New Meme: Sense of Wonder/Personal Mythology

The idea for this came to me as I woke up this morning. Everyone has a set of things or people in fiction that have an almost holy awe or majesty or, um, gravitas about them to that particular person, even if to no one else. These are the characters that just speaking the name conjures up something impressive -- even if, now that we're adults, we may no longer read/watch the original material, or in some cases may even initially deny that it still affects us that way because, well, now that we're older we can see how silly/trivial/etc. it really was. But it still HITS us. These are the stories or TV shows that hit us in the gut-level reaction when we hear their openings or get just a momentary glimpse of them. This is what sends a shiver down your spine, momentarily gives you a glimpse of the bright and awesome world through the eyes of your inner, wide-eyed child. It could be something terrible and dark, too, but something not merely dangerous but majestic, worthy of respect even if a thing of evil.

List your top 10 - 15 "Sense of Wonder" characters, stories/shows, words/phrases, and explain what they make you feel, and why, if you know -- when you encountered it first, what caused it to "hit" so hard, etc., and perhaps where they rank in your personal mythology.

( After a cut because it's LONG... )