I would say Walter white because he's so average. Kinda like the pure that turned bad. Tony was completely opposite. I loved both characters. Hated the ending of sopranos though. I would be pissed if breaking bad ended that way.
This is a tough one. It is probably Tony Soprano, but it's hard to leave out Ron Ulysses Swanson Homer Simpson Louie DePalma Archie Bunker Tyrian Lannister James Tiberius Kirk Al Bundy George Oscar Bluth Dwight Schrute George Costanza Barney Stinson Joe Carrol Dexter Morgan etc
Jim Rockford Matt Dillon Mick Belker Adrian Monk Larry Adler <trying to keep a straight face> Malcolm Reynolds Martin Ellingham Cadfael Mary Ann Summers
Every character I mentioned is brilliant. If you don't think so, you're either young, wrong, or both.
Both great characters. Hard to choose. Tony Soprano's problems were mostly internal or managerial. Walt's problems are the result of his actions minus the cancer. Both guys had major health problems. Soprano was impulsive, White more calculating. Soprano wasn't loyal to his wife but was mostly honest with his peers. White is very loyal to his wife and very dishonest with his peers. They both use people but Soprano did so to maintain a system while White did it to feed his ego. Both had to deal with the weight of an empire on their shoulders. Some think that Soprano got whacked after the lights went out on the finale. I don't know what's going to happen with White but the foreshadowing isn't in his favour, either.
I'm sure the internet has a more insightful comparison out there than the spotty one I just provided.
A lot of great characters on The Wire but with five seasons and five million supporting characters I think it's hard to put one up against guys like Soprano and White that've had so many hours of back-story and screen time. Bubbles and Stringer Bell and Jimmy and Marlo, on and on so many good characters. Steven King says Felicia Pearson's Snoop might've been the most terrifying female character in TV history.
Vic Mackey was a great character. I love The Shield. I need to give that series a re-watch. I think people forget a lot about the Shield and Mackey and just how good they were. Is he a better character than Walt or Tony? I don't think so, but he is probably on the level below them. As for Omar, I loved his character, but like speeds said, I just think the Wire had so many characters and story lines that in a sense, it hurts Little in comparison with other people. Snoop was awesome.
