A list created by: Lee Sonogan
“I believe in copyright, within limited precincts. But I also believe in fair use, public domain, and especially transformation.” – David Shields
What does Public Domain characters mean? These characters are publically not privately owned/used and anyone has the rights to use these characters in any way possible. Having full use of existing characters is a potential goldmine for writers. A lot of these characters have been rebooted many times and may have pop up in your favourite shows and movies when you are not even paying attention.
- Dracula
- James Bond
- Sherlock Holmes
- Robin Hood
- Zorro
- John Carter
- Frankenstein
- Scarecrow (The Wizard of Oz)
- The Wizard of Oz (The Wizard of Oz)
- Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
- King Kong
- Gravestone
- Dr Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
- Cthulhu
- Hercules
- Thor
- Ares
- Zeus
- Lucifer
- Achilles
- Mad Hatter
- Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
- Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland)
- Long John Silver (Treasure island)
- Adolf Hitler
- Bigfoot
- Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray)
- Rapunzel
- Romeo and Juliet
- Beowulf
- Hamlet
- Abraham Van Helsing
- Sleeping Beauty
- Atoman
- Red comet
- The Arrow
- Rosie The Riveter
- The Wolfman
- Faust
- Sinbad
- King Arthur
- Loch Ness Monster
- Headless Horseman
- The Mummy
- Creature from the Black Lagoon
- The Pied Piper
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Tarzan
- Aladdin
- Death
Did you recognize at least half of them? A lot of them have been made into many different adaptations such as comic books, animated and live action films, animated and live action tv series and more over media.
“You can’t put the Hollywood sign in a movie without paying them. That is a landmark in L.A. I’m sorry, remove it from our skyline, then. You know? How dare they. That should be public domain, right? But it’s privately owned, and they enforce that. They sue people. If you see it in the movie, they’ve paid for that.” – Dax Shepard
Why is adolf hitler on this list
To stay in fiction where he belongs. Easiest villian to make fun of. Can pop up in people’s peroid pieces. A public domain character of your own without copyright issues.