Sci-fi and fantasy heroes are super cool, but sometimes their supporting cast is even cooler. Sometimes, even if the hero is awesome in their own right, the so-called faithful sidekick or supporting character outshines them, to the point we want them to have their own series. So let’s talk about some of those guys! Obviously, we can’t list them all (in fact, my cup overfloweth, I still had many more names on this list before I realized I'd written too much), so feel free to chime in and talk about your favorite supporting characters and why they rock.
Alfred Pennyworth from Batman
Bruce Wayne would be nowhere without his butler and we all know it. Not only did this old man manage to raise the world’s most vengeance-obsessed little boy and survive, he is indispensable to his crime-fighting AND emotional stability. Alfred is the rock of the Batfamily and is always the one everyone turns to when things go to crap. His dry sarcasm and witty one-liners often make him the highlight of every scene he’s in and the dude is no slouch himself when it comes to a fight- he even saved Batman’s life by going head to head with Superman in an alternate universe. Depending on the version, Alfred can also have a pretty intense backstory, being a former secret agent and so on. It’s no wonder people have modded Batman video games to make Alfred the hero- he’s the coolest in a lot of ways.
Hermione Granger from Harry Potter
Both Harry Potter and Ron Weasley would openly admit they’d be super dead without Hermione in their corner. She’s the smartest of the group, always bailing her friends out with amazing solutions. She figured out a basilisk was terrorizing the school, used time travel to save the day, was the real brains behind Dumbledore’s Army and kept Harry alive even when everyone else was gone during the last book.
Not only that, but she’s terrifyingly ruthless at times- some of the most memorable moments of the books are when Hermione loses it and unleashes her full might on an opponent who will wish they never crossed her. Her curbstomping of Draco Malfoy was a highlight of the third book and the way she most outsmarted and captured Rita Skeeter will be remembered forever. This is not a girl you want to mess with.
Many have pointed out how interesting the books would be from her point of view, considering the prejudice she struggled against as a Muggleborn, her seemingly distant relationship with her parents and her decision to make them forget her and her relentless drive to succeed even in a world that was against her. Hermione is a hell of a character and many fans would love see her get more focus.
Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda
Despite the games being named after her, Zelda often functioned as damsel in distress in the games and didn’t get much focus. She finally got to kick ass in Ocarina of Time and fans became intensely interested in seeing her star in her own game. There have been a lot of concepts for Zelda starring Zelda and even a video game mod for it.
Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of Rings
Frodo had a rough deal and all with the Ring taking over him, so the end result was that Sam ended up having to do the real legwork as the hero of the story. He stuck with Frodo through incredible stuff, refusing to ever abandon him to the point of swimming after him when he tried to leave. He was really the one more responsible for the ring getting destroyed as he literally carried Frodo up Mount Doom and talked him in to giving the ring up. Middle Earth would have been screwed without Sam.
Robin and Batgirl from Batman
I’m going to be honest with everyone and say I wouldn’t like Batman nearly as much (in fact, probably not at all) without his sidekicks. They add color to his universe and do a great job of humanizing him. I can enjoy Bruce a lot more when he’s protecting and guiding another hero and interacting with them and showing a spark of affection on occasion. There’s a reason Robin was introduced only a couple years after Batman was and has stuck around for so long- Batman’s “dad” ness is part of what makes him work. It’s heartwarming to see someone who lost his family so young becoming family to another orphan.
And then there’s the fact all the other Robins and Batgirls and various supporting heroes are great characters in their own right who got their own titles. Dick Grayson is everyone’s awesome big brother and the leader of the Teen Titans. Barbara Gordon is a self-made hero who didn’t need a tragedy to motivate her to kick ass- she uses her brains to triumph and didn’t even let a bullet to the spine keep her down.
Cassandra Cain was raised as the best assassin in the world and rejected it for heroism. She’s a better fighter than Bruce and has an incredibly unique perspective as someone who was raised in isolation and not even taught to speak, as well as guilt over her past to deal with. And that’s only the tip of iceberg as far as the supporting cast is concerned.
James Rhodes from Iron Man
Rhodey would be the first to tell you he’s not a sidekick, but he still has to play second-fiddle to Tony a lot when he easily deserves his own movie. He’s taken over as Iron Man when Tony was not up to the task both in comics and on-screen. He’s a better fighter than Tony with his military training and has been saving his butt from the beginning. Also his password is WARMACHINEROX. That’s really cute.
Mia and Maya Fey from Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright wouldn’t have won a single case in the original Ace Attorney game trilogy is it weren’t for the help of the Fey sisters. Mia was his mentor as a lawyer, training him and guiding him through the ups and downs of the law. She didn’t even let death stop her from winning cases and saving his butt, coming back as a spirit to win the trial over her own murder. Both she and her sister Maya are spirit mediums, meaning they can talk to and summon the dead, which is cool as heck.
Maya has summoned Mia’s spirit in court several times to save the day and when she’s not doing that, she’s saving the day with her own observations. Supernatural ghost summoning law-ladies, how cool is that? Even Marvel vs Capcom has Maya as the real powerhouse- Phoenix’s ultimate attack is summoning her so she beats the crap out his opponent FOR HIM.
We get to play with Mia as our main character for a few flashback cases in the third Ace Attorney game and learn in the process that Phoenix basically learned all of his lawyer mannerisms and tricks from her and is following in her footsteps. I’d really like to see play an entire game as Mia, set back when Phoenix was her assistant. It would be a lot of fun to explore that part of both their lives, and let’s face it, after such a long time, it’d be nice to finally have an Ace Attorney game with a female main character.
Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist
In Fullmetal Alchemist, Riza is the subordinate of Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, but she’s often the one taking charge and being way cooler than him. Her introductory, defining character moment was when she casually saved Roy from getting pasted by Scar, dryly pointing out that he’s useless in the rain so he should leave it to her. The fact that Riza goes toe to toe to monsters and folks with ridiculous superpowers with nothing to aid her except her skill with a gun proves how ridiculously badass she is.
Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy Summers is undeniably super cool, but Willow is definitely more powerful than her by the end of the series. With her command of magic, Willow can easily bring anyone and anything to it’s knees. And on top of that, her attraction the dark side (as mishandled as it often was in the show) makes her an interesting character to many.
Leia Organa, Han Solo and Chewbacca from Star Wars
Luke is awesome and loveable in his own right, but Star Wars wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it was without his supporting squad. Without the badass princess, cocky bounty hunter and furry friend in his corner, Luke wouldn’t have gotten very far. Han in particular caught on so well that he’s getting his own movie soon.
Penny from Inspector Gadget
You might have noticed something at this point in the list. There’s sort of a trend in movies and media of less-competent male heroes being supported by extremely awesome and competent female characters. They spend their time looking after the dude and supporting his hero’s journey when logically, they should be the heroes. It sends the implication that even when women are more qualified, guys get the main role by virtue of being guys. The same logic also often extends to people of color supporting white characters.
Penny takes this trope to its extreme, secretly assisting her hapless uncle in his duties and letting him take all the credit for her hard work. She often gets captured in the process, but literally nothing would be solved without her either.
Kato from The Green Hornet
Kato is another character that takes the “hypercompetent sidekick who should be the hero but is here to help the white guy” trope to its extreme. In the original tv series, Kato became way more popular than the Green Hornet, the hero he was a sidekick to, thanks to Bruce Lee’s cool martial arts. In fact, the show was renamed “The Kato Show” overseas.
The Green Hornet movie has Kato be basically the best at everything while Hornet is a slacker jerk who does nothing. He actually gets frustrated and quits since he’s tired of being treated as a sidekick. But he makes up with the guy and continues working with him later and it’s still not his name on the movie.