Hmm. Darren Shan. I think that may have been the first time I read a book/series that had the main character die in the end.

 

Let's see,

Boromir, Gandalf (LotR)

Sirius - because for all the shit in his life, death was just the final spit in the face from fate. Fred.
Dumbledore - He's literally my favorite character in the whole world of literature. I remember fast-forwarding to the last few pages of HBP just to see if he was truly dead. I wanted to rip Snape's face off, even more than Harry did. I'm sappy, I cried.

 

I agree about Darren Shan, kinda expected there to be a loophole or something so that he could live, but him giving the diary to himself as a demonic patch-up midget... Frustrating as hell.

 

I'm sure someone already said it, but Harry Dresden at the end of Changes. I just stared at the book for awhile, completely blown away.

Hamlet really got to me. It was all just so...Pointless.

 

Jiraya - I expected him to have been saved by the Toad sage or to be reverse summoned before he was killed, but he croaked it anyway and Naruto Shippuden ended up losing an amazing character.

Eren's Mom from Attack on Titan - The fact that Eren witnessed his mom die was hard enough to watch, but when his mom gave in to her fear of death and said, "Don't go." after they were out hearing distance was a kick in the crotch.

 

L from death note.

 

The one that hit me right off the bat when I read the thread title was Darth Vader. As I read through the thread, I found several others that I agreed with: Spock (how the fuck did I not think of this on my own?), Aeris (likewise), Mrs. Landingham, Spike Spiegal, Sirius, Dumbledore, pretty much everything from 24, Ganner Ryhsode, among others. If I were to condense it to truly iconic deaths, it would be Vader, Spock, and Aeris.

In the interests of adding something new, however, I thought of another one that hasn't been mentioned. That would be Vegeta's attempt to kill Majin Buu. True, his attempt failed and he ended up coming back anyway, but it showed how much his character had evolved from his villainous introduction to a genuine hero.

 

Nathaniel Underwood from the Bartimaeus Trilogy.

William Wallace in Braveheart. I still imagine bagpipes playing every time I do something dramatic.

Oh and that part where Leonardo DiCaprio dies in Blood Diamond.

Yeah, and Maximus's death in Gladiator.

 

Windwaker Ganon, OoT Ganon, Anju & Kafei, Hellscream & Arthas's father (WC3) are all striking deaths for video game characters, for me anyway. Then, there's Malik from Deus Ex, but that was more of an optional death, nevertheless it's very striking when you discover the descecrated corpse.

I don't think death is handled too well in video games, actually. It's usually avoidable and feels like emotional baiting by the developer if it's forced. It's also annoying because the characters you care about most dying usually impact your gameplay in a negative way.

 

On the subject of video games, I'd have to say Auron and Tidus from Final Fantasy X. Or maybe not Auron, since he's already dead by the time the story starts, but still.

I suppose Aerith's death was iconic and everything, but I didn't particularly care when I played it. I actually preferred FFIX over any other Final Fantasy title, especially the end where Zidane stays behind with Kuja, keeping him company in his final moments, and the implication that Vivi never lived long enough to see the group reunite.

-------------------------------

Other iconic movie deaths... well, Alien springs to mind immediately now, with the first time we see the damn thing burst out of Kane's chest.

Ghostface killing Casey in the opening of Scream. Still effective now, more than fifteen years later.

The ending of Predator, where the thing decides to self-destruct rather that get killed.

Although it's not really a death per se, Sarah leading the T-800 into that hydraulic press and destroying it at the end of The Terminator.

And when it comes to book deaths, nobody can forget Jesus. People still talk about it. (Apologies for the bad joke).

 

Damn, Spike Spiegal. That kills me everytime. Such an amazing series.

 

A couple off the top of my head would have to be Kamina, from Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann, Lelouch from Code Geass, and Spike from Cowboy Bebop. And the end of Angel Beats, where everyone is "reborn". That was fucking tragic.