40 Secondary and Background Characters Who Deserve More Time in the Limelight

Weve all seen enough Archer. Nepo James Bond with a bad attitude, we get it. Give us 14 seasons about Woodhouse, the cannibal war hero-turned-butler. 

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Right-Hand Foils Avatar: The Last Airbender Katara to Aang Aang has a childlike spirit and initially has trouble quelling his anger, especially when in Avatar state. Throughout much of the initial journey, it's Katara that has to take the lead with pragmatism and patience as Aang grows into his main character role. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Justice League Batman to Superman Powers to no powers. Light and dark. Hope and skepticism. There's a reason why they're called the World's Finest Team, and it's because whatever Superman lacks, Batman is there to back him up. Plus, Supes curbs his naïvete thanks to Bats' influence, and Bats lightens up in return. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils How to Train Your Dragon Astrid Hofferson to Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Hiccup is the timid yet intelligent and industrious one, whereas Astrid is the naturally gifted warrior. Their relationship allows the initial qualities of both of them to grow onto one another. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Sherlock Holmes John Watson to Sherlock Holmes Depending on the adaptation, Watson acts as Holmes' pragmatic voice of reason, muscle, or everyman peer to Holmes' peculiarities and navel-gazing existence. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils X-Men Wolverine to Cyclops Wolverine is gritty, rebellious, fugly, and a guy you'd share a beer with. Cyclops is the authority figure/ square that is conventionally attractive. The only thing they have in common is pining for Jean Grey (and peace for mutantkind, or whatever). CRACKED COM

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Right-Hand Foils Dragon Ball Z Vegeta to Goku Ally or foe, Vegeta is there to show the audience what a Saiyan would fight like without being raised in a human society. As Goku gets better, Vegeta grows as well, like iron sharpening iron. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Star Trek Mr. Spock to Captain Kirk Kirk is the risk-taking ladies' man, while Spock relies on discipline and logic. A classic pairing. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Sasuke Uchiha to Naruto Uzumaki Dark, mysterious, naturally gifted Sasuke is the perfect foil to the loud, boisterous, hardworking Naruto. Their rivalry creates not just interesting friction, but a unique friendship. In fact, it's Sasuke's status as a highly skilled ninja that pushes Naruto to become greater early in the series. Naruto CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils The Lord of the Rings Samwise Gamgee to Frodo Baggins While they aren't necessarily polar opposites, Sam has no interest in adventure, no skills, and is frankly less brave than Frodo. But his loyalty is what allows the Fellowship to succeed, with Sam being the one carrying Frodo to the finish line. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raphael to Leonardo Leonardo is honorable, disciplined, and a born leader. Raphael is rough, hot-tempered, and cool (but rude). It's no wonder they often butt heads, but also help one another become better (narratively speaking). CRACKED COM

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Right-Hand Foils Parks and Recreation Ron Swanson/ Ann Perkins to Leslie Knope Ron is the total opposite of Leslie except for their shared love of nature and breakfast food. Ann helps Leslie find grounded solutions to her problems and goals. Both are there as powerful supports to an otherwise wildcard main character. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Attack on Titan Mikasa Ackerman to Eren Yeager Eren is overly emotional and loud, and has mediocre maneuvering skills, whereas Mikasa is a quiet and deadly expert. She's always there to pick him up, even after Eren discovers his Special One powers. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Marvel Cinematic Universe Captain America and Iron Man to each other Cap's nobility and work ethic bleed onto Tony, and Tony's creativity and innovation bleed onto Cap. Sometimes they even literally bleed on each other, like in Civil War. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Street Fighter Ken Masters to Ryu W Ken wins trophies, enjoys life with a family, and comes from wealth. Ryu comes from nothing and lives the life of a lonely warrior. The two play nearly identically at the start of the Street Fighter series, but become stronger in different ways as the games go on due to their mutual respect and rivalry. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Kira Nerys to Benjamin Sisko At the start of DSg, Sisko is authoritative and wields calm control, often combating Kira's rebellious and brash personality. Over time, Sisko grows more risk- taking and Kira's diplomatic skills improve as their friendship gets closer and tighter. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Star Wars Han Solo to Luke Skywalker Han is the atheistic, swaggery everyman to the faithful, goodhearted yet milquetoast Luke. There's a reason why more people want to kiss Han than Luke, and it's not because you're a Skywalker sibling. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils Mortal Kombat Johnny Cage to Liu Kang Johnny is everything Liu is not: arrogant, loud, and flashy. This personality helps offset Liu's stoicism, making the overall МК lore more interesting with the two teaming up to fight for Earthrealm. CRACKED.COM

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Right-Hand Foils The Powerpuff Girls Buttercup to Blossom Blossom is the good girl leader that leans femme, while Buttercup is the rough and tumble sister that challenges her, making Blossom a stronger leader and Buttercup... well, badass. CRACKED COM

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GUINAN STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION Lived on Earth in the 19th century and met Mark Twain. Was married over 20 times and has lots of children. Her homeworld was destroyed by the Borg. Has clashed with Q and they both hate each other. Working as a bartender aboard the Enterprise is clearly not the highlight of her long life. CRACKED.COM

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CRACKED.COM THE SIMPSONS Scorpio! With his laid-back office culture and luxurious company housing, Hank Scorpio is the best boss a person could have. However, he is also Springfield Shopper clearly a Bond SUPERVILLAIN SEIZES EAST COAST Villain. What happens next? Scorpio needs his own show.

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THIS UNNAMED WIZARD AT THE BEGINNING OF HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN: CRACKED.COM ABRIEF HISTORYOF TIME FROM HEBG HANG TO BLAX OLES STEPHEN WKING HE'S USING WANDLESS MAGIC, WHICH IS NOT COMMON IN THE SERIES, TO STIR HIS DRINK, WHILE READING STEPHEN HAWKING'S BOOK AT THE LEAKY CAULDRON. SCIENCE + MAGIC? YES, PLEASE.

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TWO and a half MEN Charlie, Alan, I'd like you to meet my youngest daughter, Naomi, the light of my life. A little angel who swooped down from heaven and landed on a married man's penis. Berta often tells Alan or Charlie interesting stories about her life. Let's give her a spin-off show! CRACKED.COM

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CRACKED.COM. MARVEL STUDIOS CAPTAIN AMERICA THE FIRST AVENGER THE HOWLING COMMANDOS This multi-racial, multi-cultural combat unit is composed of the Allied soldiers Captain America freed from Hydra and formed into his elite fighting squad. How did they spend the rest of World War II? What kind of missions did they carry out while Cap was frozen in the ice?

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CRACKED.COM In Suicide Squad, Slipknot is killed almost immediately after his introduction. HIS DEATH LEFT ONE BURNING QUESTION UNANSWERED. How did a guy whose only skill is being good SLIPKNOT with ropes become one SUICIDE of the most dangerous criminals in the world? SQUAD

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Dexter's very own Lila West was also a cold-blooded killer with a very short series arc. It would've been interesting to see some background on how she became a female version of our favorite serial killer. GRACKED.COM

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WOODHOUSE, THE BUTLER FROM ARCHER, IS SEEMINGLY IMMORTAL AND A BORDERLINE SLAVE. » WAR HERO » SORT OF A CANNIBAL » LIVED ALL OVER THE WORLD » HEROIN ADDICT » BISEXUAL WHAT ELSE DID НЕ DO IN THE ROUGHLY 120 YEARS HE'S BEEN ALIVE? WHY IS НЕ so INCREDIBLY DEVOTED TO ARCHER? CRACKED.COM

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In Iron Man, Но Yinsen showed he was an outstanding engineer and surgeon, and fluent in at least three languages. What was somebody like that doing in a warzone, and how did he end up there? CRACKED.COM

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STAR TRER THE NEXT GENERATION Who is The Traveler? This being appears only a handful of times, always showing advanced intelligence and superhuman abilities, like being able to alter time, space, and warp fields. But the first time we meet him, he's posing as an assistant to a brash, arrogant imbecile. Why does he pose as an assistant? What goals does he pursue on his own? And was curiosity his only reason for hitching a ride with Starfleet? CRACKED.COM

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THE FORCE. AWAKENS MAZ KANATA Over 1000 years old, spent many years as a pirate and smuggler Possesses a huge collection- of rare and valuable objects, including Luke Skywalker S lightsaber Owns a strategically located tavern on the neutral planet Takodana, which allows her to: overhear sensitive and valuable information CRACKED.COM

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CRACKED.COM Skinny Pete has a lot of potential beyond just being a drug dealer. While he's basically illiterate, he can be surprisingly articulate, and is shown to be a 35 very talented Br eaking piano player. 56 Bad What was his life like before he met Jesse Pinkman?

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Who doesn't want to know more about the adventures of a grumpy ten year old girl that is forced to lead her own clan? Lyanna Mormont is by far the most interesting character on Game of Thrones. GRACKED.COM

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CRACKED.COM TWIN PEAKS Sure, Duchovny as Denise looked great in drag, and it made for cheap easy gags. But I'd love to hear more about the trials of a DEA agent going against the gender grains in the early 90's.

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Despite looking awesome, Captain Phasma was used as a throwaway character in The Force Awakens. But how exactly did a woman climb the ranks to become the stormtrooper captain of the man-filled First Order? CRACKED.COM

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EDNA HYDE IS ACTUALLY A VERY PROGRESSIVE AND BOLD WOMAN. DES SHE HAD A FLING WITH A BLACK MAN IN THE '50s. That 70s Show SHE WAS THE TOP GIRL ON THE PYRAMID IN A WATER SKIING SHOW. SPIN-OFF, ANYONE? CRACKED.COM

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psych How did Woody, a free-spirited drug addict who's kind of stupid, become coroner for the SBPD? GRACKED.COM

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PIRATES Disney the of CHRIBBEAN CRACKED.COM Anamaria is a pirate who knew Jack Sparrow before the first movie, confronts him for stealing her ship, disguises herself as a man to join his crew and later takes control of the Black Pearl. She didn't appear again after the first film. Where is she now?

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i CRACKED.COM THE INCREDIBLES EDNA MODE IS AN ADORABLE, SNARKY, AND CHARISMATIC DESIGNER OF SUPERHERO COSTUMES WHO OBVIOUSLY HAS TONS OF EXPERIENCE IN WHAT SHE DOES. NOW IMAGINE A FEATURE-LENGTH FILM OF THIS CHARACTER CRITIQUING (NO CAPES!) AND DESIGNING SUPERHERO COSTUMES.

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40 Secondary and Background Characters Who Deserve More Time in the Limelight

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CRACKED.COM Dolph might secretly be the smartest kid in Springfield. THe SUMPSONS Dolph is one of the school bullies who barely ever talks. In one episode, it is quickly revealed that his real name is actually Dolphin Starbeam, and he can speak nine different languages. DOLPH: FULL NAME: DOLPHIN STARBEAM •SPEAKS! SPANISH, GERMAN, HEGREW, ARABIC, KOREAN, LATIN, OLD ENGLISH, KLINGON, ESPERANTO -FRIENDS WITH JACKIE CHAN (UNVERIFIED) SPECIAL SKILLS! HORSE RIDING, TAP DANGING, BRITISH AGGENT. STARE FIGHTING Why is he friends with Kearney and Jimbo?

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Sherlock's Mrs Hudson is a drug dealer's widow and former exotic dancer who drives an Aston Martin. A spin-off about her life would make for pretty good viewing. CRACKED.COM

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