Similar to Time's Person of the Year, what if there was the same award for Fictional Character of the Year? A character who **for better or for worse ...has done the most to influence pop culture for that year?**

The part in bold is the criteria that should be considered, characters who were in some kind of media that really shaped pop culture for that year. Doesn't matter if they're from a book/movie/TV show/video game/comics/anime etc., as long as it was influential/talked about a lot.

For clarity's sake, the character doesn't have to have debuted in that year, they just have to have been major parts of pop culture of that year. For example, the Lord of the Rings books were published in the 50s, but the Peter Jackson movies were in the early 2000s, making the characters in them valid choices. I also want to emphasize the "for worse" part means characters like Mindy Kaling's Velma or Edward Cullen could win in years they were major parts of. Similarly, memed characters like Morbius are valid choices. On top of that, some people have won multiple times (for example, most of the presidents to win a second term), so nominating someone who has already won is valid.

Similarly, since groups have won Person of the Year before, I will alow it here too, so groups like The Avengers can be considered. And don't underestimate the importance of a good villain (remember, Hitler won Person of the Year once before). Even inanimate objects and abstract concepts like Computers and the Spirit of Ukraine have won, so if you come up with something in a similar vein to that, I'll allow it.

Also, don't downvote anyone. Just upvote anyone you agree with, and ignore anyone you don't.

Lastly, try to have an explanation for your choice, it makes it easier for me to do the write-up about them.

Okay, hopefully who and what's allowed has been cleared up (and if not, I'll try and clear it up). Let's see who Fictional Character of the Year for 2012 should be.

**Winners**

1975: Jaws (for being considered the creation of the modern blockbuster).

1976: Kermit the Frog (for revolutionising puppetry on TV and becoming an icon of the medium).

1977: Darth Vader (for being one of the most iconic villains of all time).

1978: Michael Myers (for helping make the slasher film genre what it is today).

1979: Ellen Ripley (for showing what a strong female protagonist can do).

1980: Pac-Man (for revolutionising arcade gaming).

1981: Donkey Kong and Mario (stars of one of the most successful video games of the year).

1982: ET (star of one of the most popular sci-fi films of all time, while also having one of the worst video games of all time).

1983: He-Man (his cartoon series debuted this year, and was highly successful thanks in part to his existing toyline).

1984: Optimus Prime (like He-Man before him, his show and toyline became a massive success upon debut).

1985: Bowser (made his debut and became one of the most iconic video game villains of all time).

1986: Goku (his anime made its Japanese debut to major success).

1987: Homer Simpson (made his debut in a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show).

1988: John McClane (star of a successful action movie that kickstarted Bruce Willis's career).

1989: Ariel (kickstarted the Disney Renaissance era at a time when the company was struggling).

1990: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (their animated series was still going strong, and their live-action movie performed extremely well at the box office, kicking off Turtlemania).

1991: Sonic the Hedgehog (debuted with an extremely popular video game, kicking off the rivalry between Nintendo and Sega).

1992: Scorpion and Sub-Zero (the level of violence in their game was cited as part of the reason the Entertainment Software Rating Board was created).

1993: Power Rangers (hugely successful TV series and major part of the Japanese boom in the 90s).

1994: Simba (protagonist of the highest grossing film of the year, and one of Disney's most iconic films of all time).

1995: Woody (the star of the first ever 3D animated movie).

1996: Pikachu (the mascot for what would one day become the highest grossing media franchise making his debut to the world).

1997: Monkey D. Luffy (main character of the highest selling manga of all time made his debut in this year).

1998: Link (Ocarina of Time was one of the most successful games of the year), Eric Cartman (South Park had exploded in popularity after its debut, as well as being highly controversial).

1999: Spongebob Squarepants (made his debut to HUGE success).

2000: Wolverine (stand-out character in the film that started the comic book movie boom).

2001: Shrek (insanely popular movie and start of a massively popular franchise).

2002: Spider-Man (continued the X-Men's trend of making good comic book movies).

2003: Nemo (titular character of a popular Pixar film), Jack Sparrow (pop culture icon after his film was a surprise hit).

2004: Carl "CJ" Johnson (star of the highest selling, if controversial, game for the PlayStation 2).

2005: The Doctor (successful revival of one of the most popular British TV shows of all time).

2006: Lightning McQueen (kicked off another successful film series for Pixar).

2007: Bumblebee (starred in one of the biggest films of the year that kickstarted one of the biggest film franchises ever), Hatsune Miku (virtual singer that made her debut to huge success).

2008: Iron Man (his first solo film started one of the biggest shared universe franchises of all time).

2009: Red (icon for one of the biggest mobile games of all time and start of a successful media franchise).

2010: The Minions (burst into popularity over the rest of the characters in the movie, to the point o later getting their own spin-off).

2011: Steve (the playable character from the best selling video game of all time).

**Runners up**

1975: Storm (made her debut with the All-New X-Men), The Black Knight (a hero that never gave up).

1976: Rocky Balboa (popularised rags-to-riches and sports films), Charlie's Angels (a show about empowered young women), Travis Bickle (one of the most iconic antihero protagonists of all time).

1977: Luke Skywalker (the hero of one of the most successful sci-fi franchises of all time), Garfield (iconic comic strip character that began growing in popularity).

1978: Superman (popularised superhero movies), The Incredible Hulk (helped popularise superhero media on TV).

1979: Xenomorph (iconic creature design that helped inspire many other horror/sci-fi monsters for years to come), Char Aznable (antagonist of the first Gundam series, helping boost mech-based media into mainstream), Brian (he's the messiah. What else do I have to say?)

1980: Jason Vorhees (became a huge name in horror/slasher films), Dr "Shirley" Rumack (iconic character from an iconic comedy movie), Yoda (iconic puppet character who made his debut in one of the most successful sequels of all time).

1981: Indiana Jones (star of one of the most successful adventure films of the year), Ash Williams (star of a successful horror movie for the year), He-Man (made his debut as a successful comic and toyline).

1982: Indiana Jones (still popular from the success of his film the previous year).

1983: B. A. Baracas (the breakout character in the hit TV series The A-Team), Kenshiro (main character of the influential manga series Fist of the North Star), Mario (made his solo debut as an arcade character).

1984: The Ghostbusters (massive film debut with an extremely catchy theme song).

1985: Mario (made his home console debut with one of the most iconic video games of all time), Doc Brown and Marty McFly (the duo that starred in one of the most famous films of the year).

1986: Link (his first game was released in Japan to major success).

1987: Link (his game made its NES debut outside Japan), RoboCop (film debuted to huge popularity).

1988: Totoro (mascot of one of the most successful Japanese film studios making his film debut), Beetlejuice (successful horror-comedy film with an iconic main character), Roger Rabbit (star of a film that successfully combined live-action and animation).

1989: Wallace (star of one of the most famous claymation shorts of all time), Frieza (iconic villain who made his manga debut in this year), Batman (his film was highly successful and redefined the superhero genre), Bill and Ted (set the tone of the slacker archetype).

1990: Mr. Bean (the role that kicked off Rowan Atkinson's career), Kevin McAllister (child hero of one of the most iconic films of the year), Scrooge McDuck (final season of DuckTales, as well as the film, released in this year).

1991: Hannibal Lector (iconic literary villain brought to the big screen in a wildly popular film), Ryu (him and the rest of the Street Fighter II cast redefined what the fighting game genre is).

1992: Genie (a near legendary performance by Robin Williams started the trend of celebrity voice acting), Sailor Moon (iconic anime series that began airing in Japan), Batman (his very popular animated series began airing this year), Doomsday (the character who killed Superman in the comics).

1993: T-Rex (Jurassic Park was the highest grossing film of the year, with the dinosaurs showcasing a mix of groundbreaking CGI and life-sized animatronics), Barney the Dinosaur (a hugely popular show with kids, not so popular with everyone else).

1994: Samus Aran (Super Metroid cemented Samus as an iconic female hero, something near unheard of in video games at the time), The Mask (perhaps Jim Carrey's most quotable character in a time when he was cranking out iconic characters).

1995: Rei Ayanami (most popular character from Neon Genesis Evangelion, which made its debut this year).

1996: Blue and Steve (Blue's Clues was a highly successful children's TV show that many remember fondly, debuting in this year), Crash Bandicoot (made his video game debut and became one of the Playstation's most successful franchises), Ghostface (villain of Scream who became an iconic horror character).

1997: Harry Potter (one of the most popular book series of all time made its debut in this year), Eric Cartman (breakout character from one of the most popular adult cartoons of all time), Cloud Strife (helped usher in the popularity of JRPGs in the west), San & Moro (stars of a popular Ghibli movie), Agents J and K (Men in Black was one of the films to solidify Will Smith as a star).

1998: Mulan (Popular Disney princess film that had a rebellious girl protagonist), Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (title character of a popular film of the year), Leon Kennedy (main character of Resident Evil 2, which was very popular this year), Powerpuff Girls (made their debut to immense popularity), Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop made its debut and quickly became a very popular anime).

1999: Peter Griffin (Family Guy's debut made him a pop culture icon).

2000: Kronk (side character who's considered the best/funniest from a popular film of the year, mainly for the memes), Dora the Explorer (immensely popular children's TV character made her debut this year), Inuyasha and Kagome (stars of a popular anime that acted as a gateway anime for more people to get into anime, and as fanfiction fodder for many people), Maximus Decimus Meridius (iconic character that tarred in one of the highest grossing films of the year, and is also considered one of the most influential films of the 21st century).

2001: Harry Potter (his first film became the highest grossing film of the year, and the start of a massively successful film franchise), Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog (made their debut on the Gamecube together, letting Nintendo fans experience Sonic for the first time), Master Chief (made his debut to massive success).

2002: Stitch (lovable little monster of a very popular Disney movie), Naruto Uzumaki (made his anime debut which became one of the most successful of all time).

2003: Crazy Frog (annoying ringtone mascot), Buddy the Elf (iconic Christmas movie character), Aragorn (one of the main characters of the highest grossing film of the year), Light Yagami (hit manga debuted in this year), Beatrix "the Bride" Kiddo (main protagonist of a hit film).

2004: Gregory House (the show that made Hugh Laurie a major name), John Locke (major character in the hit TV series Lost), Puss in Boots (breakout character from Shrek 2), Ichigo Kuroskaki (star of a major animeof the year), The Parr Family (family of superheroes from the hit Pixar film).

2005: Aang (debuted in one of the most popular Nickelodeon shows of all time), Ben Tennyson (the start of one of Cartoon Network's most successful franchises), Batman (new movie kicked off a very successful trilogy).

2006: Jack Sparrow (most iconic character from the highest grossing film of the year), Borat Sagdiyev (iconic Sacha Baron Cohen character from Kazakhstan), Fred Figglehorn (one of the first viral stars on YouTube, known for his obnoxiousness), Dexter Morgan (popular fictional serial killer from a popular TV show).

2007: Optimus Prime (starred alongside Bumblebee in Transformers), Remy (main character in a very successful Pixar film).

2008: Walter White (star of one of the biggest shows of the 21st century), The Joker (Heath Ledger's portrayal has become one of the most iconic), Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (an iconic villain from one of the most popular Disney channel shows airing in 2008).

2009: Neytiri/the Na'vi (the alien species of the highest grossing film of the year, and of all time at the time).

2010: Gru (protagonist that went from villain to hero in a very popular animated movie), Toothless (iconic dragon from the hugely successful How to Train Your Dragon), Finn the Human (hero of a very successful and popular cartoon).

2011: Harry Potter (the final film of his series released this year to massive success).

The playable character of the best selling video game of all time, Steve from Minecraft takes Fictional Character of the Year for 2011. Now for 2012.