Every guy grows up with a favorite movie or TV hero.

For me, it was Indiana Jones. I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when I was five years old, and I can't wait until the fourth movie comes out next summer. I hate to say it, 24 fans, but Indy will always trump Jack Bauer in my mind.

Fans of 24 do have a good case for Bauer, though. I have to face the facts; Indiana Jones doesn't have a list of the top 100 reasons why he is such a badass.

While reading through that list, I came across "reason # 76," and it made me think. How does Jack Bauer stack up against the rest? The quote reads:

"Superman's only weakness is kryptonite. Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness."

If Superman fought Jack Bauer, who would win?

I hate to conflict with "the list," but it would undoubtedly be Superman. His superhuman strength - specifically his ability to stop a bullet in a single bound - would be no match for Bauer. Let's face it, the only chance Jack would have would be to outsmart Superman and you can't outsmart Superman. Why? Because he's Superman.

He would probably have a better chance against a guy like Batman. To be honest, though, I can't see Bauer shooting or punching through Batman's body armor. Plus, Jack doesn't have a sweet ride like the batmobile. The batmobile puts Batman at an extreme advantage before the fight even starts.

Maybe it's unfair to match Jack Bauer against super heroes. The only one he could really beat is Captain Planet and maybe Spiderman. I'll get to that later. There are plenty of action heroes that Jack would be more evenly matched against.

I never watched Silver Spoons. I was too young. Come to think of it, I wasn't even born when it was on TV. I just remember Ricky Schroder - 24's Mike Doyle - making his big comeback as Detective Danny Sorenson on NYPD Blue.

It must be weird for all those "Gen-Xers" who grew up watching little Ricky Stratton to see him all grown up killing terrorists, and yes, arresting Jack Bauer.

They got me.

I'm usually pretty good at picking up the tricks thrown by the writers of 24, but they tricked my twice in the first 25 minutes of last night's episode.

At the end of last week's episode, it looked as if President Palmer was going to go through with a nuclear strike against Fayed's country.

It should be obvious that Palmer wouldn't do this, but one can't help be skeptical with the President's current situation. That was obviously played up early in the episode when the director cut to Palmer's shaking hand and accented the President as he slammed his hand on the table and yelled at the ambassador.

Everyone knows Jack Bauer. Even if you don't watch 24, you undoubtedly have a friend that watches it religiously. It's hard to find someone these days that hasn't at least seen 50 of the "Top 100 Random Jack Bauer Facts."*

Oddly enough, much of last night's episode was void of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). Yes, the terrorist-killing, torture-tested, nuclear bomb-preventing superhero we all love appeared mostly in phone conversations with CTU.

In the end, of course, Jack led the sting operation against Fayed and successfully captured the terrorist...and kicking him in the face. But, he was absent compared to most episodes.

Unless you're watching a cartoon, the stereotypical mustache twirling, ultra-evil villain is never the bad guy that scares you the most. In fact, the scariest and most evil bad guys of all are the ones that are so bad they think their actions are good.

Click here to read the rest of 24's Biggest Villain Isn't Who You Think

Jack Bauer gets angry, but he can usually keep his cool. Normally it takes family betrayal to get him to the point where he will do something as rash as torturing his brother or driving a knife through someone's leg.

Click here to read the rest of 24: Audrey Kicks the Blogging Bucket

It's nice to see the Russians back in the action adventure story.

When Regan asked Gorbechev to tear down the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union eventually fell, Cold War spy thriller fans around the country knew their favorite genre was on its way out.

Click here to read the rest of 24: Old Enemies Die Hard... Sometimes Never at All

It finally happened.

On Monday night's episode of 24, Chloe pursued her investigation into Morris' alcoholism. His recent poor performance on the job made her worry that he had gone back to the bottle. As far as we know, he hasn't. He took a few sips, but has spit each one out.

Click here to read the rest of Toilet Humor on 24

24 has its share of tough guys, but there are also a hoard of pathetic characters that drive the audience insane.

Mostly, I'm talking about the group of adolescent Jack Bauer wannabes who constantly make me want to jump through the screen and shake them silly. They do nothing but cause problems, and simply, drive everyone nuts. And in the end, Jack is always forced to go out of his way to save them... too bad.

Click here to read the rest of 24: Characters That Drive You Nuts

It would be like Cheers without the bar or Seinfeld without Monk's. Torture scenes have become such an integral part of 24 that they embody the very essence of the show.

Click here to read the rest of Watching 24 is Torture

What once was the object of America's affection is now third in the ratings.

Don't get me wrong, Fox's 24 is still one of the most popular shows on television, but audiences are starting to stray from Fox on Monday nights. For the past few weeks, NBC's Heroes has controlled the ratings, with the occasional victory by 24. Last Tuesday morning, however, executives at Fox found their once surefire ratings-grabber in third place at the 9 p.m. spot.

Click here to read the rest of 24: No Longer Tops in American Hearts

There's been a lot of talk and blogging buzz over whether 24 is "conservative propaganda." Simply put, it's not.

Click here to read the rest of 24 Conservative? I Don't Think So.

There are plenty of TV serials on today, but none have achieved the prominence of 24.

Last fall, Fox tried to recreate the success of 24 with the new serial, Vanished. The show mimicked 24 by leaving audiences on the edge of their seats with new twists and turns, but had a hard time getting viewers to tune in regularly. While Jack Bauer brought 33 million viewers to Fox last weekend, Vanished is finishing its run on some MySpace page on the Internet.

Click here to read the rest of Topping the List: Why 24 is the Best Serial on Television

I watched the first two episodes in its first season in 2001. After missing episodes three and four, I found myself slightly confused. Well, I was more than slightly confused. I was so confused that I didn't watch an episode until last Friday when I forced myself onto the couch for a 2-day marathon of season five.

Click here to read the rest of Fox's 24 isn't simply a TV show. It's a lifestyle.

Pasadena, CA - After you detonate a nuclear weapon in Southern California and leave viewers shaken by the indelible image of a mushroom cloud rising uncomfortably close (as mushroom clouds go) to the city of Los Angeles, what do you do next?

Click here to read the rest of Kiefer Sutherland and Executive Producer Howard Gordon on the Future of 24