SPACE GHOST – Hear me out on this one. One of the first superheroes created for TV, Space Ghost had a long syndicated life. And then, thirty years after his creation, he came back as an ironic faux talk show host. That incarnation essentially created Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, as well as set the tone for their first several years of programming. And I’d be willing to bet that 95% of successful Web animators were big fans of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.
VIC MACKEY (The Shield) – Talk about visual recognition. When you see that scowl and bare, bullet-shaped scalp, you don’t say “Hey, that’s the guy from The Commish” – you know it’s Vic Mackey. He’s one of TV’s first lead characters to really exist in a moral gray area. Previous anti-heroes have been basically decent guys with a single flaw (Andy Sipowicz) or actual villains (Tony Soprano). Mackey’s a dirty cop, but he does have a clearly defined morality, and he fits all the criteria for an icon.
