Luke, Han, Leia.
Kirk, Spock, McCoy.
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman.
Every series has its main characters, the ones who get the most lines, the most screen time and the most panels. The main characters obviously hold a special place in our hearts because most of the action focuses on them. However, each series has its own secondary characters that are just as indispensible as the main characters.
Here are some of my favorite secondary characters.
Luna Lovegood
Luna may be my favorite Harry Potter character period. I love her in the books and I love her in the movies. She’s definitely not the center of attention like Harry, Ron and Hermione; she’s not even in Gryffindor or Slytherin. Luna definitely has a whimsical quality about her, which makes her so captivating. I also identify with her because she seemed to face a little bullying at Hogwarts, with mean kinds hiding her clothes. Thankfully she survived the final battle and was able to live happily ever after as a magizoologist.
Rom
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a tremendous television series. It left behind the starship for a space station and created the most interesting setting that Star Trek has ever known. The main cast was filled with wonderful characters, but Rom was one of my favorite secondary characters. He began the series as Quark’s buffoonish brother, but became more than just another Ferengi. I appreciated how he left behind the pursuit of profit in order to work maintenance on the station, raise a good son and marry a Bajoran woman.
Dazzler
Of all the X-Men, Dazzler’s definitely been the butt of the most jokes. She was initially created as a crossover character between Marvel and a record company. She was supposed to be the disco version of KIIS: selling comics, t-shirts and 8-tracks. The record company backed out, but Marvel still went ahead with Dazzler. She was the star of her own book for a while but eventually found her way into the X-Men. I’ve always enjoyed when she pops up in the X-Men books and now she’s one of the main members of A-Force. It must feel good to go from secondary character to main character.
All the stories we love have also given us so many characters that we love. Whenever we watch a movie, watch a show or read a book, we can’t forget about the secondary characters who need a little extra love.
Who are some of your favorite secondary characters?
Lt. Saavik from Star Treks II and III (although more II than III, because I had a crush on circa-1982 Kirstie Alley) – A bold attempt on the part of the filmmakers to introduce a new recurring character with an intriguing backstory and a potentially dynamic character arc into the Trek mythos, doomed by an avoidable (as it turns out) casting change between films (although Robin Curtis brings some positives to the role) and by Trek fans’ notorious resistance to “messing with our show.” Flibbedy floo.
Chopper on “Star Wars Rebels” — Astromech droid with attitude! I think I like him even better than R2. Love the way Chop flexes those robo-arms, and curses a blue streak in binary bleeps and bloops that no one can understand. I hope we get to see him give BB-8 a swift kick to the soccer ball in the new movies…
Gollum – Not sure if he’s a “secondary” character or not; he certainly proves central to the resolution of the story. But since he’s only in one chapter of THE HOBBIT and only in two of THE LORD OF THE RINGS’ six “books,” I say secondary. And because it’s my comment. Seriously, a compelling character with a fascinating backstory and a “villain” who confronts us all with the question, What is the limit of your capacity for compassion?
Another great post, Scott — keep ’em coming! (BTW, can we email subscribe to your blog from this new format? I have missed most of your stuff since you updated your WordPress theme.)
I’m still working on email subscriptions. That’s one thing that got last when I transferred over. I’ll let you know.
How would you have felt if Saavik had been the bad Vulcan in Star Trek VI instead of Valeris?