48. R2-D2 vs. Sam
Who Was R2-D2? Luke’s constant and wise companion
Who Was Sam? Frodo’s constant and whiny companion
Verdict: C-3PO would be enough to give all droids a bad name were it not for R2-D2. The little astromech had it all: he’s cute, he’s useful and he’s actually pretty heroic. He willingly and with great courage followed Luke around the entire galaxy. You can say with a good amount of confidence that Luke’s journey would have been exceptionally more difficult were it not for the unique talents of Artoo.
Samwise Gamgee is unwaveringly loyal and surprisingly brave, but is also kind of a drag. Sure, he escorts Frodo to Mordor and had to deal with Gollum, but hell if he didn’t whine about it. And can we really say that Sam’s job could not have been more capably done but almost literally anyone else? Okay, sure, were it to be Aragorn or Legolas or Gimli, they might have been too tempted to take the ring from Frodo when opportunity struck. But could Merry or Pippin not have easily been subbed in here without missing a beat?
Artoo not only had an extremely high amount of sheer utility, he also constantly risked his life (assuming you can say droids have ‘life’ as we understand it) in Luke and the Rebel Alliance’s service. The little guy gets the win easily.
Star Wars wins
Next: 47. Obi-Wan vs. Gandalf