Heihachi Mishima - Tekken series, tough-n-salty ol' bastard
Samus Aran - as badass as a vidgame chick gets
Magus - Chrono Trigger, one of my favorite baddies
Mitsurugi - Soul Calibur
Ken - Street Fighter, a cocky showoff, but effective
Link - Zelda series, who can stand against the hero of time?
gamefaqs.com is running a tournament of sorts along these lines nowadays.