Who is the "Manliest" Video Game character?

What defines the "Manliest Man"?

            To continue my topic of gender roles in video games, and how men are represented in games, I found a very intriguing article on Crave Online. Author Joey Esposito has compiled a list of who he believes to be the “Manliest Men in Video Games”. Esposito introduces the article by stating that men have interesting, but yet disturbing, features to their personalities. Often, men are only able to display one of these characteristics at a time. So Esposito gives an example of what exactly he is trying to state, “many men can be both sexual deviants and highly educated, strong jawed role models, but none of them will be both at the same time. Find me a man that's teaching his son a valuable lesson about real estate while taking a whipping from two women in domino masks; it just isn't done.”

            Personally, I have no idea what he’s going on about. The way I’m reading it is this: You can have two different personalities that are on different spectrums, but you cannot display them both at the same time. Well, duh. That would be the case for women too, in my opinion. So, Esposito goes on to build his thesis by saying that men often seek role models for both guidance and understanding. He kicks off his article by assuming that there are males identified in video games that can actually “showcase different aspects of our complex (but often misunderstood) emotions.” Here are just a few of Esposito’s “manliest of men” located in the world of video games:

Dash Rendar

            Number 8 is Dash Rendar from Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire. If you’ve never played this game, then you have never heard of Dash, as he is the substitute for Han Solo, and has never appeared in any of the movies. Dash is a mercenary by trade, but according to Esposito, Dash is “unlike most men of his profession, [for] he is modest and honorable.” I’m sorry to have to ruin the end of this game if you’ve never played it, but Dash ends up faking his own death by destroying the Skyhook and becomes a martyr as well as an alliance hero. Dash, unlike Han, never asks for a reward or any recognition, making him a “treasure to the male society.

Solid Snake

            Number 6 is Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid Series. If you’re going to list the manliest men in games, you’re going to see Snake somewhere. He’s one of the most recognizable names in video game history. Esposito describes him as “both cunning and gruff, claiming a resourcefulness short of MacGyver.” He even goes on to that Snake “has a voice that would make your grandmother wet.” Really, Joey? Why did you have to go there?

John Madden

            Number 3 is John Madden from the Madden Series. At this point, I’m starting to believe that this whole article is just a big joke. Esposito claims that Mr. Madden serves the classic cliché of the “homoerotic”. Madden’s “obscure fact-spewing persona of a male that revels in slouching on a couch, and…….” Well, use your imagination on that one. Basically, Esposito is trying to get across that Madden shows us that there’s nothing manlier than “a man who is comfortable with his own sexuality.” Of course, there’s nothing gayer than football…..

Mario

            Number 1 is none other than Mario from the Mario Series. Mario reigns over all men in games simply because he is just your average, everyday workingman. I mean, it’s not every day that you’re cleaning your toilet, fall in and uncover another kingdom, then have to fight your way through mushrooms and giant fire-breathing turtles just to find out that the princess you’ve come to rescue was in another castle the whole time! As Esposito puts it “though Mario is merely ‘average’ in comparison to the rest of the manly men on this list, his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty, along with his constant avoidance of letting his social status weigh him down, has made him supremely beyond average.” Mario is truly a representation of the potential that lies dormant within all of us.

            So, if you’re interested in finding out who else made Joey Esposito’s list of “manliest men in video games”, go check him out! He’s sort of vulgar, but hey, who isn’t these days? Next week, I plan on doing some research on some of my favorite male characters that can be found in games of today.