Top 50 Animal Sidekicks

[Johnny Unusual]

The last tie of the list!

12 (tie)
Votes: 3 Points: 69 Highest vote: 6 (@jpfriction )
Jake the Dog

The stretchiest companion! Jake is a shapeshifting dog and he and Finn were raised together. Jake shapeshifts to pick locks, fight and really just do whatever he feels like doing at that moment. He's got a bit of greediness and laziness to him but is still a heartwarming companion to his adopted brother.

He's also oddly good at skateboarding and cooking as @jpfriction noted:

​

Jake was lower on my list because he's less sidekick... most of the time. Usually he's more co-lead. But he's also such a chill guy, he often will intentionally take on that role for the sake of his brother Finn. In a lot of ways, he's pretty flakey and at times has occasionally proved a little less than reliable (due to him being easily distracted or his laid back attitude being TOO laid back for a dire situation) but most of the time he's a friend you can trust. And also, THIS GUY GETS IT.

 

[Kirin]

Had both Jake and Toto on my list; they're very different characters but they're both very good doggoes.

 

[Violentvixen]

11
Votes: 3 Points: 76 Highest vote: 1 (@jpfriction )
Hobbes

Named after the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, this tiger is a counterpoint to just about everything about Calvin (also named after a philosopher, John Calvin). Creator Bill Watterson made a point of never clearly answering the question of if Hobbes is a magical stuffed animal that comes to life when Calvin is around or if it's all in Calvin's imagination. But it really doesn't matter because the adventures and conversations these two have are wonderful, powerful and iconic.

@jpfriction :

No surprises here. I can think of few pieces of media that shaped young me more than this comic strip, although I was certainly more of a Calvin than his thoughtful, homicidal counterpart.

Also I'm mad at myself for missing Hobbes on my list. Can't believe I forgot him.

 

[jpfriction]

Wow, thought Hobbes was a lock for the top 3. Keep forgetting how old I am.

 

[Issun]

I can't believe I didn't think of Hobbes. Possibly because I just don't think of him as a sidekick, even though he technically is.

 

[Violentvixen]

Wow, thought Hobbes was a lock for the top 3. Keep forgetting how old I am.

I can't believe I didn't think of Hobbes. Possibly because I just don't think of him as a sidekick, even though he technically is.

Yeah, I have a feeling the main reason Hobbes didn't make the top 3 is the vague division between deuteroganist and sidekick rather than the age of the material.

And I'm sure someone else is like me and just forgot.

 

[Kirin]

Had Hobbes on my list, in the middle 'cause I figured they were a shoo-in anyway, heh.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Yeah, I have a feeling the main reason Hobbes didn't make the top 3 is the vague division between deuteroganist and sidekick rather than the age of the material.

He was on my list but low for the same character: better character than some of the characters on my list but less of a sidekick.

 

[WildcatJF]

Hobbes would have been high on my list, but I didn't get sidekick vibes from him. He feels like a co-lead to me, haha. Excellent character all the same!

 

[Adrenaline]

Hobbes only got a single (first place) vote when I ran a general sidekick list. He's a co-lead.

 

[Violentvixen]

10
Votes: 4 Points: 80 Highest vote: 10 (@Johnny Unusual
Lockjaw

This good dog has been a sidekick to many Marvel characters, some for only a few adventures and others for quite a while. I will note that I merged general Marvel sidekick votes with specific ones for Ms Marvel in the list.

Lockjaw is a part of the Inhuman Royal Family and after being exposed to mists as a puppy gained all sorts of powers. The best known is his teleportation which allows him to save people, pop and in out as needed and, well, advance the plot? While overall helpful it's pretty clear Lockjaw has to want to help you as he won't teleport just anyone. While always larger than a typical Earth dog his size does seem to reach the size of a small car in some stories, and his jaws are indeed powerful, the name Lockjaw is because he can bite down on and chew through a lot of things a a normal dog can't!

Finally, I'll note that I don't read as many comics as a lot of people on here so please chime in with more detail, I'm sure there's alternate timeline/dimension/etc stories that are fun too.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Yeah for a good while they made Lockjaw Ms. Marvel's sidekick in a movie that can only be called "correct."

He's also the leader of the "Pet Avengers" in a series of non-canonical comics (though for fun I think they made the team itself canonical, even if their own series isn't).

But really, you kind of got it. He's a really really good boy.

I will also say the biggest crime of having an Inhumans TV show no one liked meant Lockjaw had to be in it and not, you know, in a good Marvel thing.

 

[Violentvixen]

I will also say the biggest crime of having an Inhumans TV show no one liked meant Lockjaw had to be in it and not, you know, in a good Marvel thing.

While I was making that post I came across that show and was surprised I hadn't heard a dang thing about it.

Posts will resume next week, I have my N5 exam Sunday and want to focus on studying and have to travel to take it. But we're closing in on the last few!

 

[Violentvixen]

9
Votes: 3 Points: 87 Highest vote: 5 (@jpfriction )
Muttley

We just did a hero dog sidekick, time for a villain sidekick!

Muttley is the sidekick to Dick Dastardly, the villain of the Hanna-Barbera show Wacky Races. I remember really enjoying this show as a kid, every episode is a race with a bunch of characters and Dastardly and Muttley try to win by cheating. Of course it essentially always backfires but there's always a lot of gadgets or explosions and such to make it fun. And Muttley's laugh is iconic.

And as @jpfriction pointed out:

I don't think he really liked Dick Dastardly all that much.

Muttley is also featured in the show Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines, however no one ever calls it that but instead calls it Stop the Pigeon because 1) it's a better name 2) the theme song is just that over and over.

Oh, and he can fly like Tails now for some reason.

I absolutely need to call out this piece of definitely not official merchandise that I found while searching for images. Made me laugh.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I don't think he really liked Dick Dastardly all that much.

Not disputing this but clarifying: I feel like Muttley only felt animosity toward Dastardly when he was giving him shit but the situation is he's duty-bound to do shit for Dastardly and likes hanging around him because of shared interests (mischief) but he also thinks the funniest thing in the world is Dastardly getting fucked up. Like, he won't be the one to do it, because it is just funnier that way.

Also, in the Hannah Barbera Universe there's also a palette swap Muttley named Mumbly who fights crime instead of commiting it but is basically the exact same character. I don't know if they canonically aware of each other (maybe they both were in the Laff-A-Lympics) but I feel like they must be related.

Also, it's really just Columbo but instead of needling the criminal with clues, he just keeps popping up.

 

[jpfriction]

I was somehow always aware of Dastardly and Muttley as a thing but I don’t think I actually saw an episode of wacky races until we got a cable package that had Boomerang in it late in high school. There was a vhs tape in my local rental place that had an episode of the Penelope Pitstop spin-off on it, though, and that chase the pigeon intro certainly seems familiar, I wonder if there was an episode of that on there too.

Ah my own fuzzy memories of old cartoons that may or may not have existed, truly one of my favorite media.

 

[Violentvixen]

8
Votes: 3 Points: 92 Highest vote: 1 (@Kirin )
Ein

Cowboy Bebop is a hell of a classic anime and Ein the corgi is a lot of the joy of the series. Ein is hyper intelligent and while he can't technicallly communicate Ed is able to understand him. He's also driven cars, hacked systems and plays Shogi.

Ein is fun also because he has a pretty different relationship with every member of the crew. Spike complains about hating animals all the time but Ed and Ein are best friends. There's a lot of personality in this little furball.

Also please don't give dogs drugs

 

[Olli]

Dammit how did I forget about the data-dog?

No, wait, I had Ein at #9. Never mind

 

[Violentvixen]

Dammit how did I forget about the data-dog?

No, wait, I had Ein at #9. Never mind

How did I forget to use the word data dog in my post? Yeesh.

 

[WildcatJF]

FUCK lol. I forgot so many

 

[Falselogic]

Upset I forgot Ein.

 

[Patrick]

Should we start a thread for all of the things we forgot to nominate in various megadomes? i feel like I always forget something.

 

[Kirin]

No, wait, I had Ein at #9. Never mind

Good man.

 

[Torzelbaum]

I think I had considered Ein but decided that he was more than a sidekick and so I excluded him.

Should we start a thread for all of the things we forgot to nominate in various megadomes? i feel like I always forget something.

I did that for Thunderdomes but we don't have anything like that for non-dome things.

 

[Violentvixen]

Should we start a thread for all of the things we forgot to nominate in various megadomes? i feel like I always forget something.

I plan to do a poll or something of all 50 finalists when this is done and let people rearrange those 50 how they want. Still figuring out exactly what I'd use for that but going to do it.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Should we start a thread for all of the things we forgot to nominate in various megadomes? i feel like I always forget something.

Not entirely what I have in mind but trust me, when we get to our 50th Top 50, I have something also in mind that you'll want to put your peepers on...

 

[Violentvixen]

7
Votes: 4 Points: 93 Highest vote: 6 (@Purple )
Brain (Inspector Gadget)

Brain and Penny know what's going on way better than Inspector Gadget does. Brain follows Gadget around on missions, invariably solving the problem, pointing Gadget in the right direction, or accidentally having Gadget misunderstand and go the wrong direction but end up in the right one anyway. And neither he or Penny get any credit!

Despite technically being a normal dog Brain obviously has intelligence far beyond a typical dog. Penny understands what Brain says even though he just woofs. Brain switches between walking on two or four legs and of course can operate all sorts of machinery and wear disguises. Although Brain's disguises can be kinda goofy and part of the gag is Gadget never recognizing him since Gadget is, well, not very good at his job.

@Purple :

The real hero of this story.

@jpfriction

Penny was not shy about putting that poor dog into danger to bail out her idiot uncle

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Brain is a good boy who has it tough.

 

[Violentvixen]

6
Votes: 5 Points: 113 Highest vote: 7 (@Beta Metroid )
Iago - Aladdin

Our second Aladdin character on the list but on the villain's side! Iago is a parrot who lives in the palace in Agrabah. Jafar has trained him to speak, something that most people other than Jafar don't know until the events of the movie.

Like Genie in the same movie, the voice actor is what made the character. Distinctive, cranky, sarcastic and it all works so well for a bird who can puff up, loose feathers and with animation the beak and body become so dang expressive.

As noted with Abu there has been a ton of Aladdin spinoff media. Iago seems to have switched to the "good" side... but seems to still not be truly good and still causes chaos.

@jpfriction

I prefer him as a villain but always fun to have Gilbert Gottfried just yell about stuff.

 

[Patrick]

Iago is very good. I was a big Aladdin fan when I was a youngin.