by W Thomas Payne

Created on: March 27, 2008

Ah, to be famous. Fame seems to be one of the driving forces in American society today. But for a science fiction character to be famous not the actor portraying the role, nor the writer creating them and for that character to remain famous, is perhaps one of the most amazing bits of change to come from the 20th century and particularly for science fiction. Most famous science fiction characters are villains, with a few heroes managing to survive over time.

There are many characters in science fiction who achieved fleeting fame. Most are from film but a few, amongst science fiction aficionados, from novels and beyond.

The most famous science fiction character ever created is Superman. An alien humanoid, sent to Earth by his father to escape the imminent destruction of his home world Krypton. Anyone doubting that Superman is the most famous science fiction character of all time needs only to think of what they know about the character and their immediate recognition of the red "S" symbol emblazoned on his chest and what it stands for. Spiderman and Batman vie for this title, as well.

The Star Wars universe has invaded the psyche of the world, and three characters emerged as famous icons of Evil, Purity, and Mischeif. Say the names Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo virtually anywhere, and people will at least have an inkling of what you're talking about, whether they have ever seen the films or not.

There are three characters who are inextricably linked with each other all heroes in their way, who have managed to achieve a fame that defies time. James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Leonard "Bones" McCoy. But only two villains stand out and anyone familiar with the Star Trek universe remembers quite vividly those two Khan played only twice by Ricardo Montalban, and Klingon General Chang so insanely portrayed by Christopher Plummer. A little tidbit here Montalban was over 60 years old when he played Khan in film.

Everyone knows The Terminator, terrifyingly portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger but who remembers the name of the character he was so relentlessly pursuing throughout this low-budget film? Oh they'll remember Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, but she was almost completely non-descript, and could have been Any Man (or woman) who is being pursued by the embodiment of evil.

We all remember Sigourney Weaver being chased down by an Alien but what was her character's name and if you remember her last name, what as her first? Without a question the Alien stole the

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>