference to [[wikipedia:Kitty Genovese|Kitty Genovese]], a woman who was murdered apparently without her neighbors bothering to intervene (the situation may have been more complex, but that was the public perception). This incident is commonly cited as sparking the [http://www.worldsuperheroregistry.com/ real-life superhero movement].
** Genovese is also the name of a major Mafia boss/family.
** Genovese is also the name of a major Mafia boss/family.
* The title character in ''[[Werewolf By Night]]'' is named [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Russell_Terrier Jack Russell].
* The title character in ''[[Werewolf By Night]]'' is named [[wikipedia:Jack Russell Terrier|Jack Russell]].
* Victoria Hand, Norman Osborn's right hand (wo)man in ''[[Dark Avengers]]''.
* Victoria Hand, Norman Osborn's right hand (wo)man in ''[[Dark Avengers]]''.
* One of the main characters in the ''[[Dead Space (Franchise)|Dead Space]]'' Graphic Novel is a priest. His name? '''Deakin Abbott'''.
* One of the main characters in the ''[[Dead Space (Franchise)|Dead Space]]'' Graphic Novel is a priest. His name? '''Deakin Abbott'''.
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* In ''[[Star Raiders (Comic Book)|Star Raiders]]'', the ''very'' [[Tomboy|tomboyish]] Tomorrow Hardtack calls herself "Tommy".
* In ''[[Star Raiders (Comic Book)|Star Raiders]]'', the ''very'' [[Tomboy|tomboyish]] Tomorrow Hardtack calls herself "Tommy".
* The second Foolkiller's real name was Greg Salinger. He was a poet and very attuned to literature. He instructed his predecessor to say that he was picking up a package for Pierre, J.D. A reference to Pierre Salinger and J.D. Salinger, both of whom are also known for something literary.
* The second Foolkiller's real name was Greg Salinger. He was a poet and very attuned to literature. He instructed his predecessor to say that he was picking up a package for Pierre, J.D. A reference to Pierre Salinger and J.D. Salinger, both of whom are also known for something literary.
* In ''[[Cul De Sac]]'' there's a girl who combines this with an [[Ironic Nickname|ironic (nick)name]] -- her name is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_loris Loris] Slothrup and she's an artist who does things about four times faster then normal a la ''[[Wayside School]]'''s Bee Bee Gunn.
* In ''[[Cul De Sac]]'' there's a girl who combines this with an [[Ironic Nickname|ironic (nick)name]] -- her name is [[wikipedia:Slow loris|Loris]] Slothrup and she's an artist who does things about four times faster then normal a la ''[[Wayside School]]'''s Bee Bee Gunn.
* The real name of Fenway, a [[Deadpool]] supporting character who is obsessed with baseball, is Homer Unn. Clearly it's supposed to be bad, but that's just... eugh. Ironically, his nickname comes from one of the hardest ballparks to hit a homer in, due to Fenway Park's infamous "Green Monster".
* The real name of Fenway, a [[Deadpool]] supporting character who is obsessed with baseball, is Homer Unn. Clearly it's supposed to be bad, but that's just... eugh. Ironically, his nickname comes from one of the hardest ballparks to hit a homer in, due to Fenway Park's infamous "Green Monster".
* In ''[[Nth Man the Ultimate Ninja (Comic Book)|Nth Man the Ultimate Ninja]]'', the powerful [[Reality Warper]] [[Psychopathic Manchild]] is named Alfie O'Meagan, a mashup of "alpha" and "omega".
* In ''[[Nth Man the Ultimate Ninja (Comic Book)|Nth Man the Ultimate Ninja]]'', the powerful [[Reality Warper]] [[Psychopathic Manchild]] is named Alfie O'Meagan, a mashup of "alpha" and "omega".