I know it was yesterday, but I just saw it on my Twitter notification recently, today, and it's an interesting topic that I'm glad someone finally brought up.

Editorial: Why Are People Obsessed with Spike?

Let's rephrase that. I think the proper question is: "Why do we like Spike so much?" Well, I'd be glad to share mine, but I'd like to read everybody's reasonings first. So what do you think?

I like him because he was the first major male character on the show as a whole, even before Megan's brother Danny. In FIM he was like before the first major boy to be introduced. The first to have an actual crush on another, and is always there for others. Even if there were times he was mocked, poked fun at, neglected, ignored, and so many other things it only fuels my liking for him and hope one day he'll have the happiness he's worked hard for

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I liked him early on because he was this little dragon that could transport scrolls places by breathing fire on them, and he was also kinda snarky, a good sidekick for Twilight, and a good foil for her, bringing her down to earth when she needed it, and making sure she remembers to do things other than read and practice magic, like eat and sleep.

--Sweetie Belle

My reason is almost the same as WildCard25's.
First male character to look up to when I first became a brony.
Along with the first non-pony species to see.

I like Sparity since that's who he has a crush on so it feels more natural to ship him with Rarity from time to time.
Hell if the show made him have a crush on Fluttershy instead, then yeah my favorite ship would be FlutterSpike, lol.

And when I say I ship him with Rarity, how I ship it varies. If it's show-aged Spike, the farthest I want in that relationship is a kiss to the forehead or something. If he's older than the show and is the appropriate age, then no limit on that relationship, lol.

I like him because I see a lot of myself in him when I was younger. Not mainly his personality but the symbol of his character and his role. And social status with the main characters.

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Those are all good reasons to like Spike. Granted, he's a dragon, he's the first major male character we're introduced to at the start of the FiM show, and he has an amazing magical ability with sending scrolls via fire breath.

But for me, the reason I like him is because he's a character I can relate to. We're both foreign-born(Spike being a dragon who was hatched and raised in a pony kingdom(Equestria), while I am Asian-American), we both work hard, and in spite of our differences, we find friendships and acceptance in the community we live in and beyond. (And admittedly, we often had moments where our kindness were exploited.)

So I can relate to Spike, because we're both a bit more detached from the culture our family lineage hailed from than we are accustomed to the lifestyle we were born in. And despite the struggles, the obstacles we've had to overcome, or the naysays, we always kept getting back up, because of the supports from our family and friends.

I like him because his character and personality is one that’s easily relatable.

7098250 That's a good way to relate to him. I feel like I relate to him because there are times I'm taken advantage of and for granted

I think one of the reasons why I am into him is due to aside him from being a dragon(which I like a lot), he has potential.
Lots of potential.
That and I think another reason is I have a soft spot for characters(it depends on WHO though) that I feel like deserved better.
I am sure there are other reasons if I happen to remember/figure out which.

What drew me to Spike is how his character greatly reflected what I felt like as a real person.

I was born with Glaucoma, which is a condition that eventually makes you blind. I had lost my left eye, not physically but functionally, by Age 5 and had vision that most believed would not support me to get a Public education.

I made it all the way to get an MBA and felt that, with my degree and determination, I would go on to great things despite how I always was outcast, neglected, looked down upon, etc. for my disability.

Unfortunately I learned that the majority of society does not understand how a disability is but one part of the greater whole. I seldom, if ever, felt like I was a part of anything. I was just the every-determined helper who only wished to show he was more than his disability.

Some of the people I worked with, particularly management, were very much like Garble and the gang when it came to me. I was typically given 'busy work' and put down at every possible chance they had. I kept trying-and-trying to succeed but always ended up, like Spike, finding myself in a near endless loop of going two steps forward and one step back. It was progress, towards my own self-esteem as I learned to not seek the praise of others so much. However I always, and still, want to feel like I'm not the 'odd dragon out'.

Fortunately, after the horrific 'designed to fail' episode of "Princess Spike", he did start to grow, find more self-assurance, and managed to make some new friends. When he met Gabby it proved how even those who are 'different' can find someone who can and will understand them without any strings attached (Glaring at you, Rarity. I've known lots of you who are nice but tend to forget when there is not something in exchange for you.)

Spike exemplifies my ability to lead but overall desire to be a helper. Spike wants to be accepted and give a good name to dragons just as I want to help remove negative stigmas that hold those with limitations back from being gainfully employed and actively involved participants in the world.

So, in the spirit of Spike and Gabby, I will continue to find those who want to be my friend and value me without it being conditional. I seek other Gabbys, have found other gabbys, and hope that I, along with all the other Spike and gabbys out there, can help make a better world for ourselves and those who are next to enter a world still consumed in derogatory stereotyping, misunderstanding, belittlement, and under appreciation.

Argg how times must I destroy this point SPIKE ISN’T A SLAVE! https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/708160/my-two-bits-spike-aint-no-slave

Anyway I like because I sympathized with him most of time he was the voice of reason. I love his sarcasm the most. That I couldn’t stand seeing the butt monkey that got old fast.

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*clapping hands* On behalf of everyone with autism and disabilities everywhere, that was beautiful!
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Anyway I like because I sympathized with him most of time he was the voice of reason. I love his sarcasm the most. That I couldn’t stand seeing the butt monkey that got old fast.

Who doesn't? If the writers are trying to convey a sense of humor, then that falls rather flat on someone whom we regard as a child, and a foreign born character.

I love him as a character as well as what we can do with him. I've read about him killing many ponys, having a large harem, being there for others, and having heartfelt relationships with almost any character in the show(one of may favorites is flutterspike paring). He can grow to be huge and muscular or tall and lanky, he can have a family with a house and job, or live with Twilight. He can shoulder a lot of responsibility, or say buck off to that. As well as his caring personality for others.

I loved him, like many have stated, because he was the sole character I could relate to both in gender and in personality. I loved the sarcastic wit he brought and though immature, he still had a sense of self awareness to things going on no one really paid attention to. Plus he's a dragon and I LOVE anything to do with dragons, not to mention he's my favorite color. But the biggest draw to me with Spike was how relatable he is. Everyone kind of ignores him, be it unintentionally or intentionally and very few people seem to remember to take his feelings or thoughts into consideration and I went through a great deal of that throughout my young school years. I never fit in well with other boys because I had personality traits and interests too "feminine" for "the ideal masculine image" and I ended up relating more to women than I did males.

Also, I share a lot of his interests like with superheroes, comic books and knowing what it feels like to be drawn or attracted to someone who doesn't always acknowledge your existence. Whenever I watched the show, I always found Spike was the most interesting character to explore but they never did. There is SO MUCH POTENTIAL to flesh out with him, but instead, they just retread Fluttershy's insecurities or having Applejack and Rainbow Dash learn the same frigging lesson they learned back in season 2 over and over and over again. I love Spike because he is deserving of so much more respect and focus then he's given. He's been with Twilight LONG before any of the Mane 6, or Starlight or anyone else and yet 9 times out of 10, most fan art group shots or official pictures or artwork or toys leave him out. For a show that is called "Magic of Friendship" and claims Spike is just as important as the others, explain to me why this exists:

This is the most depressing and sickening image in the entire series.....

It's funny. I actually didn't like Spike at all until the divisive Dragon Quest episode. I thought he was annoying and I never really cared too much for episodes or scenes associated with him...

... If the fact that my OC is a baby dragon herself, or that I've written two 100K word plus fics with the underlining theme of "Spike is awesome" hasn't tipped you off please allow me to spell it out plainly; I freaking love the guy now.

Spike's struggles as a dragon in a pony society, as a growing child without friends his age, and as a defined character with an unclear upbringing all combine together to make him one of the most compelling cast members to write for (to me at least). All of these details SHOULD have made him the edgelord supreme but nope; he's the chillest dude you'll ever meet. He bakes nachos and serves tea and played Dungeon Master for the Big Mac for, like, YEARS because that dude knows just how special the little guy is. Kid also ended the series with three potential love interests; ballin'.

Soooo... yeah. Spike is a fun guy to write about. You can go after it from the angle of him being Twilight's brother/son/slave and adjust his behavior as brotherly/unhealthy/or even heartwarming. There's so much unknown with him that he's always been my greatest source of creative inspiration.

If it weren't one in the morning where I'm at I would probably type more, so I'll just end by saying that I've spent the last five years writing a single genderbent Spike story and if THAT doesn't show the kind of potential he holds then I don't know what would...

... Now hopefully Pony Life won't default him back to Rarity worship mode

I love Spike because he doesn't belong; and I relate to that so completely.
Everything about him is a contradiction: male surrounded by females, dragon surrounded by ponies, assistant surrounded by protagonists, bearer of nothing surrounded by bearers of harmony. In a real sense, he shouldn't be there. And I feel like that all the time. I project a lot of my own suicidality onto Spike as a means of understanding myself.

What does the person who doesn't belong do? Why, help as much as they can. And that's just what Spike does.

He used to get so little love. And I'm happy for his great potential and that we essentially ended the show with him as vice-monarch of an entire country.

My life is mostly despair, but Spike gives me hope. I know that's irrational, but it's how I feel.

I like spike because of his personality sometimes he is snarky and sarcastic and sometimes he is the one saving twilight from the brink of literal insanity sometimes both at the same time and he has so many possibilities
I’ve seen spike be

1. an Assassin
2. a hitman
3. an adventurer
4. a gamer
5. a war lord
6. a baby sitter
7. a human
8. a student
9. a teacher
10. a royal librarian
11. a chef
12. an explorer
13. a gunslinger
14. a detective
15. the reason the caribou are extinct in one universe
16. the hero of the crystal empire
17. and many more things that I was to lazy to add

Spike can be a hero, but he can just as easily become a villain and those are three of the many reasons I like spike as a character

He is also a dragon need I say more or have been living under a rock for most of human existence if you haven’t than you know that dragons are one of if not the most popular myth ever and when I say ever I don’t mean this or even last decade no, I mean tens of hundreds of millennia and a millennia is one thousand years it is crazy how long the history of dragons spans back

He’s helpful and kind. Plus I always like to Snark and witty comeback‘s whenever they happened. Sure when they used him as the butt of the joke it got old but that’s typical. I’m just glad the show gave him respect after a while and in the show with him basically being second in command

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My reasons are kinda simple, he was funny. The dynamic of him being essentially Twilight’s voice of reason when she’s panicking is really endearing, and he’s got sass and one liners that are just too good to ignore. Moreover, he’s nice, and he tries hard for those he loves. He’s took what he’s learned from ponies to heart and he wants to be a good dragon.

Beyond that, he’s got an interesting story to him. Lone dragon in Equestria, raised by ponies, essentially adopted by Twilight and her family. That comes with its own confusing feelings for him, and an interesting family dynamic, but he doesn’t let the fact he was the only dragon for a long time really get to him. He’s fun-loving, hard-working, courageous, sassy, and loves his friends, all while making mistakes but learning from them like everyone else.

7097978 Someone wrote a blog on this topic.

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Somehow, I don't really think a blog post about why the show would have been better off without Spike qualifies as why you like Spike...

--Sweetie Belle

7310006 Oh, no, I love Spike. I'm just offering up another person's views on the matter.

7310084 Still not necessarily the best example. If it were about how the show would be negatively impacted by Spike's removal it make be more compelling of an argument.

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Why would you introduced bias opinions from Cryosite, a well-known spikehater, into a thread title why we love Spike?

Cryosite have a massive waifu boner for Rarity to a point that she think Rarity is too good for Spike or Applejack. That being in a relationship with those two would only hurt her waifu's potential growth.

She unfairly call me a Spiketard( Spike Retard) when I counter her argument on removing Spike From Gauntlet of Fire and the Time They Are A'changeling.

In her version of Gauntlet of Fire, Twilight would somehow decide to visit the Dragonlands, Ember would somehow survive drowning and become Dragonlord, Twilight and Ember would somehow become friends establishing peace between ponies and dragons.

In her version of the Time they are A'changeling, she want to replace Thorax a.k.a. Bob with his brother, Pharynx. Somehow Pharynx decide to give up the old ways of the changelings and somehow make friend with the ponies without getting thrown in jail or executed.

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Yeah.... those two idea pitches sound way too difficult to execute properly without having continent-sized plot holes

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I like Spike because of his snarky personality and that he is the one character who actually keeps Twilight sane. Also, I relate to him getting left out a lot in so many major events.

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Iirc, does that guy often write really long comments?
I remember seeing many of them being so long