What Alignment Is [Insert Fictional Character]?

Alignment has been on my mind of late.
I’m not a massive fan of alignment, because I feel it’s a bit too restrictive – no character is always going to fall into one of nine categories when they make a decision. Notheless, alignment is still a part of gaming and it needs it’s paragons. So, thanks to my apparent lack of desire for sleep, I bring you “What Alignment Is [Insert Fictional Character]?”, a selection of fiction’s finest, graded for your pleasure.

The Man With No Name (The Dollars Trilogy)

Clint Eastwood’s taciturn cowboy is one of Hollywood’s most iconic anti-heros, breaking away from John Wayne-style nobel lawmen in favor of more gritty character.
While in Fistful of Dollars, The Man With No Name is clearly cleaning up a lawless town in a chaotic manner, A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly show him out for personal gain rather then any kind of good motive. I think that’s enough evidence to dub him Chaotic-Neutral.
Interestingly, Roland Deschain, Stephan King’s character based on The Man With No Name, is of a much more Lawful-Good disposition, as is Lee Van Cleef’s character in A Few Dollars More.

Batman (Various Comics, TV, Movies)

Many superheros have been around for so long and have has so many writers that it’s hard to give them one alignment. Batman is certainly one of these, occupying Lawful-Good positions for much of the Golden Age of comics, but moving to more Chaotic-Good stances in recent times.
The Batman in the Dark Knight series of movies is about as good a paragon of Chaotic-Good as you’ll find.

Rincewind (Discworld)

Rincewind the failed wizzard is a wonderful protagonist, not least because things happen around him rather then because of him or with his consent. All he wants is a quiet life. Thus, equipped with a desire to grab his friends and run away at the smallest hint of danger, Rincewind is an ideal True-Neutral character. He never really means to leave Two-Flower behind…

Lord Summerisle (The Wicker Man)

Reportedly one of Christopher Lee’s favorite roles, Lord Summerisle is the owner of the fictional island on which The Wicker Man is set. Despite being a departure from Lee’s Hammer Horror roles, it remains one of his creepiest performances, as he presides over the pagan cult created by his Grandfather.
Lord Summerisle could be called either good or evil depending on your perspective of his actions. Can human sacrifice for the benefit of a community be considered a good act? Possibly, but I’d tend to use him as an example of Chaotic-Evil.

Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over The Cockoo’s Nest)

Thanks to Louise Fletcher’s magnificent performance in One Flew Over The Cockoo’s Nest, Nurse Ratched has been established a trope in her own right – the sadist healer. In her actions to clamp down on her chaotic patients, Ratched clearly demonstrates lawful tendencies, while her tyrannical reign over her ward and forced lobotomization of patients reek of evil. An excellent role model of Lawful-Evil characters.

While I was thinking up this list, I did realize that Chaotic-Good is, by far, the most common character alignment in my favorite films, TV shows and books. Some examples: All 10 of the Doctors from Dr Who (as well as Captain Jack Harkness), most the human characters in Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels, Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame, a lot of the major characters in Asimov’s Foundation books, Commander Vimes of Discworld fame, President Josiah Bartlett and many more.

Hopefully this list will provoke a bit of debate. I look forward to hearing challenges to my claims.