Robots were first envisioned as humanity’s servants, but who would have thought that so many would capture our hearts and minds? If any robots are reading this and plan on taking over the world, you could do worse than emulating these hard-wired heroes.10. Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still): This mechanical marvel wowed audiences in 1951 as the companion of Klaatu, the alien visitor who comes to Earth to offer them a way out of their nuclear arms race. According to Klaatu, “there’s no limit” to what this hulking robot can do.9. T-800 (The Terminator series): Arnold Schwarzenneger’s iconic turn as “The Terminator” demonstrated a perfect killing machine that, in the 2nd and 3rd films, could turn into a protective father as if at the flick of a switch. He represents one of the more frightening visions of what robots could become.8. RoboCop (Robocop series): Okay, technically he’s a cyborg, but his visored helmet and mechanical armor are all metal, baby. The human brain behind it all gives RoboCop an empathy other mechanical characters lack.7. The Iron Giant (The Iron Giant): It’s ironic that it would take a robot to show humans the errors of conformity in Cold War America, but that’s just what happens in the critically-acclaimed animated feature The Iron Giant. The title character is also one of the few robot characters to make us cry.6. Edward Scissorhands (Edward Scissorhands): Edward Scissorhands is another. Tearjerkingly portrayed by Johnny Depp, Edward reminded us that even a man with scissors for hands could have a heart of gold.5. Rosie the Robot Maid (The Jetsons): Voiced by Jean Vander Pyl, Rosie was just like any other maid, except that she had wheels. She also had very human emotions, such as her breakdown in “Rosie’s Boyfriend” when her significant cyber other was deactivated.4. C-3PO and R2-D2 (Star Wars series): We wouldn’t think of separating these bosom buddies again. Between C-3PO’s neurotic mannerisms and R2-D2′s precociousness, they are two of the most distinctive examples of personality in programming in fiction.3. Optimus Prime (Transformers series): While different franchises have portrayed the Autobot leader in different ways, his heroism and cool under fire carry through. Apparently, the original version also disliked rap, but enjoyed basketball and soap operas.2. KITT (Knight Rider): KITT was much more than a talking car. Housed in a 1982 Pontiac Firebird, Kitt is a determined crime fighter with a healthy dose of tricks up his sleeveer, hood, including magnesium flares, oil jets, lasers, and more.1. Bender (Futurama): Robots aren’t usually known for their sense of humor, but Bender showed everyone what they’d been missing. Whether kidnapping Jay Leno(‘s head) or experimenting with alternative cooking, he always keeps us laughingeven when we should be crying instead.