@Red: the KNVB.... really? *rolls eyes* :-P

@JECE: Damn that bend is great. Although they *are* all Royal Standards, so they are different and tend to reflect tons of history. But if you like that, you'll love the flag of the Two Sicilies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Two_Sicilies#Flags_of_the_Kingdom_of_the_Two_Sicilies

TheMinisterOfWar:
Ha ha, well that's also because of Spain. You're right, though, I guess I never looked at the coat of arms too closely.

But nope, the asshole Franco used that bend as his own personal standard:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Estandarte_de_Francisco_Franco.svg

Do the Jolly Rogers still have their rebellious kick ass quality? Since being adopted by the Royal Navy Submariners they've become sort of legit, and as they're more likely to be seen in a child's bedroom than anywhere else they sort of lose their edge. Also, Blackbeard's version was a bit camp even when it was new.

No, a real kickass flag not only has to look cool, but also has to conjure up feelings of, if not impending doom, at least an inescapable sense that your day is about to get considerably less pleasant with a very real chance of danger. I'd say there is little that achieves this quite as well as the Red Hand of Ulster.

The Dutch provinces of Zeeland and Friesland have pretty cool flags; Zeeland is a collection of islands in the south west, and its flag reflects the hardship its inhabitants have suffered due to floods, a lying trying to stay above water. Zeeland's motto is "lector et emergo" (I struggle and surface)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Flag_of_Zeeland.svg

Friesland is a province with its own language in culture in the far north of the Netherlands:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Friesland

*a lion trying to stay above water

I guess it's all about context. As much as Zeeland and Friesland have great histories and cultures, to the casual glance of the outsider the flags do look like a drowning lion and a tablecloth with a liberal smattering of badly drawn love hearts. The badass effect is not instantaneous.

The flag of Asturias is pretty distinctive:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Asturias.svg

A cross decorated by a pair of tits and a thingy? I love it!

Albania and Montenegro have pretty awesome flags.

And here's another truly bad-ass one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Tamil_Eelam

Octavious: Ha ha. To each his own, I guess.

I think putting hearts on your flag and remaining relatively independent is pretty bad ass.

It is noteworthy, for sure. Respectable, certainly. Bad ass? I'm not convinced.

Perhaps when you hear Frisian music, in their own language and about their own culture. 300.000 people and major producer of world champions in ice skating!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YRSYQ0cz1o

"and as they're more likely to be seen in a child's bedroom than anywhere else they sort of lose their edge"
"No, a real kickass flag not only has to look cool, but also has to conjure up feelings of, if not impending doom, at least an inescapable sense that your day is about to get considerably less pleasant with a very real chance of danger."

http://www.markstyling.com/f14_new_2/F-14-New.23.jpg

Does that really make you feel warm and fuzzy, like you are in a child's bedroom?

@Red: you had me at hearts. You lost me at Frisian music. ;-)

@ Draug

Hell, yes! That is pretty much my childhood bedroom wall right there. Pirates and fighter planes occupied most of my free space. With the occasional F1 car.

The Gadsden flag is a personal favorite, although its a shame its become so associated with an ideologue movement. Its a great piece of American history.

The United States' flag ought to be on the list too, if only because having several on the Moon is pretty bad ass.

Some of my personal favorites:

New Brunswick - http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared/f/f7/New_Brunswick_flag.png

City of Buffalo - http://media.governing.com/images/770*513/750buffalo.jpg

Oregon - http://www.flag-works.com/images/Oregon7.jpg

Governor's Island - http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-ny_gi.gif

Church of Scotland - http://www.flags.net/images/largeflags/UNKG7606.GIF

You mean a New Mexico parking lot, right Invictus?

Invictus - true, except all the flags on the moon are currently white

http://gizmodo.com/5930450/all-the-american-flags-on-the-moon-are-now-white

Gidmodo is down!

Way too many webdippers clicking on the link!

Virginia

@ 2WL

If you don't like the fact that the Gadsden flag has been arguably hijacked by an ideological movement, check out the Gonzales flag. It's like the Gadsden flag but more badass and more apolitical:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gonzales

Yeah, I've always liked the somewhat 'simplistic' flags. As in, the ones that can be clearly divined from a distance. And which can be easily reproduced. The Gonzales flag is just great. Also why I like the Benin one, which is a pretty damn awesome flag.

Gunfighter - I have a new favorite flag. Bad ass!

Sure they're white, or close to it, and the first one was probably destroyed when the lander blasted off, but it's not as if the colors were just painted on. The cloth may be white, but the embroidery must still be there.

And anyway, flags fade just from being flown too long on Earth. The fact that there's anything there man-made is pretty bad ass.

If you are looking for a classic symbol of nationality and simplicity put into one. You can't go wrong with the Ohio flag. Plus it has a unique and awesome shape.

2ndWhiteLine: So that's the flag of the "THE PEOPLE’S FLOTILLA FOR GOVERNORS ISLAND", eh? It's got to be one of the ugliest flags I've ever seen.

Draugnar: Yes, actually. I had an arm-length (kid's arm-length?) plane of what I think was exactly the same fighter and color-scheme, including the skull and cross-bones that I always thought was out of place.