The two most important characters in any action movie are the hero and villain. Every Luke Skywalker needs a Darth Vader, every John McClane needs a Hans Gruber, and every Neo needs an Agent Smith. But a sidekick can provide a fun foil for the hero and also bring some much-needed comic relief amidst the tension and spectacle of violence.

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From Indiana Jones’ young ward Short Round to Léon’s 12-year-old protégé Mathilda to Han Solo’s Wookiee companion Chewbacca, the action genre is filled with sidekicks who are just as iconic as the heroes they accompany.

John Connor (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)

The Terminator and John Connor on a motorcycle in Terminator 2

James Cameron made a lot of changes to the original Terminator formula to shake up the stakes for the bigger, bolder, and arguably better sequel, T2. The most obvious change is that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 is a protector and an even more advanced Terminator is the villain, but Cameron also uses this angle to shift to a lighter tone.

The director focuses on John Connor’s dysfunctional but undeniably sweet relationship with the T-800. It starts off as a boy-and-his-dog story before morphing into a father-son dynamic.

Frozone (The Incredibles)

Frozone pointing in The Incredibles

A few years before the superhero genre dominated Hollywood, Brad Bird satirized superheroes in The Incredibles. The most important character dynamics in the movie are within the titular dysfunctional family of metahumans.

But Mr. Incredible also shares a heartwarming friendship (and beloved superhero double act) with Samuel L. Jackson’s ice-powered icon Frozone.

Officer Anne Lewis (RoboCop)

Alex Murphy and Anne Lewis in a car in RoboCop.

Analysis of Paul Verhoeven’s satirical sci-fi actioner RoboCop tends to revolve around the movie’s razor-sharp social commentary, but it has plenty of well-drawn characters – like Murphy’s partner, Anne Lewis, played spectacularly by Nancy Allen.

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Lewis’ characterization marked a refreshing change of pace for female representation in ‘80s action cinema. She’s not sexualized; she’s defined by her toughness and her loyalty as a friend. Instead of being a love interest, like the female leads in countless other action movies, Lewis is a platonic friend of Murphy’s.

Goose (Top Gun)

Maverick and Goose sitting together in a classroom in Top Gun

Tony Scott’s Top Gun might blur the line between action film and military propaganda, but it’s an undeniably spectacular movie with dazzling aerial cinematography and emotionally engaging characters to back it up.

Tom Cruise’s Maverick is the star of the show, but Anthony Edwards provides strong support as Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, his Radar Intercept Officer and best friend. Goose’s death hits hard, because their ride-or-die friendship rings true.

X-23 (Logan)

Dafne Keen with her claws out in Logan

In crafting the Oscar-nominated script for Logan, James Mangold combined the revisionist western themes of Shane with the father-daughter road story of Paper Moon.

Dafne Keen shared impeccable on-screen chemistry with Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine’s long-lost cloned daughter, X-23. The movie’s brutal hard-R action sequences show X-23 to be just as bloodthirsty, volatile, and unstoppable as her dad.

Short Round (Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom)

Short Round wearing Indiana Jones' hat in Temple of Doom

After Raiders of the Lost Ark paired Indiana Jones with love interest Marion Ravenwood and wisecracking sidekick Sallah, the prequel Temple of Doom gave him a less interesting love interest in Willie Scott and an even more compelling sidekick in Jonathan Ke Quan’s Short Round.

Before reconnecting with his own father in The Last Crusade, Indy became a caring father figure to Short Round. Short Round’s naivety and clumsiness mean that he causes more problems than he solves, but he has guts and Indy admires that.

PC Danny Butterman (Hot Fuzz)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with guns in a pub in Hot Fuzz

Played hysterically by Nick Frost opposite Simon Pegg’s Nicholas Angel, Danny Butterman is the Randy Meeks of Hot Fuzz. Danny is obsessed with action films and became a cop so he could be a gun-toting badass like John McClane, while Nicholas is much more strait-laced and by-the-book.

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In the finale, Danny finally gets to live out his Tequila Yuen fantasy as Nicholas rides into town with guns, lots of guns. Since he’s familiar with all the tropes and conventions happening around him, Danny constantly points out the artifice of the action genre.

Al Powell (Die Hard)

Al Powell firing a gun in Die Hard

One of the reasons why audiences root for John McClane in Die Hard is that he’s a lone wolf taking on a band of terrorists all by himself. But McClane does have a sidekick in Al Powell, a fellow cop he can trust, played brilliantly by Reginald VelJohnson.

Powell might not actually stand by McClane’s side for the majority of the film, but their walkie-talkie conversations provide some of the movie’s warmest moments (and some of the story’s most emotional turns).

Chewbacca (Star Wars)

Han and Chewie in Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars

Luke Skywalker is the central protagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy, but gunslinging antihero Han Solo enjoys just as much of the spotlight. Han is, of course, backed up by his loyal Wookiee sidekick Chewbacca.

Harrison Ford is such a great actor – and so perfect for the Star Wars universe (despite his indifference to it) – that he managed to create one of the most endearing friendships in movie history alongside “a walking carpet.”

Mathilda (Léon: The Professional)

Leon and Mathilda in The Professional

As the riveting tale of a sympathetic hitman, Léon: The Professional feels like a precursor to John Wick. Jean Reno plays the titular hitman, but Natalie Portman steals the spotlight as his 12-year-old apprentice Mathilda.

After her family is massacred by a corrupt DEA agent, Léon takes the newly orphaned Mathilda under his wing as a protégé and trains her up in the business of killing.

NEXT: 10 Best Horror Movie Sidekicks