TV and Comic Books or Manga:

Beetle Borgs (My favorite show as a kid), Ninja Turtles, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Robo Cop, Gohan DBZ, Blade, Spawn, Mummies Alive (Cartoon), and 3 Ninjas.

For Video Games I'll go with these:

Black Orchid, Jago, Lui Kang (My absolute favorite Super Hero), Dante (DMC), Chris (RE), Megan Man, Guile (SF), Jax (MK), amd Sub-Zero

With this question it depends on context. But my favorite characters were from modern folklore; not Marvel and DC.

My tier of favoritism goes like this:

Zorro, Iron Monkey, IP Man, The Phantom, Beastmaster, Various Hong Kong Waxu Kung Fu Characters, and The Mask

Make sure that the kid sees the Turbo Movie that features Austin and Amy in it!