Canon vs. Fanon, part 12: A Jack O'Neill Edition

It’s been quite a while since we’ve last done this, but that’s exactly why I started them during the episode hiatus! Now, with the series ended and redial_the_gate not yet starting, it seems like the perfect time for another installment.

Welcome back to Canon vs. Fanon. And welcome, too, to the newcomers to my flist. Drop a comment and say hello! Or don’t, as it pleases you. :)

Recap: Canon is anything shown onscreen in the movie or show; show supersedes movie, when necessary. (The Goa’uld use the genetically-modified Jaffa as soldiers, not ordinary humans dressed in funky armor.) Fanon is defined as popular concepts that occur regularly in fanfic, but have little or no actual canon basis to defend them.

This is a first for me: a Jack O’Neill edition! No, I am not finished with Daniel, I assure you all. But for a nice change of pace, let’s look at some of the more common fanon tropes for Colonel Jack O’Neill. As always, pointers to what I've missed, and discussions and/or disagreements with my analyses, are more than welcome.

( Trees, trees, and more trees. )

( Jack as 2IC of the SGC )

( Jack the practical joker )

My personal fanon opinion? None of the fanon assertions listed here are hugely out-of-character for Jack, even if the 2IC one turns out to be completely impractical on both a canonical and military basis. There are canon incidents in which Jack grouses about trees on other planets, and it’s clearly an in-joke among the SG teams. Jack’s personality is certainly well-suited to playing practical jokes. But the trick to fanon is knowing that it’s fanon, not canon. If a writer wants Jack to complain about trees, or play practical jokes on his friends/enemies, go right ahead – but please realize that it’s fanon, and adjust the frequency accordingly!

"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how I feel about it. What do you think?"