A side character who was better than the hero

[rokkolpo]

I'd like to direct your attention to FFXII. Unless you count someone else as the hero anyway. Which you should.

Balthier!
He was the true hero.

Not a support role.
(Doens't matter what Fran says...>_> She's a bunny)

 

[ChupathingyX]

Might I direct your attention to this wonderful little list by Cracked?
http://www.cracked.com/article_18870_6-video-game-heroes-made-useless-by-supporting-characters.html

Cortana?

She was, by far, the most annoying character in the Halo trilogy. There are many more side characters that are far better than her; Johnson, the Arbiter, Truth and pretty much every single Grunt.

 

[Mrmac23]

Might I direct your attention to this wonderful little list by Cracked?
http://www.cracked.com/article_18870_6-video-game-heroes-made-useless-by-supporting-characters.html

Cortana?

She was, by far, the most annoying character in the Halo trilogy. There are many more side characters that are far better than her; Johnson, the Arbiter, Truth and pretty much every single Grunt.

That list is more about characters who HELP the most, rather than be the most likeable.

Pokemon: Cynthia over you. Period.

I am overwhelmed with arousal.

 

[Sectan]

Well, I think that everyone in L.A Noire, I hated Cole Phelps after he... I swear, everything he did after that part was bad, any connection to him was lost.

When I saw him do that I really didn't have any opinion on it.

Spoiler

I'm assuming you're talking about him getting with the German lady. I didn't even know he was married or had kids. Even if I had known they didn't get any characterization. More of an "Oh btw he's married and he just cheated on his wife. You're supposed to be mad at him now."

I liked Bukowsky more than PH31P5 (To quote Yahtzee.) Just seemed like a really cool character that didn't get any screen time. Hell, all of the partners besides Roy Earle were cooler than PH31P5.

 

[KimberlyGoreHound]

Applejack is the best pony, no exceptions!

Lies. Pinkie Pie's ability to break the 4th wall, as well as her utter psychosis in episode 25, makes her the best pony.

 

[KingCrInuYasha]

The hero is almost always the character who saves the day and gets all the praise, but they usually have some help with them. Have you ever had a case where you liked one of the people who helped the hero out more than the hero themselves?

For mine, one of them would probably have to be Colonel Horyse from Sabriel in the Old Kingdom Trilogy. He plays a vital role near the end of the book, helping Sabriel and Touchstone get to

Spoiler

Kerrigor's body,

and his reward?

Spoiler

He gets a SINGLE SENTENCE in the epilogue telling us that a piece of building fell on him and killed him, and then he never gets mentioned ever again.

This reminds me of a comic:

http://www.snafu-comics.com/comics.php?comic_id=133

In all seriousness, Midna and Auron are the two that pop up when I think of side characters better than the hero.

 

[Zyxzy]

Balthier, Ashe, Basch, they're all more worthy of attention than Vaan.

 

[ChillzMaster]

This thread seems to be a lot about games and ilk, and I respect that. (Mordin > Shepard-ANY DAY)

But I think you guys are missing the biggee, from one of the Great Americna Films. Heath Ledger's Joker totally trumped Christian Bale's Batman in 2008's The Dark Knight.

-Chillz

 

[theLadyBugg]

I understand what you are saying and I can agree that Han grew in character from his first introduction. I do suppose I look at the series as having a single hero the "one" who is supposed to bring balance to the force which Luke does by saving his father who in turn kills the emperor. Where as Han was indeed a key player I'm not positive to say hes a MAIN just because he was means to the destination of the story. At this point you have me fighting myself now as to whether Han is a main or not...so I admit defeat xD

Do you consider Lando a main character since he went from backstabber to needed ally in two movies?

Ok, it's probably way past reasonable point of reply by now, but I was without internet for a while there. Are you serious with the Lando question? Because it feels more like you're just trying to get at me... As smooth as Billy Dee's performance was, I could never consider Lando a main character. For the span of Empire, I mostly consider him a plot device -- Lando exists to transition the hero gang's situation. We meet him because they need a place to stay. He backstabs because the story needs to put our heroes in enemy hands without making them bumbling idiots. His redemptive actions come largely because he is a character of little development and great convenience -- ie he has what the alliance is looking for at his disposal.

Lando moves in a variety of directions throughout his role, but I never see him grow as a character. He's a public figure trying to do right by people who makes a bad deal and later regrets it. We don't see the pressure of trying to keep the Empire out of Cloud City, we don't see him struggle with making his decision, and while we do see his redemptive actions, they're grossly overshadowed by other characters who we've already built a much stronger connection with. We see Luke become a man, we see Han Solo start to care about more than his own personal bubble, we even see Darth Vader remember the person he once was. Lando has a lot of hero attributes, but he's definitely a sideliner in the canon series. Actually, he's a great candidate for this thread.

 

[Vigilantis]

Ok, it's probably way past reasonable point of reply by now, but I was without internet for a while there. Are you serious with the Lando question? Because it feels more like you're just trying to get at me... As smooth as Billy Dee's performance was, I could never consider Lando a main character. For the span of Empire, I mostly consider him a plot device -- Lando exists to transition the hero gang's situation. We meet him because they need a place to stay. He backstabs because the story needs to put our heroes in enemy hands without making them bumbling idiots. His redemptive actions come largely because he is a character of little development and great convenience -- ie he has what the alliance is looking for at his disposal.

Lando moves in a variety of directions throughout his role, but I never see him grow as a character. He's a public figure trying to do right by people who makes a bad deal and later regrets it. We don't see the pressure of trying to keep the Empire out of Cloud City, we don't see him struggle with making his decision, and while we do see his redemptive actions, they're grossly overshadowed by other characters who we've already built a much stronger connection with. We see Luke become a man, we see Han Solo start to care about more than his own personal bubble, we even see Darth Vader remember the person he once was. Lando has a lot of hero attributes, but he's definitely a sideliner in the canon series. Actually, he's a great candidate for this thread.

No no it was a serious question, I simply assumed that what could be applied to Han would be applied to Lando in your perspective but I was incorrect.

 

[klaynexas3]

I think I speak for everyone when I say:

Spoiler: the one on the right

His cutting remarks always made me laugh...

what? neither is better without the other. it's the team that makes them. when they're apart, they can still be funny by themselves, but i definitely have to say that the show would be at a great loss if it lost either Roamin or Gaary, because them two together is like peanut butter and jelly. it's the combination man, both are equally awesome to an even more awesome show.

 

[klaynexas3]

Why is it three pages in before ANYONE mentions Roy Mustang? The man who uttered the second greatest line IN THE HISTORY OF ANIME!?!

There aren't many people that liked Full Metal Alchemist more than I, and I have to ask, what line? He had a lot of great lines and I can't pick out one I liked more than the other. Besides, he was more The Aragorn [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheAragorn] than he was Spotlight Stealing Squad [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioWare].

As for me? I like Morrigan and Alistair's banter more than anyone else's in Dragon Age Origins.

Yeah I guess I should have made that clearer
The one I specifically mean is this one:
<youtube=Jb6nQV88-Dw>
And I don't think he was better because stole the spotlight. He's just way cooler than Alphonse or Edward.

that is an amazing line, there's no doubting that, but i'm not sure you can say he's better than Ed or Al. cooler; i can go with that, but i'm not sure i can really say he's particularly better.

 

[patryn0]

Best side character in FMA was undoubtedly Maes Hughes. Not only was the personality dynamic and hilarious, but he was also a catalyst for most of the major events in the series.

 

[Daniel Fiaccone]

I agree that the main characters of Persona 3 and 4 are wastes of space and I wish the games had featured only the characters who actually have PERSONALITIES and VOICES.

 

[Ryu-Kage]

My list (a lot of repeats):
VIDEO GAMES:
TAILS > SONIC: Everybody's really explained why already: just as fast as Sonic and can fly. I'd like to also add that in Tails' levels in Sonic Adventure, the point of the level is often to beat Sonic to the end of the level. AND IT'S PRETTY EASY TO DO THAT.

DONALD & GOOFY > SORA: In a way, I feel kind of bad. These two were cartoon stars long ago, and now, they're hanging out with this kid from nowhere. Moreso, I award this to Goofy for using his shield as a weapon.

RYDIA & EDGE > CECIL: Cecil wasn't a fun character in Final Fantasy 4. I can see why he'd be moody, but the side characters were more fun. I really enjoyed using these two, though. A sword is nice, but being able to throw shurikens, summon Bahamut, or cast a magical biohazard on enemies seems nicer.

A LOT OF CHARACTERS FROM FIRE EMBLEM > THE LORDS: For Blazing Sword, for example, I like Hector and Lyn. Not so much Eliwood. But the story line keeps them from advancing too quickly in Level. By the time I get to promote my lords, I don't really need them. Oh, you have a horse now, Eliwood? And you can use Spears along with Swords now? Well, Sain rode a horse for like 30 chapters before this point, and now he can use any weapon he bloody wants to use besides bows, and you want me to be impressed? C'mon, Swordmaster Guy. C'mon, Druid Canas. C'mon, Bishop Serra. C'mon, Falcoknight Fiora. We're hitting the pub.

MOVIES AND CARTOONS:
HERMIONE GRANGER > HARRY POTTER: Hermione may start off as a whiny goody-goody when we first see her, but not too long after that, she becomes the badass of the series with some of the strongest magical power and technique.

IZZY > TAI & MATT (Digimon: Digital Monsters): This is how I came up with "badass" as the appropriate way to describe Hermione, because Izzy is kind of in the same boat. Most of the characters at first just kinda fumble their way through the Digital World. Once he realizes that it's a world of computer data, Izzy actually manages to hack into it on multiple occasions. As a result, he can maps and Digimon bios pretty much at will.

TOPH > AANG (Avatar: The Last Airbender): I do like Aang, but Toph is definitely my favorite character for being a 12-year-old blind girl who can flatten you easily by Earthbending. She does proclaim herself to be the greatest Earthbender in the world, and that's hard to argue against when she eventually breaks a previously-established rule of the series.

 

[Harkonnen64]

Derpy's way more interesting that all of the mane cast of MLP! If only we knew what's going on in her head...

 

[ABadOmen]

Baird and Cole from Gears 3.

Baird for his smartass comments (that neatly mirror my own so i'm told)
and EVERYBODY LOVES THE COLE TRAIN BABY! WHOO!