4. Sylar - Heroes (Season One)
I know that most of us that watched Heroes have rather mixed feelings about the show, but we should remember why we enjoyed it in the first place. The reason why Heroes declined in quality was such a source of frustration, is that it was so good in its debut season. There was so much to love about it; the Petrellis, Claire and HRG and Hiro amongst others, but it was Sylar that captured the imagination of the audience. A serial killer and the shows primary antagonist, Sylar was played by stunt doubles until Zachery Quinto joined the cast in the eighth episode. From then until the end of the season, it was full speed ahead for Heroes. Everything about Sylar was fascinating, its bad enough that he is a serial killer, but the sick way he went about it was incredibly disturbing. It also begged the question of what exactly he did to his victims brain once he had removed the top of their head. Though we would later discover that he didnt eat their brains, it was always an interesting topic of discussion and I for one would have preferred it if we had never found out. Another point of interest and the first real sign of development for the character was his reaction of disbelief and horror when he believed that he was to become the exploding man. Through this reaction we learn that Sylar feels entirely justified in his killings, he believes that he is simply taking powers away from those that do not deserve them. Of course he was completely insane, but it was nice to know that there was something more there than a one note serial killer. He didnt want to kill normal people and had no real desire to rule the world, but his addiction to power drove him to commit numerous atrocities. Sadly the later seasons of the show in my opinion damaged Sylar by playing a constant game of reforming the character, only to see him relapse time and again. Some have suggested that he should have died in the climactic battle at Kirby Plaza, I dont necessarily agree with this but things would have been far better if Sylar had consistent characterisation. At least we will always have that first season.