The Crusader Among all the different character clichés, the Crusader stands out as the most popular and widespread main character throughout the world. Starting after World War II, U.S. audiences were looking for a positive, all-American hero who would make the right choice, no matter what. John Wayne is the perfect embodiment of a rugged, self-made American who does everything he can for good. The protagonist of westerns like Gunsmoke, he almost always played the same crusader role as a man everyone could look up to, someone who did justice to the people around him and not to himself. For over fifteen years this was the standard crusader with little progression but over time it became predictable and boring as no one could relate to these characters. Real people have flaws and personal problems that would constitute the first evolution of the crusader. As the postwar world changed its perception of governments and began to challenge norms more broadly, so too did the Crusader. With the Vietnam War in full swing, a comedy/drama titled M*A*S*H set in the Korean War arrived with a new crusader, Hawkeye....