History Main / SatelliteCharacter

'''21:''' What!? You're kidding, right? Let me give a hint -- you know how every time you talk to me, there's usually another guy next to me? That's 24.

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''; "Home is Where the Hate Is"

Sometimes a series will remove that "central" person from the equation somehow, and the Satellite Character has to establish their own motives. This is a common way to make a BattleButler more interesting. On the other hand, a SpinOff can fail entirely lif the star is a Satellite Character whose character can't support their own stories.

** [[ComicBook/BlackCanary Laurel Lance]] was never very well treated, either. As she was demoted from being a kick-ass ActionGirl to a civilian love interest and Designated Damsel, she was out of the main plot focus and instead stuck in TrappedByMountainLions stories, similar to Thea (who was also this early on), she eventually got some CharacterDevelopment and became an ActionGirl, but one who was ''remarkably'' off the mark from her comic self, and having long since lost her role as the love interest, she didn't even get to be a love interest, either. Eventually the show killed her off, and the fandom never quite forgave the writers for such a huge waste of a character.

** Hazel became the butt of constant jokes among the fandom over how little she did. Depending on the episode, she's either a SpearCarrier or holding the StrawmanBall. The problem was that she started out as a RecurringCharacter, received a PromotionToOpeningTitles -- and then received the exact same amount of screen time and plot relevance as before.
** Hazel ''literally'' has ''one'' character-centric episode (ironically, it was in the first season, ''before'' her PromotionToOpeningTitles). The episode has to do with her not wanting to embrace her Somali Muslim ethnicity, and is a pretty interesting and [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror topical]] episode. Other than that, there are only a few other episodes that feature her prominently... interacting with Jimmy, Paige, and others in their far-more interesting problems.
** ''Degrassi'' is also prominent for having Satellite Characters that become members of the SpotlightStealingSquad. For instance, Manny Santos, who seemed to have set up camp in Emma's shadow in earlier seasons, finally busts out in Season 3 complete with BeAWhoreToGetYourMan, LoveTriangle, TeenPregnancy, and abortion storylines. And those are ''just'' in Season 3.
** And another more annoying example is Chantay Black, who somehow managed to be introduced in Season 4, do nothing for literally four seasons, be put in the title credits, and do a whole lot more of nothing before she begins dating Danny Van Zandt. The producers must feel really bad for the actress or something.
** Then of course there's Leia, who does pretty much nothing other than just existing (Coincidentally she also dated Danny Van Zandt). The fact that she just kind of appeared out of nowhere and was instantly shown in the opening credits makes it even more noticeable.

** Zane's not a bad or flat character and actually became a bit of an EnsembleDarkHorse, it's just that all of his storylines revolved around [[ArmouredClosetGay Riley]] and when they broke up he disappeared until graduation.

* ConversationalTroping on ''Radio/TheNewsQuiz'' back in 1995. During all the rumours that Will Carling was having an affair with Princess Diana, his then wife Julia won Satellite Personality of the Year at some TV awards, and Alan Coren pointed out what a perfect description "satellite personality" was.

* Kaorin of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' exists mainly to be [[CannotSpitItOut in the closet]] about expressing her feelings towards Sakaki.
** And Chihiro has even less to call her own than Kaorin, being defined almost entirely as part of a pair with Kaorin herself. Kaorin at least is defined around Sakaki, Chihiro, ''and'' Kimura.

* [[ThoseTwoGuys Hannah and Barbara]] from ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' are basically there to be lackeys/fangirls for [[TheAce Diana]] and are the most active in bullying Akko.

* Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger:

** As a whole, the {{Mon}} genre is often very guilty of this regarding their practically non-existent CharacterFocus of the mons in question. Sometimes this was due to them being not intelligent enough for any character development to happen, but other times it feels like they exist solely as walking advertisements.

** As a whole, the {{Mon}} genre is often very guilty of this regarding their practically non-existent CharacterFocus of the mons in question. Sometimes this was due to them being not intelligent enough for any character development to happen.

Likely to count if the character is the TokenBlackFriend, GayBestFriend, HollywoodHomely or [[RedheadsAreUncool Uncool Redhead]].

* Chiaotzu from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' was occasionally shown in promotional art alongside the rest of the Z-Fighters, as if he was an important character with his own desires and conflicts. This couldn't be further from the truth (even in the original Dragon Ball!), as Chiaotzu only exists to be Tien Shinhan's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]], is barely ever seen speaking to any other Z-Fighters and has no character traits other than "admiring Tien". Eventually, his appearances become rarer and rarer, and whenever he's seen, he's literally floating around Tien.

** [[ADogNamedDog Turtle]], a TalkingAnimal, exists mainly to be a ServileSnarker to Roshi's DirtyOldMan attitude and high jinks and has few interactions to anyone else. Once Roshi becomes DemotedToExtra, so does he.

* Noah Caldwell from the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' book [[Literature/TheHauntedMask]] is Carly Beth's [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling annoying little brother]] who likes to scare her, takes advantage of his sister's easy-to-scare nature and wants everything Carly Beth owns (including her duck costume and her mask)... That's about all there is to Noah.

** Solid examples were [[Series/{{Arrow}} Roy Harper]] and [[Series/TheFlash2014 Wally West]], who in the comics were the [[SideKick proteges]], [[LikeASonToMe adopted sons]], and [[SidekickGraduationsStick successors]] of [[LegacyCharacter the lead characters]], Oliver Queen and Barry Allen respectfully. In the shows, they're introduced mostly as supporting characters of ''other'' supporting characters (Roy being introduced as the LoveInterest of Oliver's sister and Wally introduced as the LongLostSon of the Joe West), and spent more time interacting with them then the characters they're meant to be the sidekick of. When they finally meet properly and eventually start their SuperHeroOrigin, the shows had a nasty habit of keeping them OutOfFocus, skipping over their development, or putting them out of commission. Fans of the comics complained heavily, especially as the characters were being sidelined in favour of CreatorsPet characters. Eventually both characters got PutOnTheBus; while Roy came back a few times and got to be BackForTheFinale, Wally briefly joined [[Series/LegendsOfTomorrow a different show]] where he got much more development, but was then written out as his actor was unsatisfied with the character's treatment.
** [[ComicBook/BlackCanary Laurel Lance]] was never very well treated, either. As she was demoted from being a kick-ass ActionGirl to a civilian love interest and DesignatedDamsel, she was out of the main plot focus and instead stuck in TrappedByMountainLionsPlot stories, similar to Thea (who was also this early on), she eventually got some CharacterDevelopment and became an ActionGirl, but one who was ''remarkably'' off the mark from her comic self, and having long since lost her role as the love interest, she didn't even get to be a love interest, either. Eventually the show killed her off, and the fandom never quite forgave the writers for such a huge waste of a character.
** Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick, despite their prominent roles in the Flash mythos, ultimately got little to do in the show before they stopped appearing. In the comics, Jay was the original Flash and it was him who inspired Barry, but he was AdaptedOut of the show in favour of using the newer retconned origin story of Barry's mother being murdered in his youth. When Jay was later introduced, they didn't have much to do with him and eventually he quietly left. Jesse Quick, meanwhile, was retooled by the show into the daughter of the AlternateUniverseCounterpart of their former mentor Harrison Wells, rather than be the legacy of two golden age heroes who inherited their powers. Jesse spent most of the show as Harry's daughter and nothing more; any story she got was framed as how it affected ''him'' rather than herself (She wants to move out? It's so he can angst about his daughter leaving; She gets hurt? So he can be upset at her pain; She gains superpowers and wants to become a superhero? It's so he can worry about her safety before learning to let go; She starts dating Wally and wants to move in with him? It's so he can be upset his daughter is leaving him, etc), and she similarly stopped appearing after her actress got cast in ''Series/GodFriendedMe''. In-universe, this was all justified by Jay Garrick and Jesse being from alternate earths, so them showing up for friend stuff wasn't, exactly, something they could justify much, but the fact they ''weren't'' in the source material[[note]]mostly; Jay ''was'' depicted this way during the Silver Age and New 52 eras, but even during the former was still present for many team-ups and his own adventures; Jesse however was always a resident of the 'prime' earth[[/note]] made this change all the more noticeable.

** Oz. Even in spite of him being a werewolf which seems like it would be a potentially interesting backstory it often times barely got glossed over, and felt like the only real time he got to shine was when he was with Willow. This is one of the reasons Creator/SethGreen eventually left the show.

* Zoe Bartlet in ''Series/TheWestWing''. Her plotlines are all about either her relationship with Charlie or her father's PapaWolf tendencies ([[spoiler:including the part where she gets kidnapped]]) to the point where her breakup with Charlie is offscreen and they get back together offscreen. Although we see her at Georgetown U occasionally, we never learn what her major was or what she intends to do with it, unlike her sisters.

* Rizzo the Rat of Franchise/TheMuppets is seen as this, especially in his later years, whether he was paired with Kermit or with Gonzo. The fact that they haven't recast him after Steve Whitmire was fired is saying something.

* The Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog franchise has quite a few of these.

** Knuckles [[DemotedToExtra devolved]] into this over time. He decidedly ''wasn't'' this in his first couple of years after his debut, being a major BreakoutCharacter. He had his own goals and storylines that made him rather indedepndent. However, like with Amy [[{{Flanderization}} those traits would slowly be downplayed]] as time went on, and he mostly just shows up to help out Sonic and contributing nothing but PluckyComicRelief.

** Speaking of Blaze, she herself becomes this towards Silver in VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006. What makes this example so strange is that Blaze debuted ''before'' Silver, and her initial debut in VideoGame/SonicRush has her as the {{Deuteragonist}} just behind Sonic. Cue one year later, and Blaze is now playing a secondary role to Silver, [[RememberTheNewGuy whom the two are treated as close friends for a long time]], and none of Blaze's story or events from Rush are referenced at all, nor does she recognize Sonic in one of the series' most infamous {{Continuity Snarl}}s as fans were now confused which set events were meant to be taken as canon. Subsequent games continue to group the two together in spite of the game's ending [[CanonDiscontinuity undoing the events of the entire game]]. Like with Rouge and Tails however, Blaze and Silver are very popular within the fandom for this reason, arguably eclipsing Blaze's dynamics with Sonic and Cream.

** This commonly applies to the victims, especially those who died before the murder that is being investigated. For example, Manuel from Turnabout Samurai is implied to have been in a relationship with Dee Vasquez(hence why she [[spoiler:blackmailed Jack Hammer and ruined his career for killing him, despite the incident supposedly being an accident]]), but not much more is known about him.

** In VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc, there's Toko Fukawa, [[spoiler:aka Genocider Syo/Genocide Jack]]. After she's revealed to [[spoiler: be a serial killer with a personality disorder]], her modus operandi in the game is pretty much being a creep to Togami and aggressively lusting after him. Even on rare occasions when she [[spoiler: does revert back to Fukawa]], "her prince" Togami is still almost everything she talks about. Even in the end, [[spoiler: when Naegi is giving hope to the surviving students, Fukawa's motivation not to give in to despair is "following whenever her prince goes".]]

** Darwin was this to Gumball in the first season.

** Mrs. Robinson was this to Mr. Robinson in the first, second, and third season.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' has a few. Understandable in a series with LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters that some may be less noticeable than others, such as Yue's [[WizardingSchool magic school]] class-mates or some of the mage teachers to the headmaster or each other.

obodyLikes who the rest of the cast - including her supposed "friends" - are scared of and would rather avoid]].

** Zig-zagged with Amy from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog''. She was initially designed almost solely as a girl with a crush on Sonic. Later games have attempted to give Amy a more nuanced personality and chemistry with other characters, but how successful they are at this varies due to the series' [[DependingOnTheWriter rather inconsistent writing]]; her other character traits [[{{Flanderization}} are sometimes downplayed to the point of being nearly subliminal]], and she's been everything from a sweet, empathetic, adventurous friend of Sonic who may or may not have a HairTriggerTemper, is readily accepted by her fellow protagonists, and happens to have a small crush on Sonic, to a [[LoveMakesYouCrazy violent, obsessive fangirl]] with [[StalkerWithACrush stalker-like tendencies]] [[TheFriendNobodyLikes who the rest of the cast - including her supposed "friends" - are scared of and would rather avoid]].

** That said, the only real development Sugar Belle has ever gotten is "is in a relationship with Big Macintosh", which is more than the rest of the "[[FanNickname Equal Four]]" have gotten, which is "are acquaintances of Starlight Glimmer".

* In the Literature/BookOfHosea, Hosea is told by God to marry Gomer, a known prostitute who only ever exists to cheat on Hosea and give the Israelites an object lesson on rebellious idolatry. Seriously, God could have allowed Hosea to adopt a rebellious, kleptomaniacal StreetUrchin as his ''son'', and His message would not have been changed one iota.

* Noah Caldwell from the [[Literature/Goosebumps]] book [[Literature/TheHauntedMask]] is Carly Beth's [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling annoying little brother]] who likes to scare her, takes advantage of his sister's easy-to-scare nature and wants everything Carly Beth owns (including her duck costume and her mask)... That's about all there is to Noah.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' with Heather: she seeks the player character out if they use their ''highly addictive'' blood to save her from a deadly injury, and, if allowed, comes to devote her entire life to them without question. For players who save her out of kindness, watching her slow LossOfIdentity as the blood addiction makes her more fanatically dependent and eventually [[spoiler:gets her [[StuffedIntoTheFridge killed by the character's enemies]]]] is quite a PlayerPunch. For those who enjoy ordering her around and exploiting her dependency, it can be [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential hilarious]].

* Katsuki Bakugou of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is a more complex example of the angry/jealous variant despite being a main character. Heck, his entire development theme revolves around [[TheHero Midoriya]] in one way or another.

* Katsuki Bakugou of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is this despite being a main character. Heck, his entire development theme revolves around [[TheHero Midoriya]] in one way or another.

* Katsuki Bakugou of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is this despite being a main character. Heck, his entire development theme revolves around Midoriya in one way or another.

* Katsuki Bakugou of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is this despite being a main character. Heck, his entire development theme revolves around Midoriya in one way or another.

* Katsuki Bakugou of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''is this despite being a main character. Heck, his entire development theme revolves around Midoriya in one way or another.