9. William "Buck" Rogers - Buck Rogers In The 25th Century (1939, 1979)
Buck Rogers is a fictional astronaut created by Philip Nowlan. The character first appeared in a 1928 issue of one of the most widely influential science fiction magazine of all time, Amazing Stories. The character proved so popular that by 1939 he was appearing in a serial movie shown at theaters across the United States (a marketing practice I wish still existed to this day). The original Buck Rogers featured a dirigible pilot who is buried in an avalanche and awakens 500 years into the future. He finds an Earth ruled by the tyrant, Killer Kane. Buck sets out for Saturn to seek help against Kane from the Council of the Wise, but he soon meets resistance from Kane's own men. Buck Rogers has seen several incarnations over the years. In 1979 it was remade as a TV movie with robots, intelligent computers, nuclear holocaust issues, evil aliens, spaceships, mutants, and hot chicks. The movie was a pilot for the 1979-1981 Buck Rogers television series. Numerous other movies and short films have been made of this most famous of astronauts, with yet another feature-length film supposedly in the works.
Why He's Great: Buck Rogers was one of the earliest and most enduring astronauts in fiction. His multiple runs in movies, magazines, comic strips, and television make him one of the greatest fictional astronauts to date.