Icon-o-clash 3: The "Real-World" Edition

Don't let the little kid down. The fur-ball (I'm against stuffed puppets this week) has had too much exposure. And let's face it, this kid is perpetually ready to throw down and get busy (look at his hands!). This kid has MOXY! He's ironic because no one has heard of him.
 

A Jinpei by any other name will smell as sweet.

I think that Gonzo is cool. He's even ironic. Ho could cook a lot of the competitors that have battled in this round so far (and a few that have won in this round as far as I'm concerned).

But against Keyop?

Gonzo gets distracted by the deliciousness of chicken, and catches a bolo around the proboscis.

That's gotta hurt!
 

o-bear votes for the blue puppet guy

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Gonzo is cool in his un-coolness and slightly disturbing lust for live poultry.

Gonzo hands down.
 

Much as I like Gonzo, gotta give my props to Jinpei and all versions thereof. My vote's for Keyop.
 

Much as I love Keyop / Jinpei, I gotta go with Gonzo. He's just out there to have fun, and he's got the deck stacked against him. If you'd put Keyop against anyone else, though, he'd be winning.
 

Ok. They may have beaten the character up in the English translation. I can't argue with that. But its still the same image and , to me, the same panache. I can edit out the silliness of the Keyop character and support what I see when I look at that picture...Jinpei the Swallow.
 

i'm stickin' with gonzo... that guy's got a love of pigs that's wicked. he's cool in the nerdy underdog side-kick ron kinda way, and after doing that test, i've realised i do love ron and therefore gonzo.
 

Keyop kicks Spectran tail for a living; Gonzo is a chicken-lusting muppet. As much as I love and dearly miss Jim Henson, Keyop wins this one, no contest!
 

Go, Keyop, go!!

I love the Muppets, but G-Force rules. I have to vote for Keyop.
 

Gotta agree with Mad Katherine and Mimi.

Keyop's our man!
 

Gotta go for the kid with the wings! Keyop gets my vote. Gonzo can be fired out of the Phoenix as a bird missile!
 

I too love the muppets but . . . It's Keyop/Jinpei all the way.

Go G-Force. Transmute!!!!
 

Keyop, Jinpei - way cooler than Gonzo. Now if we were talking Animal, I'd have some issues. Go Keyop!
 

My vote is for Keyop! No contest for me, as I never wached the muppets much.
 

You gotta vote for Gonzo.

Muppets is a phenomenon in itself. Gatchaman is just a part of the anime phenomenon.
 

Ewww....I never really watched Battle of the planets.

But I have heard of Gonzo. He was definatley one of the top 5 muppets of all time.
 

Jeeesh...I barely remembered G-force.

Gonzo, on the other hand, I based my life around.

Daredevil stunts...chasing the chicks.

Gonzo is my pick.
 

G-Force fans unite!!!

Keyop keyop keyop!!
 

Count me in with the Gonzo crowd.

G-Force is for geeks.
 

There's no way I could vote for Keyop over Gonzo.

Gonzo has it all (even the rainbow connection).
 

It's a tough call between the two but considering the intergenerational pull of the muppets I have to swing (or should I say...shoot out of a cannon) my vote for Gonzo.
 

okay. here's the thing. i think we've lost sight about the actual definition of irony here.

according to dictionary.com, irony can be defined as:

"Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended."

and irony can be defined as:

"Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs."

and finally, an icon can be defined as:

"An important and enduring symbol."

now, one might argue that ironic might cancel out icon, but I think what we're really looking for is the character that shouldn't be iconic, but because they're so NOT mainstream or iconic they BECOME iconic. am I alone here?

for this reason, I feel strongly that Gonzo cannot realistically win this round. the Muppets are everywhere and multigenerational and have had movies, for crying out loud. :)

Jinpei for the WIN!
 

[With apologies to MW if this is contrary to the spirit of her words]

If ironic is:
"Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended."

and an icon is:
"An important and enduring symbol."

Then I interpret an ironic icon as a "poignantly unimportant or unenduring symbol", where the coolness makes the irony even more poignant.

This makes a cool "least favourite" or cool "peripheral character" a perfect choice. I think that protagonists are less desirable than supporting cast for this reason (unless the source is particularly obscure).
 

I would deem Gonzo a supporting character, so he would fit into Jeffy's definition. Plus Gonzo was the geek of his "squad" too. Kind of a loser in love (altho he did eventually settle down with Camilla the chicken, he was first repeatedly shunned by Miss Piggy and a long parade of female guest hosts).
Gonzo's got my vote.
 

I love both, but Keyop has to have my vote. BotP was huge in my life when I was a kid, and I'll always melt for G-Force. :-)
 

G-Force was one of my first loves, so I have to go with Keyop.
 

Straight to the point: Keyop has my vote.
 

There's a fine line between obscure and irrelavent.

BOTP was(is) only popular with a very select crowd.

Muppets can be loved AND hated by some. Thus you are making more of a statement wearing a muppet.

Gonzo gets my vote.
 

Rallying the geek crowd, who else but a geek would deign to wear clothing of ironic importance?

It's a battle, an epic one certainly, between two outcasts: Gonzo the self-professed Great and Keyop the warbling can-do teammate.

I'm supporting Keyop and his enduring quest for humanity's identity, a common theme throughout all of our stories. (And manifested here in the Jinpei/Keyop controversy).

"Not to worry, Keyop's here" ... although in the heat of battle, less reassuring words could not be uttered. Maybe that's where I find the irony.

Regardless, another vote for Keyop.
 

My vote goes with good ole Keyop. Though not as cool as Jenpei, Keyop is still better than Gonzo by a longshot.

G4 all the way baby!!!
 

jon - one could say that if the image of Keyop is put on to a t-shirt, one could not differentiate between Jinpei and Keyop as they are both the same visual character.

just sayin', is all.

therefore, i don't think your petition to throw out votes that mention Jinpei is valid.
 

jeffy - i think you got the spirit of my argument, yes.

Muppet characters can barely be considered ironic icons in my opinion. I love them. Gonzo is, indeed, Great. But not ironically iconic when put up against Keyop.
 

pee ess

this is the best round of Icon-o-clash to date!

well done, gang! fun fun fun!

are bee :)