Do we like them?

Do we like Marcus Fenix?

A character from Gears of War (2006)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He's grumpy and blunt, but he keeps showing up for his friends and for humanity's last cities, even when it costs him.

Marcus Fenix is a soldier in the COG, the government that holds what's left of humanity on the planet Sera. Humanity is fighting the Locust Horde, monsters that burst from underground. The first game opens with Marcus in prison, serving a sentence for walking away from his post during a major battle.

His old friend Dom Santiago breaks him out because the war is going badly and the army needs every good soldier it has. Marcus is gruff, sarcastic and tired of fighting, but he's very good at it. He is also fiercely loyal to Dom and to the rest of Delta Squad, and he gives them gruff, practical leadership.

We score him an 8. He's no polished hero: he's grouchy, he distrusts authority, and he has some real regrets. But what he does is consistent. He puts himself between danger and the people he cares about, and he keeps going when others quit. Over the series his private grief and his family ties add more depth to him.