We’re all sick of the villains, morally gray characters and the bad things we have to hear about constantly.
It’s time to switch things around and celebrate the best of the best supporting characters — they may not be the main protagonists, but they absolutely make every scene better just by existing. They’re the ride-or-dies, the problem-solvers, the comic relief, and we can trust they’ll never do things with evil intention.
While some heroes brood in the corner, these legends are out there actually getting things done. Vote wisely!
(And if you wish to revisit the results and heated discussion for the previous villain poll, you’ll find it here.)
The selection today:
Grandma Frida is the badass grandma we all wish we had. She can talk to tanks, fix tanks and drive tanks, but she also made her garage be the safe place for everyone to go when they need to pour their hearts out.
Orro is a seven-foot-tall, monstruous hedgehog alien chef who acts like Gordon Ramsay on a Shakespearean monologue spree. He lives for culinary perfection, feeding people until they levitate with joy and storming off into his Dramatic Woods. FIRE!
Leon lived his early teenage years thinking he was the only dud in a magical powerhouse family. Now, he’s an unparalleled killing machine, fueled by dead pan, sci-fi Westerns and the same big heart he’s always had.
Grendel is he a poodle? Is he an omen of death? All we know is he’s fluffy, even in nightmare Black Dog shape. His hobbies include vomiting, rolling in vomit, eating everything not nailed down, stealing our hearts…and being living proof that pets reflect their owners.
Gaston a gentleman of adventure, a spy, a gourmet smooth-talking rascal who could probably convince Death itself to take a vacation. If life were a swashbuckling novel, Gaston would be the one swinging from chandeliers mid-battle while winking at the enemy.
Andrea the sharpshooter ex-Order knight, now queen of the boudas – and she did it all in heels (whilst being a beastkin). She’s the kind of loyal best friend who brings snacks, shoots first, and asks questions if necessary.
Helen: we would fix all her ripper cushions! The adorable bacon menace who stole all our hearts also has a kill list, and is ready to defend her family with her Fangs, as any self-respecting warrior vampire princess would.
Cornelius impressed us with his ferrets, deadly frying pan skills, and pied piper song of grief. He is a proud father, a loyal friend and someone who could call on arcane animals to shred the enemy to pieces while sipping his tea. Terrifying? Yes. Lovable? Definitely.
Luther or Dr Loose Cannon to his detractors, is the scientist-magician-bestie every hero needs. His lectures, unexpected sass, hilarious T-shirts and ability to keep up with whatever post-apocalyptic Atlanta throws at Kate make him a true BDH treasure.
Best of the Best (Sidekick Stars edition)
- Luther (KD) (17%, 1,431 Votes)
- Cornelius (HL) (17%, 1,420 Votes)
- Grandma Frida (HL) (15%, 1,198 Votes)
- Andrea (KD) (11%, 892 Votes)
- Helen (IC) (10%, 812 Votes)
- Leon (HL) (10%, 796 Votes)
- Orro (IC) (9%, 779 Votes)
- Grendel (KD) (7%, 606 Votes)
- Gaston (Edge & IC) (4%, 319 Votes)
Total Voters: 8,253
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As others have said, I would pick Helen except that she’s not really a sidekick. She is a future main character.
That being said my choice is Gaston.
That was so hard! I blame House Andrews for making them all so awesome.
Luther hands down. Andrea has her own book, so she’s a main character, not a sidekick. I want her for my bestie, and I would totally do lunch at the Acropolis with her every Tuesday.
Would live to be there, too!
Sorry: love
It was a tough call between Luther and Cornelius, but I had to go with the ferrets. 🙂
I am looking forward to the next appearance of Luther, though…..
Love Luther and Helen that being said I love them all! To be fair I must pick a sidekick from each series and that would be Grandma Frida. A really difficult choice 😊
This was surprisingly hard. I have always loved Andrea and was sure I was going to pick her until I saw Helen…and then Luther is winning when I voted and I’m not mad at it.
House Andrews really does give us amazing characters.
Honestly, this is so hard. I enjoyed reading all the comments. Now I’m going to consider who to vote for knowing my heart will break over the votes I can’t make!🤣
Can’t go past the dashing secretary 🤣
This was really tough! I love them all, had several favorites so to pick one was torture. I went with Cornelius because he is such a sweetie, all those animals (ooh cuddly) but he can also be a badass when he has to be. My next was Leon – I love how he’s her one man swat team!
Andrea is the only one on that list who got her own book. She’s a main character not a side character and putting her on this list skews the votes in my opinion. With that consideration in mind I voted for Leon.
It’s got to be Luther for me. He stole my heart with the WIZARD AT LARGE T-shirt.
Love them all, but Leon’s dinner table comments are laugh out loud funny. Always wanting to help and finally growing into that badass tugs on the emotions.
This was the hardest choice I’ve had to make is a long time. They’re all the best besties!
I voted for Helen even though I don’t see her as a sidekick. I think of her as a maturing hero awaiting her own series.
like that yes, wouldn’t it be lovely if the various kids of the Hero’s one day got their own novels, I mean we all know that would be brilliant.
I chose Orro, because he could cook for me too 😁
I’m rereading the Edge books, so Gaston got my vote this time. Next time? Probably Cornelius.
I need an all of the above choice.
Please and thank you.
I got to Cornelius, seriously debated Grendel vs. Cornelius… and missed Luther! I don’t know if I could have chosen between them! One sings up a mischief of rats to eat your enemies, the other magics up a beautiful cloud of spore/petals to grow plants in baby-eating assassins.
Total toss-up! Though Cornelius always has a +1 (or more): Zeus, Bunny, Gus Bunnyson, and babysitting raccoons… Yeah, bonus-sidekick action!
So, so hard to choose. Thanks for making me smile.
I’ve solved the work stress problem, I’ve decided to quit and retire, I’m sure that’s a smart move as it gives me more reading time, more gardening time, and some much needed gaming time
Pleasantly surprised to see Luther in the top-2. It was a tough choice for me between him and Grandma Frida, who is an absolute hoot. But I went with Luther because I’m a scientist and he’s the closest thing to one in KD’s world. Well, him and Saiman, but Saiman wasn’t in the poll.
WHY wasn’t Saiman in the poll? I mean, sure he’s a self-centered greedy s.o.b, but he does get stuff done. And ok, we canNOT trust he’ll never do things with evil intention, but I find that a totally arbitrary criterion for being a lovable sidekick.
Mod R, I beg to differ. A sidekick with ambiguous loyalties is the best.
Because this poll expressly isn’t about the morally grey or amoral characters 🙂
Ah, sorry, I overlooked that part. What does it say about me that I like the morally grey characters? If for no other reason than you never quite know which way they’ll jump!
If it isn’t about morally grey characters, how come Leon made the cut?
He loves to kill. And if he can’t kill he wants to shoot people’s kneecaps.
“Yeah, but he only does it to bad people”
Nope. He also wants to shoot people for just doing their jobs, such as retrieving a monkey.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Leon. But his morals aren’t lilly white or even light grey.
He’d be an assassin for fun, if his family hadn’t been able to stop him 😉
This was HARD because honestly I love all these folks!
I decided that Andrea didn’t qualify as a side character since she starred in her own book and I decided that Leon WILL star in his own book (because I am willing that into existence), so he can’t qualify either.
I decided that Helen will also one day be a POV character in her own series (after she grows up, of course), so she is also disqualified.
This all honestly didn’t help as much as I had hoped because Luther, Cornelius, and Orro are all huge favorites of mine, and I have loved Grandma Frida from the moment we met in Burn for Me.
In the end I had to go with Grandma Frida because I miss my own grandmother so much and who could vote against a grandmother?
How is a proper Englishwoman omitting her Oxford comma in the first sentence? I think I need to retire to my fainting couch! (Also, Leon doesn’t need to win this poll, he’ll just keep doing funny voices as his targets’ heads explode & get home in time for supper.)
Who is the Englishwoman in question? Certainly not me, as I am not English 🙂
And I believe what I was taught: that “and” is a coordinating conjunction which links together two equal elements and forms a connection between them, and a comma is as redundant in that case as it is before “etc”.
English is sooooo fun!
Wow, I thought Helen would be number one so I went with Leon. He’s so totally cute and badass shooting. I love them all of course!!
It was a tough choice between Gaston (swashbuckling handsome wannabe apprentice to Caldenia), Andrea (bestest best friend ever), Grandma Frida (best gramma with a tank!) and Helen (fiercest cutest 5 yr old with a kill list). It was a tough tough decision! I had to go with Helen though, she is so great and always makes me smile! But it could have been anyone!
ModR, thanks for getting the BDH all wound up and thinking about things that give us Joy! You are great at these quizzes and votes! So thank you, thank you, thank you!
I also wish HA smooth editing!
It was had to pick just one!
I love all of them, but the one who has made me laugh out loud the most is hands down Orro!!!!
Love all Mod R does for us, but why is the voting already tallied and finished? It hasn’t even been24 hours. I didntgrt a chance to vote.😭
It’s not, it will continue until Friday 🙂 . Just checked the status too, it says “Open” and the count went from 2,991 to 2,993 voters whilst I typed the first sentence. Maybe you’ve already voted or try to refresh?
Gasp! Orro is in 9th place? I am betrayed!
or just reading the results wrong. oops.
Mod R, you are the best and oh so tricksy! You made this one pretty difficult to choose but it’s Luther and his t-shirts for me!
Leon forever!
I love all of them. Andrea for her feisty support. Cornelius for his kind support. Leon for his (killer) puppy vibes. Luther for his cutting humor…
I’m voting for Helen, because all the Ripper Cushions.
But… where is Tony!?! Where are Runa and Bernard?!? WHERE IS CALDENIA!!!!
And I’m assuming Derek isn’t on the list because he is a POV character…
waitaminute… Andrea is a POV character…
WHERE. IS. DEREK.
Oh you got me there, he isn’t in the list! But, in blood heir, he is more of a main character
This is the impossible poll. I really wanted to vote for all of them.
Your poll is missing a critical choice: All Of The Above…
This is the only correct choice.
Orro. Cos good food is essential for body and soul. And every hero needs fuel to keep going.
I love these polls and quizzes, thank you for the work. I just did a search for “quiz” because I thought there had been a “what house are you” quiz for hidden legacy, but I couldn’t find it… am I just dreaming that?
It was soo tough!
Struggled in choosing between Grandma Frieda and Luther. What a decision!
Andrea will help you bury the bodies, no questions asked.
I had a hard time choosing but at the end it was between Luther or Gaston, so I picked Gaston. Simply because of the sass and his choice of shirts… but Luther’s t-shirts wasn’t far behind!
Hard decision between Orro and Cornelius others from the poll are great and i love they, but this to make a lot of diffrence with their presence
Seriously, I can’t choose! I love all the choices you gave! I am greedy and selfish I want and need them all!! These characters are like precious jewels , decorating a diamond necklace. You all are geniuses!
This is truth!
Every Orro Scene makes me smile!
I need to reread inkeeper. He is the awsomemest (Yes I made up a word) caracter EVER.
Orro and Gaston combined is so much fun 🙂
Im voting for Conlan. I just love that kid to the moon and back!
They’re all great – fully rounded characters well written! It was a tough choice between Cornelius and Luther.. but Cornelius wins for me!
It was going to be Grandma ……but Helen is a lot cuter & the other end of the age scale. ❤️❤️but I wanted to vote for ALL of them
When I read the first few lines, I immediately thought “Cornelius”!!
Initially I was going to vote for Grandma Frida, but as I scrolled down…..so hard! I went with Helen, but it really was close.
Leon and Cornelius are my favorites. Hard to choose but Leon is hilarious.
Very very tough. Almost chose Grendel, but Luther’s t-shirts gave him the win for me. Now I’m picturing Grendel in a range of doggy t-shirts 😂
Now I’m picturing Grendel EATING a range of doggy t-shirts. And then puking up random pieces of various shirts, along with unidentified stuff.
Andrea had her own book, she isn’t a side kick anymore 🙂 Andrea is a hero.
We / I love all the side characters. It is the gift of House Andrew’s that all the side characters are well developed and fabulous people.
If I could chose more than one I would still be here all day. Thank for a wonderful cast of people in all the stories. 💯
Where is Barabas in this list? He’s NOT THERE! Why not?
Hard decision between Luther and Cornelius.
I chose Cornelius because of his loyalty to House Baylor and because I think there’s a lot more to Cornelius than we already know.
If “Vicky baby” had been on the list, I’d have chosen her.
Villain, hero, whatever you may call her, she’s my #1 not-main-character.
I’m afraid what she’ll do to me, should I call her “supporting”.
This is sooo hard! I went with Luther because he was the first (in my reading chronological order!) but it hurt me not voting for Cornelius as well! I’m so glad to see they’re head to head!
I want to vote twice! Hard decision. Orro is such a close second!
I struggled to pick only one… all are perfect but I chose Luther because he made Julie so happy when he instantly recognised her even with all the changes.
Cornelius gets my vote! Quiet competence. He doesn’t showboat, he doesn’t brag, he shows up when/where he is needed and he gets it done.
Really, they’re all great. It’s the thing that puts your work into the stratosphere. Your character development is so wonderful and we really get into everybody’s lives.
Ah, well; my choices hit the bottom of the list. So be it. But I felt I had to go with someone who wanted to be the apprentice to Caldenia, the Most Wanted of the entire ICverse. And then Grendel, the klutzy poodlish mutt. Who transforms into a ravening beast? My sort; both of ’em.
As a proud member of the Facts be Damned and Gaston groups I have thought about each character and what I know of them. I have followed Gaston since we met him in the swamp and his mother’s arm was cut off. We have watched and read about Helen since she was born. Andrea has her own book. Leon has been written about and we know how he developed into the person he is. To cut to the chase we do not know how Luther came to the point where we met him when Kate needed to know about the ghoul. That’s same as Frida. We don’t know her history. Orro is Orro the master chef. How or why did he get to the point where he didn’t taste the soup. Those three are the ones I have considered as needing more words written about them and their history. If the three I want to know more about Luther first.
I was hoping for Derek (understand he could potentially be considered a main) or Bug, but given the options, Grandma Frida is still a good choice.
“Dashing secretary” was the perfect comic relief in that scene, so Cornelius. But that’s because Leon and Helen need their own stories in full.
They’re all amazing! Currently re-reading the Hidden Legacy series and I love them so much! Quick question, is there a plan for a re-print of the second half of the series? I love the design of the Nevada trilogy reprint so much!
There is no official news on that at the moment, I’m afraid 😟 . It’s all up to Avon and their schedule.
Oh why oh why may I vote only for one of all these wonderful beings??? Selfishly I choose Luther hoping there may be one fine day a – dare I say it??? – novel…
There, I said it. NO PRESSURE, no pressure AT ALL.
Humble thanks to HA for all they choose to gift us with. It is always pure joy! Hugs all around
This was too difficult! I love them all!
I think these need to be done in rounds and playoffs – picking ONE amongst all of the characters I love so deeply – so hard!
I couldn’t decide between Helen and Oreo 😩
Otto FTW this time 🙌
Oreo? Otto?
Send help.
I meant Orro*
This was awful for me!! I love so many of them!!! I went with Cornelius but really it was a coin flip between him and Luther.
Really want to vote like 4x. I love them all
an unfair poll, I really needed to vote for 3 out of that list…
Thank you, House Andrews, for making me smile this morning. So lovely to be reminded of so many awesome characters! It was much needed. 🩷
I voted for grandma Frida, but I really like all.
This is an unfair use of power because I pretty much love all these sidekicks and would definitely read stories with them as the main characters a la Roman.
PS would also love to read more Roman stories.
PPS sorry don’t mean to be demanding
How am I supposed to choose? I was not expecting to have a nearly existential crisis today, but here we are. 😆
I didn’t get to log in yesterday but I hope I can still vote. I voted for Grandma Frida because:
1) I want to BE Grandma Frida because….
2) I HAD a Grandma Frida (and I miss her so!) and…..
3) Yesterday was my Grandma’s birthday! I always think about her even more on March 4th and I can just feel her love and warm hugs.It’s been years, but those feelings and a Grandma’s love NEVER go away! 💕💕💕
Here’s to all the Grandma Fridas out there (especially in the BDH!) 🥹💕💕💕💕💕💕
They are all great in their own different ways. It was hard to choose.
“No one wants to see how the sausage is made”
-Grandma Frida (the bestest sidekick)
Aw, no love for Gaston? Ah well, it’s very difficult to combat Grandma juju. I think even Luther would sit and behave at Grandma Fridas raised eyebrow.
Also, 💖 that Grandma’s in the lead 😁
Very hard to chose, but Luther had to win because he has helped Kate and now is helping Julie/Aurelia. He is smart and funny.
It was between Helen and Luther. I had to go with Helen! But I do love Luther!
Orro, I just love Orro. Good good solves all problems.
good = food Le sigh
It was hard for me. I love grendal but I also love grandma Frieda and andrea!!
Also Keelan. More Keelan.
I agree. I am love getting to know new supporting characters like Keelan, Troy & Owen, the Agers, Issac, Namtur, Marten/Deira, Stella David, Andora, Finn, Michael (new-ish), the Dushegubs, and Donna Marias. So, so many!! I love them all. I also love the character development that has been occurring on some existing characters like Caldenia, Linus Duncan, and Victoria Tremaine.
Love me some Keelan too!
Not gonna lie I hate to pick just one. there are ao many good supporting characters. I think this is one of the best indicators of good writing. the ability to intrigue readers with the supporting cast. 😉
I had to vote gor Grendal I mean he jumped through a window and knew Kate was in trouble. That’s loyalty to plus I love dogs and grendal is a special dog!!! I loved all of the characters to very hard to choose but dogs!!!
I truly love them all. I know it seems indecisive but maybe next time we can have an “all of the above option”.
I wanted all of the above, but narrowed it down to Grendel, Helen, Andrea and Luther. And Grandma F. Then went back and read definition of sidekick in the question. Decided Grandma F doesn’t have enough screentime to qualify, even tho I really want to pick her. Helen is a child, and therefore limited in some ways. Also, having a kill list seems disqualifying. But I own Ripper cushions, so it was hard not to pick Helen. Luther is maybe too much of his own man to think of as a sidekick. So down to Grendel or Andrea. Finally picked Grendel based on longevity. He’s been in Kate’s life on a daily basis for longer. Once Andrea becomes Queen of the Boudas, she’s really got too much of her own stuff going on to sidekick very much. But even when Conlan is more than a decade old, he’s got Grendel with him. (Sidekicking for her kid surely counts.)
But there’s such a wealth of amazing side characters, I’m in awe that Mod.R could even pick out the ones to b in the poll! Also, I feel like Mod. R could legit claim rereading as work related research time. Thanks for the fun poll!
This was SUCH a hard decision, because I love every single one of those characters. I just have a soft spot for Frida because she’s such a rare bird: a heroic old lady who fixes tanks. Plus, I’m only about ten years young than she is, so it’s good to see an old lady kick butt.
If Grendel looses, something is wrong with the universe.
So tough to choose! They’re all so good.
I chose Orro, because I would love it if he existed somewhere beyond our minds, but I could easily have chosen Gaston, Helen, Andrea (kind of in her own category as she’s the star of her own book), and any of the others. It’s like seeing old friends when they show up.
You made us chooooose!
I picked Cornelius, but Luthor came a close second! 🙂
Voted yesterday for Andrea based on my perspective of having my back in a ‘situation’….
If, however, this is a subliminal ploy for who may get a side story in addition to Roman – definitely Luther – all the way!
Overthinking is my super power…..
Sending peace and safety to House Andrews, ModR and the Horde and all those you love!
Come on! How can I pick more than one? It’s stressful.
It’s between Helen, Cornelius, and Luther for me in that order. But I love all of them. With my Rippercushions mug sitting next to me I think it has to be Helen. So much fun! Thanks Mod R!
Also Mod R did you vote? What about House Andrews? Would be fun to see how they would vote!
I think I’m in love with Leon, but I had to vote for Cornelius. He doesn’t bother talking the talk. He just walks the walk. His formative years certainly shaped him to step in and take care of business when the time calls for it. Without a warning shot. But if he had his druthers, he’d just have peaceful and quiet family time.
Didn’t he give Linus a warning shot?
Gaston, who doesn’t love poetry in French!
It was a toss up between Luther and Leon. Luther won due to his sass, intelligence and artisanal chocolate and possible involvement with a famous author of romance fiction.
I can’t choose because I love them all. And in my mind that’s an excellent testament of the quality of your writing. I will say that Beast from the Innkeeper Chronicles is an unmentioned favorite.