I thought this might be the right place to discuss this. Of all the ficitional characters you have read about, be it the protagonist, antagonist, supporting characters, who do you think is the most compelling and interesting character?

As a fanfic writer, how would you like to further explore this character? What kind of situation would you like to put him under, and what other aspect of his personality warrants further exploration?

 

In terms of sheer emotional response, both Severus Snape and Delores Umbridge are classics in terms of how much hated they are capable of generating in the reader.

It turns out that submitting the protagonist to injustice, helplessness and bullying is much more effective in making the reader sympathetic than making them the victim of pure evil.

Snape, in particular, is quite a complex character, whereas Umbridge is slightly more one dimensional.

 

To name a few outside of Harry Potter:

• Judge Holden in Blood Meridian.
• Ree Dolly in Winter's Bone.
• Odysseus from The Odyssey.
• Joelle Van Dyne from Infinite Jest.

Compelling and interesting characters have a depth and complexity only hinted at in the text. One has the sense that volumes written of their lives would be at least as engaging as the novels.

 

From a completely different medium, Kerrigan from Starcraft is consistently rated one of the best female characters. I agree with the assessment - it helps that she's voiced by Tricia Helfer in Starcraft II.

Pers is dead on about Odysseus, though. I feel that a lot of the traits that DLP loves to instill in our various incarnations of Harry Potter originated in Odysseus. Fucker was slick as hell.

 

Othello. No idea why he did what he did. Guy's the biggest troll ever.

 

"Here's a story 'bout a brother named Othello,
he liked white women and he liked green jello..."

 

Seems that I always remember villains: Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7.

It never hurts to have a kickass soundtrack every time you appear. If I was a billionaire I'd pay John Williams to compose me a personal theme, then hire an orchestra to follow me around and play it every time I entered a room.

 

I'd say Darth Vader, but only prior to the release of Episodes I, II and III.

Before he had a back-story that removed the intrigue, Vader had this in spades; the heavy presence and no-nonsense attitude combined with an air of mystery and an epic soundtrack created a truly compelling character.

And the mask only added to it. Not being able to see his face, I always wondered what went on in his head. There were scenes where he would stop and turn his head a bit, wait for a moment and then carry on. What was he thinking about? Orders, plans, satisfaction, or maybe even doubt?

Though, I don't think I'd want to further explore him. If I had my way, the newer movies would have never been made. I felt like the exploration of his character ruined him a little more every movie. But, what's done is done.

 

That, and being a whiny little shit.

And for compelling characters; I'd say Aeneas, from the TOTALLYNOTTHEOYDSSEY since someone already mentioned Odysseus.

 

Saber from the Fate series is a character that I find incredibly compelling. I know there is canon mythology about that character but I never was that invested in it, always preferring others of the legend but she cemented how interesting that character was, especially the different take on the character. The whole legend is rather inspiring in the aftermath.

Also from an anime/manga is Revy from Black Lagoon. We don't know that much about her but we do know that she had an incredibly shitty life and it explores what kind of crap one has to go through to become so scarily dangerous in a life that she leads and it does it with hints and short images, never giving us the full story. It seems to be such a clever deconstruction of the "badass action hero". Such a beautifully broken character that has gone through too much crap to be considered emotionally healthy but still functions.

Daenerys Targaryen would be another character I won't forget any time soon.

Agree on Ree Dolly.

I guess Percy Jackson as well. He has become the person I think of when someone mentions the word "hero". He is not that complex of a character but well written enough with both, his strengths and vices and his charismatic personality that makes a very compelling character that is rather memorable. Sure, the books he is in could be written better, but still, he is the one of the biggest reasons the newer books of the series still hold up.

Faust is another character that I would like to place on this list as well.

Maybe a bit weird, but from the Dresden Files it would actually be Molly Carpenter that I would say is the most memorable character. (after Dresden, of course) But even though Harry is a much grander figure, I always wanted to follow Molly more, especially after her stint alone during Ghost Story. Dresden never seemed as "real" as Molly did, if that makes sense. Even though we were told of all of his struggles and whatnot, it somehow never conveyed how hard he struggled, since, even when completely outclassed, he still could hold his own and throw the words and offers of the greater beings back into their faces and if he couldn't, he still would get away somehow. Dunno if what I say makes any sense right now. :/

Am pretty sure more will come to mind but right now, too tired to think of more.

 

I always greatly enjoyed Takeo from Tales of the Otori because I like characters that want to be good men but are still willing to do the necessary things.

And I always found the classic Nordic characters like Beowulf very interesting.

 

I find Char from the various Universal Century series very compelling. He's an awesome Anti-Villain or Anti-Hero depending on which part of the story you're in. I never found myself supporting the heroes once a bit of Char's backstory and character was revealed.

Harry Dresden is the other most compelling, his relationships with other characters make me like him just as much as all the ass he kicks.

 

Ender from Ender's Game and to a lesser degree Speaker For The Dead. Card writes characters differently from a lot of fiction I've seen, and there's just something I really like about him.

 

Raistlin Majere from Dragonlance - he's probably one of the most sympathetic assholes in fantasy fiction, and a long time favourite of mine. It also helped matters Weis and Hickman were smart enough to keep from Mary-Sueing him too hard.

Zaknafein Do'Urden from Forgotten Realms - the fact he was only really featured in one book substantially made him all the more compelling to me, and once again, hidden depths.

Nicci from the Sword of Truth series (qualifier - only in Faith of the Fallen) - once again, incredibly complex character that had a lot of depth that really stuck with me. Easily one of the best parts of that book.

There are others, but those are the three that immediately leapt to mind off the top of my head.

 

My list of the most compelling characters in fiction? What a task...

"High" literature:

• Grenouille from "The Perfume" by Patrick Sueskind

He is one of the strangest protagonists I ever encountered, his perfect sense of smell transforms him into a nearly alien creature, evoking alternating bursts of pitty and disgust in the reader.

• Raskolnikov from "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky

The prototype of the narcissistic intellectual who turns himself into a nihilistic sociopath by his own conscious decision.

• Grusha from "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" by Brecht

She's such a strong and compassionate person, rising from her "humble" status to shame the conceited members of society.



Fantasy:

• Saruman from... ah, you know the jazz

The best villain in LotR, fascinating due to his fall from highest grace, but also because of his magical craftmanship, forging his own ring and breeding armies of Uruk'Hai.

• Megan Whitlock from "Shadow's daughter" by Shirley Meier

I enjoyed her character when she was just a child/teen coming of age in a postappocalyptic world - but I started to love this "never give up" and "kick- ass and take numbers" woman in the next 3 books of the series. In addition, "Saber and Shadow" has her in a sapphic relationship... yum.

• Arya from... another well known series

What can I say, I've always liked strong female characters, and Arya has such potential. The darker she became the more I was fascinated by her.



Science Fiction:

• Grayson Death Carlyle from the "Gray Death" trilogy by Stackpole

A battlemech piloting mercenary captain who started out as a dispossessed guerillia fighter? What's not to like?

• Admiral Naismith from the "Vorkosigan Saga" by McMaster Bujold

The better version of Miles, it struck me how he was able to balance his best and worst qualities in this persona, until it nealy took him over. I admit that I rooted for Naismith and was quite disappointed when he "died".

• Eleanor Arroway from "Contact" by Carl Sagan

A strong character, making her own way in a field dominated by men, taking every hurdle without betraying her principles. If humanity ever needs a embassador for first contact, he/she should emulate Ellie.

 

Kreia, from Knights of the Old Republic 2. Singularly the best female character ever written, even more so considering she stands on her own depth and writing and not on her position as fanservice or love interest.

I really can't state enough how amazing Kreia is as a concept. Whoever had the idea to pitch self-determinism vs. destiny (aka, the Force) and make it a character's mother, the old wizard and the big bad should be given a suit made out of Pulitzers. The whole game is chock full of amazingly written concepts (Atton Rand as the scoundrel deconstruction, the Mandalorian Wars as a battle of ideals rather than men, etc.). If you haven't checked it out, do so.

If you don't feel like playing, this guy does a humorous diary of his playthrough as Jedi Jesus, wizard gunslinger, with all the cut content included. It's fucking balls out awesome.

 

There's a lot of characters that have left an impact on me. Some have been brought up here, but I'll list a few I haven't seen in here yet.

Batman (various)
There's so many interpretations of him, but the common attributes most of them share (yes, even the campy Adam West version to some extent) such as his intelligence and sheer willpower have always stuck with me. However I think it was Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy that really made him compelling to me. I'd always liked him, sure -- ever since I was a kid watching the 90's animated series and the Burton movies -- but his presentation there really gave me perspective on the character. I think it's because of that I'll be a Batman fan for life.

Revan (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)
Lamora covered Kreia pretty well, but I'll throw in her star pupil. The way he was presented in Knights of the Old Republic II in particular (the way he's treated in The Old Republic is a real slap to the face). While the first game pretty much played him out to be the standard fallen hero, KotOR II really challenged that notion and questioned whether he even really "fell" at all, or whether he just sacrificed everything, even his own soul, to fight a greater evil. His philosophies about the Jedi you hear from Kreia and HK-47 are interesting too.

Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
His intelligence, strength (in magic and will) and his sincerely caring attitude have always endeared me to him. The way Rowling expanded on him in Deathly Hallows is part of what makes me like the book still despite its numerous flaws -- how he had a troubled youth, but overcame it and went on to become the greatest wizard of his time.

Atticus Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird)
His moral fortitude despite the situation and environment he was in, as well as his modesty regarding his own strength was very compelling, and I know I'm not alone in respecting him.

Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
From Metal Gear Solid 2 in particular. We see him from a different perspective than in any other game through Raiden. Here he's more comptetent, experienced and strong than any other time we see him, and he also provides Raiden with the grounding and direction he needs in the fucked up situation he's in. His final monologue in Sons of Liberty is one of my favorite quotes too. I'd put it in my sig if I could, but I think it's too big.

From the same series I'll have to list Big Boss as well. He's presented in the first two Metal Gear games as a villain, but seeing his origins and motivations in Metal Gear Solid 3 shake that perception up quite a bit, and later games make it clear that what we see in Metal Gear 1 and 2 wasn't the whole story at all.

 

I think that a character's being compelling - interesting - depends on two things: 1) how admirable they are; 2) how sympathetic they are.

1) For characters to be compelling, they have to have characteristics that attract our attention in a positive way. We don't need characters to be "good" or "moral" or "righteous" to admire them - they can simply have characteristics that we can appreciate or admirable: sense of purpose (e.g. Ozymandias in Watchmen; Kiritsigu in Fate/Zero; Red in Lamora's GoC), determination (e.g. Batman), courage (e.g. Snape), cleverness (e.g. Tyrion Lannister in ASoIaF), loyalty (various loyal minions), and so on.

To an extent these compelling characters have various desirable characteristics that we would like ourselves to have - and that is one of the reasons why we read fiction. We want to be enthralled by a new, more exciting world populated by people less dreary and dull than ourselves.

2) And yet the characters have to be sympathetic. They have to be A) human - fallible, with all-too-human weaknesses like pride or envy, stupidity or arrogance. Or they might B) encounter tragedy and face hardship, because the invincible, infallible heroes are just as boring and frustrating as heroes that are utterly incompetent. What mountains are there left to climb; what dragons are there left to slay? Victory is boring - there is a reason why all fiction involve some obstacle to overcome, some monster to kill, some princess to save. After the princess is saved, the story ends, because the happily-ever-after doesn't make for compelling reading.

C) One last point - it helps if the characters have characteristics similar to ourselves. Literally, they are like us, and thus it is easy for us to sympathize with them. C.f. Tyion Lannister. As GRRM Martin once suggested, readers tend to be nerdy/intellectual/relatively asocial, and more easily sympathize with characters sharing such traits.

In regards DLP - I would hazard a guess that most people here 1) consider themselves intelligent and 2) consider intelligence, and the ability to think through things, a good and desirable trait. We want to see this in our fictional counterparts - and this doubtlessly accounts for DLP Harry Potters always being made more intelligent; more thoughtful.

TLDR: Compelling characters are more than human in some ways; yet very very human in the ways that count - emotionally, mentally, psychologically.

 

I'm going to back up Noxed, but about Miles in general, not just Admiral Naismith.

A lot of the time, reading Miles, he makes human mistakes. Or gets angry, or whatever.

But one scene that stuck with me, despite reading the book years and years ago, was in his first real appearance - The Warrior's Apprentice.

Spoiler

At this point, we all knew Miles was heavily deformed, but not a mutant. He's not attractive, short, and had severe medical problems that got him kicked out of military training, despite being the Emperor's cousin.
His (deceased) bodyguard's daughter, Elena, is beautiful. Miles has been in love with her for years. And when one of his servicemen asks permission to court her, Miles refuses. He wants her for himself, and will not let someone else have her.

At the time I first read this, I was reading a lot of 'classical' fantasy. The hero is a perfect human, and everything goes his way. This scene made Miles so very human, and he has other points through the series where he does similar stuff.



Following from Miles and his Amazonian fetish - the tragedy of Taura. I loved her character the entire time she was present.