This is Post 5 of 8 today.

8) YOUR SF/F TOP-TEN LISTS 

We’ve asked folks to prepare a SF/F top-ten list on any science fiction, fantasy, or horror topic—for example, top ten classic Star Trek episodes, or top ten genre novelists, or top ten sci-fi film sequels; it’s your choice as to the specific topic.

While we’ve included a couple of lists below, this portion of the meeting will also take place on ZOOM, where each participant will have opportunity to present their list. We ask our list-makers to include, perhaps, a few illustrative photos which can be shared with the group as they impart their top ten. And, be prepared to field questions and/or, perhaps, defend your choices!

Those unable to join our video chat today can still submit in writing their own SF/F top-ten list via this post’s “Leave a Comment” option. So, again, we’re looking for your sci-fi, fantasy, or horror top-ten; could be, for instance, top ten space operas, top ten time-travel stories, Hugo-winning novels, classic sci-fi films, genre TV shows, spaceships, movie monsters, scariest horror movies, comic book superheroes, etc.

Include a quick description or outline of each of your entries and explain why you’ve included each, and why your fellow genre fans might also enjoy the selections you’ve listed.

My Top Ten Alliterative Comic-Book Character Names:

By Carl Phillips

Billy Batson, “Bucky” Barnes, Wally West, Rachel Roth, “Pepper” Potts, Archie Andrews, “Jughead” Jones, Sabrina Spellman, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Scott Summers, Matt Murdoch, Bruce Banner, J’onn J’onzz, also known as the Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Cassandra Cain, Kathy Kane, Vicki Vale, and Hank Hall.

And then there’s Clark Kent, and those many Superman characters having the initials “L. L.”: Lara Lor-Val, Superman’s biological mother; Lois Lane and her sister, Lucy; Lana Lang and her mother Laura; Atlantean sisters Lori and Lenora Lemaris; Krytonian love interest Lyla Ler-Rol, or Lerrol; Superwoman Luma Lynai; 30th-century brothers Lightning Lad and Lightning Lord, associated with Superboy; and Lionel, Lillian, Lena, and Lex Luthor!

All of these comic book characters have been given alliterative names, meaning their first and last, and sometimes middle names begin with the same letter, or sound.

Alliterative character names date back to the earliest years of comic books and have become something of a distinguishing facet of, especially, superhero comics, epitomized by the 300 or so names dreamt up by celebrated Marvel writer Stan Lee over his lengthy career. Lee had such poor memory that the use of alliteration in naming his characters simply helped him to remember them. He reasoned that if he gave a character an alliterative name, and could call to mind either the first or last name, he’d better be able to remember the other because he’d know it begins with the same letter. Applying nicknames to his characters also helped. Such monikers do, indeed, roll rather more comfortably off the tongue and are a little easier to recall than, say, James Buchanan Barnes, Jr. or Virginia Potts.

As for Lois Lane and the many other “L-L” characters starring in Superman comics, their names are said to have been occasioned by the initials of Man of Steel co-creator Joe Shuster’s first girlfriend. As well, Adventures of Superman #646 (January 2006) sees Mr. Mxyztplk intimating that in the Kryptonian language, that “L-L” combo has significance.

All of that said, these are my favourite alliterative comic-book character names:

1) J. JONAH JAMESON, JR.—full name: John Jonah Jameson, Jr.—the perfect handle for this surly, barking, cigar-chomping editor of the Daily Bugle and detester of Spider-Man. The name just fits his character so well, and on top of that, this is double-barreled alliteration!

2) WONDER WOMAN, a formidable Amazonian warrior-princess and superheroine—one of the earliest and most enduring of female supers—she is a founding member of the Justice League of America. Her moniker says it all simply, smartly, and strongly.

3) DR. OTTO OCTAVIUS, another Spider-Man character whose unusual name is both memorable, and seems conceived to resonate well with his supervillain alias, Doctor Octopus, without seeming so overtly forced and clumsy as, for instance, the bad pun that is the Riddler’s alter ego, Edward Nigma (later, “Nygma”), or E. Nigma, as might read the label on his mailbox.

4) THE TEEN TITANS, invoking ancient Greek mythology, is a terrific alliterative name for a team of teenaged superheroes!

5) SILVER SABLE, a highly-skilled mercenary who hunts down war criminals, she is leader of the Wild Pack and Spider-Man’s occasional ally, and sometimes foe! She hails from a fictional Eastern-European country called Symkaria, and her real name is the exotically delicious Silvija Sablinova. That all adds up to a lot of “S” sounds and some awesomely adroit assonance! 

6) FELIX FAUST is a DC supervillain who first appeared in Justice League of America #10 (March 1962). Having lost much of his magical powers in battle with an adversary, this corrupt, ancient sorcerer was banished to another dimension, but made his way back, obsessed with regaining his mystical might. Motivated after reading the tale of Faust, he made his own deal with the devil—DC’s Demons Three—and thereafter called himself Felix Faust. He’s always in search of ever more cabalistic knowledge so as to employ maleficium, or injurious, harmful, dark magic, for his own wicked purposes. The name Felix Faust truly suits an evil sorcerer.

7) ROCKET RACCOON is a name that screams outlandish comic-book adventure, as one might expect from a story featuring an intelligent, space-faring, anthropomorphic raccoon who specializes in weapons and tactics. The character, originally intended as a one-off joke by creators Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen, was inspired by the title and, in part, lyrics of the 1968 Beatles song “Rocky Raccoon.”

8) GORILLA GRODD, primarily an enemy of DC superhero The Flash, was an ordinary, African gorilla just hanging out in the jungle minding his own business until he was made super-smart one day by extraterrestrial influence. He developed, as well, telepathic and telekinetic abilities. His plot to seize control of Gorilla City, which he and his fellow enhanced apes built, and further, pursue world domination are foiled by The Flash. Grodd, however, returns to trouble the Scarlet Speedster and his allies.

9) WADE WILSON—full name: Wade Winston Wilson—is the mouthy mercenary superhero Deadpool. This choice was, apparently, a deliberate spoof of the genre’s penchant for alliterative character names. Fair enough, and a nice nod to the convention.

10) FIN FANG FOOM, a giant creature from outer space resembling a dragon, was created by comics superstars Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and premiered in Strange Tales #89 (October 1961). This is a good example of comically wacky namecraft and sound repetition; the cadence of that triple-“F” is almost musical.

My Top Ten Cool Sci-Fi Cars and Trucks:

By Keith Braithwaite

“Summer’s here and the time is right for racin’ in the street,” sings Bruce Springsteen. High-performance, finely contoured cars and boss hot-rods have, for me, a captivating allure, which, when coupled with my interest in sci-fi, resulted in this, my top-ten list of cool sci-fi automobiles:

1) BATMOBILE: The Caped Crusader’s wheels top my list. I’m partial to the retro-future styling and bat-trim of the 1960s TV Batmobile, fully equipped as it was with an array of weapons and gadgets, but pretty much any of the subsequent Batmobiles designed for the movies should also get your motor runnin’!

That iconic 1966 Batmobile, built by Hollywood automobile customizer George Barris’ company, was based on Ford’s 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car.

2) POLICE SPINNER: This vehicle was designed by noted concept artist and “visual futurist” Syd Mead for Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982). It’s not electric sheep but this ultra-cool police cruiser that any sci-fi fan dreams of when it comes to the genre’s long-promised but as-yet-unrealized flying car of tomorrow.

3) SPECTRUM PURSUIT VEHICLE (SPV): As seen in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Supermarionation sci-fi television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967-1968), this is a metallic-blue, high-speed, multi-wheeled, all-terrain, amphibious tank-like vehicle designed for ground pursuit and attack. Global security organization Spectrum has hidden SPVs in secret locations all over the world so that they may be quickly available when needed.

Equipped with radar, rear-mounted caterpillar tracks that can be deployed to provide additional traction over rough landscapes, an array of cannons, and an ejector seat, the vehicle’s hydrogenic power unit is removable and can be hastily converted into a personal jet pack! Spectrum agents drive the windowless SPV by way of forward- and rear-positioned cameras feeding a video screen in the cockpit. The driver and passengers sit in rear-facing seats, all the better to minimize injury in the event of a crash—safety first!

The largest of the wooden SPV models built for production was about 24 inches in length so one would have to construct from sturdier materials any full-scale version for use on Quebec’s notoriously pothole-scarred streets and highways!

4) DeLOREAN TIME MACHINE: Eccentric inventor Emmett “Doc” Brown extensively retrofitted a 1981 DMC DeLorean sports car in Back to the Future (1985), his “flux capacitor” being the key component in that it allowed the car to time-travel! A subsequent upgrade included the capability of flight. Who among we SF fans wouldn’t want to be able to take a Sunday drive to the future, or to any year in history?

Introduced in 1981, the wedge-shaped DeLorean, with its brushed-aluminum body panels and gull-wing doors, sported a sleek, futuristic look, but as a production sports coupé, failed to pass muster. A V-6 mill left the car underpowered, and overall factory workmanship was sub-standard. The DeLorean Motor Company folded in late 1982, after producing a total of 9000 vehicles. The car has maintained a cult following, however, with interest in the DeLorean augmented by its starring role in the Back to the Future movies.

5) M577 ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER (APC): Used by the Colonial Marines in Aliens (1986), this truck would easily satisfy any automotive buff’s desire to own a tank!

The vehicle was, in fact, a modified “pushback tractor,” which is a low-profile, heavy-duty tug used at commercial airports to move jumbo jets backwards on the apron, usually away from a gate, until the aircraft can proceed safely to the taxiway under their own power.

6) FAB 1: Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward’s elegant ride is tricked-out like something James Bond would drive. I’m a fan of the original version of the car as featured in the classic sci-fi puppet series Thunderbirds (1964-1966) and two associated feature films, Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), all from the aforementioned Andersons. But the updated designs seen in the more recent Jonathan Frakes-directed, live-action movie Thunderbirds (2004), and the computer-animated remake of the original series, Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-2020), are certainly no jalopies!

Fashioned as a futuristic Rolls-Royce, with the approval and cooperation of the distinguished British car-maker, the powerful, six-wheeled FAB 1, painted pink, as befits the lady, is usually driven by chauffeur Aloysius “Nosey” Parker. International Rescue’s resident genius, Brains, has equipped the vehicle with a bulletproof canopy, machine guns, grappling hooks, extendable tire studs for increased traction, and deployable hydrofoils and skis for travel over water or snow. The car can also put up a smoke-screen and dispense an oil-slick.

7) ECTO-1: When there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! And they’ll soon pull up in front of your house in this groovy chariot! Also called the Ectomobile, the car is an old, refitted ambulance used by the original Ghostbusters crew to transport personnel and equipment to scenes of spooky spectral shenanigans in New York City. The car became an icon of the film franchise which began with Ghostbusters (1984).

Ecto-1 was an overhauled limousine-style, end-loading ambulance/hearse combination car built on a 1959 commercial Cadillac chassis by the Miller-Meteor company, which, beginning in the mid-1950s, specialized in fabricating such professional vehicles. Miller-Meteor was a subdivision of parent corporation Divco-Wayne, principally, manufacturers of school buses. Later simply called the Wayne Corporation, the conglomerate is, today, defunct.

In the original film, Dr. Ray Stantz, portrayed by Dan Aykroyd, purchases and refurbishes the car, adding assorted ghostbusting paraphernalia to repurpose the old ambulance for use as the Ghostbusters’ vehicle.

8) KNIGHT INDUSTRIES TWO THOUSAND (K.I.T.T.): Featured in the sci-fi action/crime drama series Knight Rider (1982-1986), this is a powerful, advanced, talking supercomputer on wheels in the form of a modified 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. A self-aware, cybernetic logic module at its core, the high-tech A.I. can think for itself, learn, analyze evidence, and talk to and interact with humans, most often driver Michael Knight, a crime-fighting agent with the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG).

The car itself sports a virtually impenetrable shell and an equipment package that seems an endless list of defensive mechanisms, weapons, analytical apparatus, and assorted other devices like a dashboard-mounted printer and an entertainment system that plays music and video, and can run electronic arcade games. I wonder if K.I.T.T.’s music library includes any of David Hasselhoff’s songs!

9) PURSUIT SPECIAL: Last of V-8 Interceptor’s, this is highway patrol officer Maxwell “Mad Max” Rockatansky’s police car, a specially modified, supercharged 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT. The Falcon was a production vehicle exclusive to Australia, where the original Mad Max (1979) was filmed.

Max’s muscle car sees him through the post-apocalyptic Outback in a gasoline-deprived future of scarcity, brutal roving gangs, and vehicular violence until it is finally wrecked in sequel, Mad Max 2 (1981), released in North America as The Road Warrior. If only Elon Musk had been born a little earlier, all of that could have been avoided!

10) LANDMASTER: If your converted VW microbus isn’t enough of a family camper for you, then this huge truck, bristling with weaponry, is surely right up your Damnation Alley! This is basically a Winnebago for the post-apocalyptic world.

Built for the sci-fi film Damnation Alley (1977) by Dean Jeffries, a custom car designer/builder who fabricated numerous vehicles for the television and motion picture industries, the Landmaster is an articulated, amphibious, all-terrain vehicle featuring a unique trinary wheel arrangement that allows it to drive over very rugged terrain.

 

Many of these automobiles, whether the lovingly restored originals or exactingly faithful replicas, can be viewed at car shows and sci-fi conventions across the country.

I could have added a few more to the list, like Black Beauty, the Green Hornet’s ride, circa mid-1960s, or the killer Corvette-like racer driven by Frankenstein in the 1975 car-carnage classic Death Race 2000, or the Batpod motorcycle seen in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight films of about a decade ago, or the haunted 1958 Plymouth Fury featured in John Carpenter’s 1983 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Christine! But alas, there was only room for 10 entries.