We guess our inbox would be flooded with complaints and our website to be blacklisted by disabled committees, but in some cases the description fits perfectly as we bring you a list of fictional characters with varying forms of impediments.
First of all let’s start off with a character familiar with the older generation, a time when the term ‘spastic’ was perfectly acceptable and it was all too common to dismiss those with disabilities. Dr. Strangelove. The character was the central attention to the 1964 black comedy of the same name, which is also referred to as ‘How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb.’ Peter Sellers played the role of the wheelchair-bound former Nazi who may have learnt to walk but had immense problems when to came to staying sane.
Just like Strangelove Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X found himself confined to a wheelchair. The paraplegic has amazing powers as well as a very important role to for fill being the leader of the X men. Since making his debut appearance in the first copy of the X-Men comic back in 1963 Stan Lee & Jack Kirby’s invention has been astounding others with his supranational abilities which can influence human minds and control others with high-forms of telepathy. He can even move buildings just with his mind, which makes you wonder why he just can’t use his powers to move his legs as well!
Have we got any South Park fans reading this? Let’s hope so as our next character may bring offence to those who don’t find the adventures of Stan and Cartman amusing in any way shape or form. Matt Stone and Trey Parker were wary at first to introduce their new disabled character to our screens but since Timmy first wheeled himself into his first episode ‘The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000’ in 2000 the physically and mentally disabled cartoon character has gained a following of fans and even went on to top a BBC Ouch! Poll as the ‘Greatest Disabled TV Character’ in 2005.
He may not be as popular as TIMMY! But Joe Swanson is a two-wheeled favourite to avid fans of the animated series, Family Guy. Joe is a police officer, who thanks to a hit and run case revolving around trying to stop the Grinch stealing Christmas and slipping on a roller skate, now spends the rest of his days as a paraplegic who has incontinence and impotence. Despite his disability Joe still manages to capture criminals, even if it means leaving his wheelchair!
You could almost touch Jake Sully as he leapt out from cinema screens in 2009 as the star of James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster ‘Avatar’. The paralysed ex Marine leaves his wheelchair by replacing his murdered twin brother through his avatar on the moon of Pandora where he pilots human Na’vi hybrids. If you have seen the movie you will understand what we are going on about, if not you probably haven’t got a clue!
With Christmas looming around the corner how can we forget poor old Timothy Cratchit. The crippled orphan from Charles Dickens’s 1843 novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’. The young lad plays on the mind of evil Scrooge who attempts to make Christmas Day more miserable than spending it with your un-invited relatives when he is paid a visit by the Ghost of Christmas Future. You must know the story by now either told by your youngsters nativity plays, Mickey Mouse or one of the numerous films released ever since Dickens put Quill to Paper.
Ever since Tom Hanks muttered the words ‘My Name is Forrest Gump’ children across the world have shared sheer delight comparing those with mental limitations to the character who appeared in this 1994 movie. Forrest Gump follows a young man with an IQ below his age and how he overcame the braces which were attached around his legs. The movie takes us on a journey as we follow Gump around the world as he meets historical figures which picked up a few figures of its own after the film was released, figures such as Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
So there you have it. It goes to show disabled people have made a legacy in the fictional world as well as the real one and we are pretty certain there are more characters with special needs hitting our screens for many years to come.
