Top 10 Immortal Characters From TV

Top 10 Immortal Characters From TV

Some characters just keep breathing. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 immortal TV characters.

For this list, we’re looking at the TV characters that have some kind of power that prevents them from kicking the bucket naturally. Just to be clear, these aren’t necessarily invincible characters, but they will live forever without intervention and if left to their own devices.

#10: Man in Black
“Lost” (2004-10)

Born on the infamous and mysterious island centuries ago after his mother was shipwrecked there, this particular immortal is better known as the Smoke Monster, John Locke or whoever he wants to be. Dark where his brother Jacob is light, the Man in Black believes that humanity is inherently corruptible; whereas his brother believes the opposite. And of course, it’s that conflict that sets off the whole series. After being cast into the Heart of the Island by Jacob, the Man in Black gained various powers, including immunity to bullets and explosions, the aforementioned shapeshifting and immortality, all of which make ‘Smokey’ one baddie who shan’t go down easily.

#9: Orochimaru
“Naruto” (2002-07) )

If you want to ensure that you fulfil your lifelong ambitions, giving yourself the longest life possible would certainly help. Orochimaru decides that the only way he’ll ever learn all the secrets there are to know in the world is by living forever. To that end, he uses villagers as his own personal guinea pigs, with the goal of inventing ‘Living Corpse Reincarnation’ to sustain his everlasting life. As long as he can find new bodies to host him, Orochimaru can keep living on for as long as he likes.

#8: Barnabas Collins
“Dark Shadows” (1966-71)

Being a vampire is a surefire way to become immortal. Clearly inspired by the classic Dracula tales, Collins was a young man in the 18th century, betrothed to his beloved Josette, who cheated on her with another. After he spurned the woman with whom he had the affair, she used witchcraft to see him turned into a vampire. That’s how Barnabas ended up transplanted from his era to the 1960s, where his superhuman strength and speed, ability to hypnotize and immortality played a role in almost 600 of “Dark Shadows”’ 1,225 episodes. Now that’s using immortality to its full extent.

#7: Nathan Young
“Misfits” (2009-13) )

They warn you not to go out in storms because it could kill you; it had pretty much the exact opposite effect on Nathan Young. Outside doing community service, this misfit was graced with his power by the same storm that made the rest of the misfits. And, because of his reckless nature and seeming resistance to mean comments, he is blessed with immortality – a characteristic that reflects his personality. Ironically, Nathan spends much of the British superhero drama completely unaware that he is immortal, but after his discovery he finds a number of ways to get himself killed, only to rise again. Now that’s luck o’ the Irish.

#6: Claire Bennet
“Heroes” (2006-10) )

“Save the cheerleader, save the world.” Well, fortunately, thanks to Claire Bennet’s power of rapid cell regeneration, that job isn’t as hard as it may sound. Claire’s ability allows her to recover from almost any injury in a few seconds. While she is unable to heal herself if a foreign object is still in the wound, that doesn’t stop her from surviving – say – a blast of nuclear radiation. Often imitated but never duplicated, there’s nothing that can stop Claire Bennet – not even booze.

#5: Eric Northman
“True Blood” (2008-14) )

Once a Viking and now a sexy vampire in Louisiana, Eric Northman is no stranger to eternal life, having been introduced to immortality in the year 930AD. Fellow Bon Temps resident Bill Compton is another immortal “True Blood” vampire, but Eric’s cool demeanor and zest for life mean he reaps the benefits of immortality far better than Compton. After almost dying in battle, Eric was offered immortality by a 1,000-year-old vampire, and since then he’s lived in plague-filled London and fought in World War II – quite the résumé of eternal accomplishments.

#4: Q
“Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987-94) )

Hailing from the Q Continuum, this alien is about as close to a god as you can get in the sci-fi world, without literally being one. Named after creator Gene Roddenberry’s friend Janet Quarton, Q is not only immortal, but also omnipotent, with powers like time travel and matter teleportation and transportation also coming in handy. However, because of his almighty abilities, the cunning Q considers himself judge and jury over humanity, and regularly pops in and out of the “Star Trek” universe to teach lessons, act as a villain or help – and all of it, just for kicks.

#3: Spike
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) )

Wow, there is no shortage of immortal vampires for this list. While Angel may also spring to mind when you think of immortal characters in Buffy’s world, this bad boy has a little something over him. Unlike Angel, Spike has used his powers to kill two slayers in his lifetime. Born centuries ago as William Pratt, he was an unappreciated romantic poet who would never have lived on through his writing, so it was in death that Spike found his true immortality. Living on even beyond the original series, Spike is blessed with all the blessings and curses that come with being a true immortal.

#2: Kenny McCormick
“South Park” (1997-))

Oh my God! They killed Kenny! Again, and again and again. Out of all the characters on this list, everyone’s favorite unintelligible kid has proven his immortality the most times, by dying in almost every episode he appeared in – at least, until season 6. Kenny’s immortality started out as a nod to a childhood friend of Trey Parker’s, who skipped class enough that his friends would joke that he had died – but of course he’d show up at school the next day as though nothing had happened. As for “South Park”’s Kenny, no one ever really seems to remember that he died – no matter how many times it happened.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions:
- Marceline the Vampire Queen

- Madame Delphine LaLaurie

- Leo Wyatt

#1: The Doctor
“Doctor Who” (1963-89, 2005-))

While you may think a certain Captain Jack Harkness would be on our list, we believe The Doctor has had a few more decades with which to prove his long lifespan to the world. With his ability to regenerate into a different actor – ahem, sorry “different body” – this resident of Gallifrey has proven his immortal lifespan more times than we can count on both hands. Ironically, The Doctor almost didn’t make this list because he technically can die of old age; but, thanks to a handy “reset” on his regeneration cycle, there’s no telling how long he can live on – and that’s just the way we like it.


Do you agree with our list? What immortal TV characters have we overlooked? For more everlasting top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.