# Who is the more iconic SciFi character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [August 25, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356 "2022-08-25T21:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/101 "2022-08-30T18:35:41Z")
Among the choices, definitely Spock. The character just keeps going and going… > [@N9IWP](#): > > I would nominate Flash Gordon, though maybe younger folks would be unfamiliar with him. That’s an excellent suggestion. But consider it as an archetype “the Anglo-Saxon hero in a spacesuit/overalls with a blaster in his hand” and it becomes VERY iconic. On the cover of so many pulp-fiction magazines and comic books. [![](https://i.imgur.com/0PIhTBr.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/0PIhTBr.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/102 "2022-08-30T18:39:32Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > James T Kirk: maybe the Star Trek logo, but nothing I can think of that calls out Kirk in particular. No great iconic phrases; KAHHHHHNNNN!!! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/103 "2022-08-30T18:44:02Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Hence the reference to the definition. I do not think iconic means most visually identifiable by any definition. It does however mean distinctive excellence. Not even most well known. The definition you’re citing specifies “_widely known_ for distinctive excellence,” so popularity is definitely a factor. And, as much as I love Dr. Who, for most of the show’s existence, it was mostly known for it’s distinctive cheapness. Anyway, Mary Poppins is both an earlier and better known example of the archetype. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/104 "2022-08-30T18:48:40Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Anyway, Mary Poppins is both an earlier and better known example of the archetype. True, she was after all practically perfect. I’m regretting using the word Iconic. Just not sure what word would have been better. I am very happy Spock is way ahead of Kirk though. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/105 "2022-08-30T18:52:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There’s obviously some type of artificial gravity in the _Star Wars_ universe, and the Death Star (being a “small moon”) wouldn’t have strong enough natural gravity to enable normal movement. But there would be some force pulling mass toward the center. The way it’s shown in the movie, things would slide sideways across the floor. It’s the size of a small moon, but won’t have anywhere near the same mass, as there’s a lot of hollow space within it. It won’t have anywhere near the density of a real moon, and so would have far less natural gravity. Building this way, though, you have at least some windows on every level. Making it a nested set of spheres with gravity towards the center, you’d have one level with a lot of skylights, and then every other level being a dank pit of artificial lighting. You have to think of the re-sale value here, everyone knows windows add to a home’s value! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/106 "2022-08-30T19:19:25Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I grok Spock. Wait a minute! Valentine Michael Smith wasn’t even on the poll! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/107 "2022-08-30T19:22:00Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > James T Kirk: maybe the Star Trek logo, but nothing I can think of that calls out Kirk in particular. No great iconic phrases; > > KAHHHHHNNNN!!! Good call, that is iconic. * * * Skimming through the thread now, I see there’s some discussion of what “iconic” means. For me, it has to be distinguished from “archetype”, which is what I think some of you are going for. Looking at the archetypes of the characters: Kirk: classic SciFi hero who can out-muscle or out-think any opponent, while winning female affection. Not original at all. Spock: hero who struggles with conflicted origins. Fairly unique presentation. Han Solo: classic Western hero with unlimited self confidence. Straight-forward adaptation to SciFi. Darth Vader: classic evil knight with magic powers. Nothing original at all, but presented in a very iconic way. Dr Who: magical and mysterious trickster-hero. A new and clever form of the archetype. Ripley: same archetype as Kirk, but adapted as feminine. In terms of originality of the archetype as presented, I’d rate them as: Dr Who: 9/10 Spock: 6/10 Darth Vader: 5/10 Han Solo: 3/10 Ripley: 2/10 Kirk: 1/10 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/108 "2022-08-30T19:22:28Z")
Think the average stormtrooper knows how to install a skylight? All they know is killing and white uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/109 "2022-08-30T19:23:58Z")
Yet I snuck him in anyway. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/110 "2022-08-30T19:27:44Z")
You only got half of Spock though, he was also the Science Hero. I don’t know who his predecessor was in this regard. Probably Wells’ Time Traveler who is nameless in the book. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/111 "2022-08-30T19:50:30Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > You only got half of Spock though, he was also the Science Hero. I don’t know who his predecessor was in this regard. By the time the first episode of STAR TREK aired, hadn’t Adam West wrapped up his first season as the guy who uses a computer to solve crimes and breaks out a laserbeam or whatever to get the win? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/112 "2022-08-30T19:51:53Z")
Once again, Superheroes are not SciFi. Both are Spec Fiction but Superheroes is not Science Fiction. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/113 "2022-08-30T19:51:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > You only got half of Spock though, he was also the Science Hero. I don’t know who his predecessor was in this regard. Probably Wells’ Time Traveler who is nameless in the book. Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo? Granted, he was an ambiguous character between hero and villain. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/114 "2022-08-30T19:52:43Z")
I don’t think The Doctor from Dr Who really even ranks on a list of iconic SciFi characters if we confined the poll to **Americans**. I think even ALF would even be ahead of him by this standard. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/115 "2022-08-30T19:55:40Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Think the average stormtrooper knows how to install a skylight? Which is, of course, why [blowing up the second Death Star was a war crime](https://youtu.be/iQdDRrcAOjA?t=37). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/116 "2022-08-30T19:58:11Z")
Actually Doctor Who finally got popular in the US with the current 20 somethings that caught new Who. David Tennant and Matt Smith leading this newer fandom. The under 30 crowd wouldn’t know ALF at all. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/117 "2022-08-30T20:20:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > You only got half of Spock though, he was also the Science Hero. I don’t know who his predecessor was in this regard. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Once again, Superheroes are not SciFi. Your thread, your rules, but “science hero” is a term I’ve only ever heard of in the context of super hero comics. Leaving them out, there’s Mr. Cavor, from Well’s _First Men in the Moon_, a physicist who invented the anti-gravity material Cavorite. The book’s not super well known these days (outside of sf geek circles, obviously), but Cavorite shows up in a lot of steampunk stuff. Surely someone in Verne must qualify, as well. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/118 "2022-08-30T20:43:23Z")
I’m going to disagree about the “Science Hero”, although there is a lot of overlap, and it is an overwhelming trope in comic books. I’d describe Tom Swift, Doc Savage, and several characters of the Lensman series as science heroes. Not that they don’t also have other tropes and archetypal elements applied as well, but so does Spock, who has science hero, fish out of water, and stoic to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/119 "2022-08-30T21:02:58Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > You only got half of Spock though, he was also the Science Hero. I’ll grant that he’s perceived so by others, but it’s not how I think of the character. It’s his internal conflict that makes the character for me. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356/120 "2022-08-30T23:52:46Z")
Agree completely with the one quibble that addresses a follow up about The Doctor. Magical Trickster was part of it but the one character regenerating into variations, riffs, of the essential theme … that was also part of the originality. There is no declaring which Doctor is the archetypal one or the most iconic. The totality is part of what makes the distinctive excellence. Definitely widely known but being widely known is not the point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-more-iconic-scifi-character/970356.md?page=7)