Ten Character Meme

It's always good to start a week (albeit belatedly) with a nice meme. So, courtesy of Ami and Kalinara here's a "Ten Character Meme."
First, select your ten fictional characters (from any medium) by whichever method you like best. Then answer the questions below.

1. Snake Eyes (G. I. Joe)
2. Miss Martian (DC Comics)
3. Cagalli Yula Athla (Gundam Seed)
4. Haruka Amami (Idolmaster Xenoglossia)
5. Horatio Caine (CSI: Miami)
6. Heero Yuy (Gundam Wing)
7. Alan Scott (DC Comics)
8. Garnet Til Alexandros XVIII (Final Fantasy IX)
9. Celes Chere (Final Fantasy VI)
10. Jean Paul Valley (DC Comics)

1. Divide the list up by even and odd. Which group of five would make a better Five Man Band (like a Power Rangers team)? Who would you slot in each position: Leader, Lancer (second-in-command), Big Guy, Smart Guy, The Chick? If you think the team would be improved by swapping one character between the even and odd groups, which ones would you switch?

Okay, here we go:

Team A: Snake Eyes, Cagalli, Horatio Caine, Alan Scott, and Celes Chere
Team B: Miss Martian, Haruka Amami, Heero Yuy, Garnet, and Azrael

Ooh, this doesn't work out so well. Some of it's good, but the rest? Here's how I'd lay it out:

Team A

Leader: Alan Scott
Lancer: Celes Chere
Big Guy: Snake Eyes
Smart Guy: Horatio Caine
The Chick: Cagalli

Hmm... That actually worked out better than I thought. Though I'm not sure Caine qualifies as a "Smart Guy." And being "The Chick" Isn't really fair to Cagalli.

Team B

Leader: Garnet
Lancer: Haruka Amami
Big Guy: Heero Yuy
Smart Guy: Azrael
The Chick: Miss Martian

I am well aware that Azrael is definitely not the "Smart Guy." But I had to put him somewhere and there's no "Mopey One."

Team A definitely has more heavy hitters, so they have the slight edge in this competition. If I could swap any two I'd send Azrael to be "The Chick" on Team A (since we know that being "The Chick" in Power Rangers has no actual connection to gender).

2. Gender-swap 2, 8 & 10. Which character would have the most change in their story arc? Which the least? Would any of these characters have to have a complete personality change to be believable as the opposite sex?

Oh boy. This one should be interesting. For Miss Martian, of course, there would be very little change. Martians barely have gender as it is.

I think Garnet would be pretty much the same, honestly. Obviously he'd need a plucky thief girl with a tail to show him the ropes. Actually, that'd be kind of cool.

Poor Azrael. He'd probably still have the same angsty personality. And instead of a string of disastrous relationships with women she'd have a string of disastrous relationships with men. And her villains wouldn't be any better, either...

3. Compare the matchups of 1 & 8 and 5 & 9. (Ignore canon sexual preferences for the moment.) Which couple would be more compatible? Which couple would be more plausible to people from either principal's home culture?

Snake Eyes & Garnet
Horatio Caine & Celes Chere

Uh oh. The first pairing gives us a couple of dreary loners. (both of whom have been mute at one time or another!) If they had a relationship it would be very quiet.

Caine and Celes, on the other hand... If I tilt my head just right (and remove my Sunglasses of Justice) I can see it. They're both strong characters who excel in their fields. And both look for exactly that sort of person in their partners. So I think it could work.

As for acceptance in their cultures, I think Snake Eyes might have a little trouble with the fact that Garnet's sixteen. But in the Final Fantasy and CSI universes, age don't matter at all. They're good to go.

4. Your team is 3, 4 & 9. The mission consists of a social challenge, a mental challenge and a physical challenge. Which team member do you assign to each challenge?

Oh, this one is easy. Haruka takes the social challenge, Cagalli takes the mental challenge, and Celes takes the physical challenge. They'll all be aces.

5. 7 becomes 1's boss for a week in some plausible fashion. How's their working relationship?

Alan Scott becomes Snake Eyes's boss, huh? I can see that working. I'm guessing it happens when Alan's still a part of Checkmate.

Now, it could go two ways depending on whether this is Comic Snake Eyes or Cartoon Snake Eyes. If it's Cartoon Snake Eyes, they'll get along great. Because despite his rad ninja skills, he'll never kill anybody. And we know how Alan Feels about killing.

But if it's Comic Snake Eyes, we'll have Alan complaining about the Cobra (Kobra?) body count. Still, I think Alan will value Comic Snake Eyes's contribution. He knows a good soldier when he sees one.

6. 2 finds him/her/itself inserted into 6's continuity. As far as anyone other than 2 or 6 is concerned, they've always been there. What role would 2 be presumed to have had in 6's story, and could they fit in without going wonky?

Miss Martian in the Gundam Wing Universe? This is not going to be pretty. I'm guessing that Miss Martian is a crashed alien who ends up befriending Heero's love interest Relena (in disguise, of course). Heero and Miss Martian will of course clash, and Heero (in his moody silence) will greatly resent Miss Martian's chipperness.

It'd be really wonky.

7. 3 and 5 get three wishes. The catch is that they have to agree on all three wishes before they get the benefits of any of them. What three wishes would they make?

Cagalli and Caine have to agree on three wishes? Hmm... Well, I think the first would would be to bring their dead relatives back to life. They could agree on that easily, as they have both lost very important people in their lives.

Wish number two? I'm thinking "end the fighting" whether it's Miami gang fights or the Bloody Valentine War, they both want to protect the people who get caught in the crossfires. That's both of their primary objectives.

And number three? I think Caine could convince Cagalli that they wish for really sweet sunglasses. She's that kind of girl.

8. 1 and 2 are brainwashed by a one-time artifact that works even on people immune to mind control to attack and kill 4. They keep their normal personality, skills and competence level, except any Code vs. Killing has been turned off. Can 4 survive? How?

So Snake Eyes and Miss Martian are trying to kill Haruka Amami, are they? They are totally screwed. Because Haruka is never without Imber, her giant robot/boyfriend (it's complicated). And there's no way he's going to let anyone lay a hand on her.

9. 6, 7, 9 & 10 must help an orphanage full of small and depressed children have a merry Christmas. Who does what, knowing that at the very least the kids will be expecting a visit from Santa?

So we've got born leader Alan Scott and three mopey angsters who are all genetically engineered to be killing machines. Alan's got his work cut out for him.

Still, Alan'll whip 'em into shape. Before you know it he'll have Azrael dressed as Santa, Celes singing Christmas carols, and Heero somehow baking cookies. And he'll do it all while relaxing with a cup of eggnog. He's that good.

10. 3 and 8 are challenged to circumnavigate the Earth in eighty days or less, using only forms of transportation invented before 1900. Can they do it, or will they be fatally distracted by sidequests or their own personality conflicts?

Hmm, Cagalli and Garnet. Two adopted princesses (more or less) with mysterious pasts. And greater personal strength than anyone could've guessed. Those girls will make it. With weeks to spare.

Hey, that was a lot of fun! If they are so inclined I tag Tom and Calvin, two men whose levels of geekiness near my own! Make me proud, boys.