Not so Interesting Protagonists

Luke Skywalker in Star Wars


Luke isn't exactly hated by the Star Wars fandom, but when Han Solo, R2-D2 or even Darth Vader himself begin appearing in more merchandise than him, you know he is not the most interesting character in Star Wars.

Duke in G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra


Compared to Ripcord (pilot), Scarlett (intelligence expert), Heavy Duty (weapons specialist) and Snake-Eyes (ninja), Duke is just an ordinary frontline soldier. The only special thing about him is that he is the main character, nothing more.

Bella Swan in Twilight


Bella is a very controversial figure amongst the Twilight fandom. She was specifically written to be a character without a solid personality so that readers could imagine themselves as her. There is also the large amount of secondary characters with more interesting stories.

Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings


Just like Luke, Lord of the Rings fans don't hate Frodo. However, there is a sizable list of characters who outshine him in popularity, inlcuding Aragorn, Faramir, Arwen, Eowyn, Sam, Legolas, Gimli or even Tom Bombadil. In fact, Tolkien himself believed that Sam was the real hero of the story, which is why the latter parts of the book give him more attention.

Alex the Lion in Madagascar


Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria are the main characters of the franchise, and even within the group, Alex gets the greater amount of development and attention. However, most people want to see the penguins and Julien.

Jack Shepherd in Lost


Although Jack is the main character, people are more interested in Locke, Sayid or Ben. In all fairness, Jack was supposed to die in the first episode, and people believe that Jack became more interesting towards the end of the series.

Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl.


Serena is the main character of the show, but people became more interested in Blair and her astonishing relationship with Chuck. Season 5 is pretty much the Blair season, to the virtual exclusion of Serena. Of course, season 5 is considered by many to be the worst of the show, so, be careful what you wish for.

Sookie Stackhouse in True Blood


Sookie gets a lot of criticism in the fandom because she spends most of her screentime making stupid decisions and getting away with it because she is the main character.

Peter Petrelli in Heroes


Peter is supposedly the most powerful of the heroes, but since his enormous power would cause him to solve the show's problems too quickly, the writers had to decrease his intelligence. Fans were not amused.

Meredith Grey in Grey's Anatomy


Meredith gets a lot of critcism because of her self-obessesion and endless rantings.

Leonard Hofstadter in The Big Bang Theory


Although Leonard is supposed to be the main character, fans are more interested in Sheldon and his quirks. Of course, what people fail to realize is that without Leonard to contrast him, Sheldon wouldn't be nearly as funny.

Elena Gilbert in The Vampire Diaries


Elena is supposedly the good girl of the show, but most of the time, she is kidnapped by the bad guy of the week and the protagonists must save her. Even she admits that her personal flaw is that she is "too good".

Rachel Berry in Glee


A lot of fans dislike Rachel because they don't like the idea of a straight white girl being the main character in a show that promotes racial diversity. And there are others who don't like her spotlight-stealing. And there are people who are just plain tired of her relationship with Finn.

Philip J. Fry in Futurama


Fry might be the main character, but the fans want Bender. It doesn't help that when the show was brought back on Comedy Central, more episodes have been focusing on Bender's antics rather than on Fry's relationship with Leela.

Arnold in Hey Arnold


While he is not outright hated, Arnold gets a bit of criticism because of his sudden transformation into a well-adjusted and incorruptible hero to contrast his quirky classmates.

Sonic the Hedgehog


Inverted! Given the vast increase in characters, gamers began complaining that they were stealing Sonic's limelight.

Sora in Kingdom Hearts


A lot of people dislike Sora because of his squeaky-clean image.