Creating Safe Spaces

After her colony was destroyed in a space pirate raid, Samus Aran was adopted by an advanced alien race, infused with their DNA, and raised to become a warrior. It was fitting that she joined the Galactic Federation Army once she reached adulthood, but Samus had a severe case of PTSD and was treated like a child by her superior officers. She walked around with a chip on her shoulder and became increasingly bitter until she finally left to become a bounty hunter. While working by herself, Samus nearly eradicated the parasitic Metroid species and caused the destruction of an entire planet! Samus has been rightfully recognized as gaming’s greatest heroine on this site, but I can’t rank her any higher on this particular list since she was more successful (and a lot more compelling) as a lone wolf than she ever was as a soldier.

The Colonial Marines from Aliens are among the most iconic Space Marines in all of fiction. The franchise has spawned many video game iterations over the years, but Capcom’s Alien vs. Predator is still the best of the bunch. The game centers around two abandoned Marines who form an unlikely alliance with Predator warriors in order to stop an Alien infestation. Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa is a cybernetically enhanced Marine who can stand toe-to-toe with Alien xenomorphs on account of her superhuman strength and martial arts training. She arms herself with a large caliber pistol, but her weapon of choice is a Japanese katana. Her brothers in arms can effortlessly throw the xenomorphs around like rag dolls, but there’s something undeniably badass about a robot chick who takes down Aliens with a sword.

It’s time to split! With his bald head, muscular build, and deep voice, Sgt. Cortez is basically a walking ball of tropes. The battle-hardened veteran leads an elite squad of Space Marines against an alien race called TimeSplitters who can travel through time and space. Cortez is proficient with all weapon types and can adapt to any combat situation. His adaptability serves him well, since he is forced to jump from one era to another in his tireless pursuit of the TimeSplitters. He takes on gangsters in prohibition-era Chicago, battles a hunchback at Notre Dame Cathedral, and fights robot armies in the Machine Wars. Although most of his missions take place on Earth, Cortez also travels to space stations, Mars, and the alien-inhabited Planet X. Cortez is rightly labeled a hero, but he requires no adulation or praise for his actions.

Grayson Hunt was the leader of an elite band of soldiers known as Dead Echo who carried out assassinations under the command of General Victor Sarrano. After learning that their targets were actually innocent civilians, Hunt went rogue and began attacking the Confederation supply lines. Exiled to the far reaches of the galaxy, Hunt began his life anew as a drunken space pirate. Sarcastic, cynical, and angry at the world, Hunt was a ticking time bomb. When he stumbled upon Sarrano’s ship a decade later, he decided to attack it in the face of overwhelming odds. In the wake of the assault, both ships crash-landed on a planet inhabited by giant man-eating plants, mutants, and cannibalistic gangs. This was only a minor setback, as Hunt was willing to sacrifice everything in the name of vengeance.

As a “Gear” in the Coalition of Ordered Governments armed forces, Sgt. Marcus Michael Fenix serves in opposition to the Locust Horde. (The Horde lived quietly in subterranean regions of the planet Sera before launching a coordinated, planet-wide assault that targeted nearly everyone on the surface.) Marcus bravely fought the Locusts for a decade and was even honored the COG’s highest military award, but he was branded a coward and sentenced to prison after he abandoned his post in a failed bid to rescue his father. After his release, Marcus restored his reputation and led humanity to victory over the Locusts. Marcus lost most of his friends in battle and found it difficult to keep going, but it’s hard to imagine him in another role. When you look like a Ninja Turtle wearing a human costume, a civilian lifestyle is probably not for you.

Lieutenant Commander Shepard is a graduate of the Systems Alliance N7 special forces program, an Executive Officer on the SSV Normandy, and the first human chosen for an elite special task force known as the Spectres who are basically above the law. Shepard’s gender, appearance, skills, psychological profile, and pre-service history are all customizable by the player, so it’s difficult to rank the character on a list like this one. For some players, Shepard was born to military parents who were transferred from posting to posting. For others, Shepard is an Earth-born orphan who enlisted in the Alliance Military to escape a life of petty crime and underworld gangs. Whether he’s a war hero who has earned recognition from the Alliance fleet or a ruthless renegade, Shepard’s acts of heroism affect the entire galaxy.

This is Jimmy. Commander James Raynor is the closest thing Starcraft has to a central protagonist and one of the few Terran characters that remains uncorrupted throughout the game. He’s not especially intelligent and lacks psionic enhancements, but his ability to attract followers of all races makes him one of the most competent war commanders in the sector. He was recruited into the Confederate Marine Corps at a young age, but he gained most of his combat experience as a resistance fighter. He became a marshal on a remote planet as part of a deal to have his criminal record erased, but his outpost was occupied by ruthless aliens known as the Zerg. Raynor then joined a resistance movement dedicated to toppling the Zerg-occupied Confederacy before forming his own independent military group.

Doomguy (referred to as the Doom Slayer in the 2016 reboot) is not given a proper name and never speaks onscreen, but actions speak louder than words. There’s not a lot that needs to be said about a muscular Marine who gets his ass to Mars to battle Hell beasts with shotguns, chainsaws, and plasma rifles. Doomguy shows little emotion at the horror unfolding around him, but he’s too busy punching cyberdemons in the face to express his feelings. The aforementioned 2016 reboot shed more light into Doomguy’s past, but the legendary warrior would rather fight waves of demons than waste time on exposition. It can be argued that every other character on this list has more personality than Doomguy, but sometimes less is more. He protects humanity without saying a word and stands as one of gaming’s most recognizable icons.

Master Chief is a man of few words, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 was recruited by the United Nations Space Command’s SPARTAN-II program at the age of six and was considered an ideal candidate from both a physical and mental standpoint. After he was covertly kidnapped from his home and replaced with a flash clone, John underwent extensive military training and was cybernetically enhanced. He was also fitted with power armor that was durable enough to survive a fall from orbit. Master Chief is a natural leader and one of the most decorated war veterans in the UNSC Navy. He has saved the galaxy on numerous occasions and is one of humanity’s greatest heroes. Even though we haven’t seen his face, Master Chief is the de facto face of the Xbox brand.

Warhammer 40,000 began as a tabletop miniature wargame in 1987 and helped define the Space Marine concept as we know it. The franchise has spawned dozens of video games, but the bone-crushing violence in Space Marine does the best job of capturing the spirit of the genetically modified superhuman Space Marines (known as the Adeptus Astartes). Ultramarines are one of the strongest chapters of Space Marines, and Titus leads his own squad. With 150 years of combat experience, he’s seen as one of the greatest heroes in the galaxy. In addition to his devastating weaponry, Titus has regenerative abilities and he can even slow down time if he gets angry enough. Whether he’s taking out hordes with a rocket launcher or mowing down orks with his chain sword, his devotion to the defense of humanity is unshakable.