Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Film Characters: Roman J. Martel of Roman's Movie Reviews and Musings

The great Roman J. Martel, friend and blogger at Roman’s Movie Reviews and Musings gives us our final list of this go-round of Reader Top Ten, with final results to follow this afternoon.)

Here’s Roman:

“I organized it the same way I did my top 10 sci-fi films, based on impact to science fiction films and cinema in general. This was a tough one, especially ranking these characters. And my list of "favorites" is a bit different from this list of "greatest".

10. Mr. Smith - One of my favorite villains post Vader. Obsessed, unstoppable and Weaving makes him a joy to watch.

9. Mr. Spock - The film version of this character takes an amazing journey from "The Motion Picture" up to (and hopefully beyond) "Into Darkness".

8. Terminator - The ultimate cold unstoppable machine, driven to achieve it's goal, no matter the cost.

7. Klaatu - The original benevolent alien visitor who chooses to guide humans rather than enslave them.

6. Frankenstein's Monster - The synthetic creation searching for meaning in it's life. The sci-fi Pinocchio that inspired countless characters.

5. Han Solo - The charming rogue that spawned a whole character trope.

4. Ellen Ripley - The modern female hero that should inspire more characters than she currently does.

3. Captain Nemo - The ultimate obsessed and yet relatable villain.

2. HAL 9000 - An icon that inspired nearly every AI character created after.

1. Darth Vader - Harder to get more iconic than this character. The embodiment of evil to just about anyone, and the added fact that he becomes a redeemed by his son adds another dimension.

Looking forward to reading the final results!”

I’m happy to see the Frankenstein Monster make this list, and I love Roman’s apt description of the character as “the sci-fi Pinocchio.”  That’s a perfect formulation, if you ask me, and explains well the character’s influence on genre history, as well as his continued popularity.