Had a lot of fun doing The Greatest SCIENCE-FICTION Character Of All Time thread.
Want to give a whirl for The Greatest FANTASY-FICTION Character Of All Time?
How about this: It has to be a singular (no teams, no creature races as a whole, no duos) fantasy (needs a clearly intrinsic supernatural/magical/mystical element + no scientific aspect) fiction (has to have a clear author and starting publication date) character (no plot devices, must be a comprehensible individual). And in the interest of being non-redundant, no character who made it onto the previous Greatest Science-Fiction Character Of All Time thread (characters can only be on one or the other list, not both).
Examples of no-nos would be: no entire Fellowship of the Ring as a single entry, no Death Eaters nor werewolves as a single entry, no Xena AND Gabrielle as a single entry, no Batman, no Superman, no Star Trek characters, no Star Wars characters, no religious/historical figures, no The Nothing from Never-Ending Story, no Storm.
Example of allowables: swords & sandals (300, Spartacus), medieval stories (Camelot, Robin Hood), talking with animals (Watership Down, Tarzan, Lion King), specific versions of mythological characters (Marvel's Thor), comic book characters based on fantasy (Wonder Woman, Dr.Strange, Shazam/Captain Marvel, Zatanna, iZombie), or supernatural horror (Dracula, Freddie Krueger, Jason Vorhees, Pinhead, Samara).
Remember, this should be The greatest, not Your favorite. Greatest here would include both historical scope of influence (real people and other fictional characters they've since influenced), contemporary value (how much more they would be valued over other individual fictional characters today), depth and variety of stories starring said fantasy character available, versatility of interpretation of said fantasy character, continuing success in different media, instant recognition, etc.
I realize, much like the SF list, this fantasy list can and probably will ultimately turn into a skewed popularity contest (according to our SF list, Storm has currently received the most 1st-place votes ... and she likely wouldn't receive anywhere close to that kind of recognition on a non-CB SF site).
And while these lists are obviously subjective, there's a rare type of character, probably the rarest kind, that should NOT be allowed. Let's call them "Franchise Killers". These are those rare characters that were so reviled by their OWN franchise's fanbase that their mere inclusion in the franchise was considered damaging to the overall brand. The only two I can think of Star Wars' Jar Jar Binks and Superman IV's Nuclear Man. I'm sure there are more, but I'm not aware of any offhand in fantasy. If you see known Franchise Killers on anyone's ballot, please call them out, because I probably won't know.
Let's score it up like this:
1. First Place (20 points)
2. Second Place (10 points)
3. Third Place (5 points)
I'll go first and keep a running tally for as long as anyone is interested.
1. Frodo Baggins (Middle-Earth) ... 20 points
2. Dream of the Endless (DC comics) ... 10 points
3. Daenerys Targaryen (A Song Of Ice And Fire) ... 5 points