We've all had them at one time or another; crushes on cartoon guys and girls that we see every Saturday (or everyday).

How many of us has ever wished --at least once-- that our favorite cartoon hero or heroine would come visit with us, and do things with us, like having dinner, playing games, or just plain talking.

This is for the girls.

Rob winks at the viewing audience.

1. Rob Simmons/Orbots' Commander (Mighty Orbots):
Rob Simmons lives in the 23rd Century, where he is a robotics engineer working for the Galactic Patrol. As Rob, he is nerdy/geeky/etc., and very uncertain of himself. But like Clark Kent, Rob has a secret identity. When trouble strikes, he presses a button on his labcoat (or jacket), and is transformed in the handsome and dashing Orbots' Commander. Only one woman has his heart --Dia, daughter of Galactic Patrol Commander Rondu. But like the Clark Kent/Lois Lane/Superman love triangle, Dia thinks of Rob as only a friend, while she only has love for the Orbots' Commander, unaware that they are the same man.

Poor Rob.


Drak Jr of the Drak Pack.

2. Drak Jr. (Drak Pack)
Drak Jr. is the great-great + nephew of Count Dracula, and the "field commander" of the Drak Pack (officially, Dracula --"Big D"-- is the leader, but he's more like the general that stays back at the base while the troops go into action.). Of the three boys, Drak is the only one descended from nobility. And it shows!

Drak is tall and slender, with black hair and piercing onyx eyes. While in human form, he dresses in regular teenage clothes, when in vampire form, Drak's clothes mirror that of his uncle's. Mainly, black formal wear.

Despite the female appeal of Drak, there was only one woman who crushed on him in the show: Vampira, the female member of O.G.R.E. Of course, Drak did not return her affections.

But I'm sure plenty of girl viewers did!


Young Robin Hood takes aim at your heart. But it won't hurt...

3. Young Robin Hood (Young Robin Hood)
Teenaged Robin Hood fights the forces of evil in Nottingham and Sherwood forest --and looks great doing it! Who wouldn't want the Prince of Thieves stealing their heart and fighting the Sheriff of Nottingham to rescue them?

But, as he did in the tales, Robin Hood has Maid Marion. And this time, she fights alongside her boyfriend. But we still sighed and dreamed, didn't we girls?


Well, eeexxxcuuussse me, Princess!

4. Link (Legend of Zelda]
He started out as a little sprite in an 8-bit game, and grew into a major hunk. But even before Orcena of Time, there was a Link girls could fall in love with. Long before the Nintendo 64, there was a cartoon Legend of Zelda, based off the first two games and appearing on Fridays only during The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

And how we waited impatiently for Fridays, didn't we, girls? Just to see Link in action.

Once again, however, the hero had girl. Or, he was trying to get her, anyway. But just as they were about to kiss, something bad would happen. It never failed, no matter where they were, something would always spoil a perfectly good kiss.

We never knew if we were sorry for Link, or we were glad that Zelda never kissed him.


Blackstar.

5. Blackstar (Blackstar)
Coming from Earth to the planet Sagar, John Blackstar boldly came into our homes, battling the evil Overlord for the freedom of the alien world. He won every time, and won his way into our hearts.

Wouldn't you know it, though? He [italics]already[/italics] had a girlfriend!

BraveStarr, ready to shoot for your heart.

6. BraveStarr (BraveStarr)
"The planet of New Texas needed a thousand lawmen.

They got one.

He was enough."

Not enough for us girls, though, right? Tall, handsome, and brave...how many ladies wanted this Native American lawman?

His lady, however, was Judge J.D. Well, we can dream, can't we?


Hank, the Ranger, making like Young Robin Hood.

7. Hank, the Ranger (Dungeons & Dragons)
Dungeons & Dragons --or D&D, for short-- was the first role-playing game (or RPG) put on the market. One could be a Fighter, a Magic-User, a Thief, Cleric, Elf, Dwarf, or Halfling. Later, advanced rules for the game --called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, or AD&D-- gave added classes.

Before long, a cartoon of the popular game came into being. The classes were taken from the AD&D version of the game. The cartoon had six kids --Hank, Sheila, Presto, Eric, Diana, and Bobby-- transported from Earth to "The Realm", and assigned each a character class and provided them with weapons/items.

And it was handsome, blond-haired and blue-eyed Hank that got girls' attention this time. The Ranger --armed with an energy bow-- made for a fantastic Robin Hood.

He had Sheila. But again, we dreamed.


Filmation's Ghostbusters: Jake Kong Jr., Tracy the Gorilla, and Eddie Spencer Jr.

8. Jake Kong Jr. (Filmation's Ghostbusters)
Jake Kong Jr., son of the original Ghostbuster, Jake Kong Sr. Blond and handsome, this leader of the paranormal investigators cuts a dashing figure in his safari-clothes-like uniform.

His nose can lead him to the ghosts, and every full moon he can call on a wizard to give him a temporary power.

His girl: Not sure. It's either Jessica the Reporter, or Futura, the Ghostbusteress of the future. Whichever it is, Jake is a lucky guy.


Captain Marvel Jr., looking heroic.

9. For some reason, I was attracted to the boy sidekicks, rather than the hero, himself (Robin, Kato, Superboy, etc.). So, of course, I fell for Captain Marvel Jr.

Injured in a fight with the evil Captain Nazi --a villain in World War II-- Freddie Freeman was rescued by Captain Marvel, who took him to a hospital. When told that Freddie wouldn't live, Billy Batson took him to see the spirit of the old wizard, Shazam. The old man told Billy that he--as Captain Marvel-- would have to pass some of his power onto the boy. Billy shouted "Shazam!", which changed him to Captain Marvel. The noise awoke Freddie, whose first words was "Why...it's Captain Marvel!" At the mention of his hero's name, Freddie was changed into Captain Marvel Jr. (This makes Cap. Jr. one of the few heroes incapable of saying his own name.)


Jayce driving Armed Force.

10. Jayce (Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors)
Jayce --son of Audric and leader of the Lightning League --carries the half of his father's magic root that will rid the galaxy of the Monster Minds.

Jayce was brown-haired, with a wide, white stripe running from the front of his head to the back. The circlet around his head --adorned with a oval ruby-- made one think that he was a prince. (And, for all the home audience knew, he was a prince.)Prince or not, we dreamed of a "Happily-ever-after" with this handsome youth.

(There you have it. My first Article. I hope it passes.)