Phillip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's 30's - 50's LA detective
Because he is a romantic cynic who is too intelligent for his profession but too honest to make any money from it other than a living wage. He can be a tough guy when he needs to be but shirks away from unnecessary violence and he has an natural instinct to support the underdog, even when it doesn't benefit him financially. He is quick witted but has a common touch, plays chess and isn't ashamed of it, and has an eye for the dames. He's nobody's fool and yet he sticks up for the little guy even though he knows that there are forces at play which he cannot control - he is an essentially honest man in a corrupt world who is smart enough to know he's pissing into the wind with his noble gestures but does it all the same.
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He also has some of the best lines in modern fiction:
Cop: Did he say "whom"?
Marlowe: Yes, but don't hit him - there is such a word.
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"She was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window."
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"I don't like your attitude, Mr Marlowe."
"That's okay, I'm not selling it."
