Ranking Every Christopher Nolan Protagonist From Worst To Best

1. Leonard Shelby - Memento

And though many would rank Bruce Wayne/Batman as Nolan's crowning achievement, there is one protagonist who does one better, even if he's not a crime-fighting bad*** in a black suit.

Guy Pearce's Leonard Shelby isn't just a great Nolan protagonist, he's a classic crime thriller lead in his own right, suffering from amnesia which prevents him from creating new memories as he attempts to track down his wife's killer.

Nolan's filmmaking has never been this ingenious either before or since, with his uniquely-disadvantaged "hero" having to take notes, tattoo information on himself and basically find any means necessary to keep a continuity of information that his mind cannot store.

What really takes Leonard to the next level, though, is the constant manipulation he has to deal with throughout the film, not only from Carrie Anne Moss' Natalie and Joe Pantoliano's Teddy, but also in the movie's jaw-dropping final reveal, himself.

That Leonard ultimately manufactures a narrative in order to block out the guilt of him accidentally killing his own wife, makes him the most brilliantly-realised and singularly tragic protagonist of Nolan's entire filmography. It's no mere cheap trick, and makes the film, not to mention Pearce's performance, even more transfixing on repeat viewings.

How would you rank Christopher Nolan's protagonists? Shout them out in the comments!