Top 10 Half Breeds

When we came up with Half Breeds to put on the list, we didn’t expect it to be a quick and easy one – So we decided we would do something a little bit different. When this one came up as our second most voted from two weeks ago, we knew we could have an actual physical discussion with some fellow geeks. We were at Kitacon this past week; which was a perfect way to get some of our fellow geeks to get their voices heard.

Stay tuned to the GeekOut YouTube channel, as next week you’ll get a glimpse of our ridiculous behind the scenes process in the first and possibly last recorded Top 10. It was great fun, we had some great discussion and we feel we have a nicely rounded list. Be sure to subscribe, because we’d love to share some of the fun we have in creating our lists with you. In the mean time, here’s the product of our efforts, in the Top 10 half-breeds!

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Top 10

10) Elrond – Lord of the Rings

A surprise entrant to the list; simply because when we think of Elrond, we think of him being one of the leaders of the Elves. However, Elrond is Half-Elven. A weird fact about Middle Earth Half-Elves, is that they can choose to go full elf or to embrace humanity instead. This means they either become graceful Elves who live for many, many years – Or they can embrace morality and die in a much shorter lifespan.

Elrond is a weird one, but he also is one of Lord of the Ring’s most prominent leaders. He’s a mighty ruler, but even though he’s half-elf himself, it’s strange to think that he’d oppose his daughter’s desires to become mortal. Arwen did so in order to bring together man and elf, when she got with Aragorn. After all, no one wants to be the one who survives past their lovers life. Elrond would have equally been upset, knowing he’d outlive his daughter in this regard. Tragic stuff.

9) Nephalem – Diablo

Low on our list, but important in their franchise, the Nephalem are half angels half demons from Sanctuary. Technically anyone who lives there is a Nephalem, so you’d better get used to seeing plenty of these supernatural humanoids around the place. With the first generation of Nephalem being known as the Ancients, these beings were effectively the predecessors to what would eventually become humanity.

Now, this is where it gets a bit icky. See, these Nephalem became much stronger than their parents… And they would become the balance the world so greatly needed at this point. Although there were tens of thousands of these beings, only a few names stuck around throughout history, with Deckard Cain being part of the few who had detailed knowledge of these legendary beings…

… And of course, you play as the Nephalem in Diablo III!

8) Rexxar – World of Warcraft

Why haven’t Blizzard Entertainment made a real story mode/quest campaign featuring Misha?

Anyway, Rexxar is a legendary hunter; perhaps as good, if not better than Hemet Nesingwary. But no matter what you think, Rexxar is the Champion of the Horde and is one of the most recognisable Blizzard characters, mostly due to the number of Blizzard games that he’s appeared in. From Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft, to Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, Rexxar is half-ogre, half-orc, which makes him stand out from just about every other character.

Interestingly, mostly everyone remembers Rexxar with his bear companion, Misha. People rarely remember that before he even met Misha, Rexxar had a wolf companion called Haratha. It was because of the war between the New Horde vs Old Horde that Haratha was killed, which meant that the beastmaster Rexxar was without a companion. He then met the fuzzy love of his life and I’m so sorry, I’ve made Rexxar sound like a very dirty guy here…

Rexxar just loves Misha dearly, okay?

7) Dante – Devil May Cry

Brash but charming, Dante does everything in style. Depending on the version though, he’s either a bounty hunter, son of the great demon lord Sparda and a human woman, or a young outcast son of the same demon and an angel named Eva. Whichever origin you choose though, it doesn’t change the fact that Dante sees himself as just another human, living among them, fighting for them, even loving them.

As they say in the story of another half-demon, Hellboy, what matters is not where a man comes from, but the choices he makes. It’s not how he starts things but how he decides to end things. And in this regard, Dante is perhaps the most human of hybrids.

6) Hera Agathon – Battlestar Galactica

Despite getting… maybe half a dozen words of dialogue due to being born early in the show and ending it as a toddler, so much pivots on the very existence of a living hybrid of the mechanical facsimile of life and the decidedly biological. Cylons have only a handful of different models, bodies are manufactured and memories are shared across the production line, that is their reproductive cycle from the bestial and predatory raiders to the humanoid “skinjobs”, they have code so complex it functions as genetics, and machinery so fine it’s indistinguishable from an organism, but it cannot reproduce the “traditional” way.

So being born of a definite human, Karl Agathon, and a renegade Model 8 known as Sharon, makes Hera nothing short of a miracle, which ties in neatly with the whole religious theme running throughout Battlestar Gallactica. She’s a central figure in prophetic visions shared by Sharon and President Roslin, she’s an entity coveted by the more malevolent Cylon models for her genetic material, and she becomes the hope, and the beginning of a new civilisation… and in a rather cheesy move, that turns out to be ours. We all have a little Cylon in us.

Oh, and if you want to talk about the theory the Starbuck is also half-Cylon, I’ll be waiting for you down in the comments.

5) Blade

Blade was one of Marvel’s earliest success stories in cinema, now probably better known for Wesley Snipes’ portrayal on the big screen than the comic book character despite beginning in 1973, and appearing in an episode of the New Adventures of Spider-Man two years before the film was released! Blade joined Spidey in the beloved 90’s series to take down one of his biggest foes, Michael Morbius. Eric Brooks was born to a mother mid-transformation, so only a fraction of the supernatural infection reached him before they were separated, leaving him with enhanced strength, durability, and agility, immunity to full vampirism and many vampiric powers, and senses that make him the most potent vampire hunter in the world.

He has picked up the nickname Daywalker from his nemeses because of his invulnerability to sunlight, something that they’d stop envying so much if they watched the last few minutes of Blade 2 which… I mean it’s not the first ten minutes of Up, but it still hurt. It has been said that Blade has all of the strengths and none of the weaknesses of his vampiric heritage, but the film version carries the burden of bloodthirst, and even in the comics he’s far from invulnerable.

Blade is not the only half vampire we considered for the list, let us not forget Bloodrayne, or Castlevania’s Alucard, but when push comes to shove there was only ever one who’d earn a spot.

4) Rubeus Hagrid – Harry Potter

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Hagrid is a giant, right? Wrong. Hagrid is a Half-Giant, which is made even more clear when you meet Hagrid’s half-brother Grawp. Hagrid stands at a whopping 11 foot tall, he’s still incredibly short next to Grawp, who is considered to be short for a giant at approximately 16 feet. When you consider the average height of a character in the Harry Potter world, you can imagine that Hagrid truly was larger than life to many of the children.

However, being a half-giant was both a blessing and a curse for Hagrid. He had to live out in a shack on the school grounds, as it was the only place really suitable for him to live and to be close enough to the school. He was known for being an immensely caring figure, who loved the beasts of the forest, as well as a professor for Hogwarts. Still, without Hagrid, nearly all of the events of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone wouldn’t have occurred. Afterall, Harry wouldn’t have gone to Diagon Alley without Hagrid’s assistance.

3) Trunks – Dragon Ball Z

Son of Prince Vegeta of the Sayian race and Bulma Brief, a human with incredible scientific knowledge, Future Trunks was a huge storyline which they really could have gone deeper into. Interestingly with Trunks, he knew who his mother and father was, he came back in time to warn people of the Androids – And he wanted to do this without his mother and father finding out about being his parents. After all, he had come back in time to a point where Bulma and Vegeta hadn’t yet gotten together.

Interestingly, this Half-Sayian was first seen with a mighty sword, which cut Frieza cleanly in two. This was a huge revelation, as it meant there was an immense power far greater than Frieza out there – and if Trunks, who defeated Frieza so easily, was afraid of these androids, then clearly the warning was necessary. Future Trunks and therefore later on the actual Trunks were hugely important to the story; Because let’s be honest – He’s destined to become the stronger warrior between himself and Goten!

2) Spock – Star Trek

Lest we forget that the notorious vulcan who permanently haunted the bridge of the Enterprise, offering knowledge and council to the often reckless and foolhardy Cpt. Kirk, was not entirely vulcan. Apparently a large number of the sentient humanoid species in the galaxy share a common ancestor, and haven’t diversified greatly enough to completely prevent cross-breeding (and it’s also a convenient way to brush the whole “aliens that are just dudes in makeup” thing under the rug), and so we have a handful of half-bajoran/half-cardassian, and half-klingon/half-romulans, and as many half-humans as you like, not all of which can be attributed to James T. Kirk. Anyway…

Spock’s biology seems predominantly vulcan, although his lifespan was comparatively a little shorter, and being brought up in vulcan society meant that to all outward appearances he would present as wholly vulcan. But his humanity stifled rites of passage, lacking the indomitable discipline over emotions, leading him to rash decisions, especially when it concerned his friends. Through his diplomatic career he appears to allow a certain degree of empathy govern his decision making, slowly but surely coming to embrace both sides of his heritage.

1) Heracles/Hercules

Who put the glad in Gladiator? Hercules!

Okay, we’re not really taking the Disney version of Hercules into account; although the story wouldn’t change much. Heracles is the son of the God Zeus and the mortal, Alcmene. Although he was half half mortal, his godly side gave him exceptional strength; freakishly slow. Some depictions of this immensely strong prodigy show him as a baby strangling some snakes that were about to bite him.

Of course, we really couldn’t say no to Heracles at the top spot, because somebody actually had a son with a God! I mean, that in itself would be no mean feat, when you think about it – But the fact of the matter is that Heracles had some truly amazing achievements – Often cited as the twelve labours of Heracles. From slaying a mortal-immune lion, to capturing and bringing back Cerberus – Heracles is truly the man who put the glad back into Gladiator.

Whoops, I said we weren’t going to take the Disney version into account.

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Honourable Mention

Of course, not all people are made equal – Sometimes, a mummy and a daddy who love each other very much produce something… Different. Well, in the case of the next mentions, we’ve got three, yes three very different characters for you!

Naruto

We deliberated this one, because Naruto is born normally, and is therefore not a half-breed. What we have is a symbiosis of host and graft, an immensely powerful demon, the nine tailed Kyūbi, Kurama, an engine of absolute destruction, and an infant human, who will one day grow up to learn how to turn himself into a horde of voluptuous women clad only in convenient puffs of smoke, and summon disgruntled toads. Over their years together, the voyage of discovery, each learning the nature of the other and coming to appreciate each-other’s views, they form a bond that allows Naruto to become a force of nature, a teenager more powerful than any in the world.

Y’know, classic Shonen Jump stuff. Kid saves the world, blah.

Bumped to the honourable mentions list for not being born a hybrid, there’s no denying that the two begin to bond on a level more fundamental than can never be properly explored by anyone who does not harbour an ancient and apocalyptic demon. Fortunately for Naruto, other such people do exist, some of which despise him until he hits them over the head with his enthusiasm until they break down and befriend him. Aww, see? Even a half-demon child can have friends.

Nina the Chimera – Fullmetal Alchemist

Edo-war-du…

Oh the feels; the feels are real and you know it! If you’ve ever seen Fullmetal Alchemist, you may be familiar with Shou Tucker. This alchemist was desperate to make sure he got through his yearly State Alchemist project, so he turned to his loving, doting daughter Nina and her best friend, Alexander the dog… And he did something that no father should ever do. It’s one of the most brutal, horrible ends to such a sweet, carefree child.

Shou was known as the Sewing-Life Alchemist; in other words, he was a Chimera maker. He took the life of his wife two years prior to the events with Edward, Alphonse and Nina. He turned Nina into one of his works, all to ensure he kept his State Alchemist benefits. Nina was under the belief that her father was a wonderful, caring man who wanted nothing more than to look after her and to work hard. However, human experiments weren’t beyond this seemingly kindly man’s limits – He took his daughters and the family dog’s life, fusing them into one. Fortunately, a mercy killing by Scar ended their agonising suffering before too long.

Easily, one of the most tragic moments in anime history.

Dronkeys (Dragon Donkeys) – Shrek

The misbegotten product of a mismatched relationship doomed to outlast us all and make us look bad, the quintuplet of winged, fire breathing, cloven hooved toddlers of burden have made life for their father a living nightmare. They’re faster, more dangerous, stronger, outnumber him dramatically, and worse they appear to have his intelligence, only their mother has any kind of control over them… and their father.

Their are some very big questions that the Dronkeys raise, none of which we want answered, nor do we particularly want to see them grown up. Imagine the stubbornness and unpredictability of a donkey and weaponize it with fire from the sky, then times that by five. Is it any wonder that their father keeps skipping out on them to go on adventures to far off lands with his old drinking buddy. He’s got kids of his own now, and given Fiona’s past who knows what species they are… fairytales are weird, but Shrek takes it to strange new places.

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That’s it, the pure breeds have all scattered aware in disbelief of how cool these half breed additions are. But if you think that’s all you’ve got to worry about, then you’re sorely mistaken. Half breeds have always had it hard, but today we celebrated them in all of their half-n-half goodness. But we wouldn’t have a Top 10 without you guys voting for what we write about next – So come along and let us know what we should do a Top 10 of next week!

Well that’s it for another week; now that our half breeds have been celebrated, we’ll quickly put their half breed status under a blanket and hope that their full breed counterparts don’t care so much. But what did you think of this week’s list? Did we put in the right half breeds, or did we forget some major ones? As always, share your thoughts in the comments below, or over on Facebook or Twitter.