Fantastic Five: Best Marvel Pets

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics.

Stan Lee somewhat famously did not care for the concept of kid sidekicks, and so with the exception of Bucky (created, of course, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, not Lee), Marvel doesn't have many notable kid sidekicks. But for some reason, the House of Ideas has animal pals, sidekicks, partners and henchmen in spades. In fact, there are so many, I suspect I will never hear the end of the litany of favorites I "forgot" even though I cheated and put ten entries on my top five list.

Show notes:

• Devil Dinosaur didn't make the list despite being the best because clearly Moon Boy is the pet/sidekick in that relationship.
• Redwing is currently appearing in Sam Wilson: Captain America. Or read his earliest appearances in Captain America Omnibus vol 2.
• Ka-Zar by Mark Waid and Andy Kubert is a solid source of sweet Zabu action.
• Catch the earliest appearances of Brightwind in New Mutants Classic.
• The earliest appearances of Aragorn are collected in The Avengers Omnibus vol 2.
• Red Ghost and the Super-Apes first appear here.
• Have you somehow not read Runaways? Fix that.
• Get your Tippy Toe action here.
• Pizza Dog here.
• Lockheed first appears here.
• Lockjaw first appears here but also features in a really great issue here.
• And as long as you're not one of those weirdos that hates fun, you should check out Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, which features many of the rad animals who appear on this list.

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