100 Greatest Fictional Characters #10-6

We collected input from hundreds of visitors to the site, convention attendees, and industry professionals to compile the list of the 100 Greatest Fictional Characters of All Time. You can see the beginning of the project here, where you’ll also find an index of all the results to date.

Today we bring you the next five in our list of 100.

10. Indiana Jones

indianajones

Appears In: Indiana Jones series
Created By: George Lucas

Indiana Jones is the ultimate adventure hero, inspired by the pulp serials of old. As a college professor who moonlights as a whip-wielding archaeologist, Indy espouses intelligence combined with action, making him an iconic and unforgettable adventurer.

Voter Comments: “Mal Reynolds, Han Solo and Indiana Jones… what awesome guys. Life would be quite an adventure with any of them at my side.” - Ginny Keller

9. Mr. Spock

spock

Appears In: Star Trek
Created By: Gene Roddenberry

The child of a human and a Vulcan, Spock straddles the line of the familiar and the foreign. Through his unfamiliarity with his own humanity, as well as his struggles to understand and conform with his Vulcan roots, Spock embodies the spirit of Star Trek and, truly, of science fiction in general.

Voter Comments: “He’s been boldly going where no one has gone before since the late ’60s and engaging us all with his irrefutable logic and curiosities over human behavior. To think, the producers wanted to get rid of the ‘guy with ears’!” - Serena Gulledge

8. Harry Potter

harrypotter

Appears In: Harry Potter series
Created By: J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is the titular hero in J.K. Rowling’s series of fantasy adventures. As a character, Harry is believable and relatable, but his greatest impact has been as a symbol for literature. The Harry Potter novels brought countless kids back to reading and made books fun again.

Voter Comments: “7 trillion kids can’t be wrong. Harry Potter is a remarkable character because you get to watch him grow from a child to a young man.” - Dax Collins

7. Spider-Man

spiderman

Appears In: Marvel Comics
Created By: Stan Lee

Arguably the most popular character in the Marvel universe, Spider-Man is one of the first superheroes to show flaws. Brainy and downtrodden Peter Parker is a character most comics fans could understand personally, so his transformation into Spider-Man strikes a fantastic and common chord that was missing from prior comic heroes.

Voter Comments: “While Superman and Batman might predate Spidey, he brought superheroes into the realm of the everyman. The nerdy kid from Queens was instantly relatable to anyone that picked up a comic book. Most important, he taught us one of the most beautifully succinct and important concepts in all of superherodom: with great power comes great responsibility.” - Roo Bots

Note: 6.7% of the Spider-Man vote called specifically for his alter ego, Peter Parker.

6. Darth Vader

darthvader

Appears In: Star Wars series
Created By: George Lucas, Ralph McQuarrie, and Ben Burtt

Darth Vader is one of the most recognizable and feared villains in the history of cinema. Everything from his iconically raspy breathing to his sinister and quasi-robotic / quasi-samurai character design lends to his air of menace and evil.

Voter Comments: “Putting the prequels to the side, OT Vader is the ultimate bad guy and has not been matched in film for over 30 years now.” - James B (FilmRot.com)

Note: 2.8% of the Vader vote called specifically for Anakin Skywalker.

The list continues tomorrow with a look back at the previous 95 characters, leading up to next week’s reveal of the top 5 greatest fictional characters of all time!

Previous five: #15-11
Check out the next character revealed, #5!

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 11:00 am and is filed under Feature Articles, Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.