Everyone loves a good minion. No, not those little yellow creatures who appear in the Despicable Me animated film franchise—the peevish, fawning and often duplicitous henchmen that gravitate to supervillains.(But the little guys are great, too). While Dreamworks’ Minions movie is bringing evil sidekicks back in vogue, science fiction and comics has a proud tradition of selfless subservients that dates back decades. Here’s a look at five of some of the top minions from comics, TV, and movies that captured our imagination (or at least creeped us out a little):
Igor
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Ihe first “true” minion to appear in movies, Igor is a common name for the traditional hunchbacked assistant that follows evil scientists. The hunchbacked lab assistant and Igor are actually separate characters from the Universal Frankenstein film series. The 1931 Frankenstein character featured a hunchback lab assistant named Fritz, while the third film in the series, Son of Frankenstein, stars Bela Legosi as an evil character named “Ygor”. Since then, variations of Igor have appeared in many Frankenstein and Dracula adaptations and parodies. My personal favorite version of Igor was Marty Feldman’s wisecracking, hump shifting version in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, or, as he liked to be called, “Eye-Gor”.
Kalibak
Kalibak is Darkseid’s eldest son and one of Apokolips’ fiercest and deadliest warriors. Armed with a Beta Club that shoots painful force beams at opponents and unnatural strength, Kalibak can almost always be found at Darkseid’s side, leading his father’s armies. Kalibak has a particular grudge against his half-brother, Orion, and often fights him in battle, hoping that by defeating his brother he might finally earn the love and respect of his stony faced father. Recently, Kalibak assisted his father in destroying Earth 2 and will probably appear in the upcoming Darkseid War, where he should come face to face with his half-sister, Grail.
Starscream
Not every minion has to be loyal. For example, Starscream, Megatron’s chief lieutenant in the Transformers franchise, is as treacherous and disloyal as they come. Throughout all the various reboots and versions of the Transformers franchise, Starscream’s desire to usurp Megatron for control of the Decepticons remains constant. Even more so, most versions of the Transformers show Starscream openly bemoaning and plotting against his boss. Apparently, “poker face” isn’t part of his programming. It’s unclear exactly why Megatron puts up with Starscream; maybe it’s because Megatron needs someone to carry him when he transforms into a gun.
Toad
Magneto’s loyal henchman for most of the original Uncanny X-Men series, Toad is a founding Brotherhood of Evil Mutants member and an especially odd person to boot. Toad’s powers includes increased leaping ability, a long prehensile tongue and the ability to produce specialized saliva and venom that can incapacitate, control and paralyze opponents. But none of that is as vile as his original Shakespearean wardrobe. Toad was a loyal follower of Magneto until the Master of Magnetism abandoned him in space. It was an abusive relatioship. While Toad tried forgiving his master, he eventually abandoned him and joined the staff of Wolverine’s Jean Grey School of Higher Learning–as a janitor.
Bebop and Rocksteady
These Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles villains are a package deal, making it impossible to bring up one without the other. Bebop and Rocksteady were introduced in the 1987 TMNT cartoon as the dimwitted but loyal henchmen to Shredder and Krang. Introduced as humans, the pair were Floot Clan gang members who volunteered to be mutated in order defeat the Turtles for Shredder. Transforming into a rhinoceros and a warthog, the pair provided the muscle for many of Shredder’s unsuccessful schemes. The pair are set to appear in theMichael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, played by professional wrestler Sheamus and Gary Anthony Williams.
Who are your favorite minions? Let us know in the comments below.
