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One real, two imagined, one real who imagined.
One performer, two fighters, one sidekick.

One cannot be seen,
One is hard to kill.
One is a doctor,
One is better known as a bug.

One living, two ageless, one dead but immortal.

What are these lines talking about?

HINT 1:

1 1 4 1. Four in total.

HINT 2:

The title is a big giveaway, and answering that question alone can lead the way to solving the riddle.

HINT 3: (A big one)

Vioz-'s comment on this question and dennisdeems' answer have figured out a couple pieces of the riddle. String them together to find the solution.

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  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I guarantee you it's some comic book movie. But which one? So many movies, so little to remember. :| $\endgroup$
    – COTO
    Jul 19, 2015 at 21:42
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    $\begingroup$ @COTO: I guarantee you it isn't. :-) $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 20, 2015 at 3:11
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    $\begingroup$ Heh, does this have anything to do with the matrix? $\endgroup$
    – Bojidar Marinov
    Jul 20, 2015 at 7:02
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    $\begingroup$ @BojidarMarinov: No, I'm sorry. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 20, 2015 at 7:22
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    $\begingroup$ I would guess Doctor Who, altough I have never seen it myself. $\endgroup$
    – Lain
    Jul 20, 2015 at 11:54

6 Answers 6

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After shamelessly studying the clues and other answers, I believe the 'unknown' in the title is:

John Doe, used in the US for a person whose identity is unknown [credit to Vioz for this]

The lines are talking about

Famous Johns

One real

John Cena [a WWE wrestler]

two imagined

John Watson [from the Sherlock Holmes stories - credit to dennisdeems] and John McClane [from the Die Hard films - thank you CodeNewbie]

one real who imagined.

John Lennon [a reference to his song Imagine]

One performer

John Lennon

two fighters

John Cena and John McClane

one sidekick.

John Watson was Sherlock Holmes' sidekick

One cannot be seen

John Cena apparently likes to wave his hand in front of his face to signal "you can't see me" and in fact has an album in the hardcore hip cop genre with that title (see here).

One is hard to kill.

John McClane - 'Die Hard' - in fact so hard to kill there have been numerous sequels [my original answer had John Rambo instead of McClane, which works very well, but McClane fits in better with this part]

One is a doctor,

John Watson is a doctor and is usually known as Dr. Watson

One is better known as a bug.

John Lennon is a Beatle! [Sounds like beetle]

One living

John Cena is alive

two ageless

John Watson and John McClane are ageless as they are characters from fiction rather than living people

one dead but immortal

John Lennon is dead but his music will live forever

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  • $\begingroup$ Fantastic. You've nailed it. Well done. Except I was thinking of John McClane from Die Hard (that's where "hard to kill" came from), but Rambo works perfectly well too. I'd suggest you mention McClane though and I'll accept this answer. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 22, 2015 at 9:02
  • $\begingroup$ @CodeNewbie Ah, the 'hard to kill' does work a lot better with John McClane! I shall update $\endgroup$
    – Pete
    Jul 22, 2015 at 9:09
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Is it

the fantastic four ( i am ignoring Codenewbie's hints here, cuz that's how i roll)

One cannot be seen,

Sue Storm can turn invisible

One is hard to kill.

The Thing is almost indestructible

One is a doctor,

Doctor Richards is a doctor. (even i was surprised)

One is better known as a bug

Human torch. He's on fire and he can fly. He's a friggin firefly ( or maybe a reference to his son, the firefly)

For the other hints, i can't find a match, but this answer is a guess, so if anyone can match them, they are welcome

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    $\begingroup$ I like how you started out by proclaiming that you aren't going to play by the rules. A valiant effort, +1. But nowhere close to the answer. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 21, 2015 at 7:22
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As a guess, is it

The states of matter? (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma)

One cannot be seen

Most gasses are invisible to the naked eye

One is hard to kill

Some solids are quite durable/indestructible

One is a doctor

Therapeutic liquids used in hydrotherapy act as a sort of therapy as well as ointments that alleviate pain and syrups as medicine or antibiotics can cure diseases

One is better known as a bug

A bit of a stretch but plasma wasn't known to be a state of matter so it could be considered an anomaly or bug to those of past generations



Update to include the top and bottom lines:
One real, two imagined, one real who imagined.

Solid(easily noticeable), Gas and Plasma(unseen and misunderstood in the past), Liquid(not quite sure) respectively

One performer, two fighters, one sidekick.

Plasma(usually present as bright, shiny things that attracts people's attention), Solid and Liquid(fighting with Plasma for the spotlight), Gas (the most unnoticeable of the 4)

One living, two ageless, one dead but immortal.

One living: Solids are broken eventually by time as with other living things.
Two Ageless: Gasses and Plasma always look the same even overtime.
One dead but immortal: Liquids go through the water cycle and are "rebirthed" over and over again.

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    $\begingroup$ +1, great attempt, but you've totally ignored the 2 lines at the start and the one at the end. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 21, 2015 at 15:58
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Maybe this one

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (at least 4 of them)

one real:

Rodney Skinner

two imagined

Mina Harker (vampire) and Dorian Gray

one real who imagined

Dr. Jekyll who imagined Mr. Hyde

one performer

Dorian Gray acted as a model if I'm not wrong

two fighters

Mina Harker as a vampire as well as Rodney as a thief could be treated as a fighter

one sidekick

Mr. Hyde (for Dr. Jekyll)

One cannot be seen

Rodney Skinner the invisible

One is hard to kill

Dorian Gray being immortal as long as his portrait is hidden

One is a doctor

Dr. Jekyll

One is better known as a bug

Vampire Mina Harker

one living

Rodney Skinner (just ordinary)

two ageless

Dorian Gray who "kept his age in the portrait" and Mr. Hyde

one dead but immortal

Mina Harker as a vampire should be immortal.

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  • $\begingroup$ This is a brilliant answer, but not what I had intended. This answer does not stitch together the title of the riddle as I have already said in hint 2. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 21, 2015 at 23:09
  • $\begingroup$ Who's reading hints? At least not immediately without thinking for quite some (longer) time! $\endgroup$
    – Karsten S.
    Jul 22, 2015 at 16:57
  • $\begingroup$ I don't quite understand what you're trying to say. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 22, 2015 at 17:22
  • $\begingroup$ I wanted to say that I don't like reading hints unless I spent quite some time on a riddle without success. I think, if the information is necessary for solving, it has to be part of the description (not being hidden). You must be able to solve a riddle without the hints and that's always my aim. $\endgroup$
    – Karsten S.
    Jul 22, 2015 at 18:24
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UPDATE: is it

Jude Law?
sidekick|doctor: Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes movies
real|performer: Errol Flynn in The Aviator
cannot be seen|hard to kill: Dickie in Talented Mr. Ripley

What are these lines talking about?

Roles played by Martin Freeman

One real, two imagined, one real who imagined.

Real: Lord Shaftsbury in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II:_The_Power_and_The_Passion
Imagined: Bilbo Baggins, Arthur Dent
Real who imagined: Rembrandt in Nightwatchers

One performer, two fighters, one sidekick.

Performer: the male stand-in in Love, Actually Sidekick: Dr. Watson in Sherlock
Not sure about the fighters

One cannot be seen,

Bilbo Baggins when he wears the ring

One is hard to kill.

Arthur Dent

One is a doctor

Dr. Watson in Sherlock

One is better known as a bug.

Not sure, maybe the guy he played in The Office?

One living, two ageless, one dead but immortal.

?

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  • $\begingroup$ You have cracked one, but the connect is not what you seek. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 21, 2015 at 18:22
  • $\begingroup$ Update: Still have cracked only that one, the changes changed nothing. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 21, 2015 at 23:10
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Is it?

Monster's Inc.

One real, two imagined, one real who imagined

Mike, Sully, and Boo. Mike and Sully aren't real but Boo is

One performer, two fighters, one sidekick.

Mike is a performer. Randall and Sully are fighters

One cannot be seen

Randall has camouflage

One is hard to kill

not sure but Sully seems hard to kill

One is a doctor

not sure

One is better known as a bug

Roz is a slug

One living, two ageless, one dead but immortal.

The Abominal Snowman is living and his name is immortal. Not sure about the ageless part

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  • $\begingroup$ The last part stated "one dead but immortal", you said "The Abominal Snowman is living and his name is immortal"..This doesn't seem to fit very well. You also mentioned 3 fighters when the riddle says 2 and 1 sidekick. $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Jul 21, 2015 at 13:03
  • $\begingroup$ The first part of that line says one living. He is dead in the monster's world but living in the real world. It's confusing. The 3 fighters wasn't meant to be that way. I fixed it $\endgroup$
    – SirParselot
    Jul 21, 2015 at 13:04
  • $\begingroup$ Nope, this isn't it. And nowhere near the solution. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jul 21, 2015 at 14:04

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