My list:
1- Han Solo. Coolest motherfucker around. Kick-ass hot-rod spaceship? Check. Loyal best buddy? Check. Shooting first? Check. Not to mention snagging a princess along the way. When I was 7, I thought Luke Skywalker was cool, but by 13, I wanted to grow up to be Han Solo.
2- James T. Kirk. The real version, not the new dude. The guy commanded a space-ship, kicked ass, and always got the ladies.
3- Wolverine. Over-exposed? Yeah. But it isn't for nothing. The character is pretty freakin' kick-ass. And I take a certain geek-ish pride in being a Wolverine fan from back in the Claremont X-Men days.
4- Kitty Pryde. She was the every-person's peek into the X-Men back when I first started reading the book, and I had a bit of a nerd-crush on the character. Don't judge me.. I was like 12 or 13 years old.
5- Paul Atreides. I was a HARD-CORE Dune fan during my pre-teen years. I was entranced by Paul's story-arc, even up to the point where he become the blind prophet. Spoilers.
6- Batman. Because he's FUCKING BATMAN.
7- Darth Vader. Star Wars: Bad-ass mother-fucker dressed all in black, picking up mother-fuckers with one hand and crushing their throats just because they pissed him off. Empire Strikes Back: Bad-ass mother-fucker kicking ass with a lightsaber and tossing chunks of metal and shit around with the power of his mind, all without breaking a sweat. Return Of The Jedi: Bad-ass mother-fucker who turns out to be the tortured pawn of an evil dude; sacrifices himself at the last moment to save his son and the galaxy. I ate that shit up when I was a kid.
8- Lt. Commander Worf. A Starfleet officer trying to straddle two worlds, and never quite fitting in to either. An honor-driven bad-ass who's not afraid to break a neck if the situation calls for it. I dig Worf.
9- Boba Fett. Without a doubt, the shallowest character on my list. Still, the look and the idea of Boba Fett rocked my world when I was a kid.
10- Captain Benjamin Sisko. At LAST. A black sci-fi hero who is not characterized as "the black guy". A fully realized character with all of the flaws that come along with being human, shaped by the will to do The Right Thing and the strength to make it happen. The actor might be bat-shit crazy, but the character he played remains one of my all-time favorites.
