The Characters Who Helped Us Survive 2025

Another year has ended, and with it, we say goodbye to 365 days’ worth of characters we loved and hated. Like last year and the year before, we’ve amassed a list of some of our favorite characters from movies, games, and shows we all consumed, from the heroic to the surly and diabolical.

© Apple TV

Carol Sturka – Pluribus

A cynical romantasy author caught on the wrong side of an apocalyptic event, Carol (Rhea Seehorn) must navigate a world where nearly everyone else becomes joined in a hive mind of bland happiness. Apple TV’s Vince Gilligan-created series arrived late in 2025, but it didn’t take more than one episode to realize Carol is the sort of relatable, messy, deeply human character we need as the world faces ever-darker times. – Cheryl Eddy

Adrian Chase – Peacemaker

Peacemaker’s second season was overall good. But what made its goofier, more out-there second season great and grounded was the endearing presence of Freddie Stroma’s Adrian Chase. Whether it was a goofy expression, a silly pelvic dance, or his sad puppy dog eyes, dude managed to steal every scene he was in and make each week (especially for me recapping the show) worth perking up for in anticipation for how he’d awe me once more. Very thankful James Gunn wound up casting Stroma in this role, because I can’t imagine anyone else embodying such a smarmy, larger-than-life character. – Isaiah Colbert

The Creature – Frankenstein

Guillermo Del Toro really did it; he brought us the Monster that was promised. I was really captivated by the revelation in Jacob Elordi’s transformation into the Creature and how much humanity and grace he brought to the role, which in previous iterations has been portrayed more as a horror villain than the pure soul he is before resorting to justified vengeance. His presence spoke to the misunderstood and the pure nature of the ways that man’s influence can never rear life and why they shouldn’t. – Sabina Graves

Dek – Predator: Badlands

Runt, whelp, defective—whatever you want to call him, Dek of the Yautja proves himself more than capable throughout Predator: Badlands. He looks dynamite in the action scenes, is wonderfully brought to life by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, and has a fun rapport with Thia, to say nothing of how fun it is to watch him self-actualize and come into his own as a hunter. Can’t wait to see what he gets up to next. – Justin Carter

Kleya Marki – Andor

Kleya was the unsung hero of Andor‘s first season, but in its sophomore, she becomes one of the show’s absolute highlights in a cast simply bursting at the seams with them. From her grim determination to her cocky confidence, Kleya is at the heart of some of season 2’s best moments—the tense infiltration of Sculden’s collection, her hospital infiltration to bid Luthen farewell—but also symbolic of the show’s pathway to the original Star Wars, the evolution of the Rebel Alliance from scrappy cells of spies and killers to an organized galactic resistance. No wonder the ISB thought she was a team of three: to borrow a turn of phrase from Cassian during Rogue One, she could make ten of us feel like a hundred. – James Whitbrook

Aunt Gladys – Weapons

Freddy, Jason, Michael, Leatherface. All the best villains are pure evil, but we can’t stop thinking about or watching them anyway. This year, Weapons introduced one of those in the form of Amy Madigan’s Aunt Gladys. She was truly awful and that made any time we got to spend a second with her that much more of a delight. We hope we get to see her again at some point. – Germain Lussier

Mr. Milchick – Severance

The newly promoted boss of Lumon’s severed floor, Mr. Milchick—or “Seth,” to any condescending higher-ups—could be cruel and rigidly focused on company rules in one moment, but conflicted, frustrated, and almost sympathetic in the next. Tramell Tillman rightfully won an Emmy for his complex performance, crafting a character whose next move was always a surprise. That included leading a marching band in the season’s climactic arc, or giving the perfect retort to a reprimand about his oversized vocabulary: “Devour feculence.” – Cheryl Eddy

© FX

Kirsh – Alien: Earth

When Alien: Earth first rolled around, I wasn’t entirely sure whether it’d have the sauce. Sure, it looked great for a streaming show and had a great ear for end credit songs, but I wasn’t entirely on board with it until I got swept away by Timothy Olyphant’s Kirsh. There’s something about a reluctant parent-type character who’s long since over the chicanery he’s forced to deal with yet takes amusement in catty barbs and wisecracks the way he does that made him the main attraction in a show with the promise that xenomorphs would walk on Earth. Dude was funny as hell, hot as hell, and he knew it. – Isaiah Colbert

The SmokeStack twins – Sinners

It’s not a Ryan Coogler movie if Michael B. Jordan isn’t there, and Sinners has the actor pulling double duty as criminal twins Smoke and Stack. One’s cool-headed and committed to his estranged wife, the other’s ready to shoot anyone who disrespects him and carries a torch for young love. They’re both great, allowing the actor to have fun in two different modes and get extra involved in the film’s rip-roaring, blood-shedding third act, making for one of the best dual performances in recent memory. – Justin Carter

Lex Luthor – Superman

Every great superhero film needs a great villain, and James Gunn’s Superman is that and more, thanks to Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. Lex was so incredibly charismatic and fun to watch; you could arguably say he’s the more interesting star of the movie. He made the already great film bring even more joy into our hearts. – Germain Lussier

Shiori Fuyumura – Sanda

Paru Itagaki is no stranger to making creatures whose kooky little quirks are fully embodied with the unique way they’re drawn. While Sanda is less anthropomorphic animals and more unhinged children, that hasn’t stopped Science Saru’s show from having its own assortment of gremlin characters to be taken in by. Mine just so happened to be Shiori Fuyumura. Equal parts sardonic and empathetic, Shiori is a delight. Whether she’s employing her tried-and-true problem solver of hooking explosives to her chest, staring a hole into her classmates with her beady eyes, or looking like a Muppet whenever she’s taken aback by other characters out-weirding her, Shiori is a character whose presence feels as synonymous with the show as all the Christmas motifs. It also doesn’t hurt that her design and general disposition remind me of Bleach‘s Rukia Kuchiki if she’d ever gotten a growth spurt. Itagaki stocks are high, and I’m living for it. – Isaiah Colbert

Morticia Addams – Wednesday

Catherine Zeta-Jones is Mother. She is goth parenting goals, and in so many ways showed that despite her imperfections as a mom, she loves her family more than anything and is willing to learn in order to break generational curses. We’re so excited about how her past with her mother (Wednesday’s favorite relative) and sister will be dealt with in the next season of Wednesday, especially with Eva Green joining the cast as the long-lost Ophelia Frump. – Sabina Graves

© Warner Bros./DC

Mister Terrific – Superman

There’s more heroes around in Superman than you’d probably think or want, and yet, Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific makes for a great co-lead on the hero front. He really is just the coolest dude throughout, and if we’re lucky, it won’t be too long before we’re seeing him on the big or small screen again—not just in Man of Tomorrow, but something where he’s the centerpiece. – Justin Carter

Verso Dessendre – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Once you move past the shock exit of your “main” protagonist in Expedition 33, Sandfall’s wonderful RPG frames its story around the tragic connection between the youthful Maelle and the mysterious new interloper you’ve been asked to put yourself in the shoes of, Verso. In time, he becomes as tragic and compelling a figure in his own right, the very symbol of Expedition 33‘s themes around grief and acceptance in the face of loss. Anchored in a stunning performance by Ben Starr, Verso stands out in a small, but stellar party of characters in one of 2025’s best video games to become a career-defining video game performance. – James Whitbrook

Johnny Lawrence – Cobra Kai

Netflix’s Cobra Kai ended this year by doing the impossible. It redeemed one of the ultimate bad guys of the 1980s, Johnny Lawrence. Sure, it sort of did that across all its seasons, but in the show’s final few episodes, we got to bask in the glory of love that was Johnny finally reaching the promise he was denied way back in 1984. His role, and performance of William Zabka, made us realize our dreams are never dead. – Germain Lussier

Murderbot – Murderbot

Apple TV’s adaptation of Martha Wells’ sci-fi book series did the impossible: made an AI-powered character that we actually wanted to root for. After disabling the part of its programming that made it obey all human orders, Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) realized some humans aren’t terrible, actually. But even more than its heroics, we love Murderbot’s dedication to binging “premium quality entertainment,” especially the cheeseball soap opera, The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. – Cheryl Eddy

Sammie Moore – Sinners

Let’s all raise a glass to Preacher Boy. That Sinners has such a stacked cast makes the debut of Miles Caton as the SmokeStack twins’ young cousin Sammie all the more special. He sings, he’s a lover boy, he’s a great Final Boy and mirrors Ryan Coogler’s creative journey—just a great character all around whose voice lights up the room and changes the world. – Justin Carter

© Netflix

Rumi – KPop Demon Hunters

Rumi helped me get through the trenches of early motherhood, and I am thankful she’s my kid’s Elsa. She’s kickass and bold with an epic story we’re just scratching at the surface of. The work singer/songwriter EJAE put in really imbues Rumi with incredible relatability and empowering anthems we can’t wait for more of. – Sabina Graves

Challia Bull – Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

“But, tell me, are you still in thrall to the Red Comet, Commander?”

In a single line, said to him rather than by him, Challia Bull—once a one-off character from a single episode of the 1979 anime Mobile Suit Gundam, now the face of the latest entry in the series’ radical re-imagining of the classic Gundam timeline—became not just the most compelling character in Gundam GQuuuuuuX, but one of the most fascinating characters in the mecha series’ entire half-century history.

Even beyond the extraordinarily queer subtext of his obsessive relationship with Char Aznable and the legacy of Gundam’s *other* Most Fascinating Character in History, Challia’s compulsion to continue, enact, and even subvert the goals of the long-vanished Red Comet, only to ultimately hold Char himself to task for straying from that legacy’s ideals, made him the most exciting thing about watching GQuuuuuuX week after week. A wonderful vessel for the weight of Gundam itself pressing its finger upon GQuuuuuuX’s commentary on the franchise, Challia provided a seafoam-colored shock to the system that few other parts of the series’ subversion could rarely match. – James Whitbrook

Gwen Blake – Black Phone 2

One of the big problems with the first Black Phone is that the main character’s sister, Gwen Blake, wasn’t in it enough. She’s a psychic pottymouth badass who gets to right that wrong in this year’s Black Phone 2. The whole movie is basically about Gwen this time, and she makes us laugh, cry, cheer, and scream with each and every word thatcomes out of her mouth. – Germain Lussier

Toxie – The Toxic Avenger

After an uneasy moment when it seemed Macon Blair’s Toxic Avenger reboot might not get released, the gory, goofy, surprisingly timely horror comedy finally made its way to screens, bringing its new hero to the masses. Peter Dinklage plays Winston Gooze, a janitor battling health problems (and his health insurance company) before an unfortunate accident transforms him into a monster on a mission: stand up for what’s right in the name of fairness and justice—and get revenge on any and all bad guys in the most gruesome ways possible. – Cheryl Eddy

Jiji Enjoji – Dan Da Dan

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Jiji was a Lot when he suddenly popped into the first season of Dan Da Dan. That hasn’t changed with season two, but now that he’s got the Evil Eye riding shotgun, we get to see more of Jiji’s kindness and charm as he works to get a handle on his power and his friends deal with the fallout. And it doesn’t hurt that Evil Eye himself is a riot, flipping from literal child to deadly supernatural force at the drop of a drink. – Justin Carter

Bob Reynolds – Thunderbolts

First of all, we love that Lewis Pullman played a character named Bob not just in this year’s Marvel film, Thunderbolts, but also in 2022’s hit Top Gun: Maverick. So right off the bat, we were going to love and adore this character. But then the film made Marvel’s Bob into more than a character. He was a vessel for good, for evil, and a tease at what might be in store for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Top Gun Bob would tip his cap. – Germain Lussier

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