I had to resurrect this thread, because it's been a while since anybody posted on it, and I'm interested in seeing other people's favorites.
I couldn't decide on just ten, so here are my ten favorite literary characters, followed by my ten favorite characters from TV, movies, or comics:
Literary:
1. Sherlock Holmes, from the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Great Detective himself. There's a reason why his popularity never seems to wane. I, for one, never get tired of him.
2. Horatio Hornblower, from the books by C.S. Forester. Logical, introverted, and a total perfectionist. No wonder I love him.
3. Jane Eyre, from the book by Charlotte Bronte. My favorite female character ever. She's just amazing.
4. Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. How can such a calm, quiet, understated character be so unforgettable?
5. Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Wise, compassionate, endearingly grouchy. He's the best.
6. Elinor Dashwood, from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Apparently I like calm, unassuming characters with a hidden strength.
7. Edmond Dantes, from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. He practically qualifies as a superhero. Just awesome on every level.
8. Viola, from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Man, I love Viola. She's so funny and clever and independent.
9. Bertie Wooster, from the Jeeves series by P.G. Wodehouse. Such a lovable dullard. He's probably my favorite narrator. The hilariously silly way he puts words together is just sublime.
10. Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride by William Goldman. As far as revenge goes, he's Edmond Dantes on steroids. He's pretty great in the film, but he gets a lot more character development in the book.
Honorable Mentions: Ford Prefect from the Hitchhiker's Guide series by Douglas Adams, Cyrano de Bergerac, from the play by Edmond Rostand, and Aloysius Pendergast, from the books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (even though they've gotten pretty ridiculous).
TV/Movies/Comics:
1. Bruce Wayne, from the Batman comics. Self-explanatory. He's frigging Batman.
2. Charles Emerson Winchester III, from M*A*S*H. An arrogant, sarcastic snob with a hidden heart of gold.
3. C.J. Cregg, from The West Wing. God, I love C.J. All hail the Flamingo.
4. Hank McCoy, aka Beast, from the X-Men comics. What a lovable nerd.
5. The Doctor, from Star Trek: Voyager. Brilliant, funny, often infuriating, but never dull. He made a sometimes weak series worth watching. Also not a bad singer.
6. Kira Nerys, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She started the series as a shrill harpy, but became one of my favorite Star Trek characters of all time. She's both adorably vulnerable and a total badass.
7. Chuck Bartowski, from Chuck. Just plain adorable.
8. Philip J. Fry, from Futurama. The most beautifully idiotic character ever created. Possesses what I like to call a "moron Zen".
9. Ron Swanson, from Parks and Recreation. The man, the mustache, the legend.
10. Walter Bishop, from Fringe. My favorite mad scientist, after Nikola Tesla. How John Noble never won an Emmy for his portrayal of Walter just baffles me.
Honorable Mentions: Abe Sapien, from the Hellboy/BPRD comics, Elim Garak, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Robert "Sideshow Bob" Terwilliger from The Simpsons, Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Antonio Salieri from Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. It's a weird mix; believe me, I know.