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100 Best Things in Pop Culture: No. 84 Michael Fassbender's Face

by Jenna Mullins Wed., Jul. 11, 2012 8:30 AM PDT

AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Jamie McCarthy, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

It's the face that launched a million-trillion fantasies.

So quickly, too. One minute, Michael Fassbender was a virtual unknown. The next, he's the hottest guy in the universe. Just like that. And it wasn't his bare-all bravado and Oscar nomination-worthy (still bitter he was snubbed) work for Shame that did the trick.

As we all know, it was the face.

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We were sold the second he hit us with that Fassy shark smile in Inglourious Basterds. You know the one. All teeth. Mischievous. Oh, and those, "I'm thinking something naughty" eyes.

The Fassbender face can do so much else, too. It can rock the vacant look of a creepy blonde robot in Prometheus, or the clean-shaven James Bond vibe from X-Men: First Class, and the hotness level never goes down! It's almost not fair.

And it's not perfect, either. Maybe that's the secret. The face has that weathered look, something that hints at many nights (or years?) of debauchery, adventure, heartbreak. Oh, to join him on one of those nights. Any one.

And then there's that scruffy ginger beard. We could write sonnets about his facial hair. And maybe we will. Later, though.

For now, we just have to say: Michael Fassbender, your mug is one of the wonders of the world. We're thrilled to know that we'll be seeing it on the big screen, and on red carpets, for years and years to come.

Oh, and congratulations on your face!

GET THE LIST: The 100 Best Things in Pop Culture