The Friday Five: My Five Favorite "Halloween" Heroes

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The Friday Five: 
My Five Favorite "Halloween" Heroes
Since 1978, Halloween has become synonymous with one name - Michael Myers.  The iconic killer who dons a pure white mask has been slashing and stalking his way through several films, and although some of them aren't up to par, others have become horror classics.  No other franchise has been rebooted and ret-conned more than "Halloween," and it's included its fair share of heroes who've managed to bring down the Shape, and here are my five favorites.








**THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**






#5
 Karen Nelson
Played by Judy Greer
Halloween (2018)
 In the most recent ret-conning, Karen is Laurie Strode's grown-up daughter who spent her most formidable years being trained by her mother to survive, and seems to resent her mother for doing so.  She doesn't seem to believe her mother that Michael has returned, but when the facts prove her right, Karen is no damsel in distress.  She lures Michael to her childhood home's basement under the guise of being frightened, but manages to shoot him and make her way out of the basement where she, her daughter, and her mother trap Michael and sets the house on fire.











#4
 Rachel Carruthers
Played by Ellie Cornell
Halloween 4
Halloween 5
 Rachel is the adopted sister of Jamie, who in the original timeline served as Laurie Strode's only daughter.  When she hears about Michael Myers' return, she sets out to protect young Jamie at any cost, and manages to gather a group of people together to achieve that goal.  She manages to hit Michael with a truck before a group of cops and vigilantes shoot Michael seemingly to death, only to have him return in the fifth film and - in an act that even the director now regrets - unceremoniously kill Rachel early on.











#3
 Jamie Lloyd
Played by Danielle Harris & J.C. Brandy
Halloween 4
Halloween 5
Halloween 6
 The young daughter of Michael Myers' sister in the original timeline, Jamie was sent to a foster family after her mother's death in a car accident, and is stalked by her uncle who wants to eliminate his bloodline for good.  She manages to survive the fourth film with the help of her adopted sister Rachel, but is traumatized by the event so much that she's rendered mute in the fifth film, but also now harbors a mental link with her uncle.  She survives the fifth film but is taken captive by a cult who feel Michael will bring about a new dark age, and gives birth to Michael's child in the sixth film before she's killed by him.  Danielle Harris gives a career-defining performance that's still praised today, a gifted young actress who shows talent beyond her years.











#2
 Dr. Sam Loomis
Played by Donald Pleasence
Halloween
Halloween II
Halloween 4
Halloween 5
Halloween 6
Donald Pleasence had a lengthy career in movies, but his most well-known role was that of Michael Myers' doctor, Sam Loomis, in several of the "Halloween" films.  He's the first to see Michael's true evil nature, and sets out to kill his former patient once and for all.  Despite being an older man, he manages to hold his own against the killer, and even survives an explosion, stabbing, and everything in between in his quest to protect the Strodes from Michael.











#1
 Laurie Strode
Played by Jamie Lee Curtis
Halloween
Halloween II
Halloween H20
Halloween: Resurrection
Halloween (2018)
The original Scream Queen, Jamie Lee Curtis got her start in the small, independent film by John Carpenter called "Halloween," and the rest is cinematic history.  Laurie Strode epitomized everything it means to be a final girl - virginal, sweet, but also headstrong and highly intelligent - as she managed to bring Michael down in the first film and save the children under her care.  In the second film it's revealed that Michael is her brother, and she once again stops his reign of terror, and does so again twenty years later.  In the new ret-con of the franchise, every film other than the first never existed, and Michael is no longer her brother - he was just a crazy man who tried to kill her on a random whim.  Now Laurie is a war-weary warrior, a survivalist who's been waiting Michael's escape for decades and is more than prepared for his return - and proves that she still has what it takes to be more than just a survivor - but a true hero as well.

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