Inspired by the "favourite character" thread, I got the idea for this one. It's not a favourite hero/villain thread, it's a favourite type of character thread. So, post what exactly you look for in a character (in any medium). Do you like clean cut heroes, anti-heroes, tragic characters, villains with redeeming qualities? I'll start:
I was always drawn to characters who were both down to earth and otherworldly. Both godly, and human. Both good and evil. To get to the point, I was never a fan of the regular selfless hero who'll sacrifice everything at the blink of an eye. I like tragedy in my stories, maybe due to reading a lot of mythology when I was a toddler, I always liked a character who could snap at any moment, who could go all bananas, yet, he held it together. Parker was like that. He had every reason to snap, yet he kept going. Moon Knight is like that. Deadpool, Tony, T'Challa, Strange etc... Some are more heroic than others, but they all share the same tragedy in their lives. They are constantly plagued by an "evil" but they manage to overcome it most of the time. But even geniuses, sorcerers and kings fall, just like humans. That gives them a certain humanity that is only evident through their shortcomings.
Moving on, you get the more "evil" characters like Doom, Luthor, Zemo, Vader, Fury, Walter White, Hellblazer, etc. Most of these are manipulative bastards who either care only for themselves, yet go against their way to actually help from time to time, or think that they will be able to help if the world lets them to. They, too, have tragic pasts and are the polar opposites of the other type of character I enjoy. Damaged and evil with a few good deeds, as opposed to damaged and good with a few evil deeds.
So, to summarize, I'd say that I like tragic, intelligent characters with unimaginable power (for the most part) but human and flawed enough to be able to lose it. The fact that they do makes them real, and the fact that they don't makes them great.