Heh, not related to any of these characters, but the most recent issue of the magazine Worlds of Interior has a cover shot of a fireplace mantel with an Imperial Stormtrooper helmet on it. In the story inside, the homeowner said his mother saw it and asked him why he had a vacuum cleaner on his mantle.
This.
And this.
Voted Vader
Star Wars being a much larger franchise than Star Trek which seems to still be somewhat limited to nerdier groups. Show any person a picture of Spock and Vader I’d be tempted to say that everybody knows who Vader is, Spock not so much.
I voted Darth Vader, but Spock would have been my 2nd choice.
In the '70s Forry Ackerman had a series of Perry reprints for Ace, that went to slightly over 100. I had the first 50 and found the last 50 for 5 cents each in a thrift store. And I have one German issue.
But I wouldn’t consider him that iconic. Just not that far from a stereotype.
Atlan however …
Sounds like the ones I had. I picked up the bulk of them at a Flea Market in the mid to late 80s.
I’m not even nominated? Earth-shattering kaboom on the way.
Voted for Vader in the video-centric poll, but including books I would propose R. Daneel Olivaw.
A Dr. Lecter called, he wants to have you over for dinner to discuss your opinion.
I chose to interpret “Iconic” as “most visually distinct and recognizable” so it’s hard to pick anyone other than the two meter tall man dressed in all black with a bright red glowing sword. If a 6 year old child drew each one of these characters, which one would be the easiest to recognize?
I’d also put Luke Skywalker, with white desert robes and bright blue lightsaber, and both C-3PO and R2-D2 ahead of anyone else on this list. Star Wars falls short in a lot of places, but iconic imagery is not one of them.
Now, if you asked me who the most compelling, or the most interesting, character on this list is, I’d say Spock. Star Trek puts him to good use exploring humanity, and inhumanity, and the limits of both logic and emotion. Also, I wouldn’t kick Leonard Nimoy out of bed for eating crackers.
It’s also worth noting that Star Wars became big via a medium which people had to directly pay money for - movies. The Star Trek flagship products came into your home for free, on TV. It wasn’t until Star Wars proved you could make a lot of money with a Sci-Fi movie that Trek took the dive into seeing who would pay to see it.
These days, there’s a more even balance between movies and TV for both, but in the beginning? Star Wars compelled lots of people to pay money to see it.
I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t let you say that.
Being a villain doesn’t automatically make you an iconic sci-fi character. Hannibal the Cannibal was a great villain.
I’m having an old friend for dinner.
Fascinating. I’d beg to differ with that assessment.
It’s not the “villain” part of that that’s relevant; it’s the “greatest in history” part.
Be careful not to choke on your aspirations.
I shall incur the eternal wrath of the masses here and admit I am unimpressed by Darth Vader. Maybe if I was 12 when Star Wars came out.
I was 12 when Star Trek came out (TOS) and we middle school girls just crushed on Mr. Spock 
So Mr. Spock it is!
Spock is my favorite Sci-fi character, but Darth Vader is more visually iconic.
For people 40+ years old, I’d agree pretty much everyone would recognize Spock. But among my kids’ friend groups (high school age), maybe half would recognize him. And all of them know Darth Vader.