Top 10 Sci-Fi Characters
In working on this one I actually had a serious conflict or two when working with some of who I was going to fit into the actual top 10. It wasn’t an easy task, outside of the top spots anyway. I mean I think I probably was able to rattle off my top 4 in a matter of seconds, but the rest of them were a bit of a challenge. I mean what exactly puts ( Read more... )
10. Doc Savage
Back when science fiction was relegated to the pulp mags Doc Savage was one of the kings of the genre. I don't want to spend too much time on this but I suggest people dig up the wikipedia on him if they want to know more.
9. Luke Skywalker
Pretty much the epitome of Campbell's "Hero with a thousand Faces" but that why he is significant to me. Luke isn't the most interesting hero but he is among the easiest sympathize with.
8. Superman
Ha you probably knew this was coming from me! There is no question that Supes is a messianic figure and that is what makes him interesting to me. Not so much a character as an ideal, but that's where you can find interesting stories to tell.
7. Darth Vader
In world where the prequels were not awful he could have easily been number one. I think the end of Return of the Jedi where we learn that it is Vader/Anikin that is the real hero of Star Wars is one of the most underrated parts of the original trilogy.
6. Arthur Dent
The everyman and the hero we would all probably be if the Earth was blown up to make way for a galactic highway. Except I'd be stuck in a t-shirt and my boxers. You don't want to know what is on my towel either.
5. Han Solo
The perfect rouge. Han is everyone's favorite Star Wars character because he has a real arch.
4. Rick Deckard
Back to Back Harrison Ford! Blade Runner is my favorite movie and Deckard absolutely represents it perfectly. Flawed to the core, Deckard is unlikeable until he near the very end of the movie. His understanding of the Replicants changes and so does ours as it does. I don't want to spoil any more. Go watch the damn movie if you haven't seen it already.
3. The Doctor
You pretty much said it, but if one major critic can be made against The Doctor is that he is often times to perfect and too right, something they've tried to correct a bit on the current series.
2. Dr. Manhattan
If you became a god how could you handle it? Watchmen was about bringing reality to superheroes and exploring what might actually happen if a normal man became a god like figure like Superman. Dr. Manhattan is a contradiction. He is both scary, pitiable, and reason to have hope all at the time.
1. Kirk/Spock
What can I say? Anyone who knows me saw this one shining through, but I figure if Matt can get away with Mal as his number one I can do this. Kirk and Spock are two sides of the same coin. A yen and yang who together are greater than they could be apart. The two characters express everything about Star Trek that Roddenberry was trying to say. They are both about exploration and optimism two of my favorite sci-fi tropes. Sappy I know but I really fell in love with sci-fi staying up late at night over the summers of my childhood just so I could watch Star Trek. I want the future to be a better place and so do Kirk and Spock.
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Okay, so i'll grant you that in the universe superman inhabits the division between good an evil is clear and damn near mathamatical, and that bad guys are so bad for the undiluted purpose of just being bad that we don't get too upset when superman BOOF!'s their faces in, instead of calling the police. And the police don't really seem to mind either. But then i would go on to argue that nothing meaningful can be derived from fiction so detached from reality and so simplistic, other than entertainment of course.
And on the entertainment front, i've never been able to get invested in faultless, invicible heroes.
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