You know this character. She’s the girl who is always there in the background at work, quietly doing what needs to be done without fanfare and keeps things running smoothly, sometimes just by being there rain or shine. He’s the Mauve Shirt guarding The Hero’s back when the Hero goes in alone to fight the Big Bad. She’s the one with simple, sensible advice that her Troubled, but Cute friend seldom takes. He’s the Sergeant Rock that the Officer and a Gentleman depends on. And when The Captain needs data analyzed, papers filed, and problems examined, he gives it to this guy, who crunches it all and has the report ready first thing in the morning, just in time for the Captain to look at it and have a Eureka Moment.

They’re The Reliable One. They’re often overlooked in Ensemble Casts with Loads and Loads of Characters (particularly if it’s a World of Badass with tons of flashy characters) because of his or her understated character, they nonetheless often contribute in a unique way for the good guys. Every now and then they’ll tend to get A Day in the Limelight where their skills or presence come in handy even more than usual, some of their Hidden Depths get revealed, it gets shown why they frequently have such an Undying Loyalty to people around them, or where their absence makes everything around them start to fall apart. They may even get a Did You Think I Can’t Feel? moment, when the people whose lives they make better trample all over their feelings.