Well I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!
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~ Popeye
Popeye is the titular protagonist of the Popeye series of cartoons, comic books and even the live-movie. He is portrayed as a tough, but relatively harmless sailor who has no time for troublemakers or bullies and is in love with Olive Oyl.
Popeye finds himself under attack on an almost daily basis by the brutish Bluto. Who is also in love with Olive Oyl but is a much bigger, meaner individual than Popeye so thinks he can win her simply by beating Popeye up or causing trouble.
Of course Bluto remains overconfident of his size and strength and seems to always forget Popeye's special power - whenever Popeye eats spinach he transforms into a virtually unstoppable super-strong sailor whose strength knows no bounds.. through the power of spinach Popeye has defeated Bluto time and time again and won the heart of Olive Oyl.
In the live-action movie, in which he is played by the late actor Robin Williams, Popeye despises eating spinach. However, when he is forced into eating it anyway, he, like his cartoon counterpart, becomes super-strong and beats up Bluto.
Appearance
Differences in Popeye's story and characterization vary depending on the medium. Originally, Popeye got his strength from rubbing the head of the Whiffle Hen, changing to spinach by 1932. Swee'Pea is definitively Popeye's ward in the comic strips, but he is often depicted as belonging to Olive Oyl in cartoons. The cartoons also occasionally feature members of Popeye's family who have never appeared in the strip, notably his lookalike nephews Peepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye, and Poopeye.
There is no absolute sense of continuity in the stories, although certain plot and presentation elements remain mostly constant, including purposeful contradictions in Popeye's capabilities. Popeye seems bereft of manners and uneducated, yet he is often depicted as capable of coming up with solutions to problems that seem insurmountable to the police or, most importantly, the scientific community. Popeye has, alternatively, displayed Sherlock Holmes-like investigative prowess (determining, for instance, that his beloved Olive was abducted by estimating the depth of the villains' footprints in the sand), scientific ingenuity (as his construction, within a few hours, of a "spinach-drive" spacecraft), or oversimplified (yet successful) diplomatic arguments (by presenting his own existence—and superhuman strength—as the only true guarantee of world peace at diplomatic conferences). Popeye's pipe also proves to be highly versatile. Among other things, it has served as a cutting torch, jet engine, propeller, periscope, and, of course, a whistle with which he produces his trademark toot. Popeye also on occasion eats spinach through his pipe, sometimes sucking in the can itself along with the contents. He seldom appears to use it to smoke tobacco.
Popeye's exploits are also enhanced by a few recurring plot elements. One is the love triangle among Popeye, Olive, and Bluto, and the latter's endless machinations to claim Olive at Popeye's expense. Another is his near-saintly perseverance in overcoming any obstacle to please Olive, who often renounces Popeye for Bluto's dime-store advances. She is the only character that Popeye will permit to give him a thumping. Finally, Popeye usually uncovers villainous plots by accidentally sneaking up on the antagonists as they brag about or lay out their schemes.
Personality
Popeye is a rough and tough sailor with a heart of gold who always does what he can for others and always doing what he thinks is best. He is brave and compassionate, as he will not backdown against any foe and give them all he's got, but his compassionate nature makes it so he always tries to "defends the weakerist", as he cannot stand seeing the weak and helpless get abused. He also has a fondness for "poor dumb aminals" and can't stand to see any animal being needlessly abused for no reason, however he has no patience for violent animals who attack defenseless people and other animals for no reason either and he will be quick to turn them into mince meat for their hotheadedness.
Being a sailor, he has a love for adventure and the sea, and will not pass up the chance to find new mysteries, lost treasures and grand adventures. While he is usually a treasure hunter of sorts, he is not greedy and always does his best to share with others and encourage others to do the same. Popeye has a dislike for things like monsters, ghosts and other such terrors, having faced several himself in his life time and would rather pretend they don't exist, as seeing them terrifies him heavily, but he always manages to muster the courage to face off against any foe. Popeye's favorite food is spinach and always tries to encourage others to eat this healthy green as it is a great source of "strenkth and vitaliky". He loves his sweetheart Olive Oyl dearly despite their rough start and will go to any lengths to keep her safe and make her happy, showing that he is a very chivalrous and romantic man, despite his rough, tough and gruff nature.
Gallery
Images
Popeye's appearance in the 1960s
Popeye as he appears in the 1980 live-action Popeye movie he was played by the late Robin Williams.
Popeye facing Bluto (Who's playing as Simbad the Sailor)
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