Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I kind of appreciate that in each subsequent game of the SNES series, the sidekick got upgraded to lead.
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Top 50 Sidekicks - The League of Extraordinary Second Bananas
- Thread starter Adrenaline
- Start date
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- Tags
- popularity contest top 50
I think it is cool that he plays electric guitar
I thought DKC had the best character balance of the series. DK was a powerhouse, and Diddy was nimble. The sequel made both characters lighter, and Dixie could float -- no contest for a casual player. The third game had the awful baby, about whom the less said, the better.
They are sleeves
#36 (tie): Hermione Granger
“I mean, it’s sort of exciting isn’t it? Breaking the rules.”
First Appearance: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997)
Sidekick to: Harry Potter
2 votes, 49 points (Top voter: Issun)
Setting aside the transphobic deep end J.K. Rowling has plunged herself into, in Hermione she created one of the best fictional characters for young women to look up to and see themselves in. She's smart, capable, and a great friend to Harry.
It's darkly funny for me to reflect on how Hermione is my absolute favorite character in all of HP, even though she is the one who contains the most of Rowling, my least favorite character in all of HP. Of all the stuff that was cut from the film version of Goblet, what I miss the most was Hermione's grassroots effort to liberate house elves. It says a lot about who she is, even if the stories treat it a bit too jokingly.
It's just so WEIRD that Hermione was so passionate about activism, and she suffers ridicule throughout and ultimately fails, when she's literally the Author Avatar of a terf who is passionate about--
nevermind
(Oddly enough while neither of them first occurred to me as a sidekick, I can see Ron absolutely as a sidekick while Hermione is a lot less subordinate to Harry.)
nevermind
(Oddly enough while neither of them first occurred to me as a sidekick, I can see Ron absolutely as a sidekick while Hermione is a lot less subordinate to Harry.)
I more read the house elf independence thing as JK mocking people who actually try to make a difference. I never saw Hermoine as a stand in for the author.
#36 (tie): Navi
“Listen!”
First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Sidekick to: Link
3 votes, 49 points (Top voter: Patrick)
One of the main things people complain about with Nintendo game design is too much hand-holding when it isn't necessary. And it's possible to trace this back to Navi's insistent tutorializing in Ocarina of Time. But it's not her fault! She's just a fairy trying to help a kid save the whole world from evil! She knows what she's talking about!
I think it's valid to read it that way, especially in light of who Rowling is. At any rate, in terms of Hermione as a stand-in, I believe Rowling has been quoted as saying that she took inspiration from herself for many of Hermione's character traits. The crucial difference is that Hermione doesn't get on twitter and say awful things about trans people.
Anyway I like Navi
bye
I went back and forth on whether or not to include Hermione or not since the term "sidekick" seemed a disservice. But Hermione is awesome and Emma Watson is also awesome so I included her.
I was the other Navi vote. She's actually less intrusive than Issun is in Okami, and there's just something charming about her "Hey! Wissen!".
I voted for Inigo Montoya. I wanted to vote for Fezzik also, but I'd already doubled up on another media property so I had to leave The Giant, Andre off of my list.
I was the other Navi vote. She's actually less intrusive than Issun is in Okami, and there's just something charming about her "Hey! Wissen!".
I voted for Inigo Montoya. I wanted to vote for Fezzik also, but I'd already doubled up on another media property so I had to leave The Giant, Andre off of my list.
#36 (tie): Janet
“Eleanor, your cocaine and escape train are ready.”
First Appearance: The Good Place (2016)
Sidekick to: Michael
2 votes, 49 points (Top voter: Ixo (#1))
Janet is an artificial being that helps Michael run things and keep residents happy in The Good Place. She's actually one of many identical beings that perform this function across the entire afterlife, but the Janet of the main cast is the one who grows and changes along with them. She is very funny and helpful. She is not a robot.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
#35: Tim Drake
“You're a rude punk, and, like most of your kind, you're very, very dumb.”
First Appearance: Batman (1989)
Sidekick to: Batman
2 votes, 50 points (Top voter: Rascally Badger)
Tim is the third young man with dark hair in the main DC universe to take on the mantle of Robin, Batman's trusty boy sidekick. He can be distinguished from other Robins by his excellent detective skills, which perhaps rival even Batman's. He has struck out on his own and now goes by Red Robin.
Janet is another one that just didn't register as a sidekick for me, though even thinking about it for a second I'd say she fits. She's great.
But she's not on my list because I was too busy making jokes about how many Robins I could put on it. Tim Drake is good, even if the last 15 or so years of DC continuity haven't been kind to him.
But she's not on my list because I was too busy making jokes about how many Robins I could put on it. Tim Drake is good, even if the last 15 or so years of DC continuity haven't been kind to him.
#30 (tie): Little John
“Borrow? Boy, are we in debt.”
First Appearance: Robin Hood folk tales (~1420)
Sidekick to: Robin Hood
3 votes, 52 points (Top voter: Rascally Badger)
Only one of the three voters specified the 70s Disney version of the story, but that Little John is probably the most recognizable so I used him for the image and quote. Little John is the most famous member of the Merry Men and a reliable ally to Robin Hood. He is also defined by his bigness.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Oh, that's a good choice. Though for me its mostly the above Disney version. Oh, wait or this version.
I voted for Little John! I didn't specify this one in my list but it was certainly the one I was thinking about!
Is there a type where that should be #35 (tie) of did we somehow skip 4 entries?
There are five characters who got exactly 52 points. Twenty nine characters got more than 52 points. This means that those five characters are all tied for 30th place.
got it. thank you for the explanation.
#30 (tie): Max
“One way, dead end... Street signs are such fitting metaphors for the human condition.”
First Appearance: Sam & Max: Freelance Police (1987)
Sidekick to: Sam
2 votes, 52 points (Top voter: Ixo)
Max would probably call himself Sam's partner, but in practice Sam does most of the detective work and Max is there to crack jokes and skulls. The duo started in comics but have also appeared in a short-lived animated series and a few video games. He's not specifically a rabbit, but some kind of unspecified lagomorph.
Same for me.
Max is one where I consider him an equal partner, so I didn't think to put him on my list.